I still have to come up with a good title.. » game

Go

admin — Thu, 12 Aug 2010 15:17:56 +0000

Well today I was taking a break between the usual zombie slaughter and Combine massacre, so I decided to try something new: Go.

I had no idea about what Go was, until about 20 minutes ago, when I read this bit:
“Go is infamously difficult for computer programs to play well. While chess software has won against grandmasters, the best Go programs are routinely beaten by intermediate human players.“

The article linked to a separate site, built as an interactive manner to teach the game.
Step by step, the site provides flashy mini-applications that guide you through the basics (and I guess more advanced strategies) of the game, in a very light and straightforward manner.
Having decided that there was no way that I would have sit through the whole lesson cycle, I decided it was time to start my crusade of Go domination.

5 minutes laterz I was loosing miserably against some random guest#167209 dude, who showed no pity and no remorse in conquering my little black thingies on the board.
That was the moment when I understood that this games requires way too much effort and concentration to play, and that the scenario of winning the match was higly unprobable, and distant in time.
One click, the window got shut, back to surfing the Net.

Another 5 minutes of time and a victory fanfare begins to roll.
The lovely sound of undeserved and unexpected victory!
..The lovely sound of winning because you clicked on “minimize” instead of “close”, leaving your opponent waiting anxiously for a move that would never come.

Forfait, but still.. victory.

With this post I want to commemorate this moment:
Today I played and won my first match ever of Go, and given the fact that I’m gently retiring from the game to give space to younger souls, this leaves me with a title of UNBEATABILITY, title of which I’m very proud of.

Thank you, goodnight!

Radar implementation

admin — Sat, 05 Jun 2010 17:12:01 +0000

Also today I’ve adding some new goodies to the game..!

A radar function has been implemented, that will allow the player to interpret relevant info, such as obstacles or waypoints.

I’ve built this radar modifying an existing Javascript script that can be found here: http://www.unifycommunity.com/wiki/index.php?title=Radar

Soon i’ll have to begin testing the prototypes. I’m very itnerested to find out, for example, if the test players will be able to interpret the radar correctly, given the fact that the sidescrolling gameplay contradicts the usual vertical interpretation of a radar screen. It is going to be interesting to find out if people gets disoriented if the radar is rotated to follow the direction of the scrolling of the game.

I also changed the POV to make the game more similar to my original concept (Whale Defense Response).

Soon I will upload a decent prototype, so you will have the possibility to try it by yourselves.

Paper Moon

admin — Mon, 01 Feb 2010 16:46:34 +0000

I just came across this really interesting game, developed in Unity.

It’s a 2.5D sidescroller.

Yes, not 2 eller 3.

2.5.. play it and you will get what i mean..

The graphic style of the game is lovely, and the sound really adds that little extra that makes this game different from what i would have expected..

Give it a try, it’s worth your time..!

Further reading:

Infinite Ammo (developers): http://infiniteammo.ca/about-2/