Projects

Feed Junkie TV

May 04

I’ve been getting more and more needy-greedy for desktop real estate lately. I’m now up to four displays in my man cave at home (more if you include iPads and iPhones, which I don’t) and five in the office at Linc (two of which aren’t currently in use but soon will be).

I blame the person who first dumped a second monitor on my desk and suggested I give dual-screen a chance because “monitors were going spare”. I didn’t need a second monitor back then… my desktop habits were perfectly organised into a single space: four borders, no neck action required. Now I can’t comfortably make do without at least three screens to flick between, cross reference and feed me information from multiple sources.

OsXs 1.1 Update Out

Mar 01

Apple just approved the first update I submitted of Frosty Badger’s iOS game, OsXs.

Version 1.1 is now a “Universal” app which means it works on iPhone, iPod Touch and… (drum roll)… iPad! On top of that, we’re still managing to maintain backward compatibility with earlier versions of iOS (as far back as 3.1.3). Which means those with earlier generation iPod Touches (or those not wishing to update their iPhone 3g to iOS 4) will still be able to enjoy the new features.

The biggest addition, besides retina and HD versions of all existing graphics, is the new “Blueprint” theme (awesome work Anton). And Paul recorded some appropriate stationary sounds to accompany it (pencil scribbles and rubber effects) – they give it an authentic “architect at his desk” feel.

Frosty Badger has some other more ambitious projects in the pipeline which I hope will see the light of day soon. It’s tough doing all this as a hobby in our spare time, but I’m proud of what we’ve accomplished so far (and there in lies the reward).

Link: http://www.frostybadger.com/osxs/

Work in Progress: Squirml

Nov 05

This is Squirml, a game I’m working on for the iPhone under the Frosty Badger banner. It’s still in the very early stages but I thought I’d start a diary of development to help motivate me through to completion (I’m wavering a little lately).

Squirml is inspired by an awesome little HTML5 game I came across developed by a clever chappy, Hakim El Hattab. “Sinuous“, meaning “having many curves and turns” is simple and addictive and involves guiding a little cell with a tail on it (looks a bit like a sperm) through a tide of red cells flowing in a diagonal direction against you. At its heart, it’s a simple game of dodge but the movement of your cell is very appealing (in an almost calming way) – it feels great to weave your way in and out and around the other cells. I thought it’d make a great game for the iPhone because it’s so easy to pick up and play in small doses, yet it’s quite catchy for lengthier sessions and has that whole “just one more go” thing. Especially if I could work in Game Center support for high distance scores.