May 8, 2008
Family and friends have no idea what I do all day. Explaining never really works. Some think I play games. Some think I do nothing. Some think I just pretend to do stuff. Some friends say I sell fake power.
I produce online virtual worlds. These worlds are populated by hundreds of people at a time from all over the planet. Players connect through their computer over the internet. Virtual worlds simulate real world systems and activities which people ‘play’. Large portions of the game revolve around exploration and combat. Players can explore the world, finding new locations, hidden places, and dangerous creatures. Combat happens between computer controlled creatures and other players. Combat with other players is considerably more intense.
Many other ‘games’ exist within these worlds. Economics is a huge game, hidden to less experienced players and observers. Many people love playing the economic game more than anything else. Players can create and sell items to other players. Prices for commodities and items are in a constant flux depending on countless factors. Producers have to be very careful about anything added to the game. The smallest changes can easily upset a very delicate economic balance. Many people have invested thousands of hours into the economy and fiddling with anything can make them very upset (to say the least).
Politics are another huge aspect of our games. Players join larger groups called cities, guilds, clans and houses. These groups are formed for several reasons. In some cases it is just for social reasons. Others exist for protection from other players. Organizational leaders are granted additional powers in the game. Obviously these are coveted positions. Players spend hundreds of hours positioning themselves to earn win elections. Back stabbing, campaigning, and smooth talking is constantly used to get wiggle into better standing with their peers. At times it can be very exciting to watch what these players do and say.
Now for the kicker. All the Iron Realms Games are in text.
Text?
Yes text.
What the heck?
Here are some screenshots.
Why someone would want to play a game in text, when there are so many graphical games out there?
In a nutshell, text offers a lot that graphics cannot. I could write about it for hours, but let me hit the main reasons.
For example, nothing is more powerful than the imagination. There is a reason books are still popular even when movies exist. Why do people always say the movie is never as good as the book? Text games are far more engaging then any graphical game I have ever played. The amount of depth a text game can reach is staggering when compared to a graphical game.
Additionally, we can develop features for text worlds significantly faster than graphical games. Just yesterday I had a conversation with an engineer from Earth Eternal. I was talking about making randomly generated areas within our games, filled with creatures, treasure, and fun activities. He was trying to figure out why items and players keep falling through the floor. My job is much more fun.
Graphics will always be more popular then text. That is just the way it is. But there will always be people who love text games.
At any rate, this should hopefully help out my poor family and friends who are baffled by what I do at times.
I think some of them assume I lay around at home drinking Rockstar and playing Halo all day.
Posted in Game Design, Games, MMO, MUDs 
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May 6, 2008
Several months ago I picked up the Playstation 3 and a copy of Resistance. Beating down mutant nazi beasts took a matter of days and now the PS3 sits under the TV, reduced to nothing more then a glorified blu-ray player. Fortunately, Blockbuster rents blu-ray disks so we actually have a reason to turn it on occasionally.
LittleBigPlanet is the only thing in the future for the PS3 that looks interesting. Frankly, I am only interested because of all the hype.
This is such a contrast to the Xbox 360. Halo, Gears of War, Burnout, Oblivion, Viva Pinata were all must play items. Titles like Rock Band, Guitar Hero, and Assassins Creed were on both systems, so why invest in the PS3 when all the games are on the 360? The same hold true for the PSP. The only game I have played on that in the last 2 years has been Patapon (which rocked). How did Sony go from the success of the PS2 to the flop of the PS3? The PS3 and PSP killer machines? Why are they not releasing must have games?
Don’t even get me started on how much better the online and multi player systems are with the 360.
Anyways, this is all old news to gamers, but I just felt the need to write about it after seeing this post on Kotaku.
Posted in Games 2 Comments »
May 5, 2008
Iron Realms Entertainment recently added ansi maps for easier navigation through the game worlds. Adding this feature required assigning x, y, z coordinates to nearly every room in the game. Coordinates suddenly allow us to add a plethora of new features including maps automatically generated with php using the data from the game. These maps can be displayed on any website.
