Start

It’s been a looong time since I last updated my blog. I guess real life was just catching up with me. So, what prompt me to even start blogging again? Funnily, it’s Google+.

These couple of days I’ve posted several long post there, reviewing some stuff like the new Google+ games or my new Samsung Galaxy Tab 10.1. And guess what? I really enjoyed writing them, even to the point that I got worried my post will be too long or something. I don’t know, may be because I have several followers whom I don’t know personally, but I knew will be reading (or at least noticing) my post. Or, well, it could be that it’s not really a blogging platform, thus I don’t need to get worried about stuff like formating or layouting, so I can simply focus on the content. And, well, I started to have more and more things I wanted to tell world about.

Anyway, I decided to give blogging a try once more, and will be far less caring about the layout. Hell, may be I’ll just copy my post from Google+ to this blog so I totally wouldn’t give a damn to the post layout. Let’s start, shall we?

So, tonight I decided to take my Wacom Bamboo and have some artistic moments. Funnily, I found out that I’m more focused when I draw than when I code something. May be because drawing is a much shorter activity, I have a certain goal (image) in mind and I simply pursued it. While coding is something that is more continuous, more and more goal will keep showing up as I code.

Oh, and I just finished the title logo for my game! =D

*…now how the hell do I insert a picture to this post…*

My next game title

*…ah, there you go!* Yep, it’s a game about Komodo, though more detail will have to wait =)

Oh, BTW, my Google+ account is https://plus.google.com/114566397062137134211

Long Time No See!

Whew, mid tests are finally done, (there’s still one though, but it wouldn’t really matter) so I can get back to my projects and working on this blog.

So, since it’s been around 2 weeks with almost no update, I’ll work hard this week, first is a review of Heroes latest 2 episodes, it’s under work now, should be up real soon. Next should be another review for Ultimate Comics Spider-Man #003, I haven’t got the time to finish the draft, should be finished soon too. Oh, and since I just get my hands on one of Th series, The Sorceress, I’ll write a review about it once I’m done.

Well, other then that, I think I’ll start some reviews about game, since I’ve just finished 2 shooters, Crysis and Tom Clancy’s Rainbow Six: Vegas, and both of them are good games! Oh, and currently I’m being addicted ANNO 1404: Dawn of Discovery as well as Kingdom Hearts: 358/2 Days. Sigh, both of them takes some times to complete, not to mention ANNO 1404 sandbox mode @.@

And not just that, I’ve got some plans regarding my projects. I’ll try to finish up my Platformer Engine by the end of November (and I’ve just got a new idea for Collision Detection engine, which of course I’ll share with you guys) then I’ll move on to 3D, probably using Direct3D instead of XNA. Feel a bit rushed, but I’ve just come to a realisation, that by the end of this term, my skill will almost be the same with my classmates(I mean, they tackled Dynamic Array in a single lesson, while it takes me some months before I get into that), so I figure I need another approach to stay above them. Oh, and I also got to learn some PHP, since I’ve just got another project using it.

Well, see you in my next review, then!

Updates: Blog, DirectX, and MIDI to WAVE converter

Yay! Finally modified how this blog looks and also changes the setting to how I wanted this blog to be. Though I was initially surprised that WordPress only has 75 themes (and no way to import themes), I finally decided to use the new iNove theme. I wasn’t sure I’ll use this theme at first, since there is no custom header, but I just remembered that I don’t really know what kind of header I’m going to use, and I don’t have one at the moment too, so yeah, iNove for me.

Now, for some real post, I’ll post my latest update on my undertaking of C++ and DirectX. I’ve been reading Beginning Game Programming Second Edition by Jonathan S. Harbour (a really excellent book for beginning DirectX game programming with C++, I could post a link to it if any of you wants it), and so far, I’ve gone until chapter 10, and I think have finished making a basic DirectX framework, which I can use as a template for any future game project.

Here’s a screen of it (the guy walks across the screen endlessly, with a BGM playing)

A screenshot of DirectX FrameWork

Anyway, next step is to create an actual game engine, I just need to learn about tile-based background, which should be covered in the next chapter… Oh, scratch that, it seems there’re still lots of thing to do:

• Learn about tile-based background
• Learn how to use classes in C++ effectively
• Learn how to play MIDI with DirectSound
• Learn how platformer game works

Yeah, that’s a long way to go. I just hope I can pull this off, especially with college life starting real soon @.@

Anyway, I hate how the code I used for DirectX only able to play *.wav files, I mean, compared to *.mid files they’re like a hundred times bigger, not to mention my audio library only has MIDI and OGG files @.@ So, I suppose I’ll try to convert them, but I can’t find a good, free MIDI to WAV converter! First I tried Mid2Wav Recorder which shows up first when I search for the converter on google. It appears the program only save 10 seconds of the MIDI unless I purchase it, and there’s no working crack for it!! So I ditched it and tried NoteBurner which seems to be free. And yeah, it is free, but it is difficult to use, since I need to burn the music I’m converting into a virtual drive, and I can’t seem to change where I want to burn my files on Windows Media Player! So I looked for another program and ran into both MIDConverter and Ivan MID to WAV, and both of them needs to be purchased before I can properly use them! So, I gave up searching for it, and decided that I need to learn how to play MIDI files with DirectX instead. Still, if anybody ever finds a good and free MIDI to WAVE converter, please let me know, okay?

Oh, I just remembered I haven’t add anything to the about page, I’ll do it tomorrow I guess.

Hello World!!

Hello there, whoever read this opening post ^^

Well, for some months, I’ve been thinking about creating some kind of blog for a little game project I’ve been doing. However, I’m afraid that no one would read or care about it, so I thought, may be a forum is better for posting updates of my game project. But it seems I can’t find any forum for that though @.@ and besides, I don’t feel confident with my little knowledge of programming, so I feel kinda shy posting about it on a forum. And last night, after updating my twitter account (after one month), I feel like that twitter is too limited to post an update on whatever I’m doing, so I got an idea, why don’t I use a blog to post them. And after researching a bit of WordPress VS LiveJournal (I didn’t even think about Blogger, it feels too unprofessional), I choose WordPress, since it feels more professional and don’t have that “community-only” feels. And well, that’s all the background you need to know of this little journal of mine!

So, what will be on this blog? Anything. It could be my project update, my recent activity, some art I made, some review about comics or movie or game or whatever, news I’m excited about, a piece of my mind, or whatever that I’m interested to share!

Oh, and yes, I basically haven’t done anything to modify the looks of this blog, a bit lazy for that and haven’t got the time for it, but modification is coming, I can assure you. Anyway, at first, I was thinking of putting something like “cutting red ribbon” or that kind of thing to officially start this journal, but WordPress first post gives me an idea. Let’s open this journal like any first program you made, with a…

Now I need some breakfast