tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6590482384149543692012-02-16T23:14:01.583+01:00This is blog about platform game. Diamond Jack is a hero, who needs more diamonds than he can possibly take, he also likes jumping and hates snakes ;)Piotrhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08318843252528154992noreply@blogger.comBlogger281100tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-659048238414954369.post-68615948820564623882011-12-24T16:52:00.000+01:002011-12-24T16:52:13.667+01:00

Welcome in new, 0.98 version of Diamond Jack! Authorization manager has been fixed, one redundant permission has been removed - game is now more secure. Besides there are some other small engine fixes. Game engine also has now new gameplay feature: vanishing blocks shape. You can put new shape to any ground block and make it vanish for a second. Then block will appear again. Game portal has

Piotrhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08318843252528154992noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-659048238414954369.post-28905711852554228632011-12-03T18:17:00.001+01:002011-12-03T18:22:27.870+01:00

This week I have published some free and premium levels and released game update for Android with bug fixes and improvements. Today, fixed game engine on portal test applet and improved user profile page. And of course started working on new levels.

Piotrhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08318843252528154992noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-659048238414954369.post-60660020684859095212011-11-27T12:49:00.001+01:002011-11-27T12:59:45.232+01:00

Finally removed stupid dialogs about level validation errors and changed approach for processing level save validation. Editor is now more friendly and easier to use. This time, you don't loose your changes and you can save level at any time. Possible tips for validation will appear on list instead of popup blocking dialogs. When level is not ready to be tested in browser or downloaded to

Piotrhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08318843252528154992noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-659048238414954369.post-39727465950117103072011-11-20T17:37:00.001+01:002011-11-20T18:04:43.579+01:00

After heavy fixing and many improvements period, Game Portal is fully working now. Portal is serving game stats for premium users, uploads levels to phones, allows creating levels for game and browsing leaderboards. Check it here: Diamond Jack Portal

Piotrhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08318843252528154992noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-659048238414954369.post-37920740933406032282011-11-13T21:18:00.001+01:002011-11-16T21:20:14.964+01:00

is running on game portal. You can check it live here: http://dj-game.appspot.com/leaderboards At this time, it aggregates gameplay results of beta and premium users. Update is cron'ed each two hours. You can check last time run on page bottom. Next leaderboards version will be extended with best raider panel on the right, with list of best raiders by each category combined.

Piotrhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08318843252528154992noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-659048238414954369.post-90701963879322446112011-11-11T23:38:00.001+01:002011-11-12T00:48:50.917+01:00

Finally. After 10 (TEN:) months of hard work, Diamond Jack arrived to Android Market (11.11.2011) as FREE game: Diamond Jack Game And Game Portal running on Google App Engine cloud services, where players, pardon; raiders ;) with premium accounts can create and test their levels, public stats, compare gameplay results, and so on: Diamond Jack Portal It was hard year for me. I created Diamond

Piotrhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08318843252528154992noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-659048238414954369.post-37300910863402124292011-11-06T21:56:00.000+01:002011-11-06T21:56:58.956+01:00

Last days I was busy improving game on Android and portal logic. Fixed some bugs on game engine, improvements on UI side and so on. I do my best to put Diamond Jack on Android Market on 11.11.2011, that is a Friday. Fortunately, this is a day off work. We have a national Day of Independence. I just started to work on publishing gameplay stats, that is leaderboards; top players list for some

Piotrhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08318843252528154992noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-659048238414954369.post-11050186415283418492011-10-25T22:15:00.000+02:002011-10-25T22:15:47.731+02:00

This time I have 2 screenshots; user profile on game portal with player gameplay stats: ..and gamer profile on Android device, synced with game cloud portal: So, most things work. Next thing to do are improvements and leaderboards to allow players compete with each other.

Piotrhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08318843252528154992noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-659048238414954369.post-36361413661171135892011-10-18T00:11:00.000+02:002011-10-18T00:11:47.782+02:00

Done some screens from phone while working on stats processing.

Piotrhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08318843252528154992noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-659048238414954369.post-34013543920532542152011-10-13T23:11:00.000+02:002011-10-13T23:11:06.299+02:00

First, I started to create new level for testing level editor. This level is bigger, higher than last one I created. Shot from browser: I'm no some level designer so do not expect anything wonderful. But works great, see it yourself :) And here is test of this level running in browser: Frontend of a portal is heavily made with javascript, barely css3 only for small visual decorations. I

Piotrhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08318843252528154992noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-659048238414954369.post-48083291341316336512011-10-12T23:43:00.000+02:002011-10-12T23:43:15.814+02:00

Diamond Jack Game - for Android, can now "synchronize" levels from Diamond Jack Portal (game cloud). What does it mean ? First, when you create new level in level editor, or update old one, phone gets this new/updated level when processing update and puts it to "Personal levels" tab in "New game" activity. Second, somebody can publish (share) its own personal level to others. These new,

Piotrhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08318843252528154992noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-659048238414954369.post-268220999422138842011-10-05T22:01:00.000+02:002011-10-05T22:01:35.962+02:00

Diamond Jack for Android is now connecting to game cloud (named sometimes "a portal" by me). Game is started by loader, which connects to cloud and downloads updates, before opening main menu. Portal returns user profile and collection of available data to download. Now, I'm working on part of downloading levels, and later on syncing gameplay stats for building public leaderboards. Loader

Piotrhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08318843252528154992noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-659048238414954369.post-63287735180116280482011-10-02T12:52:00.000+02:002011-10-02T12:52:49.932+02:00

Hi! Yeah, I know, it was long time ago I have been here. But I'm not lazy, I worked hard to show you working Diamond Jack level editor in cloud. Watch how to create simple level: Editing and testing level in browser features are done. Portal is in beta stage now. Now, I'm working on Android application: downloading levels to phone. Then, sharing stats and browsing leaderboards. Sounds

Piotrhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08318843252528154992noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-659048238414954369.post-39327689678741997162011-08-27T22:35:00.000+02:002011-08-27T22:35:25.289+02:00

engine itself is finished, although there is still a lot of work on game stats, google authorization and synchronization (leaderboards !). And of course some startup levels. But so much has been done, I'm just proud. I work hard day by day from January this year, and still not given up ! If you worked alone on something that big, you know, that this is really big accomplishment :) This evening

Piotrhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08318843252528154992noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-659048238414954369.post-32869645864666617832011-08-18T20:22:00.000+02:002011-08-18T20:22:16.269+02:00

This was very busy month for me. But now, I'm back with a beta gameplay video ! This is test level, no fancy design, just test of some engine features. Game has gone through another concept improvement iteration. Game menu has been moved from gameplay window to separate dialogs. Levels data are loaded from database, and player achivements are stored as stats data, that will be shared to

Piotrhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08318843252528154992noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-659048238414954369.post-29935938759493914932011-07-17T14:14:00.000+02:002011-07-17T14:14:15.052+02:00

I'm moving to another city, so development is slowing down a little. But, I have finished almost all sound effects. However it is not that easy as it sounds :) First, I spend many days searching for good, free, base sounds. Then, I spend hours, tuning, mixing, resampling them to my needs, using great, free Audacity editor. At least, game code has been tuned, to play sounds exactly at specific

Piotrhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08318843252528154992noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-659048238414954369.post-24931247012305588732011-06-29T23:00:00.000+02:002011-06-29T23:00:53.187+02:00

School vacation has been started, so Luke found some time to create Skeleton animation: I have done some code and there is another scary enemy :) Skeleton usually sleeps, but attacks if someone is coming closer to him. Of course, you have some (short) time to run away.

Piotrhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08318843252528154992noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-659048238414954369.post-51093668094449649772011-06-26T22:13:00.000+02:002011-06-26T22:13:53.225+02:00

I feel, like more I have done, more work have to be done. I'm working hard from end of the January, two to five hours per day, and still there is no f** end of this ! There are moments I'm tired, very tired of work. But I like it anyway. So. There is almost finished engine, level editor in a cloud started and main Android application UI in polishing state. Menu system and gameplay has been

Piotrhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08318843252528154992noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-659048238414954369.post-4903067391742917282011-06-09T23:43:00.000+02:002011-06-09T23:43:36.680+02:00

Luke just created scorpion animation. So here it is - another Jack's enemy :)

Piotrhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08318843252528154992noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-659048238414954369.post-17109308598732064222011-06-04T14:32:00.000+02:002011-06-04T14:32:17.706+02:00

Jack has now new enemy; lava. He of course can't swim in it :) Lava kills immediately.

Piotrhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08318843252528154992noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-659048238414954369.post-56724584584967308962011-05-29T18:40:00.000+02:002011-05-29T18:40:19.344+02:00

It seems easy, but developing game menu is quite complex problem. Maintaining all that states, transition,  structure has taken me a whole week of work ! Ok, now it works and looks quite nice. I hope, it's easy and understandable :-)

Piotrhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08318843252528154992noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-659048238414954369.post-19926841236837205182011-05-22T00:03:00.000+02:002011-05-22T00:03:04.158+02:00

Hi, Enemy can attack Jack. If succeed, unfrotunately for him, he dies immediately :) Tell me, if you think, I should change Jack's last words. I think, it's funny, but who knows.. :)

Piotrhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08318843252528154992noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-659048238414954369.post-28662506409077209022011-05-16T16:35:00.000+02:002011-05-16T16:35:29.665+02:00

Hi. A few words about development generally. I think, every software craftsman has a time, when he loses his motivation to further work. Think about that for a moment. Why so many people abandon their projects, their commitment ? Where this drive go ? The problem is, that the software development is a long, long process. To finish what you have started, you must first set your goal and see it

Piotrhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08318843252528154992noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-659048238414954369.post-82898936630507450262011-05-15T21:23:00.000+02:002011-05-15T21:23:58.226+02:00

I have done something you can call a portal system. If you seen Super Mario games, you have noticed, that some levels have more than one exit. So, to make game more funny, I created a portal system. How it works ? Portals are just gates, that can lead to another gate in the same or another level. Level designer sets some gates in a level. Then, he can connect these gates to another level

Piotrhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08318843252528154992noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-659048238414954369.post-76672647232012077122011-05-07T16:51:00.000+02:002011-05-07T16:51:44.917+02:00

Another weekend, so another game update is ready. Luke has created nice spider, which can sometimes attack Jack from top of the tunnel :) Spider is going down on unrolling web. Animation effect is quite nice, I hope you like it :) Besides, there is updated level manager and level loader. I'm creating game levels with Tiled Map Editor. It is simple and great, easy to use tool. I have created

Piotrhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08318843252528154992noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-659048238414954369.post-21224863640816010252011-05-01T12:56:00.000+02:002011-05-01T12:56:54.514+02:00

The weekend has started. It's sunny, funny, but late evenings are cold and windy. So, it is a good time for development :) I have finished module for displaying player's inventory (score, life, keys). Also, player is now properly reacting to collisions with obstacles and enemies. And there is a new enemy: Luke has created nice mummy animation :) Have a nice day :)

Piotrhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08318843252528154992noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-659048238414954369.post-18604385326479566302011-04-24T18:22:00.000+02:002011-04-24T18:22:49.866+02:00

Hello, First a few words about developing. My game is using libgdx game development library. This is very helpful tool for creating games, especially if you do not have time to learn and create whole rendering framework. With libgdx, you go level up and focus on game creation, not on pixels drawing problems or something like that :) Thanks to libgdx creator, Mario Zechner, I could start

Piotrhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08318843252528154992noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-659048238414954369.post-12257985522898238092011-04-17T19:01:00.000+02:002011-04-17T19:01:11.137+02:00

Hi, and welcome to my blog. My name is Piotr (or Peter if you wish :)). This is blog about new, one particular platform game. About ideas and develoment process. I have decided to name it Diamond Jack. It is a name of a greedy hero. He of course like diamonds. Very large amounts of them :) You must jump, avoid enemies, find diamonds, and of course your way through, to the exit from this

Piotrhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08318843252528154992noreply@blogger.com0