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Author Archives: GBGames
Living on Purpose: Insatiable Curiosity
In Habitually Living on Purpose, I mentioned how I am focusing on habits this year in an attempt to live according to my Life on Purpose statement: My Life on Purpose is a joyful life of freedom, continuous learning, encouraged and supported creativity, insatiable curiosity, and prolific creation, driven by passion and a desire for . . . → Read More: Living on Purpose: Insatiable Curiosity
Living on Purpose: Insatiable Curiosity is a post from: GBGames – Thoughts on Indie Game Development
Posted in Personal Development
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Living on Purpose: Continuous Learning
In Habitually Living on Purpose, I mentioned how I am focusing on habits this year in an attempt to live according to my Life on Purpose statement: My Life on Purpose is a joyful life of freedom, continuous learning, encouraged and supported creativity, insatiable curiosity, and prolific creation, driven by passion and a desire for . . . → Read More: Living on Purpose: Continuous Learning
Living on Purpose: Continuous Learning is a post from: GBGames – Thoughts on Indie Game Development
Posted in Personal Development
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Living on Purpose: Powered By a Healthy Body
In Habitually Living on Purpose, I mentioned how I am focusing on habits this year in an attempt to live according to my Life on Purpose statement: My Life on Purpose is a joyful life of freedom, continuous learning, encouraged and supported creativity, insatiable curiosity, and prolific creation, driven by passion and a desire for . . . → Read More: Living on Purpose: Powered By a Healthy Body
Living on Purpose: Powered By a Healthy Body is a post from: GBGames – Thoughts on Indie Game Development
Posted in Health, Personal Development
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Habitually Living on Purpose
Earlier this year, I realized I had once again forgotten to keep sight of my goals, and I finally did something about it.
Two years ago, after reading Life On Purpose: Six Passages to an Inspired Life, I came up with a purpose statement:
My Life on Purpose is a joyful life of freedom, . . . → Read More: Habitually Living on Purpose
Habitually Living on Purpose is a post from: GBGames – Thoughts on Indie Game Development
Posted in Personal Development
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Why I’m Glad I Didn’t Try to Create a Kickstarter Campaign
Before Double Fine had their really successful campaign and seemingly everyone thought Kickstarter was suddenly this brilliant way to raise money for indie games, I looked into it.
As development continued on Stop That Hero!, I worried about continuing to fund it with my savings before I actually ran out. I was aware of . . . → Read More: Why I’m Glad I Didn’t Try to Create a Kickstarter Campaign
Why I’m Glad I Didn’t Try to Create a Kickstarter Campaign is a post from: GBGames – Thoughts on Indie Game Development
Posted in Game Development, games, Marketing/Business
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A New Direction for “Stop That Hero!”
As much as Stop That Hero! has provided me with a great opportunity and learning experience, recent events have led me to seriously invest time in a much needed redesign. As a casual strategy game, the game left players with a fun and exciting way to be evil and have fun at the same time. . . . → Read More: A New Direction for “Stop That Hero!”
A New Direction for “Stop That Hero!” is a post from: GBGames – Thoughts on Indie Game Development
Posted in game design, Game Development, Geek / Technical
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I Need to Prepare for Anniversaries Better
Today marks six years since GBGames, LLC was officially formed.
Since last year’s anniversary post, I hit a major milestone.
I had my first sale.
My casual strategy game Stop That Hero! is available for GNU/Linux, Mac OS X, and Windows. When I released the initial alpha in December, I had little idea of . . . → Read More: I Need to Prepare for Anniversaries Better
I Need to Prepare for Anniversaries Better is a post from: GBGames – Thoughts on Indie Game Development
Posted in Marketing/Business, Personal Development
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Did You Know The IGDA Has a Healthcare Plan?
Back in 2009, the International Game Developers Assocation (IGDA) announced the launch of the IGDA Healthcare Program.
When I became a full-time indie game developer, I was going to lose my employer-provided insurance, so I turned to the IGDA’s program to get coverage instead of trying to find my own insurance on my . . . → Read More: Did You Know The IGDA Has a Healthcare Plan?
Did You Know The IGDA Has a Healthcare Plan? is a post from: GBGames – Thoughts on Indie Game Development
Posted in Health
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GDC Badge Pro Tips
While I won’t be going to the Game Developers Conference this year, I thought I would share some tips for making the most of your GDC 2012 badge and holder. These tips are especially important for people who will be attending their first GDC, such as some of the fantastic students I met when I . . . → Read More: GDC Badge Pro Tips
GDC Badge Pro Tips is a post from: GBGames – Thoughts on Indie Game Development
Posted in Game Development, Geek / Technical, Marketing/Business, Personal Development
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Hear Me Speak Live at the University of Iowa
I’ll be part of a group of game developers talking to students at University of Iowa on Friday, February 24th, 2012.
