Here is something hypothetical: OnLive, the game service that is supposed to bring an end to headaches of ugprading our computers everytime a new game comes out gets bought out by Google. Now, what does that mean for OnLive? Well for one Google has the resources that OnLive can only dream of acquiring. All the networking, bandwidth, manpower, Google has that, and OnLive does not. Google is also pushing really big with its Chrome OS that will be primarily web based, which is pretty much in line with what OnLive's strategy. Google also knows that a big reason Windows was succesful because of the wealth of games that it provided to millions of users, if they acquire OnLive they can reproduce the phenomena that helped launch Windows to incredible market penetration.Google and OnLive also are targetting lightweight devices, more specifically netbooks.

 With these two companies strategies seem to align with each other well, I think they should atleast partner with each other to provide this online experience to customers from around the globe. If not, Google should just outright buy OnLive.

 Just my 2 cents..

Recently I have been noticing that I tend to burn out on a single project. It can range from getting sick of the concept, programming fatigue, slower progress, waiting on external dependencies etc ... So I decided to do a multi project approach where I work a commonly shared framework/code across different brands. Currently I am working on sustained engineering/bug fixing for Gum Drop Celestial Frontier, waiting for asset integration for Gum Drop Neo Terra, as well as my new project Gum Drop Solo Smash.

Hopefully my decision to do a multi project approach does not shoot me in the foot. But it seems to have helped me so far because I have been implementing features on one game that improves the quality of the other 2 as well as I can apply those concepts to the other games which otherwise I would not have thought of if I did not do a multi project approach. Although I would only recommend this approach if there is a pre-existing framework that has been built and is well known as you would have the basics pat down, and having multiple projects would only impede your progress. Also good to note that if you are in a project where there is alot of downtime due to dependency then multiple projects will work out good.

I have also decided to invest more financially into the project by commisioning a artist to do the artwork for Gum Drop Risk. If this becomes a succesful venture then I will most likely consider a similar approach to future and current projects.

Anyways that is my current status with my projects. 

Seems like the delay of pushing out 3.1 stuff out the door on Games Communities will take longer than expected. So I will revert back to 3.0 and get my game to peer review possibly before the end of June. So the game will be playable to the millions of people out there soon!

I really don't have a good arguement to try and jam in Avatar and Video support into Gum Drop. Seems like a feature that is good to have for marketing but really does not add anything to the game for me. Plus, I want to get the game out before the glut of Avatar enabled games go out, and seemingly less games might go out before that so I may have less launch competition. 

Stay tuned for more announcements!

I was finally able to solve the crashing bug tha thas been bugging me the past week, and only affected trial mode timeout. Which in XNA terms did not allow me to debug it because there was no way to call to make the game timeout on the trialmode with a debugger on. But the issue is solved, and everyone is happy!

I have till the 23rd of July before I get the game to the review process, that would probably be my deadline for the project. Ahh, it has come along way and there definitely has been bumps and potholes along the way. I'm almost kinda glad this is coming to a close, because I have been working on this project for far too long now :)

So the funny thing with indie game development is that flip flopping major parts of the game is not that uncommon. Especially since decision making is done by 1 or 2 people, with greater tolerance for risk. I myself had taken that same action, from now on Gum Drop will not allow the player to fire any projectiles from his ship. The only means of attack from the player is from his new S.M.A.S.H (Structural Mining Automated Swinging Hammer) that allows the player to exact pain to the enemies in one clean blow. This is a stark change for my game because I once classified it as a shooter, now it is closer to a beat em up than a top down shooter. :)

This decision was not just a spur of the moment, I have been focus testing my game with different users and I have noticed that they loved swinging stuff around and collecting them. But when enemies can around, the comments dropped off as shooting became the means to kill the enemy and the supposed feature of the game took a back seat. This was under consideration for a long time, but the risk aversion voice in my head kept telling me to shy away from it. However if I stayed the course, my game will just fall into something generic and forgettable, Which will ultimately not win me anything but more "what-if this game had more of this cool feature instead of this over used mechanic" :) So with a few days before my deadline, I chose to take the plunge and take the game to a whole new direction. Hopefuly this pays off and makes the game the success I want it to be.

 This is what it means to be indie, taking risks and sticking it to the man :) Without further ado here is the video of the new S.M.A.S.H system.

Okay, I've been wanting to change the color schemes on the enemies to better match the saying Red = bad, Blue = good. Now I have tried to do it. The enemies have now a dominant looking red color to most of them. I've also changed alot on the energy hooks and object mass which will make objects easier to swing around and actually can one shot smaller enemy fire if swung fast enough.

There's still alot to be done in the usability side though like adding configurable player controls, menu pop ups, the whole nine yards! But I am marching towards there. I'll be gettin gore music pretty soon into the game to add more variety. That is of course provided by the talented Erwin Peil :)

I'l be getting some more feedback tonight on the game from my DnD buddies, who also were professional QA Game Testers at some point in their career, it should give me some good insight into game balancing.

 Well here's a video of the most recent changes so far. Ciao!

