tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-52626575228935302332023-11-16T11:24:32.066-07:00Game Crossing Studio BlogRobhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11725042666089421689noreply@blogger.comBlogger30125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5262657522893530233.post-73237784994951222222013-03-31T21:33:00.001-06:002013-03-31T21:33:34.371-06:00Don't Miss Our Big Announcement If you are hitting up this site to hear about our big announcement, you'll want to check it out at our new site after the countdown runs out: <a href="http://www.gamecrossingstudios.com/game-crossing-studios-blog.html"><span style="color: cyan;">http://www.gamecrossingstudios.com/game-crossing-studios-blog.html</span></a><br />
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Again, we are going to be moving forward with our blog on that site, so please follow us there. It has been a little slow for new content this last month, but starting in April and the months to follow it's going to be huge.<br />
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If you've ever been interested in how they make video games, you won't want to miss it! Click on over there now, hit the RSS feed on the right hand side of the blog and get active in participating with us as we makes games that you (or your kids) will want to play.<br />
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<a href="http://www.gamecrossingstudios.com/game-crossing-studios-blog.html"><span style="color: cyan;">http://www.gamecrossingstudios.com/game-crossing-studios-blog.html</span></a><br />
<br />Robhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11725042666089421689noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5262657522893530233.post-60890368311672790752013-03-07T20:18:00.002-07:002013-03-07T20:18:32.313-07:00We're moving! Hey everyone! Just wanted to give a shout out and let you know we are moving our blog to our web site. Reposition your browsers to <a href="http://www.gamecrossingstudios.com/">www.GameCrossingStudios.com</a> and stay in touch with us. It will allow you to get all the up to date information about our projects. It also has an RSS feed, and posts can be shared on your Facebook or Twitter accounts.<br />
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We really want to get the word out, we don't want anyone that is wanting to read our posts to think we abandoned anyone. So please, please tell your friends and redirect your blog additions that way. Why are we moving? For ease and convenience, we want to keep everything up to date and keyed into our changes and announcements and feel that this will allow us to best take pulse of both line of traffic.<br />
Meg has been asked to move over too, so don't worry. You're not going to be stuck with just me gabbing on about our projects. :)<br />
Oh, I wanted to mention that our big announcement on April 1st will be posted on <a href="http://www.gamecrossingstudios.com/">www.GameCrossingStudios.com</a> so, please, if for no other reason than to find out what hair-brained thought I've come up with, check us out and add that site to your favorites bar.<br />
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Thanks again for all the time and support that you've put toward our blog and our stories, we hope that you will continue with us and find it easier and more informative being directly on our web site. We hope to hear from you on that site and as always: Live Life, Play Games.Robhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11725042666089421689noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5262657522893530233.post-85486663232805003822013-02-20T22:33:00.000-07:002013-02-20T22:33:01.833-07:00Meg's back. Long long time, no see! I am sorry that I have fallen off of the planet. I planned to post last week and my children and I ended up getting the chance to go out of town on the fly and visit my husband for the week. "Was it awesome?" you ask. Yes! And freezing cold, don't forget super freezing cold. But we were together on Valentine's day and that is what matters! In fact, we took the kids with us to dinner that night. More because we didn't have any other choice-- cheap motels don't offer child care services. But I really liked it and I think I will do something special with all of us for Valentine's each year.<br />
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My son had his first driving video game experience this
weekend. A friend of ours just opened a gaming center and we went to
check it out and while there he offered 30 mins of free gaming. Picked
out Carbon and got started. The Little Man started to point out the
cars and liked to press the accelerator and reverse button at the same
time. He tired of it quickly, but what can you expect, he is just 2 and
I think he would tire of brownies quickly. But it was still fun. I
wonder if he's going to enjoy games when he's older..<br />
I'm excited about the new game, Connected, that Rob announced this morning. I'm kind of a fan of puzzles! Not only are they fun, they tend to make me think I'm smart and I feel accomplished knowing that I did something to boost my brain power! (Pinkie and The Brain theme song just started playing...Pinkie, are you thinking what I'm thinking? I fink so Bwain.) Also, I feel that I can easily justify a puzzle game to other mommies. <br />
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Connected is going to be built for Windows, as Rob said, and I am curious what other platforms you use to play games. Your phone? Tablet? Consoles? Which ones do you use most? And do you like puzzles like I do? Meghttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06512315957934623504noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5262657522893530233.post-16436124789863265922013-02-17T14:39:00.001-07:002013-02-17T14:39:18.536-07:00Moving Forward Prevents Sliding Backward Okay, it's been a little longer than I had hoped in getting another post out. I know Meg was going to put one together, but as life does, it got busy and she did not post. Clearly.<br />
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But that isn't the point, the point is that we are still here and still plotting to take over the world. Figuratively, of course. I'm not sure what I would do with the world if I had it anyway. I'll leave that to the Super Villains and story plots to try and figure out what they would do with it. No, my meaning was we'd love to take the world through our own style of games that would entertain and engage everyone that we can. Yep, that would be pretty sweet. So where are our games filled to the brim with creativity and unique style? We're still working on them at the moment... :(<br />
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While I am on let me post a bit about our new project. The previous project has been temporarily set back and we hope to resurrect it when we have the adequate resources available to make it as awesome as you, our fans, have asked for it to be. We appreciate the feedback and look forward to providing you with a great gaming experience.<br />
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I am currently working on our working title: Connected. Of course that name is subject to change and probably will as development continues and draws closer to an end, but the working title name is suggestive of the gameplay involved in the game.<br />
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It will be a puzzle-platformer game. Set in a colorful and fun 2D world. The basic run through of the game is a classic rescue-the-princess scenario. The Princess is taken by the Evil Wizard Val, a young villain on the up and coming path to evil wizard greatness. However, despite his many attempts to find love via speed dating, newspaper personals, and Internet dating sites, the Evil Wizard Val decides that he will simply take the girl of his dreams and stop the Hero from rescuing her.<br />
Poor Val has a ton of Evil Wizard Student Loans though, so he currently lacks the funds to hire a massive horde of minions to stop our Hero. Instead Val relies on his new founded abilities and creates puzzle walls that block the Hero's path from saving his sweety. This of course doesn't deter our Hero; after all he would lose his status as hero if he simply gave up.<br />
Each wall has multiple images on it that require the Hero to find and select the images that are related to one another or "connected". For example, images may be connected by shape, color, or other factors such as plant, mammal or habitat. Once images that create a path or crack in the wall, the magic holding it together will burst and the Hero will be free to move forward on his quest to rescue the Princess.<br />
Connecting objects that are not related will result in damage to the Hero. Enough wrong images selected will result in the Hero's defeat.<br />
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We will be using a fun animated sprite style. The game is planned to be built for Windows and will be submitted to Steam for Greenlight approval once we have a working demo established. When that time comes we will of course post that here and beg you all to please, please go onto Steam and vote us in. Though that may be a few months out yet. We hope to complete this project by the end of July or August. <br />
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We'll post images of our project here, on Facebook and on our website as they are available. Let us know what you think of our current project plan, and like always, thanks for reading our posts and keeping in contact with us via our <a href="http://www.facebook.com/gamecrossingstudios" target="_blank">Facebook</a> page.Robhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11725042666089421689noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5262657522893530233.post-38196386124599649352013-01-27T19:19:00.000-07:002013-01-27T19:19:17.713-07:00One shaky step at a time... First let me share my appreciation for the condolences offered by family and friends. It's been a challenging time, and frankly there are still days I just don't want to get up. But I do and I will continue to do so because not only is that who I am, but I too often run out of pillows and blankets for my blanket forts and must go to work (day job) to provide more. (lol)<br />
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On the development front I don't have much to report, sadly. These last couple months knocked me on my butt and I have had some challenges gaining any true traction. On a positive note, I did repair my development computer (for now) and once again have access to all those original files. That being what it is, and the feedback received through the demo, I am somewhat hesitant to pursue that route and maintain the original files. I believe that the story itself is valid, perhaps not as much fun as some of the other stories that have surfaced in recent months/weeks as I've tried to re-kindle the passion I had for this work.<br />
