A weblog by Rik Chilvers.

Recording the enthusiams of its author.

Development Journal 1

Knowing where to start with game development seems like half the trouble. It seems like I’ll need to get to grips with some form of C in the not too distant future to make use of all the libraries out there. [Analysis Paralysis](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Analysis_paralysis) started to rear its ugly head, so for now I’ve found a quick and simple framework called Love2D (or Löve) which uses Lua. The API is solid and in about half an hour I got an image on the screen and another moving over the top. Having not attempted anything like this before that was quite a big deal. Next up is snapping to a grid, object collision and fixed boundaries. This should be fun.

Development Journal 0

I wonder how many other people watched Indie Game: The Movie and thought I could do that!, I should do that!. The film demystified the act of making a game by showing the viewer that, with a significant amount of effort, anyone could make a game. Clearly the developers and artists we see in the film are skilled, but what comes across most strongly is their desire and determination. My brother Joe and I have always talked about the kind of game we would like to make but thought it was beyond us. Maybe not.

So that was the spark, if you like; the inspiration was always there, but the film showed a little of how it could be made into something real. The ideas are starting to come together and gain a little focus now.

It helps that Joe, having just finished the first 3 years of Architecture, is toying with the idea of exploring a more concept orientated use of his design skills, and I’ve spent some of this summer getting more familiar with programming (instead of just paddling around in the shallow end of scripting and HTML/CSS). Why not practice together and develop a game?

Shaun Inman kept a development diary when making The Last Rocket, and I’d like to do something similar. Often when working on something I forget how I reached the end point. Even if a game never gets made hopefully the steps I took will help someone else get started, and provide an interesting retrospective for me.

Landsat turns 40

The Landsat program - a series of NASA run satellites - has been photographing our planet for the past 40 years. Have a play with some of these sliders and see if you don’t think the growth of our cities looks like the spread of a virus. Then make yourself feel better by enjoying these more natural features.

Just one example of how French artists at the turn of the 20th Century imagined the world would be at the start of the next. They seem interested not only by aerial advances but also nautical: a whale-powered underwater bus makes its debut, as do people riding giant sea horses. Seeing these makes me wonder how much of an influence this kind of art had on Studio Ghibli, as this scene is very reminiscent of Howl’s Moving Castle.

Just one example of how French artists at the turn of the 20th Century imagined the world would be at the start of the next. They seem interested not only by aerial advances but also nautical: a whale-powered underwater bus makes its debut, as do people riding giant sea horses.

Seeing these makes me wonder how much of an influence this kind of art had on Studio Ghibli, as this scene is very reminiscent of Howl’s Moving Castle.

The Bastards Book of Photography

Not long since I sold my bulky DSLR in favour of the more portable Fujifilm X10. The plan was to have a camera I didn’t mind carrying around so I would, you know, actually take pictures. This series of short guides was a useful refresher on what to be mindful of when you’re snapping away.

Time is an illusion. Lunchtime doubly so.

Ford, Hitchhiker’s Guide to the Galaxy.

If this stone won’t budge at present and is wedged in, move some of the other stones round it first. (…) All we want to do is to straighten you up on the track if your coach is crooked on the rails. Driving it afterwards we shall leave to you.

Wittgenstein

Real science is a revision in progress, always. It proceeds in fits and starts of ignorance.

Stuart Firestein’s wonderful definition of science from his new book, Ignorance: How It Drives Science. In it he argues for a return to focussing on what we don’t know, to exploring our ignorance.

Working scientists don’t get bogged down in the factual swamp because they don’t care all that much for facts. It’s not that they discount or ignore them, but rather that they don’t see them as an end in themselves. They don’t stop at the facts; they begin there, right beyond the facts, where the facts run out.

Via: Brain Pickings. I feel a little guilty quoting from a book I haven’t read, but the passages were too good to pass on.

Someday perhaps I will go around carrying only a book, a change of clothes, a pen, a water bottle, a folding umbrella, and a little capsule that turns into my livelihood when opened. Rollable hi-res screen and keyboard, tiny computer the size of a cell phone or smaller but as light as a pen, with high-speed satellite connectivity anywhere on the globe. In this world, my sleeping bag, pad and windproof hammock weigh only a pound put together. For half of the year I travel the world, alone and with companions, with a small bag slung over my shoulder like Kwai Chang Caine. We sleep outdoors, travel on trains, and a few days of the week sit some place cozy and create beautiful software or solve interesting problems that improve the world.

Max Shon’s answer to the question “what would be your dream setup?” sounds perfect.