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Southlake, TX
Imparting game development wisdom of dubious quality a ridiculously long time.
February 24, 2001
I finally completed my third and final class in AutoCAD. It's rather fun, but from a software engineering viewpoint I don't envy the Autodesk folks one bit. AutoCAD is such a mind-numbing patchwork of old and new that I don't know how they update the thing. For example, there are three different wa…
February 16, 2001
I don't know who sent the International I-Hate-Think-Tank Society an email, but whoever you are, you must've said something interesting. He's now insisting that I wrote your email. Good work!
I got a call from Activision a few days ago. They're trying to put together a 300 game pack, and since most…
I got a call from Activision a few days ago. They're trying to put together a 300 game pack, and since most…
February 15, 2001
I got another fun email from the chairman of the huge movement that's dedicated to running me out of the business for putting all of those cheats into Think Tank. He now seems upset that I didn't print his earlier emails --apparently they are much more grammatically robust and coherent than his lat…
February 09, 2001
I just got an email from Cybiko. On the 12th and 13th of February, they're expanding the number of stupid-bucks I get for folks buying stuff using my secret code, and they're raising the referral discount to 20% for those two days.
I'll make you a deal.
If you go and order a Cybiko here on the 12th o…
I'll make you a deal.
If you go and order a Cybiko here on the 12th o…
February 07, 2001
I changed up the bitmaps a bit above. Never really liked the old ones, because they were too dark. Also made the links bigger and gave Common Sense its own space. Just making things look a bit different. Change for change's sake. The kind of stuff I warn others about :)
January 29, 2001
Still cleaning out the closets. Here's some stuff you might be interested in.
Visual Basic 5.0
SoftC Database Library
VTune 4.0
Eight issues of a British game magazine
A cute little Windows CE handheld gizmo
Two issues of The Cursor and three issues of CGDA Report
Design and Evolution of C++ by Stroustrup…
Visual Basic 5.0
SoftC Database Library
VTune 4.0
Eight issues of a British game magazine
A cute little Windows CE handheld gizmo
Two issues of The Cursor and three issues of CGDA Report
Design and Evolution of C++ by Stroustrup…
January 26, 2001
Well,it's officially the end of an era. I just sent a letter to the Activision legal department, exercising my right to cancel the contract for 24 Games for Windows 95 after five years. I killed the contract for a few reasons, the biggest of which is to stop the sub-sub-licensed games that are sell…
January 25, 2001
I'm going to reveal some industry secrets here. Don't spread this around, but here are the official instructions on. . .
How to be a game producer!
1. Get a terrifically kEwL idea for a game. Make sure it's gigantic in scope and would require millions of dollars for a big studio to implement it. Shor…
How to be a game producer!
1. Get a terrifically kEwL idea for a game. Make sure it's gigantic in scope and would require millions of dollars for a big studio to implement it. Shor…
January 23, 2001
I don't know if you remember, but a few months ago I got several funny emails from a bored kid who claimed that there was an active group afoot dedicated to running me out of the business because of the dozens of cheats that I allegedly built into Think Tank. Needless to say, he had some comments a…
January 20, 2001
Just a quickie here. I did another pass through my collection, and I'm dropping some stuff off on eBay at bargain prices. The whole list is here, but here are the highlights that might be of interest to game programmers. . .
Artificial Intelligence by Patrick Henry Winston
LISPCraft
Mix Database Too…
Artificial Intelligence by Patrick Henry Winston
LISPCraft
Mix Database Too…
January 11, 2001
Awright, listen up, because I've got an announcement. Many of you have figured it out already, so I'm gonna make it official.
I'm getting out of the game-development business as a full-time vocation.
Don't worry, it's not like I'm broke and I'm slinking away from the business. As you've probably noti…
I'm getting out of the game-development business as a full-time vocation.
Don't worry, it's not like I'm broke and I'm slinking away from the business. As you've probably noti…
January 07, 2001
I'm in a bad mood today, so here's a list of
Things That Suck
Things That Suck
- The CueCat. It's a solution to a problem nobody had. They will go bankrupt. Period.
- Computer add-ons that allow you to add smells to games. Bad idea. 100% doomed.
- Game-pads and handheld games that vibrate. It doesn't add a damn thing to th…
January 05, 2001
Just thought I'd post a screenshot of Cybiko Bulldozer in action. Since the screenshot was so tiny, I made a little graphical Cybiko around it so you could see the shot in-context.
Once again, kudos to TANSTAFFL, the man who's fast becoming the finest Cybiko-hacker in the industry, for coming up wit…
Once again, kudos to TANSTAFFL, the man who's fast becoming the finest Cybiko-hacker in the industry, for coming up wit…
January 03, 2001
A belated happy new year and such to all.
TANSTAAFL got Bulldozer working on the Cybiko. He's a genius. Probably give you a screen-grab if I ever figure out how to do one. Windows CE has a nice screen-grabbing utility that lets you take snapshots remotely, but I don't think Cybiko's got one.
Anyway, …
TANSTAAFL got Bulldozer working on the Cybiko. He's a genius. Probably give you a screen-grab if I ever figure out how to do one. Windows CE has a nice screen-grabbing utility that lets you take snapshots remotely, but I don't think Cybiko's got one.
Anyway, …
December 20, 2000
Hope everyone has a happy holiday and such. For those who didn't get a Christmas card from us, here's the picture and text:
Season's Greetings!
Things are going very well for the Texas Hattans this year. We are healthy and happy in our first year of both living and working out of our home.
For the fi…
Season's Greetings!
Things are going very well for the Texas Hattans this year. We are healthy and happy in our first year of both living and working out of our home.
