Gamer Soc

Jay and I have decided to start a gamer society for next year, so far for people who want to meet up play some lan parties, enter a few tournaments at Glo bar and even make their own games. At the moment we're looking for a minimum of 15 N numbers to make it all happen, you can sign up on the facebook group here. In the mean time I have developed these logos for your viewing pleasure.



Post me if you think you know where every letter from the word "gamer" comes from for the top logo.

Identities Down, SPP To Go

Several weeks ago I handed in my navigating identities project, I'm currently working on my SPP essay and end of year presentation. I think the second part of my ident project went a lot smoother than the first. With the avatar project I found my time was spent familiarising myself with 3DS Max, where as in the second I already had the experience and as a result spent more time actually developing and refining my work. Because of this I managed to actualise my original development plans. Regardless of my lack of Flash experience I had, I found I still knew everything I needed from David Downe's seminars and advice from peers and friends.

Box Progress

I haven't posted much on the progress of my flash box, so here it is. This is the chess game where you have to take 5 pawns in order to reveal 5 things about me. These include...

• A drum kit


• A song by my band


• My avatar


• Photos of me and some friends


• A short profile about me

Here is the title screen...


This is the main interface...


Here is the short profile about me (check out the awesome blog URL)...


Everything is pretty much going according to plan, although I'm having a little difficulty getting sound to work. It appears AS3 focuses more of the use of externally sourced sound, all I can seem to find is this...

var request:URLRequest = new URLRequest("track.mp3");
var your_sound:Sound = new Sound();
your_sound.load(request);

EDIT (06/05/2008): After talking to Tom Pearson he quickly resolved this sound problem for me. It appears sound doesn't have to take part in action script, sound is simply dragged into frame and properties set to play or stop.

Looking At Portfolios - Preloaded

I looked at Roma's PDF on portfolio design and under a list titled "ten great portfolio sites" I saw a company called "Preloaded". I soon realised this is the same "Preloaded" one of my best friends worked for this easter and last summer, in fact I had been to their London based office and seen their work space. It is evident from their clean, crisp design and impressive clients list (including the BBC and Coca Cola GB) that preloaded is a premier web design service.

Also looking at Roma's PDF a saw a few list of skills that multimedia employers look for, these pretty much all included...

• Flash Action Script


• Java Script


• PHP


• HTML and CSS


• Structured Query Language (SQL/MYSQL)

Fun With Google Analytics

I'm using Google analytics to assess how many people visit my blog as well as some of my other websites. Its a great tool because, not only do you know how many people are visiting, you know where they are visiting from and for how long. Apparently somebody from Washington was looking at this very Blog for just over 3 minutes! Amazing.

Makibishi - Website Review

Today I was looking at the favourite website awards and found a site for Dodge the car company. It seems they are trying to break into the Japanese market and as a result hired a company called Makibishi to make a flash game called Dodge Quest. The game is a traditional 2D RPG much like that of "Zelda Links Awakening" or "Secret Of Mana", you can find the game here. I initially thought this website would be very short being essentially an advertisement but Makibishi insist that it is not an advertisement, but a tool. As a result the game actually looks and feels like a genuine old "NES" game, with 8-bit 2D graphics and midi sound track, it also takes several days to complete (your character sleeps in real time, "carry on the adventure tomorrow!"). The games story centers around a depressing tool salesman (played by you) who secretly loves a flower girl called Lucy, one day he over hears her say she could only marry a man who owns a Dodge, but your character doesn't realise this was only an excuse to deter a creepy suitor. So obviously the rest of the game is spent trying to build copious amounts of money to buy a dodge and win the heart of the flower girl. I'm only one day in so I don't know what happens but I will post back when I'm done. Anyway I was very impressed at just how much they managed to squeeze into a flash game, especially as it is really just an advertisement or "tool".

I also visited the Makibishi website, which I must say was one of the strangest things I've seen in a long time. After navigating my way through loads of meaningless text, a second page of bizarre images came up and after that found myself here. I don't know if that was the site I was supposed to go to for all my Makibishi needs but it is certianly what interested me the most. It turns out that this site is another game, but a very different one, from what I understand a group of ninjas are trying to hide from a shadowy character called the "Ashasin". After that I found myself searching for magic stones on a far away planet to activate a giant robot to stop a giant gas mask wearing tattooed baby from producing hundreds of replica ninjas out of its behind.



It all sounds very abstract, and it is, but oddly it's very compelling, so compelling in fact, that I wish there was a walk through guide so I could finally find out what it all means. Until then it will just reinforce the idea that all Japanese people love robots, ninjas and wacky plot lines.

To find out more about Makibishi you can read their blog here.

Antiarm Website

I'm currently making a website for one of my bands called Antiarm. You can check out my progress here. Although my HTML skills are improving quickly I feel this website would work better as a Flash site, for example when you choose an option from the menu the hand could move and reveal a new page. To make this site I would need to learn how to create updatable and downloadable content, preloaders and picture galleries.

My Gantt Chart Sense Is Tingling

According to my Gantt chart, this is my busiest week this term. I will be developing my HTML and Flash skills as well as finishing off my 3D renders for my "Navigating Identities" box and start putting it together in Flash. On top of all that, I will be evaluating my HTML and Flash progress. This will certainly be a busy week, also I need to catch up on my missed review post.

Check out my Gantt chart here.

Erebus/Styx website under constuction! Friday review late!

After developing an understanding of HTML thought it necessary to build my own online portfolio... So that's what I did, you can find my new website here. It's still very much under construction but check back regularly for updates.
In other news my new found pledge to deliver reviews every Friday fell a bit short, perhaps I'll start the lazy Sunday with a cup of tea review day.

Roses Are #FF0000, Violets Are #0000FF

I've been messing about with HTML all day and although it's very daunting trying to remember all the different abbreviations, codes and things, I'm finding it very enjoyable. Online Environments is looking ever more attractive with my new found web skills. I think I will work on these test sites a lot over the coming weeks so check back regularly.