I made this track on my Amiga using ProTracker in about 1993 when I was 18. It contains a 3Hz pulse which is supposed to adversely affect your brainwaves. I made the pulse go in and out of phase on the left and right sides to mess with your hemispheres and then I added some crazy intense trance music over it. Listen to it with headphones on for the full effect.

The sample in the track is my friend Steve Bond saying “There’s something weird going on in my body … uh ah … I can’t take it, I think it’s going to kill me.” and the guitar playing is me.

Enjoy!

Someone just emailed me asking some advice about getting their game onto Big Fish Games (BFG). They said “publish” on BFG but I’m guessing that they meant “distribute” instead. I’ve only got experience with having my games “distributed” on BFG, which means that they put a game up on their site and pay me royalties – this leaves me free to also put the game up on my own site and on other portals. If BFG “publishes” a game for you, they’ll give you detailed feedback and do lots of marketing and distribution for you, it’s a different ball game and it’s up to you which route you prefer.

Before you approach BFG make sure that your game is finished, good quality and as bug free as you can make it. It’s a good idea to have tested it on other people to make sure that they understand how to play it and don’t have any major problems. BFG has a “Developer Relations” department that evaluates games that get sent to them – you can read about the submission process here. They will advise the developer of any changes that may need to be made before it can be published on the site (splash screens, technical issues etc).

Bear in mind that BFG get sent many games each week and only the best ones actually make it onto the site, so make sure that your game is really professional before sending it to them. How do you know if it’s good enough? Download other games on the site and compare yours in terms of graphics, sound, playability, content/scope etc. Posting on forums like Indiegamer can help you get much needed feedback to refine the game into a winning title. Here’s another clue, if you didn’t spend much money making your game, then it probably isn’t going to be good enough.

Regarding royalty rate: I’m not sure I’m publicly allowed to state BFG’s royalty rate, so just in case let’s say that an average casual gmae portals is about 25% to 40% and that if you let them have an “exclusive”, which means that only their site has your game for the first few weeks, you may get a better deal and will certainly get better promotion – something worth considering.

Note that some Indies actually prefer to put their game on their own site (and use their own mailing lists) for several months to maximise revenue at the full $19.95 price (or similar) before putting it on the portals to make use of their much bigger audiences but with a greatly reduced revenue per sale (e.g. 35% of $6.95 after transaction fees = about $2 or so).

Check out this post for more info: I’ve just finished my game – now what?

Also here’s an article by BFG founder, Paul Thelen, about bringing your game to market.

I told him this video is going on youtube, and Twitter and my blog, and he is ultra excited – so please give a nice rating and be polite in the comments, thanks!

What I liked was that he felt totally happy being natural and expressing himself without any self-conciousness. How long is it since you or I have done that?

Afterwards I could hear this funny noise and I realised that it was outside, so I went out onto my balcony and was astonished to hear the whole of downtown Vancouver roaring, cheering, and beeping their horns. I live at least four miles away and the sound was carrying across the sea all the way to my house. It was quite something to hear, almost unreal.

Anyway I videoed it, check it out:

I like saying “Yes!” to new opportunities and experiences … but not always.

Saying “Yes” to opportunities

I’ve been offered lots of opportunities to take on various responsibilities in my life such as: Becoming Manager of a business software company, taking over an Aikido club, and moving to Vancouver to become a Game Designer/Programmer.

They’ve all been fantastic growth experiences and I’m glad I said “Yes” to them. Sometimes people say “No” to such opportunities; perhaps because they think it will be too difficult, perhaps because they think that they won’t be able to do a good enough job, or perhaps because they are afraid of change. I had the same worries when I said yes, and I *did* have to work hard, and I *did* have to grow as a person in order to do the job, and there *was* a lot of change. And that is exactly why you should say “Yes” when a fantastic opportunity comes your way. Don’t shrink back into your comfort zone, come charging headlong out of it!

