Sunset - Leaving Sun Microsystems

Well, the time has come for my 16 years of service to Sun Microsystems to come to an end. There will be more information to come this week and I can start to populate the blog with much more diverse topics. Basically, whatever the hell I want :) Thanks to well wishers and their support!

Nintendo 64 Emulator - in Java

One of the users at the JavaGaming.org forums, who goes by Kapta, is working on the port of the Jario64 Java emulator, ported it to LWJGL for play in the browser. Lots of work left to do, but it is a great start! Check it out!

Java Store demo video

WHOOO!!!! It's been quite a long time since I have updated my blog (2 months? WTH?). Always lots of work to do, a bit of travel in between and, well, life in general. But, I am feeling the blog push again and will be updating more frequently

I wanted to share a quick video I did of the Java Store BETA program. At JavaOne this year, we unveiled the first look at the Java Store to the developer community. The goal of the Java Store is to offer a channel of distribution, 800 million big, to the Java Developer community. Links after the video.



Note that this video was made on my 32-bit MacBook Pro, running SnowLeopard, 2GB RAM and was doing HD resolution screen capturing the entire time. SWEET!

For more information on the Java Store, head on over to the Java Store page. You can also try out the client for yourself.

Lastly, if you are a Java developer (in the US only, for now) and want to submit your application to the Java Store Warehouse, head on over to the site and get going!

Videos from the DoD Worldwide Education Summit

As a follow-up to the presentation in an earlier post (which I will re-make with narration to add context), here are two video segments I did regarding my thoughts on the following subjects:



Thoughts on video games and technology in education.



Thoughts on technology accessibility and social impact.

Use Project Darkstar? Take our survey!

Hey! You there! Are you a game developer that is using Project Darkstar? Independent developer using it for experimentation or testing? Academic using it for school projects?

If so, we want to hear from you! Please take a few minutes to take our survey:

TAKE THE PROJECT DARKSTAR SURVEY

Teaching Machines Presentation - Future of Games, Learning and Communication

The following video is the presentation I have been giving in various forms since Feb of this year. Feedback and comments are welcome but please post them here on this site (see link below) and not on the video hosting site.

Enjoy (or not! let me know :) )

Left4Dead - Ardor3D "Hobby Project"

My good friend Josh Slack over at Ardor3D has been working on a little project in his spare time to show off the features and performance of his Ardor3D engine. In a video series called "Ardor3D - L4D 'hobby project'", Josh starts detailing the process of importing Left4Dead maps into the Ardor3D engine. Josh has an excellent speaking manner that helps to simplify the explanation and is presented in a very straightforward way.

Check out Episode 2 here:


Now, I would be remiss if I did not also point out that the Ardor3D engine is a JAVA engine. Java and performance? Yep. Again.

Of Invaders and Space...and Infinity

Ok. Fine. I have not been a huge fan of the iPhone as a game device. Sure, I have purchased a bunch of games on friend's recommendations and most were pretty good to ugghhh. I always thought of the tilt controls as awkward for the moving mechanic. I mean, could you imaging your television screen rotating with the action while you remained stationary? Always felt weird.

However, I think I have found the perfect game for the iPhone and it is absolutely incredible. Space Invaders Infinity Gene takes the old SI formula, adds new enemies, a slick coat of Rez like sheen and a fantastic soundtrack to create a wholly new experience that is still familiar. AND, thankfully, a control system that is absolutely perfect for this kind of game. No tilt controls here.



I thought the remake of SI in Space Invaders Extreme on DS/PSP was the best it could get. Not even close!

The main branching system of the game is deep and offers a lot of gameplay for the dollar. You can also use your own iTunes library of music and the game creates levels based on the music you choose that mirror the pace of your selections. How boss is that?!?!

For $4.99, it is the best entertainment investment, so far, for your iPhone. Recommended without hesitation.