We're about a week away from the intended March 5th Release Date, (assuming I can get everything sorted soon!) so I figured it's probably about time that I post about my plans for SpikeDislike2.

Obviously, if SpikeDislike2 is going to be on sale in the AppStore, players are going to need an incentive to buy it, but if I'm also going to release a Windows/Android/Browser edition, for free, what extras would the iOS folk be paying for?

Well, here's where the plan comes in.
On Release Day, there'll be two editions.
The iOS Version, and the Free version.
The free edition will be smaller.
It's currently set to 5 Game modes, whereas the full iOS one contains 9. There's also less Badges to earn in the Free edition.

If you want the full experience, you're going to have to pay for it!!
.. and have a compatible iOS device!

After this, I'm going to start posting some nice little sales targets.
If I hit a target, I'll unlock an extra game mode in the freebie edition, and re-upload everything with the extra features. You'll then be able to grab the new version on your Android, or download the Windows one for free, and have something extra to play with.

We'll call this method of unlocking "Spam your mates"-ware.
The more you help me sell, the more free stuff you get!
Woot!!

And if it works well enough, I might start doing it to more games in the future. Heck, if I'm going to spend this much time on each game, I may as well dish out the bonus features all around!


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SpikeDislike2 - March 5th (hopefully!)

For the past couple of years, my birthday has been "SpikeDislike Freebie Day".
This year, that's not going to happen
The final version of SpikeDislike2 is REALLY close, but not quite close enough. SpikeDislike will be made free for a few days when SpikeDislike2 is released, in a couple of weeks time.

Meanwhile, though, my first iOS Monkey game has managed to blunder it's way through Apple's review team, and is all nice and active on the AppStore, just in time for my Birthday!!!

O/yeayo/!

C3ntipong : AppStore (Note from the future : APPLE DELETE THINGS)

Feb 23rd 2013 : Jay's 33rd Birthday, and C3ntipong iOS's release date!

C3ntipong is free, and for all intents and purposes, will probably stay free.
The game isn't "amazing", and personally I get bored with it after a couple of rounds, but it's fun and it's playable, and it hopefully plays nicely on your iPhing.

Being an iOS game, it also has GameCenter integration, so you can earn achievements and compare highscores. Thank Monkey for that!!

Cracking stuff, and a nice birthday treat.

Additionally, NeonPlat is also FREE in the AppStore, so be sure to grab that one, too..

Happy Birthday to me!
Happy C3ntipong to you!!

AGameAWeek 2013 is in full swing! There's no stopping us now! Not unless they discover another tumour!!!!

Here's what's on the current todo list.

Platdude's Arcade Collection
A whole new retro collection, made with iCade in mind.

Arcade Slots
The best collection of random gameplay mechanics you'll love to hate!

Blockman Gets Hungry
Blockman is back for a whole new adventure! What will he be eating, this time?!

SpikeDislike2
Avoid the spikes, and then some! The sequel kicks everything up a notch, and brings a whole new disliking experience to your fingertip!

Key, Bo and Ard Makes Three
Guide our intrepid adventurers through a multitude of puzzle landscapes, as they continue on their quest to get to the checkered tiles!

At least two of those will be released before the end of March!
Are you excited?
Are you hyped?
Is this better than anything you saw on last night's PS4 announcement?

AGameAWeek!
Kicking arse, because that's what gaming should be about.

Note : AGameAWeek games do NOT feature ingame "share" buttons.

Hmm.. I seem to be remaking things, a lot, lately.. Either the Doc's sucked out all of my imagination, or I'm enjoying this Monkey language a bit too much!!
Aw, who cares, it's another classic AGameAWeek game, remade for Browsers and Android!!


The game is entirely mouse (or touch!) controlled.
You start the game trying to tap in the security code for the bank vault, which someone's handily written above the keypad.
Once you're in, grab three bags of random unknown values (you won't find out until the end!!) and then run for your life.

Game Over doesn't occur until right at the end, and will either be because you got shot, or because you killed the last copper and got away.

You can Download The Heist (Again!) here, for Windows, Android or it's playable in the browser, so you don't even have to download the thing. Woot!

