Scott David Brown's Blog, page 4

Merry Holiday People!

So, this is getting close to last minute, but I thought I should do something for the holidays. Some of us could use a happy distraction, while others have plenty to be happy for. So to those who could use some chearing up, here’s some photos I took around my neighboorhood:

Boy, I sure like the clouds in these pictures. Merry holidays everyone!

Space Shooter! Nice!

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Photo from: http://www.icanscript.com

I made my first game! However, there is one little important detail to mention, I stole it. Haha, okay that’s a lie, actually I made it using a tutorial with the Unity game engine. This isn’t my first finished game. I made another game with GameMaker Studio, but you don’t want to play that one, trust me.

Space Shooter is a simple game with the player piloting a spaceship and shooting asteroids. There’s a new wave of asteroids every few seconds and the game ends when the player blows up by crashing into one of the hazards. That’s right, the only way to end the game is to crash into an asteroid.

The first game I made with Unity is called, “Roll a Ball,” and is basically a sphere that you can roll around and collect objects. Winning requires the player to collect every object. These two tutorials are basic, but they introduce the basics of designing a game with Unity.

The Space Shooter tutorial is designed to be a web-game, so to play the game you just have to visit the website I made for it. I created a link in the main menu of this website called, you guessed it, Space Shooter. Go ahead and give it a whirl. I’m using github to host the game!

With Unity I can create a game in the editor and then build it for just about any platform. That means I could make games for the web, PC, Mac, and even video game consoles. Just imagine playing one of my games on Xbox or Wii U? Of course, I’m more of a designer rather than a graphics guy or a composer. That means I may have to buy pre-made audio, music, and other elements for my potential first real game. Sure, I could create the images and sounds myself (I have the necessary software), but I’m not the best at drawing or making music.

I’m still messing around with the tutorials on the Unity website, but I do plan to start designing my own original game soon. I’ll start really simple and then expand on my game. This is all just a hobby right now, but if I can make a successful video game, who knows what the future will hold…

 

 

Hello Scott Update 1.2

 

The new loading screen.

It’s time for the first major patch to my new app! I’m also happy to point out that there’s a new page on this site dedicated to the app which tells you all you want to know about my app in development. I won’t go in-depth about what the app does, but check out the page if you want to learn about it. I will tell you about some new features coming to the app. What are they you ask?

Improved navigation bar – Now has a refresh and home button. Perfect for times when its necessary to reload the current page in view or if you want to go back to the “home” page.
Back and forward buttons start disabled – While still not working as intended, the idea is that the buttons should not be usable unless there is a page the user can move to either forward or backward. I think the app might use too much memory, but I’m still looking into it.
Loading screen – There’s now a regular loading screen. Subject to change.
New LinkedIn tab – Connect with me on LinkedIn!

Working on this app has been on of the most frustrating experiences in recent years, haha. However, I’m enjoying the feeling I get when I figure out how to implement a feature or fix an error in my code. It’s a slow learning curve, but with enough work on this app, I should be well on my way to learning Swift in Xcode.

 

Hello Scott

It’s time to announce the official name of my new app, “Hello Scott.” The app, as I have mentioned before, is designed specifically for this website. It allows users to view the mobile version of my website and includes a search feature, so you can search blog posts right from the app. There’s two additional tabs that link to my Twitter account and the scottdavidbrown.com Facebook account.

The beta version is currently available to test for the iPhone. If you’re interested, e-mail me at SDBman@cox.net with your name and e-mail address. I’ll add you to my beta program and send you a link. You first have to download the TestFlight app (totally free) and then download my app from TestFlight. The beta test will last at least a couple of months as I add new features and make any necessary changes.

I’m excited to see what happens with this app!

The Start of Something New

Fresh new asphalt, yeah baby!

It’s time for something new. Friday the city repaved the street in front of my house. I’m guessing they are just about finished with the neighborhood by now. Sure it’s a pain for most, not so much me, but it’s worth it in the end. I’m sure most of you have been through the same thing.

Now that I’m having to look for a new job, I’ve been thinking about what I really want to do. Opening up my own buisness, perhaps learn programing? Maybe in the long run my recent expereince with change will end up positive. At the very least it has led me to developing my own iOS app! It’s approaching it’s “beta” stage. I can test the app on my iPhone right now and I’m really excited about how quickly I was able to put it together.

Currently, there are only three features, but I will probably add more at some point after I mess around with it and see how it works. If the app passes the beta review from Apple, I’ll be able have people beta test it and give feedback. For now probably just friends and family will be checking it out.

Oh, I decided not to use the title, “What’s Up Scott?” from my April Fools post this year. What did I decide to call it? “Hello Scott,” that’s what! It’s still a working title and I may change it at some point, but I feel like it’s an apt name. Since personal blogs are usually conversational, “Hello Scott” seems to be in the right direction.

Want to learn more about my first app? Stay tuned! I wouldn’t be surprised if http://www.scottdavidbrown.com get’s a new webpage all about it.

What’s Up?