What opportunities have you said “No” to that you have regretted ever since? Is there an opportunity sitting on your plate right now (or just round the corner) that you can emphatically say “Yes” to? I hope so.

Saying “Yes” to your kids and loved ones

Last year when I was flying back to Canada form the UK I say a cheesy Jim Carey movie called Yes Man and I liked it a lot. After that I made a big effort to say “Yes” to my kids more often when they wanted me to do stuff with them or look at stuff. I was actually a bit sad to see that they looked surprised when they said “Dad, can you come and look at…” and I said “Yes!” and put down whatever I was doing. I was sad because I realised that I hadn’t been doing that enough

Anyway, we can’t change the past but we can change the future. So I resolved to be a lot more of a Yes Man with my kids (I just stopped writing this to help my youngest son on World of Goo) and it feels great – although I can still do better. When you are old you’ll look back upon the special times you spent with your kids and you’ll be grateful that you didn’t do an extra 30 minutes of work here and there because you spent it doing something that mattered with your kids instead.

What can you do today with your kids that they’ll really appreciate and remember? Can you do that every day?

I think I’m pretty good at saying “Yes” to Helen (my loved one) when she asks me things; sometimes little things like “Can you make me a cup of tea?” and sometimes bigger things like “Can you look after the kids while I go away for a few days?”. I also try to do small things without being asked as a sign of love, and to do them with a good feeling.

Try saying “Yes” to your loved one next time they ask you for something and better still, try doing something loving spontaneously.

Saying “No” to responsibility

Recently someone asked me if I could take on permanent role at Toastmasters and I said “No (thanks)”. I’m already finding it quite a commitment to just write speeches and take on the various weekly roles that crop up at Toastmasters, especially combined with having a full-time job, 2 kids, and running an Aikido club amongst other things. I knew that the role I was being asked to do would just eat up even more of my free time and feel like a chore, and I didn’t think it was something that would help me grow – so I said “No”. Now, to be clear, I am very grateful that other people DO take up these roles at Toastmasters because I get to benefit from their generosity, and I hope that they get something from it too. Perhaps later on, when I don’t feel like every minute of my day is mapped out, I will take on a role at the club, so that I can give something back.

The next time someone asks you to take on a responsibility, consider “Is this a good fit for me? Can I do it easily? Will I enjoy it?”, and if not, then maybe you should say “No” even though you might feel “obligated”.

Saying “No” to loved ones

Sometimes loved ones may ask you to do stuff that you really don’t feel like doing right now (or ever ). Sometimes what they are asking isn’t actually very important to them but would be a real hassle for you, so ask them “How important is this to you?” and figure out if you can say “No” without it being a problem, or perhaps “Sure I’ll do it, but I’d prefer not to do it at this instant. Can I do it later?” – that’s a good one to use when you are gaming and you get asked to put the trash out Just make sure you DO actually do it later otherwise you’ll build up resentment. Nobody likes a “sayer” who isn’t a “doer”.

Of course sometimes the thing you are being asked *is* important to the other person, and if you truly love them, then perhaps you should do it (like getting up in the night to deal with a screaming baby). However, occasionally you may have to say “No, I don’t feel like doing that. Why is this so important to you?” because the other person has have become fixated on something in a slightly obsessive way, and if you can get to the bottom of that you might be able to avoid doing whatever it is they want ever again! Watch out though, because many people don’t like having their “beliefs” or “habits” questioned in such a way…as the phrase goes “Choose your battles wisely.”

Is there anything that you would feel a lot better saying “No” to? If so, try to do it in as polite a way as possible – and remember that you might hear a few more (hopefully good-natured) “Nos” coming your way as a result, so be prepared for that. Good luck!

