#include <iostream>
using namespace std;
int main()
{
cout << "Hello world!" << endl;
return 0;
}
I know, I know, how cliche' of me. I've come a long way since my very first hello world program, and yet at times it still feels like I know little more than what you see above.
Well, let's start with the basics, shall we? A little Q 'n A never hurt.
Q: Who are you?
A: My name is Kevin, I'm a student at DePaul university in Chicago, IL. I'm studying Video Game Development there, with the hopes to one day make really awesome video games that people will love to play!
Q: What is your background in games?
A: Glad you asked! When I was about 12 and still about as white-'n-nerdy as I am today I received a "Game Programming For Teens" book from my aunt and uncle, and well let's just say I never looked back, though I did hop around for a bit.
First I coded like crazy for about two years in a language called Blitz Basic (I highly recommend it, if it is still around that is) and basically the whole ordeal was me trying to teach myself coding. Blitz Basic is a fairly easy language but for an easily distracted twelve year old it was still rather difficult to get the hang of. I made a number of small games in Blitz that never really saw the light of day, either because I'd encounter a bug I couldn't get rid of, ran up against a math barrier, or just because I got bored and had a new-and-better project I wanted to move onto. Eventually I wanted to become a "Big boy" and tackle C++. That's where my coding efforts took a nose-dive. C++ is much more complicated than Blitz Basic, at least from the perspective of a game developer. Blitz was made for game development, it had it's own graphics capabilities and many other nifty tricks for games, specifically. C++ is a tool for any multitude of jobs, and as such if you want graphics, you either need to code it yourself, or use a third-party graphics library. Both were, when combined with trying to learn the more complicated syntax of C++, too much for my then-fourteen year old mind and I essentially gave up coding for a number of years.
Then I dove into the world of computer animation, with both flash and using 3d modeling programs like 3DS max that my local community college had (I took a few classes at the CC while still in high school)
Long before that I had attempted to write a novel-at the age of about ten- that needless to say did not go well, but six hundred pages of attempted character/story development later I had learned much about the craft of story telling.
Individually I am an far from expert in anything:
My coding works, it's not pretty but it gets the job done.
My artwork is alright, but its not of consistent professional quality
My animation is smooth but I cannot animated for extended amounts of time before I get distracted
My 3D work is so-so, but passable. At the very least I can build a model and UV wrap it somewhat neatly.
My writing is at times dis-jointed but on the whole pretty solid
Combined however, these skills give me a great background to become a game designer one day, who has to be a jack-of-all trades to be able to communicate the needs of the game to the rest of the team.
And for those of you who criticize me for not becoming an expert in a given field, I kindly request you hold your tongue, for that is what I am going to college for. I will graduate in about a year with a degree in Game Development, concentrating in Game Programming. I'll become an expert in one area (notably the most essential area of game development) and then tackle games from there.
Q: Why are you creating a blog? Why would I want to read it?
A: Honestly you don't have to read this and I won't hold it against you if you do. I feel that if I manage a development blog that will, by some strange happenstance, motivate me to keep going with my development, even when the going gets rough or I get stuck. Besides, as a developer (or a hopeful developer) it's always good to be able to look back on the process at the end of creating a game. This may one day be a better resource for me, than it ever was a good read for you.
Q: So what are you working on? Show me your games!
A: Not yet! Rest assured a game is in the works, for the Windows Phone (possibly android) and I am in the process with a good friend of mine, David. The game is close (but not yet) at a demo-able stage known as a "vertical slice" -- essentially one-to-two minutes of final gameplay and nothing beyond that (no menus, no level 2, etc.) When that happens I will reward you my loyal reader(s?) or if nobody reads this I will reward nobody in particular with some demo reels and screenshots of the game. I have some older games I may dig up and put up on the site for play (.exe's so PC's only, and even then only for those whose anti-virus software will permit running a random .exe, so probably not many)
If I'm willing to face the embarrassment that is.
Q: (like anyone cares about a college dev. wanna, be, but...) How often will the site be updated?
A: I have no idea, I'll aim for once a day, if nothing more than a daily doodle from my infamously-doodled-upon notebooks. (Figure A)
Figure A.
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| non sequitur |
Duces, Internet,
- Kev
 |
| Guess Who? |
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