I hope you haven’t forgotten about me, but if you have, I won’t blame you. I haven’t written a post since July and even that was really just a post with 4th of July pictures. Nothing really major has happened to me since then, except for losing my freelance writing job. Unlike some people who just had to get a girlfriend and wont shut up about it! Wink

Happy Belated 4th of July

Yesterday was the 4th of July, but I didn’t make a post because I didn’t have these nice pictures. I think they turned out pretty well on my iPhone:

Just Gnomin’ Around

Gnomes, there’s something about them that we love. Be it decoration, or playing characters in video games, gnomes are so much fun! Recently I fired up Steam and decided to finish Half-Life 2: Episode 2. There’s a remake of the original Half-Life game called Black Mesa and I wanted to be ready for when the remake is finished (Black Mesa is the name of the research facility in the original game). For those of you not in the know, the makers of the Half-Life series, Valve, have been teasing fans for years about a new Half-Life game. There was supposed to be a third and final episode of Half-Life 2, but it never came, even 10 years later.

In all likelihood, there won’t be an episode 3, since graphics have advanced quite a bit since then. Maybe a Half-Life 3 is comming? The original game that started it all came out in 1998. It was a considered a ground-breaking game at the time, since most FPS games were pretty much the same, run around maps, kill enemies, and get keys. Half-Life went in a little bit of a different direction. Sure there were still enemies to shoot, but this game had an engaging story to go with it.

The game was set in a secret research facility run by the U.S. government. You play as Gordon Freedman, a silent but loyal character. The game begins with just another day at the lab when then things suddenly go crazy. My favorite aspect of the game is the interations with characters. I love the dialogue and voice acting, they fit pretty well together. Gordon might not speak in the game, but with the first-person view and the conversations, it feels pretty immersive.

Alyx Vance

Half-Life 2 was perhaps even more ground-breaking than the original. Take Alyx Vance, delightful and handy with a hand gun, is probably the most important non-player character in the game. The daughter of a former Black Mesa scientist, Alyx travels with the player through most of the series. She brings in much of the emotion of the game and for the first time as I can remember, it was possible to see facial expressions on characters. That, along with the Source Engine with realistic physics, made Half-Life 2 an instant classic.

Playing the game was like being in a movie, with several events of the game strictly dialogue. Sure, there’s plenty of action, but it’s the scenes when the non-player characters interact that make the game truly what it was meant to be, and it’s a nice break from the action. Even if FPS isn’t your thing, the Half-Life series is something gamers shouldn’t miss. It brings in wonderful storytelling is worth it alone.

So, when will be see another adventure with Alyx and Gordon? Many fans have given up hope. After all, year after year went by, and there was always some promise episode 3 was coming. Sadly, it never was released, and most don’t expect it to ever come out. Still, some think the possibility of a Half-Life 3 is real. There may even be some content Value developed left over from episode 3. The company could take the original idea for that game and put it into a brand new game.

But now to the main point of this post, gnomes. One of the achievements in Half-Life 2: Episode 2 requires you to travel through the game world with a fun little gnome. I saved it for last, however, it’s also a pain in the neck, because you have to carry the gnome through most of the game. It’s pretty easy to lose the little guy, so that meant finding a safe place to put the gnome. The most frustrating part were the chapters with the car. The gnome wasn’t a fan of staying in the car, apparently.

Minecraft Begats Mine Chest

Bring Minecraft into your real life.

My referral link: https://minechest.com/refer/Scott-LYPTBLES

Have $30 to spend, but don’t know what to spend it on? Mine Chest! What is Mine Chest? It’s pretty much a way to get Minecraft fans to spend more money, yet for some reason I’m still pretty excited about it. Who isn’t curious about what comes inside each box?

I’ve been curious about these “geek” boxes popping up on the internet. Loot Crate is probably the most known box of geeky goodness. They give you an idea of what to expect, but still leave some mystery. There’s a different theme every month, and these companies offer the swag in a subscription based format. You can usually pay month-to-month or in bulk.

Imagine spending $335.88 a year (not including shipping and tax) to get your very own Mine Chest ever month! Paying for a whole year in advance saves you about $25. I can’t see myself wanting to buy that subscription, having all that Minecraft stuff, it seems like too much. After a while, I’d run out of space. That’s why I’m just giving it a try for a month or two. I could use a new t-shirt anyway.

 

Why Not Buy a Used Electric Car?

This Photo Picked with Mark Mushakian in Mind

The first electric car I got to drive was the 2011 Nissan LEAF. I was an early adopter and it’s hard to believe that was around 6 years ago. I reserved one for $100, but I wasn’t sure I’d be able to convince my mom to help me get it. $100 didn’t seem like a risk and I could get the money back anytime I wanted. Well, we ended up getting it, and I drove that car a lot! I let mom drive it sometimes since at the time gas was expensive and she had a Honda CR-V.

Now I’m driving a 2014 Ford Focus Electric car. While I like the Ford, I’m likely to go back to a LEAF for my next car. In fact, I listed the car on swapalese.com to see if someone wants to take it off my hands. It’s mainly an effort to save money, and I rarely drive these days but also, I miss driving the LEAF.

The Ford Focus EV is a fun car to drive, and its great on the freeway with all the extra power you get versus other electric cars, but Ford put the battery in the trunk. That means you lose a lot of storage space. Nissan puts their battery under the seats. It’s a better design, but in Ford’s defense, the Focus wasn’t originally designed to be an electric vehicle (EV).

My 2014 Ford Focus Electric

Now that electric cars have been on the road for about 5 years, their popularity is steadily increasing. While gas prices have come down, electricity is still far cheaper, especially in California. If you’re in the market for a new car, you might want to consider a used Nissan LEAF or other EV. I’ve seen several LEAFs on Carmax for around $10,000. Used EVs from other automakers are also pretty low-cost right now. However, used Teslas are still pretty expensive, guess I won’t be getting one any time soon.