Projects

My project is basically done and i would show you guys but it would spoil the whole thing. maybe i can put together a demo to show you guys =D

At 9/14/08 07:36 AM, Scuzzfest wrote: Laser Tag

Played some laser tag yesterday,

I remember playing laser tag at the last Montreal meet, man it was hilarious cause we bought these neon superballs from a vending machine outside.. i mean like tons of them... and we hid them in our pockets.. once we got inside there i started takin em out and pegging them at the wall. They are blacklight sensitive so at one point there were like all these superballs bouncing around this tight corridor.... it was fucking hilarious cause you always get people who are taking the game super seriously ... like straffing(?) and using combat instructions and shit... and id throw superballs at em when i saw them trying to sneak up to me and theyd get so pissed off... like yo what the fuck man just play the game...

In conclusion i hate laser tag... my score was the worst one in the lot prolly... but i enjoyed screwing over those people who took the game way too seriously.

At 9/14/08 11:38 AM, Luis wrote:

:stuff

Lol balls.... No that would be absolutely hilarious. I can imagine it now.....

I'm alrightish at laser tag. I normally come about 3rd in the 12 person games I play.

At 9/14/08 11:01 AM, Blackfang wrote: Projects

My project is basically done and i would show you guys but it would spoil the whole thing. maybe i can put together a demo to show you guys =D

yes demo pls.

game development rant
It's not gonna be easy for me to coherently express my thoughts and ideas (=rant) regarding flash game development, but I'll do my best. As you can all clearly see, the flash community on this forum as a whole isn't being extremely productive in terms of producing top quality full flash games. sure it's cool to see some people release small games like guiding the ball to a certain point, but you rarely ever see a fun flash that takes like over an hour to beat the game. What annoys me though is that probably most of us are capable of making those kind of flashes, at least I know I am, but we never do it.

It's like my sport teacher says when someone says "I can't run longer than that". If you need to run at a certain speed for as long as you can, you will probably stop when you feel like you're too tired to continue. However, if your brain is replaced by a machine that only tells your muscles to keep on working, you can run twice as much time until your muscles phyiscally can't continue. What I mean by using this metaphor, is that we have the capacity to make games like alien hominid or.. well, you get the point. yet, we don't do it. I assume that most of you, if not all of you, make your flash games at home, and that's where the problem is.

Most of the time I spend at home I just browse the web, play some games, fall asleep with flash open in front of me, lay on my bed, or w/e. ofc this is nothing new, you're all aware of this. that's also one of the problems of working with people that you don't know on the net. what if we all gathered around at some place during the holidays, like luis's garage, and we all brought our computers in protected cases or our laptops. where we could stay for like a month or two, without school or any other disturbances. just like 5 coders and 5 animators together in a garage with flash. I think we would be able to work 20 times faster and longer and after two months the result would be orgasmic. i think it would help if we actually worked with each other irl. or maybe even it would help to be online at the same time as your flash partner and discuss stuff over webcam

anyway I say this cause I've had this epic dream for like 2 years to make a really big game where ur in ur spaceship and you need to go to all sort of places while being attacked in the middle of your way, and then you need to go inside battle stations and stuff to kill people in a sort of top-view shooter style. ive had many of those ideas for great games and obviously i never got around to make anything that could even be considered as a good start

</incoherent flash rant>

Heh. Laser tag... last time I went was to a pretty big one. First round was singles. Most people stayed in little friendship groups though. There were about 4-5 guys at the top of this tower and i sum how managed to come up behind them and shoot them all and hid. They ended up retreating. I got best score (I'm sure it was wrong though :S)

Paintball = much more fun. We were playing a game where you had to capture 5 lil bases. Whoever had most by the end was winning team. There was about 5 people left on my team, i was on my own. I approached one of their bases which had 4 or so kids hiding in it/"guarding" I stuck my head up, shot one in the leg, hid again (expecting them to shoot back straight away). They all just looked around like "Wtf. Was that you". After a lil bit of discussion the kid i shot got up and walked off. Then I shot 2 more before hiding. They left. Then last one i just came up on behind and told him to surrender (you're not allowed to shoot at point blank range) I then sat in their base until 5seconds to the end before raising the flag and claiming it as ours. We still lost though :P

PS. In another game we were surrounded and i told my friend just to run for it and he ended up getting shot about 5times and was crying lolol

At 9/14/08 12:09 PM, Toast wrote: game development rant

Flash isn't the best medium in which to make a long epic game.