If any of the minigames is too baffling, let me know!

-=-=-

AGAW Scoring : 8 weeks, 8 games.. Things are apparently going well, so far!!

Last night I finished off the C3ntipong stuff, and got the release edition compiled, tested, double-checked, and uploaded to Apple.
That's it! It's gone.. It's off.
There's no turning back, now!

In about a week's time, C3ntipong may very well pop up on the AppStore, assuming it gets approved!
A relatively painless procedure... well, except for all of yesterday's palaver, anyway!
Read More

You're probably wondering, by now, with all this wonderful "Monkey" stuff that I've been banging on about for the past month, where the heck my iOS offerings are.
Well, while it's true that Monkey does indeed make the coding a heck of a lot easier, there's still another matter to attend to.
The dreaded "iTunes Connect" area! ARGH!!!!

You've probably read enough of my rants to know that iDev isn't easy.
There are licenses to deal with. "Provision" codes, Certificates, all manner of stupid fiddly things that all need to be "Just right" before XCode will let you do anything useful.
Then there's a whole separate batch of alternative certificates and codes, when you finally want to create an uploadable edition of your app.
It's absolutely MENTAL, the amount of crap you have to deal with, just to get your project up and running.

Today, I've decided that C3ntipong should be my first Monkey->iOS game, and took the time to prepare its iTunes page.
..
well, I say that.. I actually decided on this yesterday, but then realised I'd need screenshots and great big icons and shit, so kinda put it off until today.

Today, I did it all..Read More

I don't know..
I was playing around in PaintShopPro, and stumbled upon a nice little silly effect for backgrounds.
This image has no purpose whatsoever, but it quite nice, so.. um.. yeah, that!!
Enjoy!


Click for 2048x2047..!?

Oh my god!!!
Are you kidding me?!

Hey, Nintendo, take a look at the title of this website. Guess what I'm doing.. Single-handedly, too, I might add.

You're a company. You're a BIG company.

Why in the name of hell does it take you SEVEN MONTHS to bring Animal Crossing 3DS to Europe?

Japan : November 8, 2012
Europe : June 14, 2013

That can't be right!?! It just CAN'T be!
There's no way it would take you that long to translate it all. You've got TEAMS who specialise in that sort of thing.
You hire people JUST to do that!
They can't all be busy!!?

Today was supposed to be a fantastic fun-filled wonderland of love, instead we got crapped on by a stupidly horrendous delay, and then you go and show off a sequel to one of your best puzzle platformers, and inexplicably decide to make it a fucking sliding block puzzle, instead.. What the fuckity fuck, Nintendo?!

Next week's AGameAWeek is already in the works. Yet another remake, this time of a game that doesn't quite appear to run as well as it used to.
The Heist was coded in August 2008, and does still run on modern PCs. The thing is, though, it runs at about 30fps on most of my current systems.
I'm not really sure why this is, and have tried a couple of things to get it up to speed, but nothing seems to be doing the trick.
It seems odd that higher spec'd systems would struggle with it, but that's the way things go.. Especially when MS are in charge!!


So, this week I'm retackling that, and am currently about halfway through reconstructing it. I'll be rejigging some of the scenes, and changing a few things to make the game a little less complicated, but for the most part it'll be the same game. It'll also be browser playable, and on your Android doohickey, too! Woot!!

Meanwhile, SpikeDislike progress has slowed somewhat. It's nice that I got an iOS version up and running, but I really need to sort out the GameCenter side of things before I go any further.
That's kinda holding things up, as I'm not entirely sure which route to take.
Do I add New Monkey 67d code, and break compatilibility, or do I attempt to tackle it myself?
Hmmm...
Tricky.

But something needs to be done, and fast!! That none-existent deadline is fast approaching!

If you're a regular AGameAWeek follower, you'll probably be all too aware of the "It doesn't always work" rule.
For those that are new, here's a great example.


While working on AGameAWeek might occasionally lead to a magical wonderland of awesome inexplicably addictive playability, it also frequently leads to dead ends.
There are reasons why most companies don't release odd prototypes, and this is definitely one of them.

