Everyday we are bombarded by having to move in different directions. That does not change when you work for yourself. Every action becomes an evaluation in what you are doing next. Last week for me was mostly occupied with speeding up the networking code for Maze Pseudo. While that does not mean much to many, it is a direction that I choose to follow. It is and was such an engaging task that I decided to not write a blog last week. So that covers the direction not taken. I have a little more to do on network and then it will be on to a help view. There are other tasks left, but that is probably enough for me to want to do a release.
Choosing what to blog about recently has become more challenging. Not that I do not have things to blog about, but choosing which one. Even spending the few minutes to do this gets interrupted with E3 housing contemplation. Sometimes these distractions are useful in that they give our brains more time to workout in the background other tasks. This is why I find myself particularly productive on Mondays. Other people are too busy on Monday to bother me and I have had a two-day break.
I want to talk about politics. I really do. But probably not in the way you think. In past years, it felt like there were a couple bad choices and it ultimately comes down to choosing the lesser of two evils or throwing chance to the wind since my vote rarely counts: I don't think I've voted for the winner in many years. But this year, I really want a good candidate to vote for. The top runners scare me. Good people do not run for office. Or perhaps they are only good because nobody has put them under a microscope. How do you find someone in politics to believe in?
Perhaps I do not want to talk about politics. Distractions. Back to working on things I have more control over: Squirrels!
Monday, February 29, 2016
Friday, February 19, 2016
Difficult and Self-confidence
Many years ago when speaking to a professional colleague, I said if it is difficult to do, you probably should not be doing it that way. It was in reference to doing Java coding for a piece of User Interface. That one statement has come back to haunt me many times, as well as being repeated back to me. But perhaps it needs a better explanation, as the sentiment applies in more situations than just programming. Back to that thought in a moment.
I have for some time noticed that people do not seem as self-confident as they once were. This seems to be particularly true of the younger generations and of females. If you are young and female, then you seem to get a double dose. I am not sure where this came from or how we got here. When I was in high school, I had many self-confident peers and role models. I am not sure they would have identified as themselves such then or now. But I still see, read, or hear of those people today and my impression of them has not changed. This is especially true of the females from that time of my younger life. Today they are still people to look up to.
So where did things go so wrong? I have my own self-confidence issues, but I usually recognize them and have my own method for dealing with them. I do have a couple suspects: school testing and social pressure.
Tests promoted as a means of measuring your worth as an individual. Wrong: You can only be successful if you pass the tests. Right: Knowing how you failed a test makes you a better person. So perhaps the thought is you cannot fail if you do not take the test. I was in a chat room recently where a younger college aged female shared one of her New Year’s resolutions. She wanted to show more of her creative self this year, as in sharing artwork and videos she had made. Another female chimed in that she had you tube videos she had not published. The sentiment being these works were "not good enough" to share. I was floored. I did not know what to say.
Social pressure also causes angst. In order to be found worth in the current social world, you have to be perfect and never make a mistake. If you are not perfect, anything you create is not worthy of being seen. This is where females seem to get an extra dose. The expectation is that females have to smile and look their best in order to be taken seriously. Where did that come from? Nothing could be farther from the truth. I have done artwork. Some of that artwork has received praise. I am not an artist. I am not perfect. I do not want to be perfect. I do art when I must and it is some of the most time consuming work I ever do.
So what does self-confidence have to do with difficult? Something that a person finds difficult may cause them to loose confidence in themselves. Something being difficult means either you have not learned an easier way to do it or that there is a better way to do it. Just because I find artwork difficult, does not mean it is difficult for everyone. Some people are just better at artwork than me. There are things that I find easy that others find difficult. You should not let it being difficult diminish your self-confidence. Programmers are notoriously lazy, but this is with good reason. Lazy programmers make things that are easy to use.
Homework: If someone you know has a creative hobby, encourage them. Get them sharing. A lot of creative endeavors are easily shared in today's connected world. Yes, they will probably get the "it sucks" comments. But hopefully at least one person sees and appreciates what they are doing. If you are that creative person, are you sharing pictures or the work itself? You do not need to share 100 a day, 1 a week is enough. Share a picture of a work in progress of that sock you are knitting or wall mural you are painting. Post a character description from that story. Post that epic clip of you majorly messing up your lines for a play. Or share your latest completed awesome work.
