pings from the void
ยท ) -) –) —) —-)
Processing vs. Unity
Recently I’ve been using Unity3D. And I’m impressed. I’ve been working in game engines for about a decade and I’ve never encountered one that is so easy to use. It’s got basically everything you need, integrated with any package you’d want to use, and you can get a license for $200. That is amazing.
Because I’m also teaching it I’ve been putting together a bit of reference material about it. The first one is a Processing vs. Unity document. It covers some of the syntax differences between UnityScript (a Mono run version of JavaScript) and Processing (well it’s Java under the hood). and here it is..
You need to know about Eskil Steenberg
There is an MMO called Love being developed one man, Eskil Steenberg. This is his Blog. Look at this video.
Up to speed on the game? Ok now look at this video. And read this post, it’s long but it’s worth the effort. That’s the toolset for Love. He wrote that. It’s awesome. His ideas on development are inspired.
I’ve been following this for a while now, since I saw this article. But the reason for posting about it is that it looks like it’s getting close to release. And I can’t wait.
The Swarm is Coming
Swarm (working title) from matt ditton on Vimeo.
In the mad panic at the beginning of semester I totally forgot to post this video to the game I’m working on. Swarm is all made in openframeworks for the iPhone. There are also a bunch of support tools that I wrote in processing as well. More info soon.
It’s over, and now we’re free.
Pandemic Brisbane closed it’s doors yesterday.
I joined at the start of DAH2 and in the four years I was there I experienced the best working environment that I’ve ever known. If there are better teams and better people out there then I pray I find them one day.
At the end of DAH2 when THQ took the license back, The Bravo Team picked their name first so we became known as the Alpha Team. We moved upstairs, Bravo started up their game and we just kept working. That first 9 months of pitching and experimenting and trying to nail the game idea was amazing. It changed the way I work, the way I look at the job. The respect we had for one another was impressive. That doesn’t just happen. It’s built, day by day.
I equate it to a band that just kept playing, every month we got better. You’d know how every person would play. You’d know how everyone could shine. We got tight and the product was amazing. One day people will see it. And it’ll be seen for what it is. The best game we’ll all never finish.
Your faithful tech.
MattD
GCAP 2008 – And now my talk
Some wonderful people posted the entire talk on you tube. That’s brilliant I was told no one got it. So here it is…
GCAP 2008 – Slides from my talk
On Friday I gave a talk at GCAP. The topic was on teaching artists to program and how this can benefit the whole team. It was a chance to show off some of the experiences I’ve had through the year while teaching processing.
StarCraft 2 now Diablo 3, this is the end of days.
Diablo 3 was announced today. After seeing the game play video I understand that whenever it gets released I do not want a game coming out anywhere near it. You can’t fight that kind of awesome. Just stand back and think “So that’s how you do a teaser video”.
The release of any game by Blizzard will cause a singularity that will destroy the non-Blizzard shelves of your local gaming store. If you’re making a PC game right now, you’d better hurry and get it to market. When Blizzard releases Starcraft or Diablo you aren’t going to sell anything for about six months.
Of course knowing the Blizzard release system (roll 5 D20, 100 means it’s ready) you’ve probably got a bit of time.
MattD
Classic lines from game dev.
“I added this thing so that you can slow down time.
I couldn’t speed up time cause things explode”
Matt Clark
I have a very weird job.