Trippy New Indie Game: Blumenmacht

From the IndieGamer post:Blumenmacht is a unique mixture of shoot'em up and memory gameplay. The nonviolent game comes with a colourful flower power theme and is controlled only with the mouse. You can play nine levels on three different difficulty settings

From my perspective this game has a bright future as a potential handheld game...

Sumo: Javascript Parser for Microformats

This is pretty cool! If you have a web application which has a need to parse microformats on a page, then you should give this a look - see. It's even open source now so if you want to expand the range of microformats, feel free to contribute.

eJamming - Jam Together Online!

Collaborate in real time and sync with other musicians online. It's stuff like this that makes the Internet such an aweseome place. Looks like you need to download some software, hook up your instruments and find a kindred spirit online to jam to.

Wii Virtual Console Reviews Database

If you are like me and own a Wii, you look forward to Mondays when you can discover what new games are up on the Virtual Console. This site gives you all the info you need as well as reviews of the games as they appear.

Thoughts on Story - Scorpia

Scorpia talks a bit about a recent article in The Escapist regarding how next gen gaming will allow players and designers to "co-develop" stories. As for me, I believe that allowing players to have the tools they need to play online together in realtime - both graphical as well as textual will allow for some great cooperative storytelling.

Idea of the Day : Universal Inventory Repository

Imagine if there was a tongue in cheek website that hosted your "universal game inventory". It would look very much like a typical rpg inventory list - with potions, weapons, trinkets, spells, etc. However it would be merged with web 2.0 ideas like having an open API, ajax calls for live updating, etc. You could have fun haggling over some silly sword with a friend, or send a "gift" of some crazy animated gif to a friend's inventory. ... HMMM.

Passively Multiplayer Online Games site back up

Imagine if you could get experience points for visting your favorite website every day. Or leave a "land mine" on a website for one of your friends to encounter if they visted the site as well. Justin and friends over at Bud.com are working on an interesting experiment to combine your web activities with a game environment. Check it out.

Flex Online Compiler

One of the things I miss about Laszlo was the ability to rapidly try out things by just hitting "reload" in the browser. It looks like Flex has some equivalent version of that immediate compilation on this page.

Toi 3D Game Engine Reaches Alpha

I discovered this game engine over in the indiegamer forums site, and it looks fantastic. Right now it looks more like an engine in search of a game, since there are no completed game demos on the site, however it looks to be something above the norm in game engines, so I'd say go check it out.

Game Developer Gushes over Flex 2

I love finding kindred spirits on the net. I believe beyond anything else that the internet does for people - like letting them buy stuff online - that finding folks that share your interests is one of the most compelling reasons why the internet is successful. Troy Gilbert looks to be someone who's been involved in game development at EA and is now looking into using Flex as a platform for games as well. One of the main reasons why I blog at all is to try to find ways to connect web technologies to game technologies. I want to see more app-like games and more game-like apps.

Enough about me - Troy talks a bit about why he really likes Flex and seems to be speaking with experience about comparisons with other platforms. Man I feel so late to the party its as if they are already vacuuming up the trash and locking the doors.....

inFLEXion point

Did you see that? Wwwwwhooooosssshhhhh!
What was that you say? It was an inflexion point. Before that point folks would say "Flex whaaa?" or "Flash apps? Psha!" After that point folks are seeing companies like eBay, Finetune, Yourminis, Fauxto, etc. creating interesting and compelling web applications that work in either the desktop or browser. I've been around the web a loooong time and I can tell an inflexion point when I see it. Flex / Apollo have reached that point.

Adobe to Open Source Flex!

It must have been my influence - having just started out using Flex my subconscious mind invaded the psyche's of the powers that be over in Adobe and they said to one another (with pinpoint like pupils and a bit of drool on their mesmerized lips) "lets open source flex..."

Cave Story for Mac!

Lately it's been all tech news. Blah blah blah! Well for those few of you who hold out for a snippet of gaming news Tigsource has word of a new port of Cave Story for macintosh. In English even! That makes my day...

Finetune - my new favorite player...

I don't know when it happened. Some time in the past month I've started listening to Finetune.com more than my beloved Pandora. What's wrong with me? Pandora helps me find amazing songs I've never heard before and listen to great music. Pandora is probably one of the few sites I'd want if I was stranded on a deserted island. However, I've been having tons of fun with Finetune. After downloading the Apollo-based Finetune Desktop - it's been running almost non-stop during the day. The combination of your own playlists plus pre-canned ones as well has been pretty sweet. The interface is rich and inviting, and even allows you to check out your iTunes music as well. If Pandora comes up with an desktop version of their player as well it's going to be really hard to choose, but right now Finetune is my favorite player - by a hair...

