14 Jan 2012
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blog
Amidst ultra-dry classes like Compiler Design and Computational Modeling, last quarter I took a class that I really enjoyed: Introduction to Computer Graphics. It effectively was an openGL class, going over coordinate systems, transformations, shading techniques and such, but what I really enjoyed were the labs. They probably had a similar level of coding to previous CS classes, but something about being able to get a visual result so immediately was very satisfying. Plus it’s easier to show off a 3d model to your friends than a sort algorithm, I suppose.
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07 Jan 2012
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blog
I missed the initial excitement for Everyday Shooter, after it was released on Playstation Network, a platform I didn’t own a console for. But I’d heard enough about it to remain interested and when it finally saw a Steam release I picked it up on launch.
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04 Oct 2011
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blog
I’ve put about ten hours into the Battlefield 3 beta now, after getting in once it went public, and my general feeling about the game has changed from eager anticipation to mild disappointment and frustration upon release to now feeling pretty confident about the game. It definitely has some flaws but it’s captured the excitement and fun of the previous games well.
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26 Apr 2011
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blog
In Winter 2011, I took CMPS20 at UCSC, taught by Arnav Jhala. The course title is ‘The Game Design Experience,’ and involved forming a team of four students (with a grad or teacher as mentor) and creating a game from scratch using XNA, for the eventual submission to the Imagine Cup. Penguin Pull was my group’s creation: a retro-styled arcade game involving dodging obstacles and picking up penguins, while keeping your ice floe in the shade of clouds as you traveled onwards.
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25 Apr 2011
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blog
If you’re a student, you can get a bunch of software from Microsoft for significantly lower prices. The idea is that if Microsoft can get students to use the software, they’ll go out into the industry with those skills, leading to companies purchasing more MS software.
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