I have just added more to the games framework. Whilst working on Senet Collection, I realised that the menu system I am using will probably be used in all my games, so I have now redesigned the code to be customisable and added it to the framework that is building for future development.

I have just added a new forums section to the Krazy Pengwin website.

I have just uploaded the Windows version of Mr Wong. Only the Linux version left to go.
Get the windows version from here www.krazypengwin.co.uk/downloads/files/MrWong.zip

Beginning work on a new game. This one will not be a remake of an old game, I have decided to make something completely new this time. More details soon.

 I have now released the Mac OSX version of Mr Wong's Loopy Laundry. For more details and download of the game, please take a look at the page on my site: http://www.krazypengwin.co.uk/mrwong.php

Completed the two more complex of Alex's recommendations:

1. Iron's AI has been improved. Now the Iron actively hunts to be on the same level as Mr Wong
2. Fixed the animation so that when Mr Wong is carrying an item, he no longer swings his arm

All I now need to do is add the high score functionality, the the game should be ready for release.

Alex Graymond has been kind enough to test the alpha release of Mr Wong's Loopy Laundry. He has discovered one bug and suggested several improvements that can be made. Therefore, here is the latest list of changes:

1. Bonus life added every 10000 points with unique sound and graphic effect
2. Starch only appears when player has exhausted current supply
3. Added spray sound when starch is sprayed
4. Added unique sound for dropping clothes down the chute
5. Add paused functionality
6. Added sound for emerging starch
7. Enemies are now paralyzed at the end of level, preventing unfair deaths
8. Replaced the box of starch with a more pleasing starch spray image
9. Added drumroll for end of level
10. Added custom icon for Mac version

I still need to improve the AI of the Iron, apparently he was the most cunning of the enemies, and some of the animation needs tweaking when Mr Wong is carrying clothes.

Another quick update.
I have now added the animation for the clothes falling down the laundry chute. I have also made it so that the clothes are visible in the laundry basket and they stack up as you put more down the chute. If you check out the original game, available from World of Spectrum, you'll see that the original doesn't do this, I just thought it would be a nice touch.
A friend of mine (hi Stewart) reminded me that most washing machines vibrate when on full spin cycle. So, just for fun, I have made the washing machine in the game oscillate when going at full speed. It certainly helps bring a bit more character to the game.
Finally, I have now got the scoring sorted, so the scores are in line with that of the original game, and I have added the routines to detect when the level has been completed.
Next thing to do will be adding the functionality of the starch, and then the end of game detection as well as the high score recording.
I hope to have a first beta release by the end of this week.

Spent the morning re-organising my code. It was getting a bit too 'retro' like in its spaghetti-ness, so I have recoded certain areas. This will make it easier to complete the project as well as maintain it at a later date.

I was asked the other day as to what software I use for creating games, so I thought I'd share with you.

For 3D graphics, including pre-rendering of sprites and background object, I use Animation Master from Hash, Inc.
For post 3D work and other 2D graphics, I use Fireworks from Macromedia/Adobe.
Audio processing is done in Audacity, whilst music creation is done with Garageband.

Finally, the actual development is gone in BlitzMax (although I am playing around with Java in XCode as well). And for final release, I use a great utility called BlitzBuddy which automatically creates a Mac application package with my custom icon.

Anyway, also time for a little screenshot. As you can see in this one, the clothes are now in place and Mr Wong is capable of picking them up.

I have finally completed all the game graphics. I still have to put the clothes in the game, but you can see the static ones on the washing line at the bottom of the screen.
I have also added the laundry basket, which I hope to be able to show filling up with clothes as they are put down the laundry shoot.
The dying animation from the original game has also been replicated. I liked the effect and thought it would be cool to keep it in there.



Thought it would be cool to show people a screen shot of the original game as well.

Finally completed the main character and enemy sprites, I've even got the base code for them all in place, as well as the control of Mr Wong himself. For these al I need to do now is put in the redimentry AI for the enemies and the collision detection.
Next on the to do list is the clothes and laundry basket. I'm toying with the idea of animating the clothes on the washing line, just for fun.
I also need to do the scoring and special effects.
No screen shot this time, not too much has changed from the view. Hopefully I'll have something to show next time. 

 Retro Remakes has posted a news entry about Mr Wong's Loopy Laundry (http://news.retroremakes.com/2009/09/mr-wongs-loopy-laundry/). Looks like I better get things in gear and get it finished. :-)

 I think it's time for some screen shots of the up-coming remake.

I have been experimenting with some ideas to help improve development times and allow easier debugging. This means that I am creating my game framework more as an evolutionary process, than a planned one. With any luck, by the time I finish Mr Wong’s Loopy Laundry, I should have a fair amount of it in place.

Finally, I have a computer for development again. As I said before, it is an Intel iMac, so I will now be concentrating on Intel builds rather than PowerPC. I know that the development tools supplied with the iMac allow me to create Universal Binaries, but I will not be using them directly. For application development, I will switch to Lazarus with FreePascal. This is a Delphi like environment that allows for cross platform development. I will, however, continue to use BlitzMax for game development. I had planned on moving over to FreePascal and the SDL libraries, but I don’t think the move would allow me to gain anything, and I already know a fair amount of BlitzMax, so why change?

What does this mean for existing projects?

Firstly, I have no plans to recompile Mr Wimpy, unless I update it. The PPC version runs fine under Rosetta, so it can stay as is for now.
Mr Wong’s Loopy Laundry will now be developed on Intel. This makes no difference to the development process, so I will get on to that when I can.
I am not sure about Pride. I won’t be continuing it with RealBasic, as the licence I had for it only allowed me to create PowerPC builds. I may look at restarting the project in Lazarus, particularly as I now have access to the SynEdit controls, but it’s not a high priority.
I also have some other projects in the planning stages. I am going to be creating a Tapper clone, hopefully using real video for the entertainment sections, and pre-rendered 3D graphics. I was also planning to create a sequel to Mr Wimpy. This game would have been a side scroller, in the same style as Super Mario Bros, but I have finally received an e-mail from the Wimpy company and they have asked me NOT to use the character in a game. I may still proceed with the game, but change the character to a more generic guy, or possibly create a new character that I could then use in subsequent games.

One final bit of news in this post. It has come to my attention that my remake of Mr Wimpy is now referenced on Wikipedia.

Hopefully, I should be getting my new computer next week. My Mac unfortunately had an accident, involving me, my dog and the floor.
It's been away for repair, but unfortunately, there is nothing that can be done for it. So, next week I should be getting a new Intel iMac. On the plus side, this also means that I will now be able to create Intel binaries. On the down side, some of the latest work I had been doing in Pride has now been lost.
I also plan to move my application development over to Free Pascal, using Lazarus. As much as I like the RealBasic language, I only have a licence up to version 2006r3. Intel support didn't start until 2006r4!!!
So, instead of forking out for an update, I am going back to Pascal which is a language I am much more comfortable with.
I may start the games development in Pascal as well, still haven't decided on that yet. If I do, then I will be using the SDL libraries, but I have to weigh up the pros and cons of switching from BlitzMax first.

Due to an unfortunate accident, all my software development has had to go temporarily on hold. I still have access to the internet and my e-mail, but my development machine is currently incapacitated.

After including my development blog on my own site for a few months, I have now realised that it would be better for me to keep the blog here. This will help reduce the amount of bandwidth being used on my site, and hopefully prevent some of the notifications I have had recently when I have over-reached my limit.