Doesn't exactly mean you can't make a good game though, but like, most of the "long" flash games out there are full of filler (RPGs and their repeated random battles, for example).

yeah toast, I totally agree and feel the same way as you. I know I have the skills and potential to release an amazingly awesome flash game every week or 2, but I just dont have the motivation or time to do it. When im on my computer I end up speaking on msn, surfing the web, playing guitar or whatever, and then kind of fit animation in between all of these things.

Anyway, at the start of this summer my housemate and I decided to build a game (which turned out to be fowl play). The rest of our house mates had left for summer, so it was just me and him in this big house, for 2 weeks. Ive never been more productive in my life, literally every day I would come down stairs, make a sausage sandwich, and sit in his room with him until about 1 in the morning, working on this game.

Theres something about having the people youre working with RIGHT THERE with you, which makes inspiration and motivation so SO much easier. I got excited about the game, had ideas at night and couldnt wait to wake up and work on it. Id animate a new enemy, send it over to my mate and in half an hour I could see the enemy flying around and stuff... its just such a better way to work.

Sitting on your own in your bedroom making games is cool, but man if you can get into an environment where you are around the people you are working with, you will flourish. I honestly think thats one of the main reasons this community isnt nearly as productive as it could be.

it's not even about motivation. we just don't have the will power to code non-stop for several hours without doing anything else, while remaining concentrated on the code.

At 9/14/08 01:25 PM, Toast wrote: it's not even about motivation. we just don't have the will power to code non-stop for several hours without doing anything else, while remaining concentrated on the code.

Yeah well for me the problem is just sitting and animating and getting on with it, without being distracted by other things like THE INTERNET and msn and stuff. Sometimes I find it hard to be motivated to just get on with it, but if youre sat in a room making a game with them, you push each other and bounce of each and are much more productive, if at least one of you is in the right state of mind.

I know its a kinda controversial subject here, but I find smoking weed really helps with animating. It puts me in a state where I can just sit and animate something for hours, and I dont get distracted, or bored or frustrated.

If you are doing a 200 frame full body animation, you find yourself drawing images which are near identical to the one before and after them. Obviously, thats the nature of animation. But god damn can it get tedious. I find if im stoned I just kind of sit there and get on with it. If its something really complex that needs 100% of my brain to work out I can get over my head, but for repetitive time consuming jobs it really does help.

Dunno why ive started talking about that all of a sudden, but there you go :D

At 9/14/08 01:25 PM, Toast wrote: it's not even about motivation. we just don't have the will power to code non-stop for several hours without doing anything else, while remaining concentrated on the code.

Impose deadlines on yourself. "I'm going to get this done before school starts" was mine for Aether. Makes it SO MUCH EASIER to work hard.

Also, try unplugging yourself from the internet. The day I got the most work done was when the internet conked out for me, then I started realizing that the internet is a major distraction. With the deadline it makes it that much easier to work hard.

At 9/14/08 01:34 PM, J1mp wrote:

I know its a kinda controversial subject here, but I find smoking weed really helps with animating. It puts me in a state where I can just sit and animate something for hours, and I dont get distracted, or bored or frustrated.

lol, I would expect weed to just fuck up your entire sense of drawing/animating skills. I couldn't really see it as helpful.

Yeah that sometimes happens for me. i have to unplug myself from the internet. Im usually like, ugh i dont feel like working on this game, but i KNOW i have to get it done, so as soon as i open up flash and draw the simplest thing im just like. alright. lets do this.

now im happy that im basically done my game =D

I'm releasing a game this week!

AND STARTING A NEW ONE!

OH THE JOY OF THE CYCLE!

wow it looks like a lot of people are starting to finish games. it's as if school has a positive impact on our lives... oh wait, what?

BLASPHEMY! BLASPHEMY!

At 9/14/08 03:12 PM, RyanPridgeon wrote: I'm releasing a game this week!

AND STARTING A NEW ONE!

OH THE JOY OF THE CYCLE!

Screenshots? What game are you starting working on. I need details old bean!

At 9/14/08 03:12 PM, RyanPridgeon wrote: I'm releasing a game this week!

PM me when it's out

AND STARTING A NEW ONE!

I've got about 4 projects ATM so it will take it a while until I can start creating another one. Unless I get sucked into a project before I'm probably going to take a week off flash creation and just help a few people with their AS in the forums

OH THE JOY OF THE CYCLE!