Microsoft and Adobe Clash Over Rich Internet Applications

From the ebay blog I found this article about how Microsoft and Adobe are going for each others throats. I think the article is good, however it completely overlooks the fact that there is another component to this fight: Google+Firefox. It is amazing the interdependency they all have for one another yet they are on the attack for each other's space/marketshare.

I think the battle for your web/desktop is going to be a 3 way battle between Microsoft, Adobe, and Google. It will be very interesting to see how this plays out. Hopefully the competition will be a good thing and result in greater innovation, instead of another hopeless mishmash of competing standards.

Foobar the Bazbarian in Apollo (and Laszlo)

I have revived an ancient javascript game I wrote back in 1997 called Foobar the Bazbarian. I managed to find an old copy of the game on some page archive and I rewrote it in Laszlo back in 2003. Today I found that old code and fixed the Laszlo syntax errors (the language has changed alot since I wrote it) and managed to get an Apollo version of the game working. So, here in 2007 you have a first. A game written in 1997 ported in 2003 to Laszlo running under Apollo. Just like back then, when this was one of the very first javascript games, Foobar gets to be one of the very first Apollo games. Check it out. It sucks! But it shows that you can link together lots of ancient technology to still create something kinda cool. If you die in the game you just have to quit and restart, sorry.

Seven Javascript Techniques You Should Be Using Now

This is a great article. It spells out some practical techniques in javascripting that you should already have in your toolset - however if you've not encountered them before you will be delighted to make the discovery now. Javascript junkies only need click.

First Earth Like Planet Found Outside the Solar System!

This is very good news! It not only means that it's possible for other solar systems to have planets in the "habitable" zone, it means that someday there will be planets that we will want to explore for signs of life. Interesting.

Picknik - Amazing Flash-Based Photo Editing

This is yet another reason why web apis + flash are making the world of web applications a great one. If there was any doubt in your mind that flash wasn't good enough to create a killer image editor, this will dispel that doubt.

Lackadaisy - mobster cats webcomic

Imagine a world where anthropomorphic cats lived out their lives in 20's era gangster style escapades. That pretty much sums up this site - but the artwork is top notch. I can imagine this artist getting an job as an animator...

Trixie - Greasemonkey for IE

From the site:

Trixie is to Internet Explorer as Greasemonkey is to Firefox. It lets you remix the Web via scripts. You may do this to either make it more readable, fix bugs or to even add little features to make the site more usable to you. Trixie by itself does none of this. It is just a plugin for Internet Explorer that enables executing chunks of JavaScript code and thus lets you use the Web the way you want to use it.

SlideRocket - the Powerpoint Killer

I've been hearing alot of buzz about a new flash-based presentation site called SlideRocket. Given the awesome things that apollo based apps are already doing like Finetune and Yourminis I am prepared to be really impressed by SlideRocket. Bookmark it now and we'll see how it turns out when it goes live.

Coda 1.0 - Single Window Editor

Coda is a new HTML editing tool that tries to make things easy for folks who spend alot of time hand-coding sites. It looks pretty sweet. I cannot wait to try it out tomorrow when I get to work.

How and When to Use Apollo vs. SilverLight

This is an interesting overview of Apollo/Flash vs Silverlight in terms of when you might want to use one over the other (Hint: Adobe wins almost always)

Comments on Apollo from Virtub

Virtub is working on a Flex based word processor (I'm assuming it's Flex based -- it's flash-based at least) that will also run in Apollo. Interesting comments about why they are using Apollo as well as the web to deliver this app.

Some feedback to Adobe on Apollo SDK + Flex Builder

Here's just some feedback for Adobe folks -- last night I spent a while working on Apollo:

1) When you go and download the SDK for Apollo - put it in big red letters: "YOU HAVE TO INSTALL THE FLEX SDK FIRST" -- I spent forever trying to figure that out.

2) Tutorials -- there needs to be more of them - of course. But one big omission is how to use HTML as your source application in the apollo flex builder. I see the tutorial for doing it via command line, but for some reason i can't get an HTML based Apollo app to work in the Flex builder app...

3) How to set your path. I first tried to set my CLASSPATH which (duh) doesnt work. I figured it out but between that and having to go back and install the Flex SDK my paths got all messed up.

4) Explain the difference between having an HTML element in your apollo app and having an HTML based apollo app -- big difference? I think so. One can access the filesystem, the other cannot I believe.