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On that note, I feel that I/we (Game Crossing Studios), am/are at a cross-roads and must make a decision that will either be the retooling of our current story, or moving beyond this portion of the grand scheme and launch us into a new/fresh project with the option of telling the back story in a future game much the way Star Wars had been done, or many of the video game stories (Lara Croft: Tomb Raider) have been done of late. I openly admit that this line of thinking has not been passed through other development team members, so I apologize if this catches any of them at a loss for words. By all means, please share your thoughts here on the blog comments either in favor or against. As it stands, I've considered my options and looked at other career paths that I could walk down. I've debated joining the National Guard, becoming a teacher at a local private school, and a host of other options. None of them what I always thought I wanted, but each of them appeared to be a part of who I am. I could easily see myself in any of the roles that I considered. But while they are solid and admirable positions and professions I don't know that I would ever have the passion that would help me be great at any of them.<br />
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I love games. It's been hard to<em> want</em> to play anything, or do anything. But in the last day or so I picked up a game just to pass the time and it helped. I heard there is going to be an exhaustive study into the correlation between violent games and violent gun crimes committed after playing such games. For every study that says video games cause harm to societies youth and populous, I used to rely on other studies that said they help in some cases. Now I have my own words to say that I feel games have helped me. Luckily I have a good support system and all of that as well, but in dealing with the grief it wasn't until I stepped into a fictional world and played for a couple hours that I started to feel a little like the me I was before the funeral. A different me, obviously. A version of me that has a heavier view of mortality than before, but with games I am a version of me that smiles more and is more apt to play a card or board game with my kids than I was a week or so ago.<br />
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So while it's been a challenge to develop the desire to look at a keyboard and think about coding, scripting, or creating any sort of game assets, I'm a gamer. Making games is what I do, it's part of who I choose to be. I guess the hurdle to get over now is deciding which game to make right now. Be patient and stick around, we may be small and have a history of striking out, but one of these times we're gonna knock it outta the park, and you're all going to want to see that one.<br />
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LIVE life.<br />
Play GAMES.Robhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11725042666089421689noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5262657522893530233.post-32442253691864502032013-01-09T17:21:00.000-07:002013-01-09T17:21:10.237-07:00One Breath at a Time My Father passed away yesterday afternoon. He had been ill for a while, and his health decreased rather rapidly. The last few days he had been comatose, he was at peace and as comfortable as we could make him. The wonderful people from Hospice came and helped comfort family and checked his vitals each day. I remember one of the days his pulse was challenging to find, but he gave indication that he was still with us with shallow rhythmic breathing. While his breathing did not appear painful to him, it was as though it took great effort for each and every breath.<br />
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I've reflected on a lot in the past few days. Not only recalling memories of growing up and learning from him, but the life lessons that he was still teaching me with his frail and failing body. I used to hold a perspective when dealing with tasks that I felt were undesirable with a sense of I just need to get through the day/week/whatever duration was required to "get through". Days at my day job that were frustrating, I would tell myself -just "x" number of hours to go. I gained a perspective shift when I thought about my Dad hanging to his mortality one deliberate breath at a time. Each breath to him was a gift of time, short as it was. I realized how selfish or ungrateful I must be to feel burdened by enduring things that may be uncomfortable or inconvenient to me at that time. Do I believe that I can pull an 180 degree turn in a moment? Maybe. But more likely it will be a gradual and effort filled challenge to adjust my views and thoughts to look at the time granted to me as a gift. Perhaps more time beyond that to treat it as such.<br />
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I've considered how I might really apply this observation in my life so that it becomes more of who I am instead of one of those things we see, admire, and set aside with the intention of doing something with it at some later time. I don't know that I have a solid answer yet, but I am making planning a more key element in the things I do. Living life one breath at a time, to me, suggests that we not become so set in our objectives that we miss the opportunities that come, or the lives that pass through our own journey. Not to say we toss goals out the window and live as though we are leaves in the wind. Rather, I would say we build our plans and our goals, but keep our eyes, ears & hearts open. Perhaps we will have the chance to learn from someone else's experience, or share with someone that needs our help. Live life a little more full by opening ourselves up a bit more.<br />
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In regard to our development path, I can say that I have a goal and a plan, but I am learning to recognize the benefit of other directions. I have some ideas that I hope will excite you all to playing it when it is complete. I will make changes and adjustments and post progress here as they are available. I have been in contact with the other members of our development team, and we are excited for the direction that we are taking. And for all you that love to read Meg's posts, don't worry, she'll be back to posting on here in the coming weeks. Thank goodness for that. ;)Robhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11725042666089421689noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5262657522893530233.post-81036465495782463162012-12-24T18:04:00.001-07:002012-12-24T18:04:44.435-07:00Merry Christmas To All & To All A Good Night<span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS", sans-serif;"> All of us at Game Crossing Studios want to wish you all a very Merry Christmas and take a moment or two to reflect on the previous year. While traditionally New Years is the time to set future goals, I feel that Christmas is close enough to New Years that we can safely consider the past year, thereby giving pause to create more meaningful, realistic and hopefully successful goals. </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS", sans-serif;"> It was about this time last year that I contacted the members of our team and asked if they would be willing to work with me for free on a project that was pretty lofty. Given the challenge and invitation, many offered to help out when and where they could, which for free labor how can I expect anything better. The weeks and months that followed began to give shape to our current title.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS", sans-serif;"> We set our sights on making a game that would probably have taken another year just to get a fraction of the model assets built. Upon the realization that we lacked the luxury of full work days and a staff free of other obligations, we scaled our ambition back and feel pretty good about the choice to use RPG Maker VX as our game engine of choice. (That's not saying that we don't hope to one day re-release our story in a more 3D modeled environment, just not yet.) Following the choice to use this engine, it seemed that production really picked up and we were moving at a good pace.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS", sans-serif;"> We used both in-house resources as well as purchased some through the established RPG Maker Community. This helped us in achieving what I felt was a familiar look while focusing on our unique story. Shortly before our development system kicked the bucket, we were able to put together a short demo that can still be downloaded for<span style="color: red;"> </span></span><a href="http://www.gamecrossingstudios.com/games.html" target="_blank"><span style="color: red; font-family: "Trebuchet MS", sans-serif;">FREE</span></a><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS", sans-serif;"> from our website. This may have been the biggest benefit to our current situation as we received thorough feedback to our demo. To be honest, I was a bit taken back by the responses at first. I felt like I had put a lot into it and that there was just so many limitations that I may not be able to give what people asked for in their feedback.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS", sans-serif;"> Then the system crashed. I can still bypass a portion of the crash, enough to recover the files anyway, but this became one of those moments to consider all the options and really weigh in on what possibilities were available to me and my team. The question being, 'Do I start over and fix what players said they wanted, or do I press forward with a game that they weren't totally thrilled with?' And while the story and overall basis of the game is still very much the highlight of the project, we're going to make it better than it was. </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS", sans-serif;"> Why all the extra work? Because we believe that our players are worth the effort. That and we want this to be something that we can put our names on and be truly proud of it, not just some random and obscure reference on a list of titles that we've worked on.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS", sans-serif;"> While it hasn't been an easy road, and we still don't have an actual product to show for the time spent, I believe that we did gain experience in the pursuit thus far. As we recover from a development system crash and try to pick up the pieces we are also in a prime opportunity to utilize the negative aspect to our advantage. We've learned some costly and valuable lessons and can now set our vision to the horizon and make our title even more than it would have been. The feedback that we've gained from you, our readers & players, has helped us see that we need to put a lot more spit & shine on our game if we truly want it to be as polished as we want and envision it to be.