I tried, with Platdude Goes Golfing, to make a crazy pinball-esque golfing arcade game.
It's not really worked out.
Well, it HAS, it's just not that good!
Read More

You know what I hate?
Icons.

You might've noticed that very few of my games include icons.
Not only do I hate having to draw icons, I also hate having to create 70,000 bazillion different sizes for every sodding size that might be needed.
Gah, I HATE icons!!!

AGameAWeek on Android means I need 3 icons every smegging week. Oh, great :

Today, I made a "Jay is too lazy for this" tool, called IconResizer.
Download IconResizer here.
I've supplied the BlitzMax sourcecode along with the program, so if you ever need to tweak it to add more icon sizes, it shouldn't be too difficult.

The basic idea is this.
You supply the original pictures, it generates a bunch of icons for your game.
Sorted!

The Lengthy version..
First, it needs Icon_SIZE.png files of various sizes. I'll typically be creating a 128 and 1024 icon for each of my apps, but the more you add, the clearer close-target sized icons will appear. (Less scaling = less dodgy!) For me, the 1024 one goes on the iTunes site, whereas the 128 one gets used by the app.

Once you've created all the Icon_SIZE.png's you can be bothered to make, you then need to create a Launch.png image, too. This is the one that will be rescaled to create all those stupid "Default.png" loader images that Apple makes us create.

Shove all these into the folder, and run the .exe file.
Give it a minute or two, depending on how fast your system is, and it'll flick through creating everything you need.
Once done, you'll find an icons/ folder containing all the icon files, and a launch/ folder with all those fiddly Default.png images.

Additionally, if you're using Monkey, it can also be used to create Android icons, too, helping you be extra lazy..
Assuming your game is "YourGame/YourGame.monkey" shove this into "YourGame/IconResizer/". It'll hunt for a "YourGame/something.build/android/res/" folder, and if it can find one, it'll place the three icons necessary for Android into the associated folders. Handy!

I'm at odds over this one.

The first possible launch date is Feb 23rd.
Feb 23rd is my birthday, and for the last two years, has also been SpikeDislike=FREE Day on iOS.
It'd be nice to have SpikeDislike2 Day on the same day, but then I'd also need to get it onto the AppStore by that date, and ... that's a wee bit tricky!
It'd mean I'd have to get the iOS App submitted by around about this time next week, and .. yikes. that's cutting it a bit close, especially considering I've yet to even LOOK at the GameCenter stuff.
hmm..

Next possible date, March 1st.
This one gives me an extra week to get things in order, but also enables me to use SpikeDislike2 as my March "OneGameAMonth" game. woot!

The next possible launch date is March 5th.
March 5th makes a little bit more sense than 1st, given that it's a Tuesday, and AGameAWeek is supposed to happen on Tuesdays.
If I aim for that one, I get a couple of weeks to get things in order, figure out how I'm going to manage GameCenter, and then get it sent off to Apple and wait a week before I can launch everything else.
It may also give me time to figure out this whole GooglePlay bobbins, and get myself all official and stuff.

So, yeah, it's looking like a March 5th release, at the moment.
Having said that, though, SpikeDislike2 has come along at a MUCH quicker rate than I originally expected. To have a fully playable game, a lovely menu, some badges, and more, after just a couple of weeks, is pretty astounding, especially after the crappy year I've just had.
To then have it be playable on so many different targets, makes it all the more fun!
Will I make the illusive Feb 23rd release day? Only time will tell!

First, I need to add more badges!


View on YouTube

Hello all.
If you're a regular reader, prepare to be marginally disappointed.
Today's release is NOT for you
Today I'm releasing a private beta edition of SpikeDislike2 (currently for Windows or Android) to people who would like to blog about it, and help publicise it's existence.


If you write for a gaming blog, contact me, (or @Jayenkai), let me know who you are, and we'll get the ball rolling. (ie, I'll send you a link!!)
The preview edition is already uploaded to the server, in a sneakily hidden away private place, and is ready for playing with... but only for those who can get the word out.

If you're a "proper" Magazine journalist, you can also get in on this, but be aware that I'll probably be releasing the full game well before your mag hits the printers!! The world of AGameAWeek moves far too fast for publications!

