We all are familiar with some of the negative gamer stereotypes that have been circulating around the US for years – that gamers are all fat, smelly and socially awkward virgins is just plain wrong. One of the ways that we can escape these stereotypes is by reinforcing the positive ones, one of which is that gamers are creative. I’ve known many people that have … Continue reading
Having a unified buying experience is an essential quality of a true cross-platform application. Many people have asked how I overcame the challenge of creating a consistent marketplace for my cross-platform game, Hero Mage, so I’ve put together this brief tutorial and downloadable example. This tutorial doesn’t cover writing ANE’s or setting up vendor-specific storefront; rather, it demonstrates how to write a common interface that … Continue reading
If the latest advances in Flash player and Adobe AIR…Stage 3D, Starling, Feathers, direct deploy to iOS, and more haven’t yet convinced you of Adobe’s commitment to empowering game developers, then it’s time to put these tools and your skills to the test at Adobe Game Jam! If you’re in or around the Chicago area, their next event takes place in just a couple weeks … Continue reading
With the advent of mobile app stores, there is more potential than ever for independent game developers to arise and become the next generation of game innovators. But how can small or even one-man teams possibly manage the technical complexities of developing on so many diverse platforms? Enter Adobe Flash, a visual development tool with the capability to export games to web, Android, and iOS. … Continue reading
The key to a successful multiplayer game is having a critical mass of people to play with each other. But how do you amass players without an initial player base in the first place? Remove the requirement of "must-be-online-to-play". Asynchronous matchmaking enables players to engage in multiplayer games, even if they’re not online! Random matchups allow players to meet new people and make new friends, … Continue reading
Despite the fact that over fifty video game companies are located in and around Chicago, Illinois, few people are aware of its growing games industry. To raise awareness about Chicago development and connect developers with the tech industry at large, the International Game Developers Association (IGDA) hosted the IGDA Game Lounge at Chicago TechWeek. I am Ross Przybylski, founder of D20Studios, LLC and creator of … Continue reading
D20Studios founder Ross Przybylski does a classroom lecture for North Central College explaining how to start your own game company. In this lecture, Ross explains how to make the transition from game design hobbyist to business professional, how to fund a gaming project, the costs of operating a game studio, and how running your own business affects your personal relationships.
Many developers use Flash Professional as their primary tool for creating browser and mobile games for Android and iOS due to its ability to easily work with game assets and also work with ActionScript code. The tool is unique because it allows you to exercise both your right and left brains. With Adobe’s new game-centric focus for the Flash player and AIR, future versions of … Continue reading
Adobe Flash Professional is an amazing tool for developing multiscreen games and applications. I’m developing a new suite of UI components to help make the process of creating multiscreen compatible user interfaces even easier called Aura. These components adapt themselves automatically to function effectively for both desktop computers and mobile touchscreens. This video demonstrates the components in action from within the Flash Professional IDE: Features of Aura … Continue reading