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS", sans-serif;"> We know that the Holiday Season can be challenging and maybe even a bit discouraging to many people. Whether it is the commercial pressures to find the "perfect gift", or the loss of loved ones. We hope that you'll find a moment of your own to consider the last year. It may require changing a perspective to see some of lives trials as something other than a burden, but try to count what <em>has </em>been good in 2012. Personally, I know my family has had it's share of Emergency Room visits, surgeries, and hard times, but there are still good things all around us if we choose to find them. Sometimes it's the small nuggets of gold that when added up equal something good. But to follow that analogy, getting to the gold nuggets can be a good deal of work. The end result is worth the effort put into it.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS", sans-serif;"> So Merry Christmas everyone! We hope that this season is peaceful and happy for each of you. We're going to take a little break to enjoy family & friends. But be watching, because we have some very cool stuff coming early on in the New Year.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS", sans-serif;">-Live Life. Play Games.</span>Robhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11725042666089421689noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5262657522893530233.post-71462680624311639582012-12-17T19:20:00.003-07:002012-12-17T19:20:57.480-07:00Hoping You Have a Happy Holiday Season<span style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue", Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"> It has been a bit off track for us here at Game Crossing Studios. A system crash just as we finished a demo leading into what often is a very busy time of year for so many people. I wish I could say that we are ready to present our game to you this Christmas season, but sadly it is not ready and given the current challenges it may be a while... </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial;"> Our demo is still available on our website, and it is still FREE! It does have some bugs and based on feedback there are a number of changes and alterations we hope to make as we retool and rebuild what was lost. Biggest lesson learned this year: BACK-UP EVERYTHING! LOL</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial;"> This does provide opportunity for us to really attack this with a fresh eye and with all the experience gained from the previous experiences. Sadly it was not a completed project, but we will be adding a LOT of extra style to our game, so luckily for you (the gamer), you will one day be able to get our very best, without all the DLC and patches to make it as polished as it should be from the beginning.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial;"> Outside the realm of game making and looking at the real world, what are your thoughts and feelings about this time of year? Sometimes the pressures to find the "prefect gift" or the challenges placed on us to attend to matters dealing with the close of the year can make the time stressful and less than happy. What do you do to decompress? </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial;"> If I were to offer my thoughts and opinions (as I can being the writer), I think that one of the best ways to decompress is to take some personal time. It doesn't have to be much, which is good because I think many people would be hard pressed to find much time for a lot of personal time. The purpose is to quiet the world around you and really refocus and/or let go of whatever frustrations you may have. (preferably not on the road during your commute please.) Ultimately do something that will help you relax and enjoy life. Read a book, play a game, call a friend, go for a walk, even just taking a quick nap. Life is quick and life is short, make sure the journey isn't wasted the bottom line or some distant destination. </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial;"> For me games are a good way to de-stress, but we try not to lose sight of reality knowing that we all have real life challenges and responsibilities. </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial;">That's why we say: Live Life. Play Games.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial;">Wishing you all a Merry Christmas & Joyous and Prosperous New Year!</span>Robhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11725042666089421689noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5262657522893530233.post-66875147485573151272012-11-22T08:42:00.000-07:002012-11-22T08:42:20.602-07:00Happy Thanksgiving from Game Crossing Studios!All of us at Game Crossing Studios hope that this Thanksgiving finds each of you happy, healthy and well. And of course, we want to share our thanks as well. We are thankful to be blessed with the liberties afforded here in the United States. We are thankful that we have the opportunity to work in a profession that we enjoy doing (even if it only ever remains a hobby). We are thankful for family and friends that love and care for us.<br />
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We are thankful for each of you who read our posts, visit our website and Facebook page, and encourage us to keep moving forward toward completion of our projects. It's so very much appreciated. We're thankful for the feedback we have received regarding our demo and hope that if you haven't had the chance to try our demo that you'll take opportunity. It's free, pretty short, and will give an idea of what the feel of our first title will be like.<br />
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Again, Happy Thanksgiving and Thank you for visitingRobhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11725042666089421689noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5262657522893530233.post-47734183912257639582012-11-11T14:35:00.000-07:002012-11-11T14:35:55.567-07:00Fall Delays and Other Fun Stories.
<span style="font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", serif;">Fall is definitely in the air. Crisp, cold mornings. Scarpping the windshield with a bank card because you forgot to put the window scrapper in the car... Yep, the world is getting ready for its winter sleep.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Georgia;">Too bad people are not as available to take a much needed siesta. While I am grateful to have a day job and thankful that they are giving me boo-ko hours to work, it is challenging to build a game while working near 70 hours a week. Sometimes I am only taking in 4 hours of sleep in a 24 hour period. </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Georgia;">Add to that, the computer that has everything in terms of production software is starting to report issues with the graphics card. Crazy stuff.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Georgia;">So while our full version game is delayed, please surf over to our Games tab on our site and download the free demo. The button link will redirect you to our demo file on MediaFire.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Georgia;"></span><br />
<span style="font-family: Georgia;">If you have already downloaded it, please tell us what you think. Too short, boring, installation issues, is it fun to play, etc. We even want to hear if you love it and you want to buy the full version when it becomes available. </span><br />
<span style="font-family: Georgia;"></span><br />
<span style="font-family: Georgia;">With November typically being associated with a month of thanks, Game Crossing Studios would like to say thank you to all of you who visit our sites. Thanks to all those that download and play our demo. Thanks to all our friends (and future friends) on Facebook for all the support, strength and encouragement you give us to work through the hardtimes. Thank you to the 'staff' of GCS, for dedicating and sacrificing their time to bring this dream closser to reality. </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Georgia;">We love and appreciate the associations we gain through each of you. And we hope to get to know many more of you as we move forward.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Georgia;">Stay safe. Follow you beliefs.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Georgia;"></span><br />
<span style="font-family: Georgia;">Live Life & Play Games.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Georgia;">~Rob</span>Robhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11725042666089421689noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5262657522893530233.post-32723747378445324612012-10-30T10:54:00.001-06:002012-10-30T10:55:02.785-06:00Happy All Hallow's Eve..eve.<br />
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This is such a fun time of year for me. Although, I have to admit that with 6 birthdays and four major holidays between the middle of October and the end of the year these last weeks go by like a whirling dervish. It's important to keep our heads on (Halloween pun intended) through it all.<br />
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Every family has different traditions for this spooky season. Let me share a few of mine with you. My life basically revolves around food, so it's no surprise that the constants of my Halloween are edible. Like deluxe caramel apples and pumpkin turkey chile. We also love to dress up. When dressing up it's important to keep safety in mind. Beware the candle lit jack-o-lanterns as the sparkly skirts on most princess and fairy costumes is HIGHLY flammable. And even costumes that are labled as flame retardant will still melt and potentially burn a child worse than if it just ignited. May I recommend using glow sticks or battery powered lights in your pumpkins instead. Bonus: those don't blow out in the wind and you can get some fun colors for the glow sticks!<br />
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<img alt="Instead of candles use glow sticks! This is so cool! Must remember this for next year!" class="PinImageImg" height="238" src="http://media-cache-lt0.pinterest.com/upload/129760032983177810_ve5qtq1L_c.jpg" width="400" /> << I know, right?!<br />
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Now I am a bona fide panty waist and I simply can't handle scary movies. Like, at all. But I know that some people love to give themselves nightmares. Please act responsibly when it comes to the images you subject young children to though. A few fun facts:<br />
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<li class="first">The younger kids are when they see a scary movie or TV show, the longer-lasting the effects will be.<br />
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<li>Kids who watch scary material often have nightmares or anxiety.<br />
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<li class="last">Kids ages 2 to 7 often can’t distinguish between fantasy and reality.</li>
