Messages

1

Ask a Question / Re: What are the best places to train at bare code writing?

« on: March 12, 2014, 09:10:40 am »

I might start at http://www.codecademy.com/ doing the Javascript lessons. That would get you acclimated on the basics of programming in general, but also it should get you introduced with Object Oriented Programming.

Programming knowledge is very transferable in the sense that if you know OOP and the fundamentals of programming, they can be applied to many languages.

I'm not sure about what languages are used in the industry. When I was developing serious games at my previous job using the Gamebryo engine, we used C#/.NET although the engine itself was built in C++

My experiences would say C# would be an excellent language to learn at some point, but I would get oriented with the basics first before jumping into C#

2

Dialog Extension / Re: Dialog Extension (OpenFL)

« on: November 04, 2013, 06:39:18 pm »

Very cool stuff, great work!

3

Extension Ideas / Re: Spine by Esoteric Software (Prototype + Sample provided)

« on: October 31, 2013, 01:11:15 pm »

The other issue is that there isn't an OpenFL-ready library for Spriter. There is one for NME but that isn't source compatible with OpenFL and hasn't been updated since its first code drop a year ago.

They have something called "SCML" file, I want to say. Which looks like a glorified XML export. How that relates to getting Sprinter integrated, I don't know.

http://www.brashmonkey.com/forum/viewtopic.php?f=10&t=751

According to their forums after the next big release they'll be putting more focus on engine integration, we'll see.

4

Extension Ideas / Re: Spine by Esoteric Software (Prototype + Sample provided)

« on: October 31, 2013, 12:05:19 pm »

Damn 250 usd licence is heavy after the 150 of stencyl, 100 for apple and a macbook...

Working with spine + stencyl can do the job for iOS and android developing?

Yea I agree, there is another similar tool out there called Spriter, which does essentially the same thing but is a lot cheaper. I haven't explored how to get Spriter integrated in a way similar to this, but I believe it is possible.

5

Extension Ideas / Re: Spine by Esoteric Software (Prototype + Sample provided)

« on: October 31, 2013, 08:18:37 am »

Man this would be super cool if the licensing for Spine wasn't so... annoying. Locking out key shifting and key adjustment to the $250 version is um, arbitrary and annoying. I still might have to check it out because the animation smoothness sure beats image sequences.

6

Completed / Re: Scale Modes - Deciding what we want

« on: June 25, 2013, 07:40:06 pm »

I'd personally would like something to the effect that JasonIrby with Stretch to Fit Min/Max.

Basically I'd prefer to have a single game set up for the max resolution on mobile/tablets and downscale/alter aspect from there.

Basically like a 3D game engine camera where I can change the aspect ratio and final output resolution to match the device, without changing the or altering the game scene/assets.

So real world, I might design the game to work in iPad/iPhone5/iPhone aspects but make and set up all the assets at the iPad retina resolution. Then, depending on what device it's on the aspect ratio would change and the final output resolution would change, cropping some of the stuff you would see on iPad.

Something like what broadcasters do to support SD (center cut).

7

Chit-Chat / Re: ...

« on: May 26, 2013, 05:53:00 pm »

8

Chit-Chat / Re: Xbox - a new generation revealed [XBOX ONE]

« on: May 22, 2013, 07:20:47 pm »

I'm sort of torn really. Part of me is really interested in the integrated experience that Xbox One is attempting to offer. Having TV etc being part of the Xbox experience. That appeals to me, I don't really like having 100 difference devices that do 10% of the things. I'd like a device that did 80% of the things.

However, even with TV integration, you need to have <insert cable provider's> monolithic cable box connected to your Xbox One. It's a step in the right direction I guess, but not enough. I'd really love to be able to ditch that extra giant piece of garbage hardware under my TV.

It's hard to judge Xbox One on their game library as they haven't shown that, so the jury is still out.

All things considered, I think I may just continuing being a PC gamer, I skipped last gen and it looks like I may skip this gen too.

9

iPhone / iPad / Android / Re: I Want Jelly

« on: March 12, 2013, 01:16:58 pm »

Really nice work!

10

News / Re: Stencyl 3.0 - Design Once. Play Anywhere.

