Wednesday, September 24, 2008

Why am I coding?

Every once in a while, I stop and think, "wow, I've spent a lot of time coding." And for what? How many side projects have I buried in my repository? I code for work and play, and it can be taxing.

Right now, I'm juggling three new technologies, and love experience. But what else could I have done during this time?

  • Raise my bench max to 300 lbs?
  • Write a novelette?
  • Work on my public speaking?
  • Work on something that I can actually show?!

My previous side projects haven't been seen by many. This lack of exposure is a big reason why I've moved to web development. I am tired of doing a substantial amount of work, that's never to be seen. I feel as if I was stranded on an island of creativity, and just kept pushing bottles of ideas into a swallowing sea of bits.

Ok, I've taken the analogy too far. But I hope this time, more people get to see my work. I have to learn a lot of things; gone are my graphics libraries and shader skillz, but so what? They probably weren't that good anyways.

Monday, September 15, 2008

Secession

Today's bankruptcy filing of Lehman Brothers and Bank of America's purchase of Merrill Lynch defined a new Black Monday in what could be a new Great Depression. This event is sure to make future iterations of Globalization when the Economy portion of the game is released, but let's not get ahead of ourselves. For now, let's keep our eyes on the November 30th Alpha which will have the turn-based combat. This first chapter of Globalization will be titled Secession:

Set in 2020, the Republicans have just won their 6th straight presidential election, only to be rewarded with a country torn asunder. The previous decade saw numerous clashes between the two political parties, and spawned thoughts of secession in the halls of democratic strongholds. Throughout the years, media slammed small town conservatives, bible beaters denounced godless liberals, and now, politics wasn't just a stance, it was a way of life.

During the chaos, another ideology bubbled into significance in the northwest. The Green Party Libertarians rose to take the mantle of the west, rejecting the status quo of America's two party System, and jumped into the increasingly hostile fray.

The Republican's November victory was the last election to be held across the Union. Seeking independence from the larger Republican electoral block, the other parties seceded immediately and drafted their own policies. This did not calm the tension, and the new borders became the new frontier.

Thus was born the War of the Primaries, a sempiternal struggle that broke the union, shook the balance of power, and emboldened America's enemies.


Welcome. Choose your party ...


That's all I've got. I chose to have a 3 party campaign to add complexity to diplomacy, and to prevent any one party from becoming too powerful. All party systems seem to evolve into a virtual two-party system, where alliances are formed between the weaker factions to secure victory. Hopefully, the three party campaign will emulate that idea; when there's an imbalance in power, the weaker parties will pair up against the superpower.


With regards to the actual game. I've focused on tool development, with the world editor about 40% complete, and a lot of database work finished. I am looking forward to the ability to manipulate the story and the world in real time. It allows for some interesting dynamics that simply cannot be matched by a fixed plot stamped onto a disc.

In another note, I've read Vargo's posts and can't help but notice his writing superiority. I hope to improve my writing, but I have a ways to go before I can match his eloquence. I DO wonder how many rewrites he goes through for one post ...

Sunday, September 7, 2008

My hiatus

I know you've all been wondering why I haven't updated in a while. There are two reasons: 1) I haven't had a Mac available for iPhone development since August 28th or so, and 2) I'm on vacation right now in Disney World, returning September 10th.

I'm having an awesome time but it'll be really nice to be home and back to my geeky endeavors.