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The last one is particularly important in my eyes--They don't even know it's not real. And you can't unsee something. For more information on media, kids, and teens check out <a href="http://commonsensemedia.org/">commonsensemedia.org</a>.<br />
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It's important as parents that we are being an active filter for the media that is allowed into our homes. It can be a powerful tool for good, but also a toxic source that will rot the mind and spirit. As said before, you can't unsee it, and unfortunately things that are gory/violent or pornographic in nature leave the strongest impression and can greatly effect a child. The ESRB (Electronic Software Rating Board) (<- The ones that say whether a game is rated E,T,M, etc) is good but it is important to know exactly what's being played. Again, <a href="http://commonsensemedia.org/">commonsensemedia.org</a> is a great site to check out. They rate all the games and have detailed descriptions of what you need to know about the game. You can also browse games by ages it is appropriate for, skills required, etc. They also do this for movies, music, books, and tv shows. It's really a good site! <br />
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I'd like to take this time to point out how mild, compared to mainstream, our games are. My sweet little nephews will be playing them. :)<br />
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What will you all be doing in honor of "things that go bump in the night" this week?<br />
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Have a Happy & Safe Halloween from all of us at Game Crossing Studios!<br />
*Meg<br />
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<img alt="https://mail-attachment.googleusercontent.com/attachment/u/0/?ui=2&ik=ab0708242f&view=att&th=13aaa031c257b269&attid=0.1&disp=inline&realattid=f_h8uvgw560&safe=1&zw&saduie=AG9B_P-dDls55Fmd1an7_19kwNjU&sadet=1351614683353&sads=-aExR3dHZgMo1VQyKxwA1G7ktQw&sadssc=1" class="decoded" src="https://mail-attachment.googleusercontent.com/attachment/u/0/?ui=2&ik=ab0708242f&view=att&th=13aaa031c257b269&attid=0.1&disp=inline&realattid=f_h8uvgw560&safe=1&zw&saduie=AG9B_P-dDls55Fmd1an7_19kwNjU&sadet=1351614683353&sads=-aExR3dHZgMo1VQyKxwA1G7ktQw&sadssc=1" />Meghttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06512315957934623504noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5262657522893530233.post-51327346148140536062012-10-17T16:45:00.000-06:002012-10-17T16:45:56.977-06:00RPG Maker Makes it Easy to Game Making games can be a challenge. But it doesn't have to be. The engine that we are using to make Absolute Zero: Conspiracy is a newer version of the RPG Maker series. I had used the XP version while attending DeVry University Online to create a simple, single level game in less than eight weeks. It satisfied the requirements of the course, was quick and intuitive to use and has been the basis for a couple personal projects since graduating.<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjh1zwW4SdEkgkqgdJ4PLiuKc3rKzFOZ7AQ7svv4MvN0jt5IAMqIcmEfnHAR-1qA6X_ebVea09SPuwEjXdPtjxL9EIKQEhTMfZh0L2l1OZLTwEuT2d78uYvyKY9XwvevQndCZ7eF4mgRhLS/s1600/Title.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="152" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjh1zwW4SdEkgkqgdJ4PLiuKc3rKzFOZ7AQ7svv4MvN0jt5IAMqIcmEfnHAR-1qA6X_ebVea09SPuwEjXdPtjxL9EIKQEhTMfZh0L2l1OZLTwEuT2d78uYvyKY9XwvevQndCZ7eF4mgRhLS/s200/Title.jpg" width="200" /></a> I'm currently using the RPG Maker VX version to build our still-in-progress title. It has more features and has a little different art style than the XP version. Almost more of a classic RPG style that seems to really work well with my own style. I think that one of the best features of using the RPG Maker series is the easy drag and drop style to building your game world. The engine has enough already built into it that even if you don't add any additional scripts it can provide a strong basis and framework to build your story on. </div>
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It also comes loaded with sound effects, art assets, music, tilemaps and all the elements to build a game. Where you go from there is up to you as the creator. There is a great community that provides free and low cost resources including scripts to give your game a more personal flavor, art assets to expand characters as well as environments, and music that can be purchased for in-game use that totally changes the tone and atmosphere of the game. It's also possible to add your own scripts and assets to make the players experience 100% from you.<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhSXxi5lwcZEnZxdKXIbp4P-fbmE2cA3LMyAghYz-1cYUwX6NFfLCtC2PkuEsaVjO3CUXoZvF4d0QM7QACxxZ8fhTtRhLDj5xznv2mCSbPdIwS-n-BVe7aDEvVOANDblDvL7A17Cdhp1OmO/s1600/screenshot3.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="202" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhSXxi5lwcZEnZxdKXIbp4P-fbmE2cA3LMyAghYz-1cYUwX6NFfLCtC2PkuEsaVjO3CUXoZvF4d0QM7QACxxZ8fhTtRhLDj5xznv2mCSbPdIwS-n-BVe7aDEvVOANDblDvL7A17Cdhp1OmO/s320/screenshot3.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>
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Personally, what makes RPG Maker the choice for me at this point is the amount of time that I have available to devote to building a game. Becoming an Indie Game Maker is great, but it doesn't always pay the bills, so I work full-time plus to take care of the essentials of life. As grateful as I am to <em>have </em>a reliable job that takes care of my family, development time in recent weeks has seriously suffered. Luckily, RPG Maker doesn't require hours of coding to create a single scene. And with the use of others talents, I am able to focus on the creation and story process more than the actual production of a single sprite or face set.<br />
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Another awesome feature is that it supports a PC gamepad. So if you're not a fan of the keyboard/mouse gaming action you can customize your gamepad to play your own game.<br />
<table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: right;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjID6j-CATIXJ9ZH3Jtz_WkHPdvY4-Mk5UjqtdBJOvHDA6XdRyMPbfxVZrFn4ZTXs1wMS1lBqTsgpqQmbGEavftLwJnkdFUKmPk1R4R0aWGP7nQHsucEZsIuHzjnPTVnDj-gO7uKHfKwytD/s1600/RobFaceSet_reverse.png" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="160" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjID6j-CATIXJ9ZH3Jtz_WkHPdvY4-Mk5UjqtdBJOvHDA6XdRyMPbfxVZrFn4ZTXs1wMS1lBqTsgpqQmbGEavftLwJnkdFUKmPk1R4R0aWGP7nQHsucEZsIuHzjnPTVnDj-gO7uKHfKwytD/s320/RobFaceSet_reverse.png" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">The male protagonist in our game.</td></tr>
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Bottom-line, if you love games and have always wanted to tell your own stories in game mode, but don't feel confident in coding millions of lines of code, or are restrained from near limitless time to create your game from scratch, check out the RPG Maker series. They offer trial downloads to test their system and play in whatever world you care to create.<br />
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Seriously, what are you waiting for, click the link and <a href="http://www.rpgmakerweb.com/" target="_blank">Make Your Own Game</a>!Robhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11725042666089421689noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5262657522893530233.post-44933370720159632032012-10-15T09:38:00.001-06:002012-10-15T09:38:43.311-06:00What Value Do Games Really Have? Growing up, I loved games. (Clearly not much has changed...) But as Meg pointed out in the last post, and it has been drilled into many a teenager that we ought not to put all our time into games. So from the players side, what value do games serve?<br />
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I used the classic "It's improving my hand eye coordination" line on my parents. Not that I think they bought it as learning to play piano or most any other instrument would accomplish the same goal. But what do games do for us? We know that games in one form or another have been played for centuries. Ancient Egyptian wall paintings depict 'playing' some form of strategy game, as well as many games can be traced back many many years. Chess, anyone? So outside teaching some form of battle strategy, why would people feel the need to create some way to play at life? My answer, we <i>need</i> games. Whether it is used as a means of teaching a concept, simulating a medical procedure to increase a surgeons precision and practice, or any other reason including just the desire to relax and escape into another world, games fill a need.<br />
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As much as I'd like to use that excuse to buy the next totally awesome $60 game that hits the shelves, I know that won't fly. Games don't have to be in a digital format in order to provide an anti-stress or to teach a concept. Board games can also provide a sense of escape, but without the digital mask that is so easy to slip behind. In fact, some games that are in production to be video games get a production start as a crude form of board game so that developers can play through the rules and mechanics to see that they will work well, before spending hours and gobs of money to develop in a graphical digital format.<br />
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Video games are perhaps most often played (even unknowingly) as a means of escaping the real world for a time and being someone else. Anyone that has played a game such as Fable, or Star Wars: KOTOR, realize that some of the chosen actions are not the type of person you are in real life, but in the game world you can be just about anyone, with any personality, you want. Ever have a bad day at work and need to spend an hour web-swinging through New York as Spider-Man and beating up thugs? Or maybe life in general is dealing you some heavy stress making you feel less than in control, and you just need to play something to help you feel more in control and less stressed? Games provide us with the ability to play out scenarios and can be a very helpful coping tool.<br />
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Games can also be helpful in real world training. What would you rather do, play through a game based around a disaster and you play the role of an emergency responder...OR sit through a 1-2 hour presentation where information about your role in a disaster is explained without any hands on examples? Yeah, no brainer for me. By playing a game, I'm more likely to retain techniques if the simulated game clearly shows and explains what to do. I've sat through the presentations, and usually just feel tired and retain a fraction of the information because I haven't "experienced" it.<br />