Where: Room 240 of Art Building West, Iowa City, IA
When: 4PM
Other speakers include people from Glass Cannon Games, Zach Ellsbury of Seraphic Software, iOS developer Karl Becker, and P.J. Lorenz, organizer . . . → Read More: Hear Me Speak Live at the University of Iowa
Hear Me Speak Live at the University of Iowa is a post from: GBGames – Thoughts on Indie Game Development
Posted in Game Development, Geek / Technical, Marketing/Business, Personal Development
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Filling a No-longer-served Niche
Jeff Vogel of Spiderweb Software wrote about being an indie game bottom feeder. He breaks it down into a few principles.
Stop worrying about piracy and worry about being a person your customers want to support
He talks about coming to terms with the fact that piracy happens. Interestingly, he finds the best way . . . → Read More: Filling a No-longer-served Niche
Filling a No-longer-served Niche is a post from: GBGames – Thoughts on Indie Game Development
Posted in game design, Game Development, Marketing/Business
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The Future Is Disorienting
I just jumped years into the future with both my cell phone and my computer. The future is a mixed bag.
The Cell Phone
For quite a few years now, I’ve had a flip-phone and was paying for service out of contract. When people started getting smartphones, I kind of wanted one, . . . → Read More: The Future Is Disorienting
The Future Is Disorienting is a post from: GBGames – Thoughts on Indie Game Development
Posted in Geek / Technical
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An Online Conference You Can Attend #AltDevConf
If you’re not familiar with AltDevBlogADay, you should be. Each day, a game developer posts on a variety of game development topics. There’s a huge backlog of content there now, and while the recent redesign has made it difficult to find the category you want (you have to click on a post to see only . . . → Read More: An Online Conference You Can Attend #AltDevConf
An Online Conference You Can Attend #AltDevConf is a post from: GBGames – Thoughts on Indie Game Development
Posted in game design, Game Development, Geek / Technical, Marketing/Business, Personal Development
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Linux Game Publishing CEO Steps Down
Yesterday, I woke up to an email saying that Michael Simms is stepping down after 10 years of running Linux Game Publishing and Tux Games.
Wow, 10 years! That’s a lot of enthusiasm and work, and unfortunately it takes its toll:
It took me some months to notice what was going on, and even longer . . . → Read More: Linux Game Publishing CEO Steps Down
Linux Game Publishing CEO Steps Down is a post from: GBGames – Thoughts on Indie Game Development
Posted in Linux Game Development, Marketing/Business
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Is Asking Customers to Pre-order a Bad Thing?
A month ago, there was a post on Reddit asking what people thought about indie developers asking for money up front.
Some people are fine if they get a good quality playable build for pre-ordering, but no one seemed to be happy with the idea of funding basic engine development. It seems the general . . . → Read More: Is Asking Customers to Pre-order a Bad Thing?
Is Asking Customers to Pre-order a Bad Thing? is a post from: GBGames – Thoughts on Indie Game Development
Posted in Game Development, Marketing/Business
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My Offsite Backup Solutions
To go along with my last post on indie maintenance and disaster plans, I’d like to mention how I currently back up my important data.
Local Backups
I have two active computers. My main development machine is my currently dying laptop. My desktop has a backup of my laptop’s data. Using rsync and SSH, . . . → Read More: My Offsite Backup Solutions
My Offsite Backup Solutions is a post from: GBGames – Thoughts on Indie Game Development
Posted in Geek / Technical, Marketing/Business
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Indie Maintenance and Disaster Plans
My Dell Precision M90, which has been running like a champ for more than half a decade despite my cats’ attempts to get their fur clogged in its fans, is finally dying. I’ve been seeing graphical glitches for some time, but I’ve been able to continue working, and the glitches eventually go away. Except when . . . → Read More: Indie Maintenance and Disaster Plans
Indie Maintenance and Disaster Plans is a post from: GBGames – Thoughts on Indie Game Development
Posted in Game Development, Geek / Technical, Marketing/Business
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Why I Am Against SOPA/PIPA
I’ve been meaning to write about the Stop Online Piracy Act and the PROTECT IP Act, and even though they have been put on hold thanks to widespread Internet activism, they’re not dead yet, and laws like them are sure to follow.
I am a game developer and a writer. And I do not . . . → Read More: Why I Am Against SOPA/PIPA
Why I Am Against SOPA/PIPA is a post from: GBGames – Thoughts on Indie Game Development
Posted in Politics/Government
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Integrating LodePNG with an SDL Project
In efforts to port Stop That Hero! to the Mac, I ran into a strange issue involving PNG image data.
See, the level layout in “Stop That Hero!” is defined by a 50×33 PNG. The colors of pixels in the PNG correspond to tiles and structures in the game. Grass tiles are represented in . . . → Read More: Integrating LodePNG with an SDL Project
Integrating LodePNG with an SDL Project is a post from: GBGames – Thoughts on Indie Game Development
Posted in Game Development, Geek / Technical, General
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Prototype-ready Art Assets for Game Programmers
Prototypes are tough for game programmers. If you have a competent artist involved on your project, your game might look way better than it is, which makes it easier to show off the potential of your designs, but it also sets expectations higher. Since most programmers haven’t honed their art skills, programmer art tends to . . . → Read More: Prototype-ready Art Assets for Game Programmers
Prototype-ready Art Assets for Game Programmers is a post from: GBGames – Thoughts on Indie Game Development
Posted in General
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