I have great plans for this website — like launching another book and creating an online arcade — but I’ll have to grind through some tedious work first. I’m thinking about bringing back BOT. This could be the first complete game in the new Photics Arcade. But to do that, I’ll have to port the project from GameSalad to Stencyl. It’s quite mundane work, but I’m making great progress. I’ll be posting comments in this post about my progress, so you can follow along.
Category: Development
Tumult Hype – An Alternative to Flash
It’s been a while since I’ve been impressed by a computer application. Most of the software that I use today is basically the same from 10-15 years ago. Where’s the revolutionary software that changes how I work — for the better? I remember the days when I first learned of Photoshop, Illustrator and InDesign. With these programs, I dramatically improved my career. That’s great for design, but what about Web Development? While Adobe is trying with programs like Muse and Edge Animate, I wasn’t feeling the same excitement. With all the rumbling about the death of Flash, where’s the replacement for creating online interactivity?
WordPress vs. Drupal
Recently, I switched this website to Drupal. And even more recently, I switched it back to WordPress. What’s with the struggle between two robust content management systems? For many years, there wasn’t. I didn’t think fondly of Drupal. Maybe it was the Drupal icon. Sunglasses on a drop of water seemed odd to me. Maybe it was the high maintenance. I had trouble getting the software to do what I wanted. But with the launch of Drupal 7, things started to change. I saw the power of Drupal and I liked it.
ROUND 2: GameSalad vs Stencyl
A little over three months ago, I posted an assessment of two powerful game creation applications. Which one would win in a fight? I didn’t really declare a winner, as choosing between Stencyl or GameSalad is essentially a matter of preference. Yet, things did not stand still. During the last three months, one of the competitors dramatically improved. That competitor is GameSalad. Is there a clear winner in the game development battle now?
GameSalad Template – Dual Controllers
While frequenting the GameSalad forums, I spotted an interesting thread. Apparently, the default template for creating dual controllers is a bit buggy. I know the frustration that this can cause, as my first GameSalad project didn’t go so smoothly. The virtual joysticks would jam, creating a rather broken gaming experience. Fortunately, I designed my own system to resolve this problem. A free template is available for download.