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Developer Blogs
October 20, 1999
Still working on the Java project. I'm about halfway there. I think all of the technological issues are ironed out. It's just a matter of putting everything in place now.
All in all, my Java experience is mixed. It is certainly easier to use than C++, but the syntax, while simpler, is not as elegant…
All in all, my Java experience is mixed. It is certainly easier to use than C++, but the syntax, while simpler, is not as elegant…
October 11, 1999
Spent most of Sunday setting up my wife's official business web page. I think it turned out quite well. We tried to keep it simple, and not as stuffy as the web pages of other engineering firms. She made good use of the Whip plug-in (which is basically Acrobat for CAD drawings) to show off her work…
October 10, 1999
Just signed myself up for the GDC Austin RoadTrip. If you're there, be sure to say howdy.
Someday I'm gonna have to put together a presentation for these things. Looking at the list, I see a couple of presentations that I know I've seen before. If I put together a presentation on how to make a game …
Someday I'm gonna have to put together a presentation for these things. Looking at the list, I see a couple of presentations that I know I've seen before. If I put together a presentation on how to make a game …
October 06, 1999
Taking a break from game-programming for a couple of weeks. I've got a pal who's got a fine product, but needs somebody with programming skill so he can improve his implementation. I'm putting together a couple of applets for him that'll help him get started. This is the first time I've done any pr…
September 30, 1999
I HATE INNOVATIVE USER INTERFACES!
OK, this is something I've been thinking about for a while, and today's the day. I'm adding a new item to my long-running list of "things game developers should and should not do". My item for today is a misquote of Jeff Goldblum's annoying character in Jurassic Pa…
OK, this is something I've been thinking about for a while, and today's the day. I'm adding a new item to my long-running list of "things game developers should and should not do". My item for today is a misquote of Jeff Goldblum's annoying character in Jurassic Pa…
September 28, 1999
John's next version of Visual C++ wish-list
- A way to view unicode strings in the debugger. When you quick-view (or simply hover the mouse over) an ordinary string, you are shown the contents of the string. Unfortunately, this doesn't work for unicode. The only way to view unicode strings in the VC++…
September 23, 1999
First off, I've got a utility you need if you've ever used the Windows character map applet.
It's Character Map Pro, and it's everything I look for in a utility. It's reasonably small, requires no extra DLL's or even an install program, and it's much better than the one that comes with windows (i.e.…
It's Character Map Pro, and it's everything I look for in a utility. It's reasonably small, requires no extra DLL's or even an install program, and it's much better than the one that comes with windows (i.e.…
September 21, 1999
Got the first cut of my new CE bitmap rasterizer up and running. Well, "running" is a bit of a broad statement, as the bitmaps currently look like burned mud. I've got so much bit-fiddling in there that I might be tweaking on this for a while.
When it's done, though, it should be nice. It's basicall…
When it's done, though, it should be nice. It's basicall…
September 16, 1999
A quick annotation to the Paint Shop Pro update mention I made in the news page. If you buy any version of PSP before the end of September, you can upgrade to version 6.0 for free (OK, eight bucks with shipping). At Electronic Discount Sales, a D/FW discount computer chain, they've got copies of PS…
September 13, 1999
Just a quick note that I've officially crossed the line in the sand. That What Language Should I Use article that I wrote a couple months ago for gamedev.net (a small-time site run by a couple of development monkeys) was bought by Miller Freeman (a bigass company that runs gamedev.net's inferior cl…
September 12, 1999
I got a new toy!
After a week of my venerable old mouse (a cheap Logitech Wheel Mouse, specifically) missing clicks and accidentally dropping items in the wrong place due to a failing button 1, I decided that it was time to retire it and buy a new mouse. I was gonna just buy an identical replacement…
After a week of my venerable old mouse (a cheap Logitech Wheel Mouse, specifically) missing clicks and accidentally dropping items in the wrong place due to a failing button 1, I decided that it was time to retire it and buy a new mouse. I was gonna just buy an identical replacement…
September 10, 1999
Just a couple of whimsical things today.
Amazingly, I actually had a good "I wrote this" experience today!
I was out at my local pack-n-mail, sending that copy of CodeWizard (see 9/1/99) back to the manufacturer with a note that would singe your eyebrows. In the course of chatting with the guy who ra…
Amazingly, I actually had a good "I wrote this" experience today!
I was out at my local pack-n-mail, sending that copy of CodeWizard (see 9/1/99) back to the manufacturer with a note that would singe your eyebrows. In the course of chatting with the guy who ra…
September 02, 1999
I found the Fourth Wave article about the Death of 3D interesting. I think the article's right on target, but they need to properly define the word "death". By "death", they're basically saying that 3D isn't gonna be the next magic bullet that takes over the industry.
Think of early personal compute…
Think of early personal compute…
September 01, 1999
Made some more headway on what is quickly becoming the premier sprite library for Windows CE. Heck, once I'm done with this beast, it'll be more marketable than any games I make with it :)
I also took some time to fully const my classes. Const is a C++ keyword that specifies that something cannot be…
I also took some time to fully const my classes. Const is a C++ keyword that specifies that something cannot be…
August 24, 1999
Still doing a lot to help the wife's business get off the ground. She's got a couple of contracts already, and her last day at her day-job is Friday. Yesterday we nervously placed an order for AutoCAD 2K with Civil Engineering extensions. I don't wanna be too graphic, but it cost more than both of …
August 19, 1999
First, a quick plug. An old college pal of mine, Pat Down, has his own project page at www.codemoon.com. He's been dabbling in game development for as long as I've known him (14 years now, boy I'm old). He's currently working on a small project. Check it out!