With GDC in less than a few days away, I have been working feverishly to get the game in a decent state. Because of those efforts I have been able to add super ships, which basically are multi part ships that you can destroy individual parts on it. Secondly chatter has been added to provide background story, information about the game, and some much needed humour. Many other small things have been added, but just watch the video below for some evidence

The funny thing about game development from a one man team is that the first 80% is the easiest part of making a game. The last 20% includes 10x more testing, usability studies, gameplay tweaks, graphics updates, music selection, marketing, polishing, flame hoop jumping, sky diving, etc ... This last 20% is where all the other parts of making a game that is usually handled by other people creep up and needs more attention. This really detracts from making improvements to the code to make the game faster, leaner, and easier to update. Although it is the hardest phase of development, it is also the most fun part. It is at this stage where you start showing your game off to people to get their feedback into the game. This is also where you put the icing on the cake that really starts to make it look like it was developed with love rather than a collection of game ideas hoping to form a game. This also serves as a great accomplishment waypoint, where as when you first thought about your game, doubts about how the game will come out is high. Thinking if I will even have the passion to push through with this really hard endeavour. But I think this is really the first time you can deflate and relax, assuming things moved along to solidifying the core game mechanic of the game.

I'm in the last 20% of the game right now with Gum Drop. Now I have to gather feedback from multiple player demographics about the game. Not just asking them how the game is, but actually watching them behind their back and see how they interact with the game. Taking notes, in what works, what they don't understand. Of course listening to what they have to say is important too, but really just observing how they interact is the best way to get unfiltered response about the game. 

 The hardest part I have with the game right now is not actually the gameplay itself but the UI and menu design. I'm not really the best UI developer, or have the natural instincts to go with what works best. But I really have to sit down and start designing the HUD and the menu flows. Because this is how information is relayed to the player and it has to be precise and meaningful.

Other than that, development is chugging along. I took a 2 day break from working on the game to get my bearings back straight, too much game development can really take it's toll, and ultimately you stop having fun. Which is never a good thing :)

I am currently working on getting the alpha version in a demoable state. It's been roughly half a year since I started working on Gum Drop on my spare time, and it has really gotten to a point that I am very proud of what I have achieved. But really that half past year is going to be cake walk compared to the next 2-6 months I will have to spend polishing and making the game the best it could be. All the major system components are in place and now I can concentrate more on the presentation and gameplay aspect of the game.  So I guess this is my half-way point for the project, a good time to reflect on what worked and what did not work.

 What worked:

1. Having a central repository for documents which is easily accesible everywhere. Google Docs provdied the perfect solution, so I can bring up the documents anywhere I have interenet acess on. It also facilitates easy collaborartion with other people who may need to read the documentation. Google Docs also provided versioning on the documents so I could easily revert back the changes.
2. Using pre-existing libraries. I created Gum Drop on XNA using C# which enabled me to work in a more rapid fashion. Not having to write my own matrix classes was a God Send. Also I used the Farseer Physics library which helped me get a proof of concept up and running in a short amount of time.
3. Learning how to adjust plans and expectations. Since this is my first game written in XNA there was a learning curve in implementing various systems that I did a different way when I was working with C++. Creating a game is a long process, and ideas change so having a open mind to help move the project along was indeed needed.
4. Switching to more of a random/procedural way of generating the levels helped me steer away from creating a content creation tool, which would have added complexity to the project.
5. Having early feedback about the gameplay from different kinds of gamers and non-gamers alike. Since I want this game to be appreciated by a wide range of people, having their different opionions early on mattered

What did not work so well:

1. It was alot harder to find people to buy-in to the project, actually I do not have anyone actively working on the project. I had a few people help here and there but it was a 1 man shop most of the way. I had to do asset creation, programming, testing, producing, story, etc... You name it, I did it.
2. I did not plan the engineering aspect detailed enough. I knew what systems I would need to make but I did not make clear how I would use them, and how they would interact. This is also partly because I was not that familiar with XNA and the physics library during the start of the project.
3. I have limited time on my hands, at most I work 20-30 hours on this project per week on top of my day job and other acitivities. Having more time to work on it would have been better

All in all, I enjoy working on this project, and I primarily work on it because I love making interactive worlds that I only dreamed of when I was little. Having it translated to games that I can share to other people is top priority. Saying that making extra money on the side would not be bad at all of course :)

So in retrospective, I'm glad I did what I did, and I will continue on the project and polish it till it becomes shiny like the sun 

How the Iphone Stacks Up:

The iPhone definitely is the powerhouse of the 3 systems, coming in with the fastest processor at 620mhz, and the most amount of RAM at around 128. It also is the lightest weighing in at only 133 grams. However the PSP has the iPhone beat at the screen size, edging the iPhone's 3.5 inch screen by .8 inches. Although screen size is not the only deciding factor in displays, but resolution as well, that is where the iPhone beats the PSP on the horizontal resolution by 48 pixels horizontal. Wireless access is another winner for the iPhone due to the fact that it has GSM/EDGE and wi-fi, giving the user more options to connect online.  Finally, the iPhone is more than just a gaming platform as it also serves as a Smartphone.

Comparison Chart

Feature	Nintendo DS	Playstation Portable	iPhone 2.0
Processors	67 MHz and 33 MHz	333mhz	620mhz (unofficial)
Mass	275 grams	260 grams	133 grams
Dimensions	5.85 x 3.33 x 1.13 in	6.7 x 2.9 x 0.9 in	4.5 x 2.4 x .48 in
Screen Size	2x 3 in	4.3 in	3.5 in
Screen Resolution	256 x 192  each	480 x 272	480 x 320
RAM	4 MB	32 MB + 4 MB embedded	128mb (unofficial)
Storage	256 kB of Serial Flash Memory	Memory Stick Duo up to 4GB	8/16/32 GB internal
Wireless	802.11b/g	802.11b	802.11b/g GSM/EDGE Bluetooth
Input	Touch Screen and Buttons	Buttons	Multi Touch Screen
Speakers	Stereo	Stereo	Stereo
Media	Carts	UMD	None
Media Capability	None	Video and Music	Video and Music
Web Browser	Opera on Game Cart	Sony Built Browser	Safari

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