The cycle aint working for me because I take on too much projects at a time. For example I would get a game done and then end up not creating anything for a while, when I get an idea I would either get a load other or see a load of good collab ideas.

I stumbled upon this puzzle and I'm not even able to beat a 5x5. Can anyone solve that stuff?

toast i dont get it? do i win?

Solved 5x5

Congratulations! You have solved the puzzle in 00:47.24

At 9/14/08 04:19 PM, Blackfang wrote: toast i dont get it? do i win?

Do people even read instructions anymore >=(

I find that especially in flash games, it's so hard not to bombard a player with instructions and just as hard to give them simple enough instructions for them to get it. In the game I just released, light-Bot, some people can't even understand how to move forward. Now that's just retarded. >=(

The only puzzle I completed was "Bridges" and I did it in 53 seconds. Beat that people! (Don't do it really. It will ruin my day : /)

At 9/14/08 04:47 PM, tommattox wrote: The only puzzle I completed was "Bridges" and I did it in 53 seconds. Beat that people! (Don't do it really. It will ruin my day : /)

Bridges puzzle ID: 8,263,577
"Congratulations! You have solved the puzzle in 00:27.00"

Go me :). Not bad for 11pm.

I finally "quit" my job (since I'm moving to a different city for uni) and my manager persuaded me to stay with McDonalds in case I can't find another job, so I'm not unemployed =( Oh well, I don't have to work any more :D Awesome-o.

Going to see Pineapple Express soon, and I need to see Tropic Thunder (all this week while I can with my Leeds friends lol) but I think that comes out Friday, and I'm going to a party on Friday :X I'll figure something out. Lulz.

Also: UK Drinking laws are quite strict. I get ID'd like 75% of the time, the other 25% is like.. when I'm in my local or with my dad or whatever XD

At 9/14/08 04:33 PM, Coolio-Niato wrote:

At 9/14/08 04:19 PM, Blackfang wrote: toast i dont get it? do i win?

Do people even read instructions anymore >=(

No they don't. It's not bad for like an intuitive simple game, but anything out of the norm causes players to wonder how they're supposed to do things (when they are clearly stated in the instructions)

In Magnetism i put big red text in front of every level PRESS SPACE TO RESET IF YOU GET STUCK!!!!!

People complained that they couldn't reset it and got stuck

Drinking on your own.
Recently, since I've started brewing my own beer, I've taken to drinking on my own. I have to drink this whole batch of beer before I go to uni, so I've basically been drunk every night (and most times on my own). So I was wondering if anyone else drinks on their own. Actually this doesn't sound like as interesting of a topic as it did when it was just a thought in my head.

Anyway, since im drunk on my own, anyone fancy a conversation on msn (prefferably an old flash reg that I've heard of) if you do, i'll pm you my msn.

At 9/14/08 06:37 PM, CybexALT wrote: if you do, i'll pm you my msn.

go on then ;)

At 9/14/08 06:37 PM, CybexALT wrote: Drinking on your own.

I've drunk on my own before, but I don't see the point of it.. what's the point of lowered inhibitions if theres no hot guy there to feel up?

Sorry, what? ;D

At 9/14/08 06:46 PM, liaaaam wrote:

At 9/14/08 06:37 PM, CybexALT wrote: Drinking on your own.

I've drunk on my own before, but I don't see the point of it.. what's the point of lowered inhibitions if theres no hot guy there to feel up?

Sorry, what? ;D

Yeah, its not as good as drinking with other people, but when you find yourself with 40 pints and only 2 weeks to drink it all in, you find yourself drunk most nights. Its my job to empty this keg, and so I must do it!

At 9/14/08 06:37 PM, CybexALT wrote: Anyway, since im drunk on my own, anyone fancy a conversation on msn (prefferably an old flash reg that I've heard of) if you do, i'll pm you my msn.

I think I lost your msn adress.

going to school
lately I've been feeling more and more like it's really pointless for me to go to school, especially now that im in a crap class where i dont have any close friends. i frankly don't give a shit about any of the subjects, and those that i do give a shit about I know far more about than anything I could learn in class. So here I am at 1 or 2 am every night forcing myself to go to sleep and try to wake up in the morning, not to mention the homework. I don't know how I'll manage to get good grades cause I just don't seem to be able to sit down and do my home work. ah well there u go, another rant by toast. my life sucks atm and i gotta find a way to deal with it.