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The bottom line is that there are some good benefits to games. Video and other. We're not encouraging people to just sit inside all day and play games all the time. (Though it is fun now and then) But rather, not to get discouraged with occasional or even regular game playing. Games in moderation can actually be healthy as a means of balancing life.Robhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11725042666089421689noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5262657522893530233.post-49259834593459203902012-10-01T23:42:00.003-06:002012-10-02T00:03:45.329-06:00Yin and YangOk, I have to admit, I'm not really going to be talking about yin and yang energies. But I am going to take some time and talk about balance. Specifically balance between games and real life, or RL as it is referred to in game shorthand. Hehe! See? I know a little something about gaming! But, if I'm honest I don't know a lot. All told, I'm a stay at home mom and I know far more about making dinner and playing with blocks than I do about gaming or making a game. But I do love a good story, and I love being a part of telling a story. Which is what I do here at Game Crossing Studios. So, on with the story. <br />
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I have gamed before and I have experiences I can draw on to illustrate my point about balance but to protect the innocent, or well-intentioned, the names and specifics of the stories have been changed. Any similarities to any person, place, or instance is purely <strike>coincidental</strike> unintentional.<br />
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Once upon a time in the magical land of high school a girl named Margie had a boyfriend and he was addicted to a popular MMORPG. She would call him and he would be silent for long stretches and unresponsive. So, Margie decided that she would play the game and they would have something to talk about and they could talk while they played together! It seemed like a good idea at the time and they had one session where it worked, but only one. The relationship suffered.<br />
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Loise and Michael were married, and happily so! But then a game came into Michael's life and began to take over! At first it was just for a few hours on the weekend, but it soon became several hours every day after work and late into the night. Sometimes he would even stay up so late he would only get one or two hours of sleep before waking to leave for work. Loise was hurt that Michael no longer paid attention to her and asked him several times to quit playing the game. But he was addicted. He eventually broke free of it though and with the new-found time Michael has been able to develop talents he always wanted.<br />
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Don and Amy had 4 kids. And an XBox Live account. Even though the game play was not one sided as it was in the previous stories the ending is not a pleasant one. They played often. And often played alone. There were other issues in their marriage, but one can't help but wonder if perhaps the time could have been used trying to fix things and repair past damage instead of shooting pixels on a screen. Lets just say, the divorce was not pretty.<br />
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I saw the documentary "Indie Game: The Movie" today and I was so saddened by how reclusive the development of these games had made their creators. One of them even said that he would kill himself if his game didn't make it to release! I surely hope that Rob, the commander and chief of and real brains behind Game Crossing Studios, has not gotten to that point!!<br />
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Everything in our lives needs to be in balance in order for us to be happy. Too much of one thing forces a shortage of something else because, let's face it, we all have just 24 hours in a day. That's a mere 1440 minutes. For example, if I spent more time practicing the piano and less time surfing the internet as a teen I would probably be able to play the piano.<br />
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We have responsibilities that must be taken care of and we have goals we make to try and better ourselves. Those are important and good. I'm talking about mindless for hours and hours and hours on end, where days turn into months kind of playing. Especially when it is at the expense of the happiness of a loved one. <br />
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It is important that we take time to recharge our personal batteries and that we participate in things that make us happy. When we take care of ourselves we are able to have the energy to take care of others. And gaming can be a fantastic way to decompress. It can also be a fun activity that helps build relationships. I have fond memories of playing Street Fighter, Duck Hunt, Wii Sport, Mario Kart, and others, with those I love and the laughter we shared. So it most certainly can be a good, fun, relationship strengthening thing. But it can easily get out of hand so just remember that on your death bed you probably won't be wishing you beat that big bad boss. <br />
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Until next time. <br />
Live life. Play games.<br />
Meg Meghttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06512315957934623504noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5262657522893530233.post-71419967051889088742012-09-17T20:17:00.000-06:002012-09-17T20:17:37.407-06:00The Thick & Thin of Our Conspiracy<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"> To be honest, I had hoped to have our first title ready to distribute to the masses, or at least the 3 or 4 people kind enough to drive up my page view numbers (thanks Mom, just kidding, I don't think my mom even knows I <i>have</i> a website and blog...). But truth of the matter is that we aren't ready for it to be turned out to the public yet.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"> It may be close to a early demo version, but there is still a lot of missing story elements, incomplete art assets and a couple audio clips that I'd like to add before we let <i>real</i> people dig into the meat and potatoes of it. Sorry, we want to show everyone, we're just a bit self-conscious.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"> In the meantime, let me tell you a bit about the process and journey this whole hobby project took.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"> It started in December of 2011. Having graduated from DeVry University the year before and having toyed with about four to six other game plans between that time and last December, I was chatting with a good friend and expressing some of the frustrations that the day to day job held. It started like a joke, the idea of escaping the current jobs. (Granted that is not to say that I'm/we're ungrateful to have the day jobs that we have, but as with any job, the frustrating days can lead to dreams of finding better employment.)</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"> So from the kernel of escape we built the premise of this first in what developed into an older idea of a comic book series I had worked on <i>many </i>years ago. The story began with a very basic structure as the game idea began to form. Over the months it has been modified and stretched to answer questions that were present, and to give a bit more depth to the story than a simple escape the building game.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"> From there concept art was developed, and as is stated on our website, we all have day jobs or activities that demand our attention. Therefore the concept art was slow in being developed. Initial concepts planned for us to use fully 3D rendered characters, rigged, animated and to create our game as close to a Triple A title as we could. And I fully believe we <i>could</i> have done that...but we didn't. We wanted to be able to have this game distributed by the end of 2012, and knowing that our first character wasn't even fully sculpted and we were a couple weeks into it, helped us see that as a side job with limited amount of time we could not expect miracles when we were first attempting to break into a market like this. </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"> The story was good, the concept art and storyboards were adequate, but the mode that we were wanting to take was needing adjusted. So we considered our options. We had wanted to use Unity3D, they have a great engine that has solid documentation and tutorials to help any indie get up to speed. But knowing that asset creation was a task that we didn't have the luxury of putting the amount of time into it that we really wanted we looked at other engines that we could customize enough and get custom assets through a community forum for little to nothing. </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"> That's when we came across Enterbrain's RPG Maker series. They have a strong active forum community that has been extremely helpful in providing assets in art as well as music and mapping tiles. Scripts are available as well to help customize the look and functions of a game. It is also a great engine for the hobby game builder on a budget. While many of those talented individuals asked only for credit to be given as payment for the use of their work, we hope to make a little something through this project that we can donate back to help keep them producing the amazing products and resources for future game makers. </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"> We recognize the sacrifice and efforts of everyone in the game development industry. And while it is a great career to get into it really can eat up time, especially if it's not your day job. </span><span style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;">The time (late nights and evenings) that I alone have spent on this project from December 2011 to now is close to 800 hours. If parents think that playing video games wastes a persons time... yikes! </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"> Seriously though it has been a good experience, I've enjoyed struggling and working long distance with some great people and look forward to one day being able to to this as a full time gig. In most post development documents they record what was done good, what was done bad, and how to improve both. </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"> While we're not done yet, I would say the good has been the way we've stuck to it even when life has thrown multiple challenges at us individually and as a team. It isn't easy working at a distance, let alone working out a project in our 'spare' time and having a TON of personal stuff take precedence over our intentions on this project.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"> The bad has been the documentation. While I may have 3 spiral notebooks full of doodles, notes, concept ideas and documentation, I would say that as a team we failed to accurately and efficiently document our path so that we could have a benchmark for future games.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"> The improvement I believe will come as we better establish roles within our team, make documentation a prime part of the process and continue to move forward one project at a time. Focusing and making success a deliberate result of concerted effort is much less risky than relying on dedication and luck alone.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"> So to you the gamer, we're not going anywhere. We'll continue working to make games that we hope you will enjoy. And we <i>are</i> listening. Go to our website, at the bottom of the home page, take the opportunity to tell us what kind of games you like. Or if you have a great game idea and feel like sharing, tell us. We're not a big game making machine, we want what you want, awesome games that are fun to play.</span>Robhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11725042666089421689noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5262657522893530233.post-54084721060004300192012-09-08T07:40:00.001-06:002012-09-08T07:40:53.917-06:00Games and Girls Hi all, I’m Meg and a new contributor to the Game Crossing Studio blog! For this first post I’m going to talk about women and our relationship with video games. <br />