« on: March 09, 2013, 05:57:31 am »

I don't like it, especially now that my understanding of ActionScript has dramatically improved, but Flash is dying.

I just wanted to chime in on this as I have a somewhat unique front line view of this. I wouldn't say Flash is dying. It's user base has changed from what we're used to seeing, sure. Dying may be an overstatement. At the very least, Flash is used by nearly every AAA and AA game studio in the world. The Flash + Scaleform SDK workflow is the most popular way to develop game UIs currently. The fact that UDK and Unity support Scaleform out of the box should be an indicator of that. This alone suggest to me that Flash isn't dying, it's just changing.

11

Chit-Chat / Stencyl: The Story

« on: March 06, 2013, 11:11:24 am »

Hey there Stencyl community!

I just wanted to share with you my story that is tightly woven with Stencyl. Interestingly enough I haven't actually be using Stencyl all that much in the past six months, although I plan to change that very soon.

What I wanted to share with you is how using Stencyl has changed my overall life in positive ways. I started doing game development using the tool GameSalad (I know, boo hiss) and while it was a ok tool to use, it didn't really teach me much about development. At the time I was just a professional design and animator. Using GameSalad didn't really spark any interest in programming. The tool was so easy to use that it really didn't make me think much about anything other than the art and design.

I grew frustrated with the GameSalad tool as it just lacked the ability to create the games that I wanted to create. In my quest to find a tool similar but more robust than GameSalad, I found Stencyl. (back then still called StencylWorks).

After I ditched GameSalad in favor of Stencyl, something peculiar happened to me. I started understanding programming logic. I had a programmer co-worker of mine look at the tool and the logic I was building in it and he said "You're basically programming, with blocks." He told me that if I can handle that, I could handle actual programming.

Stencyl had sparked a desire I never thought I would ever have. I wanted to learn programming, I wanted to learn how to write code.

So part of the reason I have not used Stencyl all that much in the past several months is because I set out to learn as much about general programming concepts and specifically object oriented programming.

At this point, it was suggested to me that I try my hand at C# and I did this for a few weeks before realizing that this was a language I wouldn't use much in my future projects. So after learning some core concepts through my C# experience, I switch over to JavaScript. I have always been interested in web design and development, and it just seemed like the logical choice for my interests.

I used sites like Codecademy to learn as well as some books. I applied those skills in my design work professionally by writing extensions for Photoshop. The bosses took notice, noticed that I a silly designer was writing ... Javascript.

Before you know it, I was being approached to build a full website from scratch to support our client relations. I then moved on to writing php and learning MySQL to build and launch a fully database driven site.

That impressed the bosses even further. They could see that I was hungry and wanting to learn more.

Once that project was wrapped up, I found myself now on the development team for our flagship product. Today, I build user interfaces in Flash/AS3 using the Scaleform SDK. Pretty cool stuff if you ask me.

Not only that, but all that work and success of the work I did landed me a promotion. Horray!

TL;DR version: Stencyl inspired the programmer laying dormant inside me and it eventually led to a promotion with my full time employer.

12

Resolved Questions / Re: the Pay for extension idea.

« on: December 15, 2012, 07:16:35 am »

Sounds like a great idea, something like the Unity Asset Store would rock.

13

Chit-Chat / Re: Stencyl over Gamemaker and Gamesalad

« on: September 05, 2012, 08:17:56 am »

Stop quoting so much, please.

Ok 

14

Chit-Chat / Re: Stencyl is still too difficult to use

« on: August 24, 2012, 06:00:29 am »

I'm with Irock, Design Mode isn't coding. If anything I would say it's programming. You're not writing any code, but you still have to know how to program the logic to make the behavior's work properly. However, I would say that design mode is a pretty great ice breaker into coding. You get to understand how to build logic without worrying about syntax and language specific things.

On topic, I think Stencyl is pretty easy to use. IMO if it were any easier you would have to restrict functionality and I don't think anyone wants that.

15

Chit-Chat / Re: iOS Graphics

« on: August 21, 2012, 07:06:57 pm »

I'm a Photoshop guy, but Acorn is a really nice product for the price.

I think $600+ is a little more than I'm willing to spend.

There are benefits for being a designer by trade