Winter Games (not the Olympics)

This Winter has been long, cold, productive and tumultuous here in Brooklyn. I released an arcade game, Filthy Chickens, on the App Store and an original interactive comic adventure called Skizzy & Poof in the Jungle on iOS and Android. These projects were designed to teach me the process of adding in app purchases, social media integration, Admob (and a lesser extent, iAd) and the submission processes to the platforms. A more formal “release” of these projects will happen when Filthy Chickens appears on Google Play. I’ve also been working on a secret augmented reality hyper local adventure game. More on that in a smidge. 

Now, some complaints from a one man band game designer who has been trying to teach himself Unity software with zero training in computer science. It's a stressful venture sifting through infinite forum threads of people talking in circles about outdated, deprecated code.

Learning how long I should stress over a problem before reaching out for help was an epic lesson. By reaching out to experts on Elance.com and Fiverr.com I'm buying valuable time.

A recent problem is the Unity 5 transition. After upgrading the software, all your projects will break until everyone updates their 3rd party APIs. 

I had to put my ambitious AR hyper local game on hold until I figure out the tools. I was using Vuforia for the AR. When they updated to 4.0, they introduced a new monthly pricing structure. As an indie taking the financial risk of a hobbiest, I can’t afford such a plan. And the MapNav I was using for the GPS tracking doesn't work in Unity 5 (yet). So this project is on the back burner until these technicalities work themselves out.

Which brings me to choosing my next project out of a few rapid prototypes: a physics based pinball-esque mobile game. It’s a lot of fun already and I’m implementing some complicated touch controls.

So, some good has come out of these technical upheavals. As I surf these virtual plate tectonics, I learn how to balance and recognize more focused (and hopefully prosperous) avenues to pursue.

Host a game art show already!

How to host your own video game exhibit by Sam Machovech.

Also - 

Seattle kills it with this video game exhibit.

Brooklyn Magazine on The Bushwick Board Game

Brooklyn Magazine used to be a classy periodical - until it published this article. *chuckle*

Steel Battalion Cabinet?!

A friend of mine, Dave Shuff, was crazy enough to build an arcade cabinet in his Williamsburg Brooklyn apartment for a game with the most elaborate controller ever. Check out this article where I get my first Kill Screen Magazine mention ; )

Bushwick Board Game on DNAinfo

I took The Bushwick Board Game to the Booby Trap last week and an instagram pic set the fuse of interest alight leading to this interview.

Of course there's still rooftop parties in Bushwick! Heheh. 

The 2015 edition will have the largest design overhaul ever. If you would like to play it or get a copy, drop me a line.

Hardware Review: DK2 v. Google Cardboard

Dev Kit 2

I received my Oculus Rift Dev Kit 2 on August 25th and have been meaning to write this entry for a while but gave some time before divulging hardware and software reports.

The first thing I noticed with the DK2 was the narrower field of view. To me, FOV is a major component in the illusion of immersion and to take away from that was a kick in the pants. I understand that the aspect ratio must fit with the larger plan of mobile phone resolutions and whatnot, but compared to DK1 it was like looking through a porthole into the VR world. 

Another blow to the immersion were bizarrely placed air vents that let in tons of light, breaking you out of whatever simulation you were in. I could even look down and see the real world under my nose (and my nose is pretty big). I used gaffer tape to alleviate these annoyances.

The increased resolution is a huge plus, and was amped to hit the Rift Arcade, RiftEnabled and Oculus Share to download content. I kept in mind that DK2 is sadly not compatible with DK1 content. By the end of this I had a pile of content for Mac and another pile for PC.

Hooking up the DK2 to my PC was a bumpy ride and I ended up writing out steps to do so for the future forgetful me to refer to. Each game had it’s own particularities that I would write out the quirks to if need be. All content is not created equal and lots of stuff didn’t work. Stuff that did I separated into another folder. I use a PS3 controller on Mac w/ GamePad Companion and a Logitek wired controller on PC with GamePadder.

Google Cardboard w/ Samsung Galaxy S3 and Nyko Playpad

A few weeks ago I got the DoDo VR Case and spent an hour assembling it. The iOS App store only has a few VR experiences for it so I got a Moto G running Android for cheap and quickly found out I couldn’t try any VR apps because it didn’t have a gyroscope! I ended up getting a Samsung Galaxy S3 which works gorgeously. I downloaded handfuls of apps and there are some excellent ones.

I attached a velcro strip to the sides of the headset so it can stay on my head without me holding it on with my hands, and I put some paper towel padding around the nose so the weight wouldn’t give me blisters. Very comfy, even with glasses. In my hands I had the Nyko Playpad synced using Bluetooth. The resolution looks sharper than DK2. 

Google Cardboard is much less cumbersome than DK2, and not having a tether cord to a computer is psychologically liberating. Best of all - the games you load up actually work with out much fiddling around! Just tap & play. 

The Samsung Gear VR just came out and It says my Galaxy S3 won’t fit in it but I’d like to give it a shot - I have lots of gaffer tape!

I’ll return with a software entry soon!

Arts in Bushwick Article

Aniela Coveleski, a journalist for Arts in Bushwick, happened upon Artcade 3000 during Bushwick Open Studios and enjoyed the "good vibes" of the show. She interviewed me for a great article about games, art and NYC's indie scene. Read it here and decide for yourself if games are art!