5) Give a booster 30 day trial for Flex builder - for folks who try it for a few days - then dont do anything till they realize they do need to work with it and only have 2 days left :)

6) Have a runnable sample app for every flex/actionscript language element. Laszlo does this and it makes all the difference in the world when you go and try to figure out how some component works.

7) Templates -- premade apps which you can use to base your own works on...

6)

RIAForge - apps built with Adobe tech

If you are developer working on an application based on Adobe technologies such as Flex or Apollo, you might consider posting your application here. It looks like a good place to find reusable code as well as discover new apps.

MMO's Dreaming of a China Boom

From GigaOm comes a story about how companies in the US making MMO's are looking for ways to get their games to market faster.

Itty Bitty RPG update

I'm working on a new codebase (duh) and I'm making progress with a new dialog system as well as a way for third parties to create "levels" for IBRPG. You can follow the very raw (and potentially broken) progres of this new code base under the "red" directory.

Right now I have new dialogs, plus a conversation system, and dialog triggered events (like spawing some randomly moving scorpions for you to kill someday).

Carnival of Gamers

From Sutree comes a link to a previously unknown site (for me) which has a monthly article that seeks to give you a cross section of the kinds of things people are talking about in the gaming world this month. It covers everything from "what is casual gaming" to discussions on the future of the Wii. Great reads!

GameTrove - Developer Driven Game Portal

Gametrove is like a Digg for game developers. If you have created a game you can post it here and watch it's popularity rise and fall. You can blog about your development travails and check out other developers as well. It's an interesting site to check out if you are an indie game junkie like myself.

Obsolete Your Idols

This is the transcript of a very interesting discussion between some folks who are influential in online gaming circles. The title of their talk was "Reality Bites: the Future of Gaming + Virtual Worlds 2.0"

Google AJAX Feed API

This api allows you to download via JSON any RSS/ATOM feed on the net. Sounds very useful!

Yourminis Desktop Flex-Apollo communication

How do they do this? This is a combination of an Apollo app and a website. You can preview little widgets via the web, and if you choose you can download that widget to your Apollo app. If anyone know how they are pulling this off please let me know :)

Bungee Labs - Next Generation Web Development Platform

With the advent of Apollo and Silverlight you'd think that there wouldn't be room for yet another web development platform. However, it's a big internet, and I'd say there's always room for more cool stuff. Check out this new platform for building web apps and see for yourself.

Game Giveaway of the Day: update after a month of usage

I've been using Game Giveaway of the Day for over a month now. Checking out various games, downloading some, and skipping others. I've cringed thinking I'm surely exposing myself to spyware or viruses. I mean how can a site give away free stuff every day? However after a month or so I've had no ill effects (other than a slightly more full HD with all the apps.) So I post here shaking my head in wonder at how these folks continue on, but the good news is for you that you can snarf some fun full version games for free. There've been some real gems lately like Theseus: Return of the Hero.

Some folks complain that you download the game and it is still shareware or doesnt register. The only way I can see that happening is if you download the setup file and then wait a day before trying to run/install it. You gotta immediately set up the game after you download it or else it'll expire after midnight ...

Microsoft Silverlight - take the blue pill

Microsoft's answer to Flash/Flex/PDF/SVG/etc. is now going to be called Silverlight. Reminds me of a half-elf magic user in DND or something :) I think it has some cool features - like communication with the web page it is embedded in and any new way to create rich content with XML and javascript is cool. I don't believe it is currently a serious competitor to Flash yet, but Microsoft has a way at digging at something until it gets it right. So congrats to all the hard working folks at Microsoft for giving us web developers another arrow in our quiver.

I still believe that all of this work presents itself as a tremendous opportunity for some tool maker to create a "universal ide" which simply saves as "flex,xaml,svg+js,kon,HTML,etc." and is capabilites based so your app degrades gracefully.

Fauxto - Flex based image editing

Sure, it sounds like you should be saying "Fox Toe" but it's really like Photo. Regardless of the name ambiguity, this is a very slick image editing web-app. If you are stuck in a library with no ability to download your favorite image editor, give this a try.

Idea: Widgets as Site Awards

Just a thought for anyone reading this and looking for an idea for a new startup. Imagine if you could send to sites you liked (or folks you liked) an "award" widget. This widget would be something they could in turn embed on their site if they chose which would be interactive and explain the nature of the award. You could give these awards for myspace friends, bloggers, or anyone with a website. The startup idea would be this: create a site that hosts these "award widgets" and allow anyone who wanted to to create new ones. Sites that got these awards / kudos could simply embed a panel on their website which acted as the host area for an unlimited number of awards and congrats/gifts etc.


