Satan Sam.co.uk

I’ve almost finished my coursework. Just another few more pages to my essay, lets stick in some fancy graphs. Oh and finish my HCI application and I can get cracking on the more joyous things in life. I’ve finished both of my other projects now (research and game engine design).

I can’t wait to get cracking on Tormishire now. Rest assured this game will be finished. It’s beyond the point of no return now. Think I got to this stage with Sam just after I showed my dad the hamster ball and he said “you fool, it’s on a slope, it has to roll down”. I’ve had some mind blisteringly good ideas for it over the past few weeks. Got madly inspired by some mad landscape photo of somewhere in Australia.

And me iPod Shuffles performing excellently. Hasn’t been on charge once. Turns out I only like to have my utter fave songs on the go with me! Once my works done I’m heading up to Dovestones. Hopefully with snow! Make a nice change from all the ruddy gale force storms smashing into our little island.

All’s good. I’m 21 now, btw. Have been for 12 days no less! I just forgot to mention it. I think.

Actually… no! I broke my hifi amplifier. This was a while ago now. I tried rewiring my speakers so I could reposition them and I ended up blowing 3 internal fuses. I’ve got the damn thing in pieces here trying to find these ancient fuses in specialist shops. So my 2 new Rega Alya speakers are sat here… muted… Such a sad thing really.

Just to fill you guys in, seeing the planned launch date was 2 days away. Tormishire is being delayed and not in the “Hey he’s delayed it but thats cool I can download it in the next 12 hours”. Talking around July now. But the game has grown from a little demo into a full blown game, at this moment in time replacing Satan Sam 2. *Now* you can expect a proper game with all the bells n whistles (wonder where that saying came from?). I’ve learnt a lot about gameplay and art in general over the last year since Sam so yea, I bloody hope this works!

Anyways. The game will have an online highscore too, due to the nature of the game it’ll probably just be a timed highscore.

Have some lovely screenshots. I’ve got 7 days now to package all this together into a lovely presentable piece of coursework. Graphics and everything are almost finalised. But much can change still.

Tormishire is progressing extremely well. Had a binge of Coke Cola and Red Bull today, interspersed with Cadbury’s Roses and Celebrations and basically just steamed ahead with this game! Everything works as it should. Loading/saving, travelling between frames, upgrades, collectables, enemies and health, physics engine. All there now!
Oh, have a title graphic. For a number of you this will be the first released anything for this game!

Well the Jan 8th project has a name – Tormishire. And I can safely say this will be out soon! Isn’t a big game but one of my HDD’s crashing has slightly hindered development for tonight. Here is a lovely little MP3 from it. Oh, and it does not follow on the tradition of Sam. Tormishire is a gentle game that just so happens to be using the Sam 2 engine! I think the MP3 sums it up perfectly, do you reckon, game testers?

I will have a game out by January 8th 2007. Of course it won’t be huge. I need to make something presentable to demonstrate the new Sam 2 engine for university, so it *has* to be done.

Incidentally that’s my birthday!

Today I kick started Sam 2. Seeing that the Sam 2 engine will be part of a module I decided to wait no longer! Plus I need the marks.

I’m coding in a nice little physics engine. It’s got inertia, friction, weight and gravity so far, plus damage to Sam and enemies. I don’t think it needs to be any more detailed than that for what this game will be, apart from maybe shifting the centre of gravity… but then I’ve been playing too much Prey.

On a side note I’m excited with this game because it’s the first game I’ve actually planned out. Everything is (so far) part of the physics engine. EVEN THE MUSIC¡¡

I enclose a screenshot of the “fountain” demo I tried sending via MSN Messenger (Windows version). It was awfully nice to block .exe files, and of course zipped files. Rubbish.

Just a quick one, goes to show how busy I am these days! And it isn’t good news either!

Sam 2 will be in fulltime development in February as part of my final project. I’ll have 2-4 (still not sure myself) months to spend every waking minute working on the game. Chances are the finished game won’t be presentable till Winter 2007.

Madventures of the Love Rockets is cancelled. At least in this form. Because of buggy extensions I can only work on this in an early build of MMF1.5, and I would ideally like to make an MMF2 version. I’ll release what I’ve made so far as abandonware. Like I said, the game will happen, still be an RPG with Pineapples soundtrack. It’ll just be a lot longer than originally planned.

AND we’re finally hardwiring the house network. I’m so far from the wireless router than the internet regularly cuts off. So big chufticles there! Which basically entails threading ungodly amounts of ethernet cables through the attic and around ever nook and cranny in the house. But still!

Think that’s it for now.

End of year show

This was my end of year show to mark the end of the 2nd year at university. Was a good show, in a way. My whole group (~6 of us) put work up, but just before the show the director woman had it all took down, barring mine and Annas! Everyone was a bit annoyed. Me included as one project (Gemma’s desk/house creation) was utterly fantastic.

This is a few months old now. Just to warn ya!

God I missed England. We have it so right, or maybe I just love performing tasks whilst trying to keep warm. I think I do.
So to anyone who I work for, for any lecturers on my course and to all my mates – I’m back. But I’m ill so I’m not going anywhere for a few days!

Currently I’m processing all my photos in Aperture, took some pretty snazzy pics! Have them up soon. Suppose the highlight of the holiday was go-karting at some really professional track.
For the Sam 2 crowd, and my lecturers again (it is my project after all!) you can rest assured that I’ve sorted the theory of the coding out. I won’t actually be jumping deep into the coding until Jan/Feb where I’ll spend every waking moment bashing away on it. Now to produce more literature for the university side of the project!