Here is a sample map you can view while in the game. (Click on it for a better view)
Now here is the same map, created on the fly for a website. (Click on it for a better view)
Generating maps in this fashion allows for several features I would like in our games. Imagine if our Nexus client could display an overhead map, updating as you move around the game. Perhaps we can create plug ins for third party mud clients that can create maps from downloaded coordinate data. Space between rooms can be dynamically filled with color and graphics indicating forests, cities, roads, and more (I have actually already done this, but it will not be completed for some time). Endless possibilities exist in terms of automatically generated map features.
Administrative work with IRE has been keeping me very busy, but I should be able to have a release version for players to check out within the next couple weeks. I just need to set up rooms to be colored based on environments and allow some kind of caching for maps that have already been generated and remain unchanged.
Here are a few more maps you can check out in the meantime.
The Aureliana Forest
The Azdun Dungeon
Shastaan Village
The Aalen Forest
The Hunting Grounds
The Enorian Sewers
The Delos Arena
The Beastlords Dungeon
Posted in Game Design, Games, MUDs No Comments »
May 4, 2008
Here are some images from the show I was at this weekend.
People do not look at fight pictures to see the ref, but here you go anyways.
Posted in Mixed Martial Arts, Real Life No Comments »
May 2, 2008
Fighting MMA forced me to keep my weight under control. Competing at 155 pounds was tough business. Normal days would have two workouts totaling three to five hours of exercise.
Once retired from my lackluster career I slowly stopped working out. Two months ago I felt like I hit rock bottom. Weighing 185 pounds (probably more), I was not exercising regularly, I was tired all the time, I felt like a blob, and I freaking hated it.
Six weeks ago I planned out a three month program that would get me back to 155 pounds. I have no idea why 155 is the magical number, but it is. Halfway done, I am now under 170 pounds. My mission is to lose 2.5 pounds every week.
Hitting the treadmill, I run three miles a day and five on Saturday. Weightlifting as well and I hit each major body part (except legs) once a week.
Here is my lifting routine:
Monday: Chest
- Pushups: 3 sets x 35 reps
- Bench Press: 3 sets x 15 reps
- Incline Press: 3 sets x 15 reps
- Flys: 3 sets x 15 reps
Tuesday: Back
- Pulls Ups: 3 sets until failure
- Bent Over Rows: 3 sets x 15 reps
- Back Flys: 3 sets x 15 reps
Wednesday: Abs
- Weighted Crunches: 3 sets x 15 reps
- Back Extensions: 3 sets x 15 reps
- Leg Raises: 3 sets x 15 reps
Thursday: Shoulders
- Dumbell Military Press: 3 sets x 15 reps
- Lateral Raises: 3 sets x 15 reps
- Front Raises: 3 sets x 15 reps
Friday: Biceps and Triceps
- Preacher Curls: 3 sets x 15 reps
- Concentration Curls: 3 sets x 15 reps
- Hammer Curls: 3 sets x 15 reps
- Skullcrushers: 3 sets x 15 reps
Caloric intake for the first month was 1800 a day with 40 percent from carbohydrates, 20 percent from fats, and 40 percent from protein. In month two I am eating 1600 per day and for the final month I will cut back to 1500. Once the 12 weeks are over, I will take a couple days off, change the lifting workout, and go back to eating about 1800 calories.
Posted in Real Life, Working Out 2 Comments »
May 1, 2008
Mixed Martial Arts referees have the good life.
Promoters pay for travel, pay for accommodation’s, you get the best seat in the house (right in the ring), you are paid to be there, and no one is punching you in the face (hopefully).
This weekend I will be in Spokane Washington for ‘Conquest of the Cage’ at the Northern Quest Casino.
My wife agreed to accompany me, sealing the deal. Paid mini-vacations are the way to go. There is only one problem. The show is Friday night and I have to be home Saturday morning to coach my soccer thugs. Looks like I will be driving all night.
Those poor kids are going to have a grumpy coach.