You might call it awardgets or something goofy like that. Anyway there's your million dollar idea. Lemme know what you think of it - even if you think it's dorky...

Useful Ways to Learn Flex

I had a comment in one of my earlier posts (thanks Josh!) that was just so useful (ah yes, thus the title eh?) that I had to repost it here. It is a good starting point if you are looking to learn Flex, as I am. Do you want to know what my "turning point" was? I mean after all I'm about as hard core Laszlo as you can be. It was when I went to install the Flex extensions to Eclipse. I use Eclipse pretty much exclusively as my IDE. After installing, everything just "worked". And after just some poking around in the IDE I had a runnable app. I feel kinda sorry for apps like RealBasic. They've finally handed the keys to the space ship to the web developers. I've always envied folks who've had C++ skills and know compilers in and out. The bar has been lowered enough that even HTML/JS shmoes like me can build something really compelling.

Free MMORPG List

This is a great resource to find free MMO's.

New Blog: ApolloGames

I'm starting another blog - not abandoning this one at all mind you - which will focus entirely on creating games in Flex and Apollo. So, if you are doing any work creating games using Apollo/Flex send me a link!

Intern at Parakey

I see alot of parallels between Parakey and Apollo. However it appears that the great folks at Parakey are not only building a platform for web apps, but also creating the first round of apps for their own system. This seems like not only an excellent way to sous out all the bugs but who better to expose all the features of a platform than the folks who create it?

Anyway, if you know Python and are passionate about building web apps, then you could intern over at Parakey. Who knows? If you are passionate enough and a mad dog programmer you might get to be employee #3....

Phase Shift - Flex/Apollo

I can feel the phase shift happening. I've been tinkering around with Flex and Apollo. The Flex language is a poor clone of Laszlo's language (in my opinion) with it's funky namespaces and Actionscripting and mixing of flash features with regular HTML features. However I've decided to dig into Flex scripting and start building some apps. Remember Sword Magic Kung-fu? Probably not. Well, all the work I've done in different platforms etc. can "exist" inside Flex/Apollo. I'm guessing even a Laszlo swf could live in an apollo wrapper. So, I can tell the way the wind is blowing. I went and bought a book o Flex 2 at Barnes and Noble this weekend. Time for some serious catching up with the rest of the world. *sigh*

Sticky Windows for OSX

If you had os9 you might recognize this feature - however if OSX has been your thing you may be pleasantly suprised. This app allows you to turn any open window into a side tab which you can quickly organize windows. Very cool!

Free Shmup Tiles and more from DanC

DanC from Lost Garden has posted yet more awesome retro graphics for you to harvest for your own gaming prototyping. Snag these while they are still available...

The Dream Game

I've been thinking lately about "what would be my dream game?" As I'm always finding myself playing something and mentally comparing to this "dream game". Everything so far has fallen short, but I totally believe that in the next few years that wont be the case.

Some features of "my dream game":

1) Multiplayer - but not multiplayer like doom, but more like whenever you log on, your friends are there doing something interesting.
2) User created content - I want to be able to log on, "create something" and log off knowing that somehow I've contributed to the world in some meaningful way.
3) Role Playing - I'm a sucker for traditional RPG's. Being able to go off and slay some monsters anytime would be great.
4) User created worlds - it would be great to be able to contribute to the "levels" in a world. Even perhaps to be a sort of mini "dungeon master" for a small area.
5) Storytelling - to be able to craft a story that both you and other folks participate in.
7) Pets/Bots/Virtual characters - to have golems or pets or whathaveyou in the world.
8) Open - anyone could create a client, or come up with something that talks the world apis..

Is there such a game as this? I know that 2nd life gets close, but doesnt really have the rpg / monster bashing , nor the storytelling aspects. It would be great to find such a game.

swfIR - Add Rounded Corners to Image Via Flash

This is a nifty site that lets you add rounded corners etc. to your images via a flash interface - it replaces all your images with flash elements that contain the features you want.

DED| Chain - YUI meets jQuery

This is a very interesting add-on for YUI that gives you jQuery style ease of use plus several additional functions like "throttle" which will wait a given time to execute some code. Snazzy!

Functional Javascript

If you are a power javascripter like me, then you know that there's a lot more to javascript than just making functions and setting "onclick" handlers. This page gives some interesting insight into how functions work in javascript.

Clientside blog on CNET

This is a pretty cool blog about all things javascript/ DHTML / Ajax, etc. Worthy of a bookmark or two...