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I have seen both appropriate and inappropriate gaming. That is to say I have seen people spend far and away too much time in front of a screen with flashing images! This may sound strange coming from someone who develops video games and has dealt with creating fictional world most of her life but it is important to remember where our real priorities lie and to spend our time accordingly. Gaming can be a lot of fun and I hope you really like playing our games, just not at the expense of your personal relationships.<br />
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I’ll move on from that before I lose my job! :)<br />
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I want to talk for a second about how female characters are portrayed in games. Recently we got Batman: Arkham Asylum and Batman: Arkham City. I know, I’m behind the times. But since these two games were so highly rated I’m going to use them as examples of what I’m talking about. The females are portrayed in what I feel is a less than respectful manner. I mean, is Poison Ivy wearing anything at all on her lower half?! What happened to the full leotard of the comics that Harley Quinn wore? She’s now in a bra, mini skirt, and combat boots! Talia could have been in body paint for all we know. Don’t get me started on Catwoman’s jumpsuit and how low cut it is! Are these images we want displayed in our homes? What does this teach our kids about women? What effect does it have on male teens and adults?<br />
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This is my call to all game producers, comic writers, and movie producers: We want to see a strong female hero who wears clothes. Who is smart and inventive. Who respects herself enough to demand respect from others. I don’t want my daughter to come away from a game thinking that the way to get ahead is to be provocative. I don’t want my son to come away from a game thinking that women are objects for visual pleasure.<br />
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What are you're feelings on video games and how they portray women?<br />
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-Meg<br />
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Hey Meg, thanks for the upfront post. <br />
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From the male side (or at least <em>this</em> male's side) I can agree with you that the accepted fashion sense is less sense and more skin. It's like the fantasy games where female characters wear next to nothing and run off into battle. Seriously? Whatever state of reality the publish is hoping to create is diminished as those women characters have no defense against anything including the wind. Or they shouldn't as they aren't wear much more than a couple pieces of fabric stitched together.<br />
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So to what end is the basis for this portrayal? The marketing term sex sells is rampant in society. But behind the near-naked people in a game, is there a story and real gameplay or are developers planning that boys in particular will buy their game because of the enticing female graphics? Some games do have both story and less than modest graphics, but do they need the immodest attire?<br />
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For those of us "old gamers" like me, the reason we played games initially was because they were fun. You can't really say that the princesses we rescued in the old Mario and Zelda games held our attention longer than to inform us that we finished the game. But people played for hours and days (Meg touched on this too, it can be a bad thing) developers had to dig deeper and really deliver gameplay more than eye-candy.<br />
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To mirror Meg's invitation, if we as a society are not tolerant of the immodest portrayal, those producers and developers will <em>have</em> to change their tactics and put some clothes on those digital characters. Don't be afraid to <em>not</em> buy a game or watch a movie or TV show that doesn't reflect your standards. Consider the affects of those images on a views mind. I have a friend whose father has a signature line on his email that reads: "Be careful what you put into your head, because you can never get it out."Robhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11725042666089421689noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5262657522893530233.post-2372215850565379152012-08-19T21:21:00.000-06:002012-08-19T21:22:34.556-06:00It all starts with a seed...<span style="font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", serif;"> I'm sure that this is a small matter for most people that may read this, but I'm honored that this blog had 17 new views in the last couple weeks. Okay, I know it's kind of like the geek that gets all super excited when he gets his first friend on Facebook, but its sort of humbling and intimidating at the same time that what I type here is actually being seen by someone, anyone, and not just filling some digital landfill in the virtual cyber-space. So I want to say, Thank you. </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Georgia;"> I imagine that anyone that has hit our site or read through any of my random-rambling blogs can see what we are hoping and trying to do is the result of a dream and desire. That something small, such as a thought or impression, can grow into something tangible. (Or in our case, downloadable). And while it is yet a bit away for release, it's more real than it has ever been in the past. That sense of anticipated completion and the excitement push us on to making it happen. It's like the dream has moved from that of a deep sleep to that place just between wakefulness and sleep. Right on the edge of reality.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Georgia;"> The journey has been longer than hoped for and to be honest longer than it had to be. But if the thought is a seed, then the actions we take upon that thought becomes the act of nurturing and nourishing the seed. In our case I believe that it must been some <em>extremely slow</em> growing seed, but that may be dependant on the amount and quality of nourishment I was providing. The trick to gardening (or growing a dream, if you're still following my analogy) is to continue to nourish even after it has grown.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Georgia;"> A tree doesn't simply need cared for while it is a seed/sprout/sapling. Rather it requires that continuing care be given in order to produce the highest quality. So for Game Crossing Studios, I believe that means two things:</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Georgia;"> 1)We must continue to make games. Even after this one is done, put the time into the next one as though it is the first, but utilizing the experience and knowledge gained through the first.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Georgia;"> 2)We have to give back. Putting time and effort into these games is satisfying and my kids love to play them even before they're complete, but ultimately the way this dream grows is the care and support we receive outside our own efforts. So while you are supporting us we want to be able to help others obtain their dreams.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Georgia;"> To that end, I invite you to Like us on Facebook (<a href="http://www.facebook.com/GameCrossingStudios">www.facebook.com/GameCrossingStudios</a>) and message or comment to us about what dreams you have. We have set a goal, a rather lofty goal for a small indie gamer like us, but a goal of 75,000 downloads of our first title. When we reach that goal we would like to share the success with our friends and fans as much as possible in helping you attain your dreams.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Georgia;"> Dreams don't have to stay dreams forever. Thanks again for all the support, I look forward to hearing your dreams and hope to be able to help you reach them as you have helped me reach mine.</span>Robhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11725042666089421689noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5262657522893530233.post-69451855719888898252012-08-05T12:40:00.003-06:002012-08-05T12:40:54.973-06:00Official Title: Absolute Zero: ConspiracyA few things have changed in development, some for the better, others... well let's just focus on the positive, shall we?<br />
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So far we have scaled back from the 3D/third person perspective game that we were intending to go. I would chalk that one up to the amount of time required in asset development and creation versus the skill level of those creating the 3 Dimensional models. Ah...maybe next time. Not holding my breath on the next two titles from us, but definitely in the future.<br />
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The premise has remained the same, and the framework is really coming together. Many of the assets are ready and a pre-alpha testing was able to happen in late June. Of course, a lot of content has been added since then, including some feedback regarding instructing players on how to actually play. Plus of course knowing key locations, like where to pick up your weapons... you know sort of key stuff.<br />
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This and other elements that needed tweaked, adjusted and otherwise scrapped and rebuilt may have pushed it back a bit. But I am confident that it won't deter from a 4th Quarter release...<br />