Conclusion

So I hope that I haven’t horribly confused you with my suggestions. Basically listen to your heart and if it feels right, say “Yes” and, if not, say “No” – it’s that simple. Watch out that it’s not your “lazy” self saying “No”, or your “ought to” self saying “Yes”. Saying “No” takes practice, and it won’t always be easy, but in the long run it’s easier than saying “Yes” to absolutely everything until you are utterly overwhelmed. Saying “Yes” to difficult things also takes practice, but can yield fantastic results, so go for it!

Here are some of their recent favourites:

Lego Indiana Jones 2 (Xbox 360)

This game has a proper level editor and they have been making all kinds of fantastic creative levels for each other to play (usually full of boulders). Hours and hours of fun. Plus the actual game rocks too.

Banjo Kazooie: Nuts & Bolts (Xbox 360)

This game has to win the award for the most hours played. They have put an insane amount of time into building all kinds of ground, air and water-based vehicles in the game’s easy-to-use workshop. They’ve made 100s. I totally recommend this game for 5 year-olds upwards.

Spore (PC)

Conan bought this with his Christmas money. They’ve both been creating wacky creatures and then exploring their galaxies – there are a lot of options. Make sure to patch it if you buy a boxed copy.

Trials HD (Xbox 360)

Apart from the fact that this game is just brilliant, funny and addictive, it also has a level editor. They spent quite a while making fiendish tracks full of exploding barrels and other nutty stuff. You can buy an expansion pack for hardly any MS points and it comes with more things to use in the editor like giant fans.

Viva Piñata

In this game you clear out a wasteland and make a lovely garden populated with cute little creatures that you have to care for and stop from fighting each other. It’s highly addictive and they really enjoyed it. I’m sure if I let them have a Facebook account they’d also get addicted to Farmville, but I’m not going to let them go on Facebook for a few years yet!

Any more?

If you can recommend any more great creative games for kids, please let me know!

PROGRAMMING LANGUAGES:

So what about programming languages for kids? Well we’ve tried out a few recently with varying levels of success:

BlitzMax (PC)

I began to teach my eldest son, Conan, who is 8, BlitzMax. He understood the basics and was able to fiddle with some simple code to get different things happening, but he never really carried it on. Perhaps I need to encourage him more, or perhaps it’s just that games these days are way more fun and appealing (and readily available) than when I was a kid and took up programming, and so BlitzMax may feel a bit techy and boring by comparison.

Game Maker (PC)

We went through the tutorial game together and again Conan understood it easily. I was impressed by the application and the variety of options that it offered – it’s very flexible. It’s probably a lot easier to get into than BlitMax. However, once again, Conan hasn’t really carried on with it, possibly for the same reasons as mentioned above.

Kodu (Xbox 360)

At first we tried this on the PC but the interface seemed awkward. It was originally released on the Indie channel of XBLA so we downloaded it and tried it out. It was much better on Xbox, the controls made sense and everything seemed smoother. There are loads of pre-made levels you can fiddle with plus built-in media. Both my boys had great fun with it. My youngest son, Callum, who has just turned 6, was able to use it easily and make quite advanced levels using the mainly visual interface. I recommend that you at least check out the demo. They “played” this on their own without any encouragement from me so it was the most successful of the three languages.

Please let me know your experiences with teaching your children how to program. Thanks!

I’ve hit the wall a few times myself, so here are some tips that might help you to climb over or break through your own wall:

1) Should you really be finishing this game anyway? Sometimes you might just be flogging a dead horse. Perhaps the best thing to do is ditch the game and begin work on a new one (or give up making games completely, gasp!). There’s no shame in changing projects when you know that the game won’t be financially viable, or you’ve had a much better idea (providing that you don’t have a “better” idea every week and never finish anything) – you’ll have still learned something e.g. how not to do it and how to make your next game faster and better.

I ditched Iron Fist and made my first match-3 game and it led onto to a fantastic career in casual games.

2) Make a To Do list of all the remaining tasks and bugs. Don’t forget to include publishing tasks, which can add up to weeks or months’ worth of work. Then add time estimates to all those tasks. This way you’ll get a decent idea of how long the game may actually take to complete. You may then decide to cut features and only include the high priority tasks in order to bring the launch date nearer, or you may decide that it’s not worth investing any more of your time in the project.