Posted in Mixed Martial Arts, Real Life 2 Comments »
April 30, 2008
Grand Theft Auto is easily one of the most controversial series ever produced. Filled with every bit of objectionable content that could be stuffed into game, it will never find its way into my home. Bashing the game would be a waste of time on my part. People have every right to create and play games like GTA, just as I have the choice not to support them.
Selfishness is what drives my real hatred for this game.
Halo is my game of choice. Short breaks from nightly play have been taken for Burnout Paradise and Rainbow 6, but in both cases I was accompanied by my Halo buddies. Swiftly we returned to Halo as boredom enveloped these trivial games. Alas, times have changed, GTA has stolen my allies away and I now face the long cold nights alone.
Succumbing to my fate last night, I slunk toward obscurity only to be contacted at the last moment by a friend. Overcome with pity, he took a small break from the GTA marathon for a short round of Halo. I cannot help but feel this was a pitiful attempt to comfort me in my moment of gloom.
Reviewed as ‘the best game since Legend of Zelda: Ocarina of Time’ of time by IGN, I fear I have seen the last of my little buddies until Gears of War is released in November.
I may have to take up knitting or something.
Posted in Games 4 Comments »
April 29, 2008
Cell phones have never interested me.
Working from home, a land line has always been positioned next to the computer. Every cell phone I have purchased has ended up lost, uncharged, and rarely used. I never brought them with me when I went out. Phones feel constantly neglected under my ownership and work was the only reason I kept one.
Blackberries then entered my meager, ignorant existence. How often I mocked those who say they cannot live without their blackberry, babbling about how they love it, caring for it like a small child. Surely they are just phones with extra features.
Oh, how mistaken I was!
Upon the death of my previous phone I upgraded to the Blackberry Curve. Overnight the blasted machine turned me into a fanatic, email-checking fool. I have no idea how I existed without the ability to read email the instant it came in. Secretly, I now check email in previously forbidden locations; on the soccer field, at the dinner table, and even while nodding off in church. (to the behest of my wife)
Free to connect to the internet anywhere, I installed a simple SSH client, allowing connections to our games at any time.
Suffering from this addiction to phones with internet capabilities, the iPhone now stands out as the holy grail. Price and changing carriers keeps me from doing it. Additionally, I would have to acquire new phones for my wife and kids. Much like a cookie jar, it now sits on a pedestal just out of reach, but oh-so tempting.
Someday it will be mine to toy with. Muhahaa.
Posted in Technology No Comments »
April 28, 2008
I have mentioned that my girls soccer team is kicking butt. Six games into the season they have more than 40 goals scored with only 5 against us. Once the team is up a few points I start feeling bad, purposely pull the forwards out and put in a less experienced keeper. It is rec level soccer and everyone wants to have fun. The girls are vicious though. They are like sharks getting a whiff of blood.
Some of the opposing parents and coaches must hate us, especially as the girls play a physical game.
One of the parents sent me this photo with the following note.
What kind of THUGS do you have playing for you?!?!? I LOVE this picture! I don’t think Sydney could give them the stink eye any better! Lauren too for that matter.
It probably does not help that I am wearing a blood splattered, Tapout t-shirt. Frankly, I love having a team of 11 year old little thugs.
I hope all this ‘butt-kicking’ talk does not curse us for the playoffs.
Posted in Real Life, Soccer 1 Comment »
April 28, 2008
When I started this blog my goal was to post once a day. I hate blogs that are rarely updated and eventually forgotten.
Of course, I have already failed! A couple days ago I upgraded to Wordpress 2.5.1 and broke everything. I have been unable to post at all. There was a javascript going crazy somewhere, completely lagging the editing pages. After three days of troubleshooting I am finally able to post again, but I have no idea what the problem was. I reinstalled wordpress to the server and after the third attempt it magically started working again.
Freaking computers.
At any rate, it is all sorted out now and I will be double post for a couple days to catch back up to my daily quota.
Posted in Blog No Comments »
Family and friends have no idea what I do all day. Explaining never really works. Some think I play games. Some think I do nothing. Some think I just pretend to do stuff. Some friends say I sell fake power.