For the fi…
December 19, 2000
Some guys at MIT wrote a terrific long-format article on Infocom (PDF here). It's a very well-done chronicle of the rise and fall of a successful company, with some good commentary on how Infocom made its money and the critical mistakes it made that killed 'em.
There are plenty of lessons to be lear…
There are plenty of lessons to be lear…
December 11, 2000
I got an email from Israel today. Somebody wanted the solution to a Bulldozer level, of course.
I tell you. I've met more people from that game than you can believe :)
I tell you. I've met more people from that game than you can believe :)
December 08, 2000
I saw something disappointing on the web this morning. It's a review of RealMyst, and I was saddened to see what the reviewer had to say about it. He started out by unfavorably comparing Myst to 7th Guest. Why did he consider Myst to lag behind? Because 7th Guest had nice animated transitions from …
December 06, 2000
Just a quick note. Visual Studio for Windows CE is now available for download here:
http://www.microsoft.com/mobile/developer/BeginnerDev/tools.asp
It includes Visual C++ and Visual Basic for Windows CE. Don't know what emulators it comes with. You can download most of 'em elsewhere on the site.
Of co…
http://www.microsoft.com/mobile/developer/BeginnerDev/tools.asp
It includes Visual C++ and Visual Basic for Windows CE. Don't know what emulators it comes with. You can download most of 'em elsewhere on the site.
Of co…
December 04, 2000
Sorry about the lack of updates. I've been on vacation for about the past ten days. Went down to Orlando to visit Disney, Epcot, and the like. Also headed down to Fort Lauderdale and the keys. Had a really good time but, but like all good vacations, I got no rest at all.
Activision still owes me $4…
Activision still owes me $4…
November 23, 2000
Happy Thanksgiving and such.
Trying to find a San Jose hotel for the GDC, and they ain't making it easy on me. Anything in reasonable walking distance to the convention center is either booked solid or $400 a night.
Looks like I'll probably be renting a car if I can't find something on the bus route.…
Trying to find a San Jose hotel for the GDC, and they ain't making it easy on me. Anything in reasonable walking distance to the convention center is either booked solid or $400 a night.
Looks like I'll probably be renting a car if I can't find something on the bus route.…
November 01, 2000
Oh, just a couple of things. A pal of mine has put together a fundraiser for a Colorado homeless shelter. He's donating a penny for every hit his site gets up to 10,000, and I'm matching it. Go here to help us out and learn about a crooked televangelist at the same time.
Oh, and please don't stuff t…
Oh, and please don't stuff t…
October 29, 2000
Well, I'd long been debating as to whether or not I'd go to GDC 2001. I noticed that priceline.com had a promotional to where they'd add $50 to your bid. Just for the heck of it, I bid $175 on a round-trip flight from Dallas to San Jose. There was supposedly a less than 10% chance that my bid would…
October 24, 2000
So, am I the last person to discover this gizmo?
This is a Cybiko. It just had a huge launch in big retailers. I found mine at Target for $99. Here's some of the specs. . .
This is a Cybiko. It just had a huge launch in big retailers. I found mine at Target for $99. Here's some of the specs. . .
- 256k RAM and 512K of flash ROM
- 16 Mhz Hitachi H8S processor running a stack-based VM to run apps
- Radio antenna to communicate wi…
October 20, 2000
The wife and I got to take a short vacation in fabulous Las Vegas over the weekend. Had a terrific time --ate too much, drank too much, and gambled too much. What fun!
I now have an official favorite hotel and casino. Actually, two of 'em, but they're 50 feet apart so I consider 'em to be one place.…
I now have an official favorite hotel and casino. Actually, two of 'em, but they're 50 feet apart so I consider 'em to be one place.…
October 13, 2000
Haven't gotten a lot of game work done recently, apart from reading documentation. Mostly running errands for Shelly, who's trying to get a huge subdivision done up north of us. It's still quite rewarding, though, so don't cry for me. If you haven't noticed, I don't live and die for gaming.
A pal o…
A pal o…
October 03, 2000
Interesting discount-rack-related news.
Mattel, after buying The Learning company (formerly Softkey, the old king of discount publishing) for $3.6 billion, dumping the board, firing everyone, and looking for a buyer less than a year later, is giving away The Learning Company to a holding company in …
Mattel, after buying The Learning company (formerly Softkey, the old king of discount publishing) for $3.6 billion, dumping the board, firing everyone, and looking for a buyer less than a year later, is giving away The Learning Company to a holding company in …
October 02, 2000
Something I'd been meaning to do for a while. In the progress of building and filling an office on the house, I bought a ton of stuff over the internet. Everything from filing cabinets to pencils to bookshelves to books. Here are my impressions of the online retailers I patronized. Hopefully it'll …
October 01, 2000
Am I the only one who doesn't get a lot of the "gamer" in-jokes out there? Lots of those gamer-oriented websites just leave me in the dust, and I only understand about half of the comic strips devoted to 'em.
*sigh* I guess I'm no longer l33t.
Thinking about it, though, I never was. The cool guys had…
*sigh* I guess I'm no longer l33t.
Thinking about it, though, I never was. The cool guys had…
September 19, 2000
I'm working on something secret.
No, really. Non-disclosures and everything. Somebody asked me to try something out for 'em. We'll see if it comes to anything.
Cool, huh?
I finally found my latest game-pack in the stores. Found 'em in a Staples not far from my house. It's no big deal; just the Cosmi …
No, really. Non-disclosures and everything. Somebody asked me to try something out for 'em. We'll see if it comes to anything.
Cool, huh?
I finally found my latest game-pack in the stores. Found 'em in a Staples not far from my house. It's no big deal; just the Cosmi …
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