My Offsite Backup Solutions

By GBGames, on January 27th, 2012%

To go along with my last post on indie maintenance and disaster plans, I’d like to mention how I currently back up my important data.

Local Backups

I have two active computers. My main development machine is my currently dying laptop. My desktop has a backup of my laptop’s data. Using rsync and SSH, . . . → Read More: My Offsite Backup Solutions

Indie Maintenance and Disaster Plans

By GBGames, on January 25th, 2012%

My Dell Precision M90, which has been running like a champ for more than half a decade despite my cats’ attempts to get their fur clogged in its fans, is finally dying. I’ve been seeing graphical glitches for some time, but I’ve been able to continue working, and the glitches eventually go away. Except when . . . → Read More: Indie Maintenance and Disaster Plans

Integrating LodePNG with an SDL Project

By GBGames, on January 9th, 2012%

In efforts to port Stop That Hero! to the Mac, I ran into a strange issue involving PNG image data.

See, the level layout in “Stop That Hero!” is defined by a 50×33 PNG. The colors of pixels in the PNG correspond to tiles and structures in the game. Grass tiles are represented in . . . → Read More: Integrating LodePNG with an SDL Project

Why It Is Important to Document Even the Smallest Decisions

By GBGames, on November 23rd, 2011%

A week or so ago, I was configuring the hero summoning queue for my villages in “Stop That Hero!” (still available for pre-order!), and I couldn’t figure out why I had a special “END_QUEUE” for the last item in my queues. None of my code handled it, so it got ignored, and removing it didn’t . . . → Read More: Why It Is Important to Document Even the Smallest Decisions

Do You Have $9 to Kickstart Bhaloidam?

By GBGames, on October 24th, 2011%

Corvus Elrod of Semionaut’s Notebook fame is doing something big: he’s pursuing his dream.

Corvus has done more involving story and play than anyone else I know. He has a wealth of knowledge about games, story, play, and community. He’s worked for decades exploring various aspects of “participatory storytelling,” and he talks about the . . . → Read More: Do You Have $9 to Kickstart Bhaloidam?