OpenGL and Ubuntu 7.10

So, you have installed ubuntu and would like to compile some OpenGL code? Where do I start … You will need to install two things,the g++ compiler, and (if you need them) the GLUT library.

The compiler is easy, just type the following command into a terminal.

sudo apt-get install g++

Follow the prompts, this should install the compiler. Next, you might need the GLUT library, which can be installed (headers and development libraries) with the following command.

sudo apt-get install libglut3-dev

All set 🙂 Compile OpenGL code without any hitches.

Sauce

Well I rocked up for a lecture today at university and the guy in front of me opens up his laptop and loads some game game which appears ot be using the Source engine! Alright I didn’t think the Orange Box was out yet, but it does appear that he was playing portal. The entire lecture nobody sitting near me was paying attention to the lecturer, we were all watching this guy play portal. Must say that it looks pretty cool.

What I’m surprised about is the lack of enthusiasm about the Orange Box! Seriously, I forgot that it was coming out, but I am still waiting until next week for the Xbox 360 version 🙂

OpenGL and FreeBSD

I have always wanted to do everything cross platform but when you dont know what youre doing and dont have much time it tends to be the last thing on your mind. So a few weeks ago I wrote a simple windows application (using OpenGL) to easily display points in 3D space instead of having to draw it on paper (doing vector maths at university at the moment). I also happen to have just set up a computer with FreeBSD (and GNOME).

Vectors

When objects are represented on a computer screen they are stored in memory as a whole lot of points which are joined up and manipulated (mathematically) such that they make pretty pictures. Each point in this imaginary space is called a point, and a line joining two points is called a vector. As you can imagine, to represent a point in two dimensional space you will need two values which represent its location (or coordinate) on a cartesian plane. Vectors are normally dealt with as originating at the origin and ending at a given point.

This is an example of a point.

And a vector from the origin to that point.

The length of the vector from its origin to end point is called the magnitude. This is the formula to calculate a vectors magnitude.

For comprehensive explanation on vectors check out the wikipedia entry.

Australian Gaming Industry

I would like to write a little about the gaming industry here in Australia, and in Queensland in general.

Many of you who are interested in game development might not realize what the bigger picture is like and who is involved. I myself was quite surprised to discover the number of game development companies in Brisbane alone. Quite interesting.

Firstly I would like to draw attention to the Game Developers Association of Australia (GDAA) and to the Australian Game Developers Conference (AGDC).

Steam Update

I knew for ages that Valve Software was planning some cool new community and clan features for their distribution platform Steam. Every now and then I would load up steam just to see if anything had changed, and this morning was different, something had actually changed!

Initially I though that they would just make the friends system a little more stable and do some lame excuse for a clan system with no real benefit. I was indeed suprised when almost every aspect of Steam had changed in some way! The features I liked the most …

• Add links for other games on your computer
• See statistics about your friends playing habbits
• In-game interface which pwns Xfire up the ass

I always had an idea in my head of what Steam could potentially be, but every new update was never any closer to what I wanted. I can now say that Steam is very close to what I want it to be. Good job boys.

Focus Testing

Got my first chance today to take part in a focus test for an unannounced game being developed by Halfbrick Studios. We were originally going to test two games but what was supposed to be a one hour focus test session turned into a few hours of playing and talking about ideas which was really fun. So we only got a chance to play with one of their games.

Learn Maths

If you ever intend creating your own game (using those simple game creator applications don’t count) you will most definitely need a strong knowledge of algebra! I am currently taking a maths subject at university and am finding it rather difficult. I have found the site Purplemath which has loads of really good algebra tutorials. You can also pay them to tutor you, but the free material is really quite good.

Here are a few more maths algebra resources to consider:

• http://math.about.com/od/algebra/Algebra_Help_Tutorials.htm
• http://www.wtamu.edu/academic/anns/mps/math/mathlab/col_algebra/
• http://www.math.armstrong.edu/MathTutorial/
• http://www.sosmath.com/algebra/algebra.html

Also I found the following page helps me keep an overview of everything I have covered thus far.

Halo 3 Cheap

Want to get Halo 3 cheaper than usual? Well this is not cheap, but sorta is at the same time. Electronics Boutique is currently running a deal where they will give you a free Halo 3 pre-order if you trade in any three old Xbox 360 games. So I took my three games and asked how much they would buy them from me for. Apparently they would only buy me three games for about AU$35. So I put them on a pre-order for Halo 3 instead which is valued at about AU$90! Bargain?

XNA Game Studio Express

For those interested, I had previously started a blog with the intention of posting tutorials using XNA Game Studio Express. I did not continue with that series for a few reasons, but for anyone interested it can still be found at this address. In its current state of completeness it will be most beneficial to beginners who have never used XNA before. As always, some programming knowledge is required.

Fake Gamers

I would like to vent my frustration about the sort of people who call themselves “gamers”, but who will not accept the existence of a game unless it is on their favorite platform. For fuck sakes! Console controllers are just as awkward for you as a mouse was when you first picked it up! I am tired of converstions that go something like this:

me – “Mate have you heard about game x? I have been playing it for days straight. Awesome game!”
person – “Nope. Must be new? Maybe I’ll download it tonight”
me – “Cant download it… PS3 only release.”
person – “Oh cmon! How was I expected to hear about it? Why would they only release on PS3? Real gamers use PC’s!”

Its bullshit, really. I dont care that someone would not have heard about something because it is not coming out on their favorite platform, but to run the game down for the same reason is really pissing me off.

Introduction

I have started this blog because my previous blog was too concentrated on one subject, and I did not find it feasible to write about that subject any more for various reasons. That is vague, but its all anybody will need to know 🙂

This blog will be related to gaming in general. This includes, but is not limited to playing games, making games, and gaming related issues.

I am currently studying at Queensland University of Technology in Brisbane, Australia. I am in a position where I can experience many aspects of the game development process and will use that experience to decide which part interests me the most. At the moment I am looking mostly at coding game engines, or possible being a producer. Will probably have to start in some code monkey position first though. Thats the way it works. As you can gather, I am interested in coding games, managing teams of coders, playing games. It is fair to say that I am therefore interested in application programming in general, as well as computing hardware and gaming hardwae of various types. This is the broad spectrum of subjects that I will be blogging about. Enjoy 🙂