• Added blocks that can take more than one hit.
• Added a map that demonstrates said ablative block, and also celebrates Scotland.
• Made the blocks “fixed”, which I’m hoping fixes some odd bounce/physics issues.
• Added “Yay!” sound when you clear a level.


myBreakout 1.4

myBreakout v1.1

Somewhat to my surprise, I actually did! On the way down to Oxford, I finished off Seifer Tim’s Flixel Basic Game Tutorial, making a little ninja game-ette, and on the way to Kent to visit Dad I gave the ninja a mouse-driven jet pack.

On the way back from Dad’s I realised that to turn the ninja game tutorial into an actual game would take a fair amount of work and planning, so I wondered how quickly I could do a simple Breakout clone, with the goal of making it a complete, if simple, game. I did some work on the way back from Dad’s, a little bit at Damian’s, and actually managed to get a complete draft done by the time I arrived in Glasgow! It definitely helped with the 5 hour train journey…

It’s not finished, or polished, or particularly pretty. The bat doesn’t yet allow you to direct the ball, so finishing off those last few blocks can take a long time! And there aren’t any sounds. However, it does do all the things games are supposed to do.

MyBreakout

Samuel in his Play Pool

Originally uploaded by Korvar

This weekend, I went up to Arbroath for the traditional Christmas lunch with Adam and Amy (now with added Samuel!), with Brad in attendance as well. Alas, due to a sudden influx of snow, nobody else was able to come up, but it was a great time nonetheless. Amy always puts on a great feast, and I think I’ve not only broken this diet, but my next three!

It’s Samuel’s first Christmas, and he really seemed to enjoy his first Christmas present, a set of bath-time ducks from me. He had a great time unwrapping them and playing with them (and the box!), and one of them was his chosen post-bath-time toy! I feel honoured.

I got some photos of him in his little padded sitting ring, which I called his Play Pool but is apparently officially known as the Toy Hoard. He’s extremely photogenic, so he made even my bad photography skills look good!

This is also a semi-test post coming directly from Flickr; I shall have to see if this is something I do a lot…

I took some pics…

Snow!

Mouse, trapped!

I finally deployed my Live Catch Trip Trap Mouse Trap, as you’re supposed to check it every two hours, and this is really the first time since I bought it that I’d actually have the time to relocate the mouse should one turn up in it.

Well, only three hours later I start to hear an unfamiliar rattling sound, and lo and behold, there was a mouse in the mousetrap. It seemed okay, and had the cheezy wotsit and chocolate button bait to keep it happy, so I put on my shoes and headed out to drop of my prisoner.

Unfortunately, this being Scotland in November, and about half eight in the evening, it was cold, wet, windy and dark. So it wasn’t the most fun walk I’ve had ever but actually it wasn’t that bad. Keeping the hat on the head was a bit tricky, and it’s times like these I wish I could get windscreen wipers for my glasses…

Release point

Anyway, the chosen spot is about fifteen minutes walk away, approximately three-quarters of a mile.  As previously mentioned, I’ve heard various recommendations from one quarter to a full mile, and this seemed a decent compromise.  There’s a stream nearby, trees, and lots of grass.  Although not a mouse myself, I’d have thought this would be an okay place to be, apart from being in Scotland in November, of course, but I can’t help that.

The release went pretty well.  Simply opening the trap didn’t work, so I just removed the bait compartment.  I couldn’t actually see the mouse go, as it was really quite dark, and my glasses were covered in raindrops.

On the way back, I decided I deserved a post-release reward, so I bought some chips from the local Chinese take-away.  I think they make the best chips!

Bedraggled

This was me on my returned – slightly damp and windswept!

My reward!

And here is my reward: a portion of chips and a nice  cup of hot chocolate!

A mouse in a partially filled bathtub

So I found this slightly bedraggled mouse in my bathtub this morning, when I went for my morning wash. This would be the third mouse I’ve found there, and the second live one. I wonder if it’s something about the standing water that’s attracting them in? Anyway, as the mice are beginning to bug me, largely by keeping me awake at night with their scrabbling, I decided to rescue this one and release it.

Prisoner Transport Tube

I found a snack food tin that was lying around, which seemed that it would make a pretty good mouse transportation system. I added some air holes, then scooped up the little guy with as little water as I could manage.

Prisoner Ready For Transport

The mouse isn’t actually going nuclear in the first pic, it’s just the flash reflecting off the silvered interior. The second pic I took by holding the tube directly under the kitchen light so I didn’t need the flash.

Anyhoo, I have heard various opinions on how far away you need to release a mouse to stop it getting back, ranging from a quarter to a full mile; however, I had a bus to catch. There’s a stream with a bridge over it just before the car park where I catch the bus in to work, so I thought that might be an okay place. It’s five minutes walk away, which is no doubt not nearly far enough, but if I catch him (or any more), I’ve got a place a mile down the road I can walk to.

Didn’t think to get a shot of the release point, but here’s the last view I had of him…

Free at last!

Character sketch made with Brushes on my iPod Touch

This is a sketch I did for a one-shot Mage game at the Glasgow University Gaming Society Tuesday last (29th Sept). Turned out quite nicely, for electronic finger painting…

Potato Quarantine

The first one I did (the second one I planted – I think they’re “Red Duke of York”) had lots of potatoes with rather manky looking skin, round “sores” and some white flakes around the “sores”. I dubbed this “Spud Lurgie”. Some of the ones I harvested previously had Lurgie, too, but practically every single of the red ones were affected. They ended up quarantined, as can be seen in the photo. The photo links to to some closeups on Flickr, so you can decide for yourself what it is.

Final Spud Harvest

The third and last planter (which is the third I actually planted), however, yielded a lot of very healthy-looking, very “potato”-looking potatoes. Made me feel like the whole enterprise was worthwhile They’ve all gone into my potato sack, along with the healthy ones from the first planter.

I decided that I wasn’t going to let Lurgie stop me from enjoying my spuds; I gave them a good peel, and all the badness appeared to be on the surface. So they’ve all gone into the freezer for later. Quite frankly, if there’s something that can survive being peeled away, frozen, and then cooked, clearly it’s the superior organism, and it deserves to infect me.