Extra Credit: Find someone not famous who is sharing their creative endeavors that you do not personally know or know that well and complement them on their work. If you can't find a complement find someone else. There are plenty of people out there looking for validation and encouragement that you should be able to find something you like.
Short note on where I am: Still working with controllers for Maze Pseudo along with other enhancements. Current target is to be done with that in a week or two. Then it is on to Maze Pseudo for Apple TV for two to four weeks. After that is not determined, but there are several candidates. Lastly, I plan on doing this type work for the rest of the year. At the end of the year is my first decision point to determine if things are going in the right direction. Till then, I already have a job and have plenty to keep me busy.
#beawesomebeyou or #beyoubeawesome
I have for some time noticed that people do not seem as self-confident as they once were. This seems to be particularly true of the younger generations and of females. If you are young and female, then you seem to get a double dose. I am not sure where this came from or how we got here. When I was in high school, I had many self-confident peers and role models. I am not sure they would have identified as themselves such then or now. But I still see, read, or hear of those people today and my impression of them has not changed. This is especially true of the females from that time of my younger life. Today they are still people to look up to.
So where did things go so wrong? I have my own self-confidence issues, but I usually recognize them and have my own method for dealing with them. I do have a couple suspects: school testing and social pressure.
Tests promoted as a means of measuring your worth as an individual. Wrong: You can only be successful if you pass the tests. Right: Knowing how you failed a test makes you a better person. So perhaps the thought is you cannot fail if you do not take the test. I was in a chat room recently where a younger college aged female shared one of her New Year’s resolutions. She wanted to show more of her creative self this year, as in sharing artwork and videos she had made. Another female chimed in that she had you tube videos she had not published. The sentiment being these works were "not good enough" to share. I was floored. I did not know what to say.
Social pressure also causes angst. In order to be found worth in the current social world, you have to be perfect and never make a mistake. If you are not perfect, anything you create is not worthy of being seen. This is where females seem to get an extra dose. The expectation is that females have to smile and look their best in order to be taken seriously. Where did that come from? Nothing could be farther from the truth. I have done artwork. Some of that artwork has received praise. I am not an artist. I am not perfect. I do not want to be perfect. I do art when I must and it is some of the most time consuming work I ever do.
So what does self-confidence have to do with difficult? Something that a person finds difficult may cause them to loose confidence in themselves. Something being difficult means either you have not learned an easier way to do it or that there is a better way to do it. Just because I find artwork difficult, does not mean it is difficult for everyone. Some people are just better at artwork than me. There are things that I find easy that others find difficult. You should not let it being difficult diminish your self-confidence. Programmers are notoriously lazy, but this is with good reason. Lazy programmers make things that are easy to use.
Homework: If someone you know has a creative hobby, encourage them. Get them sharing. A lot of creative endeavors are easily shared in today's connected world. Yes, they will probably get the "it sucks" comments. But hopefully at least one person sees and appreciates what they are doing. If you are that creative person, are you sharing pictures or the work itself? You do not need to share 100 a day, 1 a week is enough. Share a picture of a work in progress of that sock you are knitting or wall mural you are painting. Post a character description from that story. Post that epic clip of you majorly messing up your lines for a play. Or share your latest completed awesome work.
Extra Credit: Find someone not famous who is sharing their creative endeavors that you do not personally know or know that well and complement them on their work. If you can't find a complement find someone else. There are plenty of people out there looking for validation and encouragement that you should be able to find something you like.
Short note on where I am: Still working with controllers for Maze Pseudo along with other enhancements. Current target is to be done with that in a week or two. Then it is on to Maze Pseudo for Apple TV for two to four weeks. After that is not determined, but there are several candidates. Lastly, I plan on doing this type work for the rest of the year. At the end of the year is my first decision point to determine if things are going in the right direction. Till then, I already have a job and have plenty to keep me busy.
