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Intro to MVC Part 1: The Controller Class – taterboy
July 13th, 2010 | Filed under: ActionScript 3, Flash, Flex, Games, Tutorials

About a year ago, @devgirl, introduced me to the MVC framework and provided me with a stubbed out demo of everything working together. There were many more class files than I was used to, one for data and variables (Model), one for all the graphic elements and UI controls (View), and one to control all the information between the two (Controller). My brain hurt for a couple weeks as I attempted to absorb what seemed like magic and how to apply it to a new job that was about to start. This process has changed the way I approach every project, even simple tasks with only a few lines of code. On smaller projects I may only leverage one part of the MVC framework and figured this was the best way to introduce it to others without it being so overwhelming. So today, I what to present the Controller class, which is part of the MVC framework.

UPDATE

As of Dec 16, 2009, ChessJam is completely free, go to ChessJam.com to get started. For the most up to date information checkout the ChessJam blog or our ChessJam facebook page.

All those who tried out ChessJam and only got a 3 day trial, email us at “chessjam [at] gmail [dot] com”, we are now offering a 14-day trial. Also with robots in the castle, you have a reason to stick around. With everyone else hanging out hopefully the more actual people you will get to play. It takes time to build a community, “If You Build It, They Will Come” only works if you have patience and good PR (we are working on the later). Read more about our recent updates at the ChessJam blog, HDI blog and Greg Wilson’s blog, also follow us on twitter @Chessjam. Pay special attention to the challenge, who plays the most games by October 31st, gets a free copy of ChessJam (bottom of the post “ChessJam for All”).

Why ChessJam?, Why us?, Why now?
Good questions, let me explain. When we purchase a chess set at the store, we have the option of a really cheap plastic set or a really fancy set made out of wood, metals, and/or fine stone. But when we play chess online this or something like this is our only option.

This is an early mockup of our 2D board, I was promptly sent back the to my sketchbook.

To see what happened next, Read More »

Technorati Tags: 3d chess, chess game, live online chess, online chess

| 4 Comments »

iPhone Watch August 2009 – taterboy
August 27th, 2009 | Filed under: Games, iPhone

iPhone Application (Game) Reviews.

We currently have 4 apps in the store, 2 games, one lite version of a game and a companion app to the book The Business of Design by our founder Joe Desetto. Though we had plans to have at least one new app in the store and another one really close to being submitted by now, I was pulled away from developing for the iPhone to work on other projects. I hope to be back to work soon.

Note: TapDots is now a free app and has done really well now with it’s gratis price, in the education category.

In the name of research and planning for new apps we downloaded and played some of the newer 99¢ games on our iPhones. Here are some brief reviews on a few of those apps.

Research or Play?:
Flight Control is like the gold standard in the 99¢ iPhone game market, it is what every game developer strives to put into the store. It is a simple, challenging and addictive game with great design and replay value. Unfortunately, like with all great things there are many copycats. There are a whole new line to line drawing/prioritizing games now, must are fun to play, but it is hard to enjoy them as much of the original. Too much of a good thing and all that….
Read More »

Technorati Tags: castle defense, games, iPhone, number games, reviews

| 1 Comment »

A Simple Game Engine Using Random – taterboy
December 1st, 2008 | Filed under: ActionScript 3, Flash, Flex, Games, Tutorials

Using Random in Game Development, with strict guidelines, can bring some variety to game play.

This sample is not a single solution but an approached I used in developing Whacky Voting - a politically smashing game. It uses random with some strict rules to get rid of sequences that some players can easily remember, yet keeping game play consistent from one game to the next.

This demo starts with a configuration section, used to set up how we want the game to act. The engine it self could be organized a little better to be more transportable. It is commented pretty well though, so it should be easy enough to understand the approach as well as practical usage. Random is used to shuffle all of the objects that appear on screen as well as what container the objects are associated with.

Configuration:
We use config data for each game so that we can easily tweak game-play without hacking our code later. We can use arrays, xml or other data sources. Plan ahead and build config options into your game as it is developed.
Read More »

Technorati Tags: Action Script 3, AS3, demo, Flash, flash game, game development, game engine, Howto, Random, sample, Tutorial

| 4 Comments »

New Political Flash Game – taterboy
October 8th, 2008 | Filed under: Flash, Games, General Info

I like to at least add a post once a week, but this past friday I had an idea for a quick flash project. Like everything quick, it never is. Finally here is the result of that idea.

WhackyVoting

UPDATE

Using Random in Game Development, with strict guidelines, can bring some variety to game play.

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