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As for where you can pick up your brand-spankin-new copy of our game, well, we're hoping to distribute largely through Steampowered.com but might also try to sell directly from this blog via a PayPal system. I don't know what Steam will suggest for pricing, I would think less than $10 per download as it is a small retro-style independent made game. Heck, a $5-6 download would be awesome in my mind.<br />
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As we do draw closer to the end of this title, be sure to tell your friends about us. The Blog, the Steam store, the game in and of itself. We of course will be doing the same, including posting on Facebook and Twitter. Also be watching for future video releases on YouTube as well as the Social Media sites.<br />
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With the coming release we'll be releasing more details about the future titles. We are planning a game or two for mobile platforming, another PC title and hopefully in the not <i>too</i> distant future we'll be better able to realistically consider the possibility of porting to the console indie market.Robhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11725042666089421689noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5262657522893530233.post-17499226874115334992012-02-06T18:44:00.001-07:002012-02-06T18:45:33.108-07:00Project Year OneOur team has been working on this game project for just over a month now, and it is really becoming more defined. The story arc is spanning beyond the scope of this initial game which is exciting from my perspective because it means a potential sequel in the works. Concept art is beginning to take shape and 3D models will soon be created and the level design implemented.<br />
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The game is targeted at home computers via steamwork's online network as the distribution method. There is definitely a learning curve, not just with all the new ideas and plans, but in adding features that players seem to really enjoy such as achievements and online leaderboards. Luckily the distributor deals with the maintenance of that, but we need to make sure that the players have plenty of options to make the achievements more than just time trials and other typical game fluff.<br />
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Development has been somewhat slow as all my team members, including myself, have day jobs & life responsibilities that prevent us from doing as much as we'd like on this project for any substantial amount of time. I suppose the old adage of slow and steady wins the race might be applicable to our development method. Hopefully with that time and diligent effort a high quality will also come with it. The goal of course being that by the time the sequel comes into development, more time might be available to focus on it. Even though there is value in taking plenty of time I would much prefer that the development run more quickly and smoothly. <br />
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Subscribe to learn about future advances in this and other game projects.Robhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11725042666089421689noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5262657522893530233.post-42255266051925673102012-01-07T20:21:00.000-07:002012-01-07T20:21:29.221-07:00Go Big or Go HomeIn my previous post, I expressed the frustration of not having done what I had set out to accomplish. At least in the time frame that I had hoped. From that time to this, I have given a lot of thought to whether I would continue the pursuit of Rob - Indie Game Developer, or Rob - potential IT guy for who knows where. I suppose given the right 'somewhere' I could have my cake and eat it too. Which is a solid plan as I am going to need someway to support my family while I chase a dream.<br />
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So, one part of my life will now include the pursuit of the shirt and tie person that is me looking for the right job that somewhat resembles my field of study. Meanwhile the more true to thyself T-shirt and jeans me will be working with a homegrown team of dreamers that are willing to work, pretty much for free, with the hopes that we do this project right and hit it out of the park. I heard a saying once, "Plan big. Small plans don't have the power to stir the hearts of men." To that end, my team and I are going to be working on something bigger than I've ever done before. And may well be above our ability to pull it off, but at least it will be 100% ours. And each of them will be able to proudly put their name on it.<br />
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgDpoNQx2iQKVzvxTc3jDgdzvhWGVoMC2XPCXKkN3WWnd-o9RutdLclxKe0DaJY-IBwartqM4G6BXCNORsOBSw_XEg-RiMxQA_xrO7aKfMtvcFFgi-z-nL8q3NqD3_iF6TrK_gk9lZvrDxd/s1600/CrossingLogo2.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" rea="true" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgDpoNQx2iQKVzvxTc3jDgdzvhWGVoMC2XPCXKkN3WWnd-o9RutdLclxKe0DaJY-IBwartqM4G6BXCNORsOBSw_XEg-RiMxQA_xrO7aKfMtvcFFgi-z-nL8q3NqD3_iF6TrK_gk9lZvrDxd/s320/CrossingLogo2.jpg" width="307" /></a></div>For now we are keeping the details close to the vest, so to speak. But I will say that it is planned to be a full 3D game with some awesome detail and story to go with it. No doubt we will post images and details about what we are planning as the development progresses, but for now it's just exciting to have a full team behind me. Maybe that is what was missing in the earlier designs. In either case, come what may, Game Crossing Studios will have plenty more to work on after this project ends.Robhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11725042666089421689noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5262657522893530233.post-36795192614453265452011-11-04T17:00:00.000-06:002011-11-04T17:00:18.074-06:00The Dark Days of GamingMy final course in college was both the creation and completion of an entire game level from scratch and a prep work for developing a resume and getting ready to make the plunge into the industry job hunt. As students we had planned and prepared for this transition with dreams of making a difference or at least being a cog in a much grander machine that churned out massive triple-A title games that raked in multi-millions. Most were anxious to pursue their careers, some intended to simply further there current job opportunities. Being an odd kid from the start, I announced then that I had intended to start my own business and make <em>my</em> games, not the games that others told me to make. I remember one student chastened the thought as being the simple way out. Neither forging ahead in a path already begun, nor jumping in with two feet into the employment hunt. It was suggested that it was the easy path.<br />
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In all the days, from that one to this, that rebuke still haunts me. I have not done what I had set out to do. I've developed <em>plans</em> on more than a dozen concepts, most of which are intended to be simple in design to be achievable. But I have not filed my paperwork to be a legally registered business. I have not completed a single project in that time. Discouragement and doubt leave me wondering if I made the wrong choice to stick it out in the Indie Game Development arena, least of all in an area where I have not heard of many Indie Developers residing as a support system.<br />
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Life is all about choices. Do I continue with a dream or set the dream aside and focus on the perceptions of reality around me? Ultimately the choices we make are our own and no one can give the perfect answer for everyone every time. The wake-up call has been given, now I have to decide what I will do with it.Robhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11725042666089421689noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5262657522893530233.post-20724978739784148012011-04-21T19:41:00.000-06:002011-04-21T19:41:21.811-06:00The Secret Life of the Indie Gamer Well, I can't say that I've been asked much lately about what I plan on doing with my degree and or how my plans are progressing. But on occasion someone on the fringes of my social circle will ask when will I graduate and what will I do. Being a methodical person I first inform them that I graduated back in October, oops, did you not get the grad party announcement? Then I explain a birds eye view of my master plot, which often excludes the part where I take over the planet using subliminal messages in the games I make. You know, don't want to ruin the surprise. I suppose most frequently my response is met with what I would best describe as the 'Oh-you-poor-misguided-graduate' look, followed with "Well, good luck with that. If you need any help testing..."<br />
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I shrug it off and continue on. After all, what else am I to do. My goal is to build games. But not just any games, <em>my games. </em>Going the indie route isn't what I would call the easiest or most profitable, but it is doing something that I like and can respect. Given that I'm the one that has to see my ugly mug each morning, at least I can be happy about the fact that I am able to do something I really enjoy... even if it doesn't pay anything yet.<br />
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But for any budding indie game developer, or anyone looking to venture out on their own in any regard, the best piece of advice I can offer right now is documentation. I <em>hated</em> that part during school. The design docs, concept docs, risk analysis docs... it seemed like we were doing more documenting than coding sometimes. But having gone solo for a couple projects I can really appreciate the value of a good plan and having it written down before jumping feet first into the project. Especially the "easy" designs. Plan what to build. Build what you plan. And refer to your goals and plans as often as needed.<br />
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I think that would relate to anything in life. Budgeting, school, career. Set a course, and include in that plan how to get back on course if you get off course because unless life never throws you a curve ball, you're bound to get off track once in a while. And remember to have fun with it.Robhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11725042666089421689noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5262657522893530233.post-21601179033872010472011-04-10T16:33:00.000-06:002011-04-10T16:33:04.358-06:00Boy Toy or Girl Toy with Your Kids Meal? I had read an article some time back that compared the choice of toys made for boys or girls and which were more popular. Not having a photographic memory I don't recall the entire gist of the article, but I do recall that the toys available for boys were meant to (in large part) bring about a sort of 3rd party play. Such as action figures or something to play "with". Meanwhile the toys packaged for girls had a more personal interactive role involved. Such as things that the child could "do".<br />
