trickeyOne

A co-worker forwarded this to me today. Since I am a Web Designer, I just about busted a gut laughing but found myself going "Oh yeah, boy-eee" LOL!

Well, it's that time of year again. Time for SOE's FanFaire. While this year doesn't have as much that peak's my interest, I'll be sure to cover what I can.

Last year I attempted to broadcast my FanFaire experience via uStream. Unfortunately, unlike the previous year at the Las Vegas Hilton, Bally's did not have free Wifi available for the attendees to use. So, I was unable to do the broadcast.

This year I'm planning to attempt this feat again. Only this year I'm going a little more prepared. This year will be broadcasted, oh yes it will. I've made sure of it.

Be sure to check here throughout the day to see the broadcast.

Since there isn't any Vanguard content, aside from the Live Quest, I won't be broadcasting a whole lot. However, I am willing to take requests. If you want to see a specific panel, click here and fill out the info (panel time, name, etc.) and, if it doesn't conflict with anything else, I'll broadcast it. I can't guarantee that I'll be able to make every request, but I will try.

FYI: The broadcast will be at the top of the main page where the burning goblin is now.

Well, here I am at 3am, again. For the last two weeks straight I've fallen off the "normal sleeping pattern" train that I strove so diligently to get on 5 years ago. So, with a *shrug* and a *sigh* ... C'est la vie.

Anyway. I have a confession to make. Even with all this horrible insomnia, I have barely scratched my planned game programming regimen. I have lazily been watching movies, TV series and anime on Netflix. (Damn you Netflix *angry fist shake*) Thankfully I believe I have watched just about any and all content they have available for stream-viewing in which I have any interest. Also, to squelch my ever nagging want/need to better various parts of my life, I finally broke down and bought some books to help with my... artistic abilities. (Read, I'm trying to draw better.)

Yes. I am not only a man (yes, man, for those who were actually wondering) of an analytical nature, as so many programmers are, but I am also a lover of art. No, not that guy on the corner that you say "Hi" to everyday on the way into work.

So, along with my needed regimen of expanding my ever expansive desire to enrich my programming prowess, I am also going to try and mix in a little bit of beauty into my analytical world.

I am by no means wholly devoid of any artistic ability. My mom told me so when I was a kid. Joking... mostly. I've drawn many things in the past when I was an angst-ridden teenager. Sadly, once I got into college I sloughed off my regular routines, including my occasional artistic romps.

However, since I have been on, what can only very kindly be construed as, an extended hiatus, I plan to "go back to basics" and attempt to refresh my ever-fuzzy memory. Wish me luck.

Oh, I'm also taking bets on how long and if I am actually able to "double up" on my regimens.

Wow. I can't believe it's already been almost a month since my last post. I really didn't mean for it to be so long. My new job has really kept me busy over the last month and a half.

I'm still learning the ropes and reading more books. I'm working on a small, practice Flash game (similar to Tetris), mostly for learning better collision detection and multi-collision detection. I've been procrastinating for the last week with it, though. I need to get back on track.

You'd think that making a Tetris-like game would be simple and easy... en toto, it is, it's coming up with a, what I've termed, slot-collision detection scheme. i.e. How to tell when two pieces with very different shapes "notch" together. Coming up with a way to do it hasn't been my problem, it's deciding on which one to use and to allow me to expand up later on that's the problem.

To any of my fellow Kansas Citians, pray for clear skies, I'm tired of this overcast.

Well, for the last few weeks I've been trying to get some research done on Game Design. I picked up a few books off of Amazon (Game Engine Architecture , 3D Game Programming All in One & Game Coding Complete, Third Edition to be specific) a few weeks ago and I'm still on the first one (Game Engine Architecture) to help me get my head around the mechanics and typical design techniques of today's games.

To say the least, I've been a bad student. I haven't been doing my homework, putting off studying and just plain watching TV instead of doing what I should be doing. But no more , I say! Don't get me wrong, I haven't been lazy. I'm one of those people that, when I sit down to read a book, I get comfortable.... and subsequently fall asleep. Regardless of my interest in the book I'm reading, I go to the land of the sugarplum fairies.

I think I may have an answer for my predicament, though. I don't know if I'm going to enjoy my solution, but it has to be done. I'm going to sit on the floor. Simple, yes. Easy, not for my rear.

Granted, the first book I'm reading actually is a textbook. i.e. The book you would get if taking a class on Game Design & Architecture. So, cut me a little slack that I'm still on the first chapter. Plus, it is 864 pages long and that's not a small paperback book, either. It's a whopping 9.4" x 8.2" x 2" hardcover badass of a book. This thing could knock someone out if it fell off a second story window.

Why am I posting this, you ask? While I haven't been the most avid of posters, I may be posting less than normal... even for me. In the last year I have posted more and about more than in the past. But, there may be benefits from peaking into my den once in a while. As I explore these tomes of knowledge and try to wring every morsel of juicy goodness from them that I can, I will most assuredly be posting my experiments up here. The first ones I'll most likely leave off and allow them to whither in the dank, dark pit that they will most likely be thrown into on my machine since they will undoubtedly make me think, "What the hell was I thinking making that?" You know, kinda how Dr. Frankenstein thought when he made the Frankenstein Poodle. Nobody likes to speak of it.

So, if you share my enthusiasm for learning all that is game, check out the books I posted and, if you have any to suggest, please leave a comment.

Until next time!