One good thing about having a prioritised To Do list is that you have a clear path about how to proceed and can get satisfaction from knowing what to do each day and crossing off completed tasks. The game doesn’t feel so massive once it’s split into discrete chunks.

3) Get the game play tested (privately or publicly). If the play testers think the game sucks, then maybe you should ditch it unless you really believe that you can still make it great without too many changes. If they think it’s great, then hopefully this will motivate you to finish it and make it even better – especially if they keep asking you when it will be ready.

4) Tell everyone a launch date. Once you commit to something publicly, you are much more likely to complete it in order to not look like a fool (or a “sayer” but not a “doer”).

5) Get some other team members on board who can help finish it and so you can motivate each other (like going for a jog or to the gym with a partner). Of course getting reliable team members is a whole can of worms in itself…

6) Get a publisher or portal interested so you know that you have at least one outlet for sales.

7) Visualise the goal! Remind yourself why you started making the game. Was it just to have fun? If so, and you’ve stopped having fun, then make another game and have fun again, it’s that simple! If it’s to be financially successful, then see the finished game in your mind looking great and selling bucketloads – and figure out the shortest route to get there.

8 ) Take a break. Maybe totally away from the computer (go and do something healthy). Or maybe by playing games that inspire you to get back to making your own game. Sometimes taking a break allows you to come back to your game with fresh eyes so that you can make better decisions.

9) Make a mini-game for a few days. This may get your creative juices going again so that you can get back to your original game with enhanced vigor. It may even make you realise that you need to ditch your game in order to make a better game.

Tips 8 and 9 may work for some people, but part of me still thinks that they are procrastination techniques when you should really just …

10) Finish it! Professionals are finishers, and hobbyists/wannabes are not – sorry if that sounds harsh but it’s true. Stop messing around, just knuckle down and finish it. It’s not easy, sometimes it’s a real slog, but you just have to push on through and finish it to savor the sweet joy of launching a game. If you want it bad enough, you’ll do it. So, what are you waiting for? Close your browser and get to it!

I also added a Most Popular section to the sidebar, which I’m very pleased with. At some point I want to add a recent posts list too (or popular recent posts). I could even add a Recommended section as the most popular aren’t necessarily the best ones (imho). However, this will just make the sidebar ultra long so maybe a smart way to do it would maybe be with some kind of tabbed control – although I’ve got no idea how to do that as HTML/php is not my forté (perhaps one of you has heard of a plugin for such a thing?)

Other changes are; I renamed Categories to Topics which is a tip I learned from Tim Feriss (excellent blog if you’ve never checked it out – also I recommend his book), and I moved my Twitter status down a bit so that people don’t click on it and exit the blog.

Now I’ve got to get used to the new Wordpress look and capabilities. Anything really cool I should know about?

Helen has run a half marathon for charity before in the UK in 2008, but she has since fallen out of practice at running and now has less than 3 months to train up to be able to run 13 miles (about 21 km)! She gets up at 5:45 twice a week (must to my chagrin) to go swimming and goes running on all the others days, except for one rest day. I know that she has the determination to, a) raise her sponsorship target of $2500, and b) complete the half marathon!

Please consider supporting her (and the charity) by making a secure online donation using your credit card using this link. You will receive an email confirmation, along with your tax receipt for your donation and Helen will be notified as soon as you make your donation.

We thank you in advance for your support, and really appreciate your generosity!

Helen and fellow runner Becky (Helen is the one on the right).

I love taking photos and here are some recent ones that I feel capture the essence of our local environment. Enjoy! (click images to enlarge them)

View from our rear balcony (we are seriously lucky to have such a great view).

Bald Eagles nest here, North West of Vancouver.

View out to sea from a roadside parking lot, North West Vancouver.