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In comparison to an article posted on <a href="http://www.blogger.com/%3Ca%20href=%22http://www.psxextreme.com/ps3-news/8857.html%22%3EPlaying%20Video%20Games%20Isn't%20Feminine%20-%20PS3%20News%3C/a%3E">PSX Extreme Newsletter</a> the contrasting sides were related to boys and girls or rather men and women and game playing habits. I found the article interesting to the degree of posing the question, but then leaving it open to public comments to propose a rationale that might identify <em>why</em> more men than women play games. I'd have liked to see more of that direction followed. As nice as it is to see that some of the comments evaluated that aspect, I figured I'd add my two cents.<br />
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Being a guy, and being what I would consider a gamer, I think I have a good feel for the why I play games. They are fun. They allow me to do things I couldn't such as drive a suped up <em>way</em> expensive sports car. Games give an escape, when I feel frustrated I'd rather play a game to blow off steam than have a fit of actual road rage or any other act of violent behavior. Games can provide an alternate reality allowing me to experience what is "could" have been like for someone in an earlier time period. (Though I'm sure in that time period, I'd have to find some time to sleep and eat, unlike in most games...)<br />
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In an effort to not assume what women feel about games or their lives. I have observed that women often are more interested in connections than the standard isolation of game consoles. Perhaps games do not offer enough connection, though they have become much better about that through the various online games that are available now. This of course is not to say that all women dislike video games and like hanging out with others, nor is it to say that all guys would rather sit in front of a TV blasting swarms of alien invaders instead of go out with other real live people and do something. What I do think is that women are more likely to spend less time invested in a virtual game world that doesn't offer any real world value or substance (i.e. level grinding on a role playing game comes to mind). I do think that with the advent of social media and the games that allow for interaction, women are more involved than what they had been. Whether this is a shift in isolated media to social media or if it shows the evolution from treating women targeted games as being only frilly and cutesy to giving more realistic and appropriate roles in games. I don't know... maybe the paradigm hasn't shifted at all.<br />
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I think that what I am taking away from this thought process is that by and large games have (either by design or inadvertently) not been effective in gaining women players. I don't know that there is a simple blueprint that would ratify this stereotype, but I think that one place to start would be with asking women what they would want to spend their time playing. Oh, and then of course implementing that into a game. Even if it means not adding that huge meat-headed hero that can slaughter a ba-zillion zombies, rescue the village and whiten his teeth all in a days work.Robhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11725042666089421689noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5262657522893530233.post-30727989084897336032011-04-04T15:28:00.000-06:002011-04-04T15:28:24.760-06:00The Proof is in the Pudding Okay, so the title doesn't exactly ooze with gamer coolness... in fact, it sounds like a better title for <a href="http://otherkitchenessentials.blogspot.com/?authuser=0">Sugar and Spice</a> a great recipe blog. But given that I haven't posted anything new in oh, over a month now. I figured I should show people what has been going on at Game Crossing Studios.<br />
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Besides the initial and "formal" procedures of actually moving toward a "legal" business entity, we've been planning and working on a new game platform. It has a bit of a learning curve, as mobile games isn't at all what I had gone to school with a focus in. I love the idea of having the desktop and server quantities of mass storage. Both capable of holding huge amounts of information and in a manner that would allow for highly detailed graphics. Not that I am currently developing at that level, but I like the freedom that comes with it. Meanwhile as smart phones and mobile devices become, well smarter, and storage mass is continuing to shrink to ever smaller footprints, the reality and viability of games and applications that are available and needed in a mobile market increases.<br />
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Game Crossing Studio had announced that we would be working on a project that utilizes the Windows Phone 7 and may cross develop for XBOX360 and Windows desktop and that is still the plan. In fact the following picture is the beginnings of what we are working with on the Windows Phone 7.<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjNs5I60a99oFFOPl6iRHM-pdikrqeVkByKrcZBcDfIvdo8OUlnTaUgVLE11Y7vYWKxlG4-1SBzL2cOV-Ib_Am_PaF2evVF6wSF0LTJf0tH1fys-X_dTjeXfiGBrE9h1Ej6LXAyrgUoTBdh/s1600/WindowsProject1.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="213" r6="true" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjNs5I60a99oFFOPl6iRHM-pdikrqeVkByKrcZBcDfIvdo8OUlnTaUgVLE11Y7vYWKxlG4-1SBzL2cOV-Ib_Am_PaF2evVF6wSF0LTJf0tH1fys-X_dTjeXfiGBrE9h1Ej6LXAyrgUoTBdh/s320/WindowsProject1.jpg" width="320" /></a></div> As a side note, having been ribbed a bit by Mac users to work on a development for the iPhone/iPad, I would like to point out that the development tools to work on this platform are available for FREE! I suppose the response may be that development on the i-Platforms is too, assuming that you are using a Mac to write the code from. Thus, I work with what I have and am content to grow at a level that allows me to work at the pace life demands.<br />
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I realize that the photo isn't much to go on. It is pretty basic, but it does constitute quite a bit of energy in developing resources, studying the nuances of C# instead of the C++ I studied in school, and the fact that I haven't been able to devote as much time as I'd like to this. However, it is underway and we will be providing updates as the process continues. If you know anyone with a Windows Phone 7 encourage them to let you play our game when it comes out! And if you don't have a Windows Phone 7, (Microsoft would love for me to say go get one... but) we may be adapting this game for PC or possibly another mobile device as a future release. Be patient.Robhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11725042666089421689noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5262657522893530233.post-26103945574778622202011-03-03T19:16:00.000-07:002011-03-03T19:16:25.360-07:00The Games That People Play<div style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none;"> I think it's safe to say that anyone that is crazy enough to actually read my blog posts has some interest in games and probably has a hand full of all time favorites if not a list of what they're currently playing. I would say that a portion of my "job" as I attempt to independently create games is to play the games that are out there... you know, as strictly research of course. While I'd like to be able to say that I have a firm grasp on the newest hot and upcoming games, I must admit that I often shop the bargain bin and usually stick with the games that seem appealing to me. But that leaves a HUGE gap of gamers that don't play the way I do.</div><div style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none;"><br />
</div><div style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none;"> This gap leads me to beg the question: What games do you play? This question is in part an opportunity to help direct the next project that I'm planning. It's slated for a much larger venue than the current line up. I'm looking at a title to be multi-platform spread across the XBOX 360 downloadable marketplace, the new Windows Phone 7, and of course the PC. The initial concept is to be a platformer, but there are a couple directions on the burner that I'd love to take it. Granted what I play often influences the way that I design and some of the features that I would love to add to my games. So as of late, here is what I've been playing:</div><ul><li style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjrDgz_8IutRm-9OZMJd1d3DBLiQrUIt3ciFc3OF63dQ0G-Imn7bhmoLPHY4rRtSV36pbvPeYMMDWVd-hiRovaCxDClxgCIL2IN34vU9171g3EzYMg2ybBMQtKJj0YDThcvLcAmf4hAV5Nt/s1600/Fable3.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; cssfloat: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="200" l6="true" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjrDgz_8IutRm-9OZMJd1d3DBLiQrUIt3ciFc3OF63dQ0G-Imn7bhmoLPHY4rRtSV36pbvPeYMMDWVd-hiRovaCxDClxgCIL2IN34vU9171g3EzYMg2ybBMQtKJj0YDThcvLcAmf4hAV5Nt/s200/Fable3.jpg" width="141" /></a>Fable 2 & 3 (XBOX360)</li>
<li style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none;">Kinect Adventures (XBOX360)</li>
<li style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none;">Halo 3 (XBOX360)</li>
<li style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none;">Final Fantasy XIII (PS3)</li>
<li style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none;">New Super Mario Bros. Wii (Wii)</li>
<li style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none;">Donkey Kong Country Returns (Wii)</li>
</ul><div style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none;">And just for unwinding and otherwise just messing around</div><ul><li style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none;">Guitar Hero 5 (PS3)</li>
</ul><div style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none;"> No doubt there are others that I enjoy and love to play on occasion, but this would be my most recent 3-4 month frequently played titles. If you have a game that you think is a total blast comment on it here. I can't promise that I'll use all or even some of its elements in the next game that I set out to build, but I could promise a copy of our yet to be released, still in production, first title. Comment back and when its ready to go gold I'll send a link to the file download. As always, happy gaming!</div><div class="separator" style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none; clear: both; text-align: center;"></div>Robhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11725042666089421689noreply@blogger.com0