#beawesomebeyou or #beyoubeawesome
Thursday, February 11, 2016
Words Have Power
Words can shape our world. They can make us happy or sad. This week has been a curvy mountain road. Earlier this week, I was reading someone’s postings and got blindsided by how cruel they were. I felt insulted. So much so that I had to stop reading them. Just walk away. Did the person realize how much hate they were spewing? Probably not. I would rather my words be of the positive and not the negative. If problems are given, offer solutions. There is enough wrong in this world that pointing fingers does not help.
Blogging on Monday was derailed by those negative words. Tuesday was a day of happy. I couldn’t darken that day with a rant. Wednesday became a weird day where everything took twice as long as it felt like it was taking. So here we are to Thursday.
I want my words to pull you to the positive. To see that I am going in the right direction for me. To make you happy, not sad. So what have I been doing that is positive?
This week has been about controllers for Maze Pseudo. By controllers, I mean game controllers like you would have on a PlayStation, Xbox, or Nintendo console. Maze Pseudo is a game I have been playing in one form or another for 30 years. I have rewritten it at least 5 times for different platforms in that. But this week was the first time I had ever been able to play it with a joystick. It was always meant to be played with two joysticks, but until now, most of the platforms I developed it for didn’t have popular support for controllers. It is a different experience with a controller. I love playing it with a controller. So it is okay even if I am the only one that plays it with a controller. The work has been worth it just for that.
I have also been asked several times recently “What do you do?” Meaning the thought is that I sit at home, do nothing, watch TV, or play games. I actually am programming. I work at it 8 hours a day 5 days a week. Some of my hours are occupied by taxes, accounting, or dealing with adjusting office/work space. I have a PO box that I should visit at least once a week. I have a job. The only difference is that I am the one responsible for making sure I have something to work on and that the work gets done.
As for what I program, it depends. Last month it was a couple of weeks for a Facebook game (Sudoku Pseudo). The past couple weeks have been devoted to making updates to an iPhone game (Maze Pseudo). So technically, that makes me a game developer at the moment. But it is not just games that I work on. Several of my future projects are not games. One of them is one I already spent a significant amount of time one and abandoned a couple years ago. It is not a game. Technology has become available that makes that project viable again. I have plans for other projects on Mac, Windows, Android, and game consoles, both games and not games.
So you can call me a Game Developer, a Facebook Developer, or an iPhone Developer. You could simply call me a Software Developer.
#BEYOUBEAWESOME or #BEAWESOMEBEYOU
Blogging on Monday was derailed by those negative words. Tuesday was a day of happy. I couldn’t darken that day with a rant. Wednesday became a weird day where everything took twice as long as it felt like it was taking. So here we are to Thursday.
I want my words to pull you to the positive. To see that I am going in the right direction for me. To make you happy, not sad. So what have I been doing that is positive?
This week has been about controllers for Maze Pseudo. By controllers, I mean game controllers like you would have on a PlayStation, Xbox, or Nintendo console. Maze Pseudo is a game I have been playing in one form or another for 30 years. I have rewritten it at least 5 times for different platforms in that. But this week was the first time I had ever been able to play it with a joystick. It was always meant to be played with two joysticks, but until now, most of the platforms I developed it for didn’t have popular support for controllers. It is a different experience with a controller. I love playing it with a controller. So it is okay even if I am the only one that plays it with a controller. The work has been worth it just for that.
I have also been asked several times recently “What do you do?” Meaning the thought is that I sit at home, do nothing, watch TV, or play games. I actually am programming. I work at it 8 hours a day 5 days a week. Some of my hours are occupied by taxes, accounting, or dealing with adjusting office/work space. I have a PO box that I should visit at least once a week. I have a job. The only difference is that I am the one responsible for making sure I have something to work on and that the work gets done.
