I seem to do much chatting about things other than programming. Mostly because I usually find programming so routine there is no real point for me to talk about it.
Lately I have written and tested a simple Regex engine (works well, but lacks many advanced features). A Math expression parser (works well), a cross platfrom irc bot framework (no advanced features), a 3D OpenGL Java based programming game (incomplete), written a kD-Tree implementation (works), mucked about with image formats. Awhile ago I even tried my hand at a Gameboy interpreting emulator (never finished).
I have been considering if I should try making a game of some sort. I am not really lacking in skill in programming, however most current generation gamers want not only gameplay, but graphics. That is where I hit a speed bump. I can ignore those for the most part (you know since it is just for fun, if I like). I have even caught myself practicing what I would say if I had to sell my programming skills to a game developer.
Sorta like so. “It all depends on the scope of your project. If you want a massive 3D system, with character models with an adaptive IK animation system and complex physics system, well I probably can’t do that.. Well actually I probably could, but I would be really annoyed, that is to say, I wouldn’t want to do it. Since that is a difficulty well beyond a single developer.”
Did I mention such a system would be a pain to write? Well it would be. Since I would have to look up how many things worked, and perhaps even new api for the animations and graphic system (directx/opengl scene graphing) and integrate a physics library.
Why art is frustrating
I was asked this by a friend. Why is art so frustrating? Good question.
It didn’t take me long to find an answer however. I have been over this question several times with myself already. I am the sort of personal perfectionist that given any task, I can master it very quickly. That is, if I put my full mind to it. However this only applies to left brain tasks, or logical step by step tasks. Perhaps being able to add or remove steps here and there, but all point a, to b, to c, to d.
Art, isn’t a simple step by step process. However much one wishes it could be. In fact it does not really have ‘steps’ at all except for the levels of build up (skeleton -> sketch -> re-sketch -> ink -> color). But this helps little with the actual process of doing each of those steps. Logical thinking is all step to step thinking. Sort of like a computer. You do this, then this, and then this. Creative thinking is more of a big picture, creating connections, and the like. Needless, we would be lost without either side. However the right (creative) brain rarely gets exercised as much as the left.
Because of this we are usually left with childlike ability in drawing, since that is usually when we ‘stop’ to goto school. Not to say schools don’t have art classes. But they do little to actually develop the creative right brain, instead focusing on much less frustrating left brain ‘artistic tasks’. Such as paper-mache, or other crafts.
The only way to get around this is to exercise the right brain. Drawing aimlessly and losing track of time in the process usually involves this. Its hard work, and you need to do it daily to ‘catch’ up. Even if it is non-sensual drawings. Other types usually involve visualizing objects in 3D and drawing them. Drawing what you see. Coming up with creative designs for whatever your interest is (cars, bikes, planes, birds, clothing, computers, etc).
P.S. There are other things that are also frustrating to learn, but not because of creativity requirements, but due to the scope of knowledge required. Such as language learning, and other areas you know little in (this is also another reason for art, studying anatomy helps, but isn’t as beneficial as observation).
Netbook of Feats
Some may of noticed (assuming I have any readers), that I have a database searchable version of the netbook of feats up. I went out of my way considerably to parse it and its balance scoring. There are many values that can be sorted by I do not have UI for. So expect me to add UI for these in the future.
Each part of the balance is split up differently. All sorted in an purely numeric InnoDB table. The full text searches only the name, short description, categories, and copyright name (MyIsam). Please be nice to it.
It is missing a few of the feats that had html in its description. I will add those manually at some point.
EVE Online
Here I am going to speak a little more about games again. Eve Online, I tried it awhile ago, and it wasn’t the most terrible game in existence, however I dislike for one very simple reason. Their learning systems depends wholly on how long you have been paying them. Thats right, you don’t work hard, or grind monsters, or mine, or whatever else to learn skills, you character learns them at a set pace, which basically equates to for them, longer and more money you give us, the more skilled your character is. Honestly that is a bit annoying to me. I mean sure I can see learning time, or limiting how much you can learn in a given period, and while there are ways to optimize skill learning to a degree. I don’t want to wait around for a year to start having fun.
Oh yes that is another thing, permanent death is really possible, I mean there is a clone system and such, but dieing is really quite possible. Losing those years of hard work.
Truly anal people like me, who in a game of hard work, work our asses to hell and back. Like in Pokemon I usually out level the next gym leader since I trained my Pokemon to ex nauseam. People like me who could find some training engaging instead do not, as you generally log off and do nothing. So you are paying for a game that you do nothing in, and takes you almost a year to get to start to do anything really interesting (that is to say, being able to afford to be part of massive space battles). what. the. fuck.
Manga
I have read a lot of Manga recently, so much in fact I needed a calculator to figure out just how much Manga I had actually read. This has actually been going on for a few months now. But in total I have read nearly a 200,000 pages worth of manga. I could get into details, but the sheer magnitude of the number is a bit much.
In the more I have included the short list version, the long list is… long.