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I just got Forza 3 and downloading the new Xbox Live update. I will post updates shortly. Going to be tough to find time to game this weekend due to the mother-in-law and friends in town. Since I am sick….I don’t plan on being out much.

Since programming is a hobby, I figured I would try something new……a framework. I decided to use a framework for 2 reasons. The first was to hopefully streamline development. I seem to sometimes get caught up on some of the back-end systems and the project never proceeds. By using a Framework, I hoped to remove some of drudgery of coding. (Which did and did not happen.) My second goal was to find a framework that would be easily scalable to add more complexity as I built the system.

I started by doing a ton of research. After reviewing a ton of Frameworks and their sample code, I narrowed it down to 3. CakePHP, Codeigniter, and Zend Framework.

Zend was my first choice. I will admit that it is probably the most impressive from a feature set but I found it to be confusing. I also think that it is more for the professional programmers and not us weekend warriors. If I was going to start a project for work, Zend would probably be my first choice to give another shot.

CakePhp was up next. CakePhp had some awesome tools to help put together a skeleton of the site. My biggest issue with CakePhp was its reliance on those tools. Most of the tutorials we based around using the tools to “auto-build” portions of the program. While this was nice, I found myself fighting with those tools too much and spending too much time trying to learn the tools.

Codeigniter was one of the first that I looked at but I ended up coming back in the end. Codeigniter and CakePhp both use the MVC (Model – View – Controller) philosophy. CakePhp holds you to those rules where Codeigniter allows you to deviate if need be. Codeigniter also was the easiest to get a basic site up and running. It was as simple as download, copy files to your web directory and then edit a couple config files. Within a couple minutes I had a site with user controls such as login, register, profiles and such. (I downloaded DX_Auth library which added all of that functionality)

Now the hard part has been learning the MVC philosophy and the details of the framework. After about a week of trying, I feel pretty good about my choice. I still occasionally run into issues but Codeigniter has one of the best User Guides I have ever seen. The level of detail and ease of use is top notch. As someone learning from scratch, this is a huge resource.

My next post…..coming up with the game idea.

As a long time pen-and-paper role player and an avid video game player, I have always wanted to develop my own game. Back in the early 90′s, a couple of friends and I developed a Mech combat game that was our first attempt to create a system from scratch. With a blank notebook(We used paper back then), some colored pens, a ton of dice and some Lego’s we created an Anime based Mech combat game. It was broken in so many ways that we never really played it more than a couple times. But it got the juices flowing.

At some point in High School, we started creating text based adventures in VB. We created pretty complex combat systems and inventory systems. The only problem was that it was only fun for the small group of us that worked on it. (We did get an A though)

Fast forward a couple years and another game system. I had started learning Flash and realized I could create all types of graphical games. That is when I realized I am a systems guy and not a “graphic” guy. I ended up spending so much time trying to create basic graphics that my games rarely went anywhere.

That brings me to today. I consider myself pretty close to an expert with PHP. Over the last 7 years or so I have been working with PHP through work and in my free time. (Full Disclosure: I am not a programmer by trade….I am in Transportation. Programming is a hobby. A useful hobby but a hobby) On and off for the last couple years I have been toying with the notion of creating a web based game. Shockingly, Facebook is what inspired me to do it. I saw all of the basic games like Mafia Wars, Vampire Wars, and Ninja Wars…..scratch that. Ninja Wars could be awesome though. That is when I realized even a basic game with limited graphics could be fun.

So that brings me to starting my project. I plan on keeping a record of the good and bad of creating a game while creating it. I currently have the game up (A couple people have been playing a VERY basic version of it). I hope to have frequent updates regarding the development.

Based on some initial symptoms and a nurse/doctors phone diagnose, looks like the family has H1N1. I am slowly getting a sore throat, headache and a little achy. My 3 year old has been hit the worse.

I might not be posting much over the next week or so as we recover.

First let me say that I am a huge fan of Double Fine Studios and in particular Psychonauts. Psychonauts is one of those games you just have to play. The world and the humor in that game is amazing. I would go out and say it was the most enjoyable game I owned on the XBOX.

Once I heard about Brutal Legend, I figured it would be a day 1 purchase for me. My hope was that it would be as good as Psychonauts. In my humble opinion, it is close but no cigar. With that said, Brutal Legend is still an amazing game.

Story:

The game follows Eddie who is the worlds best Roadie. He is killed in a freak stage accident. He wakes up in the land of heavy metal. Without giving away much of the plot, your goal is to save the world from the evil ruler.

Presentation:

One thing Double Fine does better than anyone else is presentation. Everything from the world, story, music and hell….the main menu are amazing. I am not what you would call a “Metal” fan but I loved the world I was in. Everything exuded METAL! If you have ever seen the cover of a Metal Bands LP or T-Shirts, you will see where they gathered their inspiration. Everything is just spot on.

Graphics:

The graphics are not going to win any awards but fit the story. I found the quality as slightly above average but the design makes up for any issues I had with the graphics. (How could you have a problem with a dragon statue that has a ball gag in it’s mouth that you have to remove?)

Gameplay:

There are a ton of different things you do in the game. Driving, hand to axe combat, guitar riffs, simple party commanding, and even a rail shooter. The driving has been tough to get a hang of….the vehicles just feel wrong. Other than that, the game is just fun. The combat start simple but once you start adding new combos, the game gets a lot more complex…but in a good way.

Closing:

The humor and world make this game what it is. Any other studio that tried to make this would have probably failed. It is scary that this game almost did not make it to release. I am glad it did so I can play in their world.

Score: 9/10

I am suprised it is allowed on the Freeway…

Tell me what you think…..