John Zeitler

It’s still rough on me, folks, but day by day things are getting better. I think I’ll be able to get back into a normal weekend routine next week, and get back to working on the tech demo– I only have about three weekends left before Tekkoshocon, the unofficial “due date”. The plan is that I’ll do up the tech demo, post another Youtube video and/or a Windows version (unlikely on this last one), and then hand out cards in Artist’s Alley with the link. Hopefully I can get some interest there; technically it’s just a really big commission.

More as time permits, boys and girls. Oh, and incidentally, if you have a Wii Balance Board, you might want to check out We Ski & Snowboard… I gushed about the first one, but snowboards are not the only new thing in the title: two mountains, both are bigger, and it’s just got more to do. Lovin’ it.

There’s been a lot of discussion regarding the effect that illicit copying of video games has on independent game developers. Seeing how as I am about to become an independent developer, I figure it’s probably worth a look at ( what I expect out of the experience of working on my game… » )

I do want to continue this discussion, as well as get some input on some of the specifics of the game. I invite you all to take a look at the thread in the forums to see what progress has been made (literally more information than you require on that aspect, I’m afraid) and give feedback on the whole deal. I’ll be asking some questions sooner or later in a more public manner.

I feel like Rocky Balboa climbing those steps in Philadelphia right now. Seriously, the sense of accomplishment I’m getting just from having gotten this far along in development of the XNA project has me incredibly psyched, even as it’s slowly sinking into my subconscious that I have a hell of a long way left to go. Still, as the video below adequately demonstrates (despite my rambling), my C# skillz are getting stronger.

I decided to forego playing more of Tales of Vesperia tonight in order to do a little bit of “testing the waters” coding with XNA (yes, again). I’m getting much more comfortable with it and with C# in general, to the point where I’m starting to think a step ahead of each command I enter– meaning, I’m not struggling to do the most basic tasks anymore. I have to admit that Visual Studio does a lot to make programmers feel at home, and the newest XNA Framework has advanced enough where I don’t feel overwhelmed anymore. It’s to the point where I’m no longer relying on code samples exclusively and can branch out on my own.

As soon as I have something worth showing off, I’ll upload it for perusal. In the meantime, just take my word for it: I’ve made more progress tonight than I have in quite literally years.