As for what I program, it depends. Last month it was a couple of weeks for a Facebook game (Sudoku Pseudo). The past couple weeks have been devoted to making updates to an iPhone game (Maze Pseudo). So technically, that makes me a game developer at the moment. But it is not just games that I work on. Several of my future projects are not games. One of them is one I already spent a significant amount of time one and abandoned a couple years ago. It is not a game. Technology has become available that makes that project viable again. I have plans for other projects on Mac, Windows, Android, and game consoles, both games and not games.
So you can call me a Game Developer, a Facebook Developer, or an iPhone Developer. You could simply call me a Software Developer.
#BEYOUBEAWESOME or #BEAWESOMEBEYOU
Monday, February 1, 2016
You Can Help Me
I have an iOS game: MazePseudo (view in iTunes:MazePseudo). It has been out there for a while, but I have not had the time to promote it at all. What I could use help with depends on how willing you are to help. Easiest help is to just buy a copy. It is only a dollar after all. If you do not have a dollar or cannot afford a dollar, then please do not buy a copy. It is not the money that I need, but the sales. You do not have to install the app or play it.
Slightly more helpful would be for you to buy it and play it once with a GameCenter account and get a score. It is not hard. Use the left circle to move and right circle to fire. Move around until you find something to hit. Once you have a couple points, you can quit (red X in upper left). Or keep playing. The game works on any iPhone, iPad, or Apple Touch that supports iOS 7.1 or higher.
If you want to be very helpful, then providing constructive feedback would be appreciated. I do not need to hear "it stinks" or "it is bad" as I know the concept is good. I want to hear what you do not like about it. Be specific. Or what you would change or add to it.
I already have a list of things that I want to change or fix in the near term, but it would be helpful to get feedback in case there is something I am not seeing. Right now I am targeting to do a new release in a couple weeks. Things that I am looking at including are:
-Increase speed of movement. This is actually a networking issue for multiplayer. The fix for this is iffy at this point.
-Bug when moving and round ends. The next round starts you moving in the direction you were last moving.
-Make the buttons on the main screen and the round over screen larger.
-Add support for 3rd party controllers and other control configurations, i.e. tilt to move with a single circle to fire.
-Add a pop-down banner when someone is disrupted. Particularly important for multiplayer in knowing when a friend has been gotten.
-Add AppleTV integration/support.
Some of the above may get pulled out into a second release farther out. I have even more things I want to add to MazePseudo. Plans need to be kept achievable and balanced with other projects. SudokoPseudo got out of hand, more because I did not spend enough on-going time with it. I do not want MazePseudo to get into the same situation.
So the best way for you to help is buy a copy of MazePseudo. Play it if you want. Give feedback if you can. Thanks!
Slightly more helpful would be for you to buy it and play it once with a GameCenter account and get a score. It is not hard. Use the left circle to move and right circle to fire. Move around until you find something to hit. Once you have a couple points, you can quit (red X in upper left). Or keep playing. The game works on any iPhone, iPad, or Apple Touch that supports iOS 7.1 or higher.
If you want to be very helpful, then providing constructive feedback would be appreciated. I do not need to hear "it stinks" or "it is bad" as I know the concept is good. I want to hear what you do not like about it. Be specific. Or what you would change or add to it.
I already have a list of things that I want to change or fix in the near term, but it would be helpful to get feedback in case there is something I am not seeing. Right now I am targeting to do a new release in a couple weeks. Things that I am looking at including are:
-Increase speed of movement. This is actually a networking issue for multiplayer. The fix for this is iffy at this point.
-Bug when moving and round ends. The next round starts you moving in the direction you were last moving.
-Make the buttons on the main screen and the round over screen larger.
-Add support for 3rd party controllers and other control configurations, i.e. tilt to move with a single circle to fire.
-Add a pop-down banner when someone is disrupted. Particularly important for multiplayer in knowing when a friend has been gotten.
-Add AppleTV integration/support.
Some of the above may get pulled out into a second release farther out. I have even more things I want to add to MazePseudo. Plans need to be kept achievable and balanced with other projects. SudokoPseudo got out of hand, more because I did not spend enough on-going time with it. I do not want MazePseudo to get into the same situation.
So the best way for you to help is buy a copy of MazePseudo. Play it if you want. Give feedback if you can. Thanks!
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)