Click ahead for "What's Missing", and a general overview of the progress so far.

Read More

Aaah, the familiar sound of squelching!!


The gameplay is easy on this one.
Throw the ball at the oncoming Centipedes to smash them to pieces. You can then additionally bounce the flailing pods about, to do extra damage, and cause general onscreen insanity!
Oh the fun!!

You can Download C3ntipong Here for Windows and Android. There's also a browser based HTML5 edition, too, if you can't be arsed with the download.
Read More

Part of SpikeDislike 2 will be it's various game modes.
I've a few simple ideas in mind, and may be asking for additional ideas in the future, if I start running out!
Meanwhile, here's the first to be fully integrated, and playable, and kinda fun.
Sheep Goes Right!


View on YouTube

Yes, it's a bog-standard endless-runner mode, but it has a sheep, so that makes it 89% more awesome!

More modes a-comin'!

Don't worry, it's not Unijuggler again!!
Yesterday I started my first "bigger" project of the year. These are the games that I know are going to take a little more than the usual week to complete.
Well, I say that, but I've actually managed to achieve a staggering amount of work in the space of only two days!


The game is playable, the credits are counted, and the unlockable menu system works a treat.

I haven't added anything new, yet, though. That stuff's yet to come, and I may/may not explain some of the new features as we go along.
First new feature?
"My First Dislike" is Baby mode, giving the player a completely unnecessary tutorial (!) and three whole lives!!! Lives, in SpikeDislike!? Hmmm..
Classic SpikeDislike, on the other hand, takes you back to a single life original mode.
Hmmm.. I wonder what other modes I can come up with??

I've yet to figure out how to solve TamToucan's X/Y Tilt issue, but a couple of gripes have already been tweaked.
C3ntipong Test Edition for Android - Version 2!
The paddle, for starters, is now set much further up the screen. This may result in a slightly harder game, but at least your finger won't be in the way! (or at least, it shouldn't be, unless you have a really really tiny phone, or gigantic finger!)

I've dug deep into the well of games, and dug out the "Level 1"/"Next Level", etc voice sounds from the original Centipong. They're in there, now, chatting away as you play.
Hopefully I needn't add any more of those, because I'm damned if I can remember how I produced them in the first place!!

Skill shot and Ball Carrying give bonus points, and there's a wide range (not that wide!) of badges to collect along the way.
o/yeayo/

Oh, and I changed the icon, too.

If you're playing along, let me know how it goes, and if anything breaks horribly!
Thanks.

Last month I suggested that a crappy unartistic desktop image might make for a rubbish new monthly feature.

Tomorrow's the first of February, so I might as well keep the crap coming!
Here's February's Crappy Uninteresting Desktop image. Enjoy!

Click for Mahooosive!

There's still plenty to add.
Music, for one.
And Badges.
And Pickups.
If you spot anything else missing, odd, bug-like, or otherwise quirky, let me know.

C3ntipong - Test Edition
The final-ish version will be available on Tuesday.

This WIP currently has the title of "C3ntipong"


MMMMmmm.. Centipong on Android! (And HTML5 and Windows and Mac and iOS! YES!!)

Why Centipong? I was browsing through my archive of forgotten half-complete projects, and stumbled upon Centipong XNA, a version I started back in 2010, aiming for an XBox release.
One I tried the game with an XBox controller, I very rapidly changed my mind, and soon forgot all about XBox dev!
Luckily, the Centipong_Win.exe is still in the folder, so I gave it a quick try.
..and of course, being a Microsoft developed language which compiled it, the game didn't fucking work.

That XNA EXE is incompatible with this Windows 7.
..An EXE that is ONLY 3 years old!!!
*sigh*

Then I played the original Centipong, which I wrote 2 years prior to that using Blitz, and it ran perfectly.
God bless you Mark Sibly, and all the Blitz Research crew!
You've done a bang up job!

Centipong is now 5 years old, if you can believe that!
Blimey, that went quick!
About time we got a decent sequel, am I right?!

The gameplay is working, tomorrow I'll dig into the level structure, and then I've a bit of spare time to add that all-important "Niceness" that people keep whinging on about.
Sorted!!