FWIW, Pat contacted John M. about puttin…
FWIW, Pat contacted John M. about puttin…
August 16, 1999
Wow, two weeks since the last update. That's gotta be some kind of record. Sorry about that. I'll try to keep you posted more regularly.
I haven't really done much on the games in the past couple of weeks, as I've had some extracurricular activities going on that you don't know about. My wife, the i…
I haven't really done much on the games in the past couple of weeks, as I've had some extracurricular activities going on that you don't know about. My wife, the i…
August 02, 1999
Just a note to let you know I'm not dead. I'm just resting!
Just got back from a week long vacation in Niagara Falls. Not specifically game-oriented this time; just something fun. In the aim of feeding yet another stupid and meaningless hobby, the wife and I went to the International Jugglers Associ…
Just got back from a week long vacation in Niagara Falls. Not specifically game-oriented this time; just something fun. In the aim of feeding yet another stupid and meaningless hobby, the wife and I went to the International Jugglers Associ…
July 23, 1999
Been working with my publisher on a new re-packaging of my products for other markets. I haven't gotten the numbers from this quarter yet, but I hope they'll be good. The games seem to be everywhere nowadays. My brother reported a sighting in a Nashville Wal Mart, and I saw the 2-packs at Sam's las…
July 19, 1999
Sorry about not having any updates in a bit. After that article I wrote, I decided to take a little hiatus from writing web pages.
The responses to the article have been very good. A few beginners thought it was spot-on and appreciated the overview. I had a couple of complaints from folks who though…
The responses to the article have been very good. A few beginners thought it was spot-on and appreciated the overview. I had a couple of complaints from folks who though…
July 08, 1999
Just a quick note today. There's an interesting interview with Roger Corman, father of the discount rack, on the ZineZone.
Almost as interesting as the interview itself is the fact that the interview is available in two formats. For each page of the interview, you can load up a RealVideo clip or you…
Almost as interesting as the interview itself is the fact that the interview is available in two formats. For each page of the interview, you can load up a RealVideo clip or you…
July 06, 1999
Ahh, the long Fourth of July weekend is over. Now I can get some rest! The wife and I spent all weekend driving everywhere, helping to set up a city fireworks show, and generally doing everything but getting some rest.
I got a good email back about my sprite library woes. Somebody in the know did c…
I got a good email back about my sprite library woes. Somebody in the know did c…
July 01, 1999
Wow, July. Where is the year going? Still don't know what I'm gonna do for Y2K. Probably just set a couple of lawn chairs on the back porch and await The Rapture :)
On the CE front, I have a question that I'll throw out into the ether here before posting it to the newsgroups. After hearing the pres…
On the CE front, I have a question that I'll throw out into the ether here before posting it to the newsgroups. After hearing the pres…
June 28, 1999
Why do all first person games have lens flares in 'em nowadays?
Lens flares are an artifact of camera-usage. Basically, it's caused when a camera pointed at a too-bright source (like the sun) causes bright spots to appear on film. Sometime a few years ago, every space-scene had to include a few lens…
Lens flares are an artifact of camera-usage. Basically, it's caused when a camera pointed at a too-bright source (like the sun) causes bright spots to appear on film. Sometime a few years ago, every space-scene had to include a few lens…
June 23, 1999
I was gonna hold off on new diary entries until the whole thing got moved over to the new page, but a couple of newsworthy things have happened.
First off, Next Generation Online has finally posted their interview with lil' old me! This was actually an interview I did back in April. I figure they we…
First off, Next Generation Online has finally posted their interview with lil' old me! This was actually an interview I did back in April. I figure they we…
June 08, 1999
Been making excellent progress building a reasonable game-based class library for Windows CE. Early on, I decided that MFC wouldn't help me much. The MFC classes that would be of use to me were fairly trivial, and the stuff I did need simply wasn't available. I figured I'd build a decent, yet not t…
June 01, 1999
First off, thanks for the kudos regarding my "Battle of the Johns!" bit. When I was finished writing it, I was worried that it wouldn't be taken in the spirit it was intended. I figured folks would either be entertained, or they would think that I'm an egomaniac who has the audacity to compare hims…
May 27, 1999
Sorry, but I just couldn't resist. After reading BitchX and the New York Times article, I had to pile on. In a weird attempt at humor, I have put together
The Battle of the Johns!
Note: Apparently, there is a third "John" who develops games in D/FW. Last name, "Carmack" or something like that. Never …
The Battle of the Johns!
Note: Apparently, there is a third "John" who develops games in D/FW. Last name, "Carmack" or something like that. Never …
May 26, 1999
Just wanted to voice a minor gripe here. MS went through a lot of trouble to port the 2,000 most relevant Win32 function calls to create the Windows CE API. On the whole, they are well-chosen. Whenever there are several functions that do something similar, they tended to choose the best one. For ex…
May 20, 1999
I noticed today that I had four different books on developing for Windows CE. In the interest of helping folks who are interested in CE development, I'm posting a. . .
Comparative Review of Windows CE Programming Books!
Book 1: Windows CE 2 Programming for Dummies
This is IDG's entry into the CE prog…
Comparative Review of Windows CE Programming Books!
Book 1: Windows CE 2 Programming for Dummies
This is IDG's entry into the CE prog…
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