Do Not Press This Button Unless You Mean To

I got into trouble yesterday because I pressed a button when I shouldn’t have.

Did the same today.

The fun started when I got an email from Kurt, who likes my Voice Music program (as well he might). But (and there is always a but) there was one improvement that he thought would be a good idea, and one bit that he had noticed didn’t work. So I had a look, and he was right on both counts. It took me a couple of minutes to change the feature and find and fix the bug, and then I wanted to update the application on the Windows Phone Marketplace.

I was working at speed at this point, because for some reason I wanted to watch Silent Witness and it was nearly nine o’clock. The Windows Phone Marketplace application submission page beckoned and at the bottom was the Submit button. Which I just pressed, thinking (or perhaps not thinking) that I’d be asked about uploading a replacement version on the next screen. Of course there was no next screen. That’s what submit means. I’d just started the resubmission process using the original version of the program. Wah. What a stupid thing to do. I cursed and went off to watch an hour of daft telly.

Fortunately it is not a huge problem. Since the application hasn’t changed and it was certified OK last time it won’t take long to certify again. Then I can resubmit the fixed program.

So, the lesson here folks is that you need to upload the new version of your XAP file before you hit Submit. Common sense really.

Update on Saturday, January 19, 2013 at 04:11PM by Rob

Got a notification that my original version of the program has been certified again, so I can now publish the fixed version. And then my PC broke. Ah well.

How To Break a Cube (and how to mend it)

Nice to see the rev counter above zero…

I did something terrible to my Cube on Tuesday. At the time I never thought, but you never do, do you? I started it up to go to work, and then changed my mind about using the car and turned it off again within a minute or two. Which you should never, ever, do to an engine. Ever.

Of course, I paid for this mistake today. The Cube has a button start, which means that rather than turn a fuddy duddy old key, with the Cube I just press a button and the engine starts. I’ve often wondered what would happen if the engine didn’t start. Today I found out. It spins for around 15 seconds and then stops. So you press the button again and the same thing happens. Stupid me. I knew instantly what was wrong, but I was less sure how to fix it. The car was flooded. This means that the engine was full of petrol and not much air. So no combustion and no working engine.

To understand the problem you have to know what happens when a car engine is first started. To get things going it is best to put in lots, and I mean lots, of petrol. Older cars had a thing called “the choke” that did just that, blocking off the air supply and squirting extra fuel in. You had to pull the choke when the engine was cold otherwise it wouldn’t start. Once the engine had fired up you’d then push the choke back in as the engine got warmer and warmer. Of course modern cars don’t have any of this choke nonsense, they have a clever engine management system that pumps in lots of petrol when the engine is cold and then reduces this as it warms up. On Tuesday morning the engine was still in the middle of doing this when I turned it off, leaving the cylinders full of petrol. Wind forward to this morning and the engine wakes up, pumps in whole bunch more petrol hey presto, flooded. Wah.

In an old car the only thing you could do was close the choke and progressively floor the accelerator while the engine turned over to force lots of air into the engine and hopefully clear out the petrol. In a new car you don’t have this level of control because your pedal is just connected to the engine management system. Fortunately the makers of the Cube have thought of this, and they let you do the same kind of thing to fix it. So I eventually got the car going and drove to work. And all at six degrees below zero. And its been fine since because I haven’t been stupid since.

So, if you start a car in this weather, let it run for at least five minutes before you turn it off again. And if you flood it, i.e. it turns over but nothing is happening, then try pushing the accelerator down gradually as you turn the engine over.

Snow Show

Say what you like about the snowy weather, it does make for some nice photo opportunities. Although it also means I’m presently wearing two pairs of socks, two jumpers and a bright red nose.

Rather Useful Gamejam Briefing

As a way of preparing you for Global Gamejam Hull (you have signed up haven’t you) we’ve got an extra special Rather Useful Game Development Briefing next week.

• Louis Deane will be talking about Unity development.
• Simon Grey will be talking about making 3D spritesheets with dynamic lighting effects by using shaders
• Rob Miles will be talking.

(actually I’ll be talking about creating XNA games for Windows 8 using the Monogame framework)

The briefing session will be on the afternoon of Thursday 24th of January from 1:30pm to 3:30 in Lecture Theatre D, the home of the “Rather Useful” brand. You don’t have to sign up for GlobalGameJam in order to come along, but those who have signed up will be allowed to sit at the front.

Get Into Global Game Jam Hull

Global GameJam Hull is picking up speed. Registrations are coming in thick and fast but we still have room for more. We want to fill Hull Studio School to bursting with folks who are keen to make games and have fun. We were down at the venue making plans today and we’ve got most things sorted out, thanks to some sterling work from Tom, Simon and team. Networks have been tested and upgraded, venues selected and a fantastic poster designed (thanks for that Lewis, love the critic with the scary eyebrows). All we need now is you.  If you aren’t convinced that you need to take part I’ve jotted down fifty reasons why I think you should come along.

1. You will learn stuff.
2. You will make stuff.
3. You will meet interesting people.
4. Including me.
5. And Simon.
6. We will have professional game developers taking part.
7. And game publishers.
8. Taking part will give you something to talk about at job interviews.
9. And to put into your portfolio.
10. There will be Free Food.
11. And Drinks.
12. You might win a big prize.
13. Or a little one.
14. There will be toys to play with.
15. Including networked Xbox Gaming
16. You might get worldwide fame and recognition.
17. Or you might just get your next job.
18. It only costs five pounds to register.
19. You might get to play with crayons.
20. We will let you write on the walls. (at least some of them)
21. You can bring your friends with you.
22. You can make some new friends too.
23. You can forget completely about the outside world for 48 hours.
24. You might become a viral sensation because of your awesome turn on our live webstream.
25. You can make a board game if you like.
26. Or bring one along and play it.
27. You get to see what other people are up to in this area.
28. And maybe even start a company with them.
29. You get to take part in a worldwide event.
30. It will be nice and warm.
31. You can wear what you like (But please wear something).
32. You will get a shiny nametag to wear.
33. There will be movies to see.
34. And some breakout presentations.
35. You can even choose the subjects of the talks.
36. You might meet a childhood hero.
37. Or become one.
38. You can stay the whole 48 hours if you like.
39. Or you can sneak off home for a shower and a power nap.
40. You get to choose your pizza toping (But not too many anchovies, OK?)
41. We will have fizzy drinks and sweeties available (great at 4:00am).
42. You can bring your guitar if you like.
43. There will be nobody there playing the accordion. (Unless you like the accordion, in which case we will try to get someone in. Or your could bring yours at a pinch)
44. You can mention it on Facebook.
45. And maybe even blog about it.
46. And Tweet too.
47. The more people that come along, the more fun it will be.
48. TV on a Saturday night is rubbish now that Strictly has finished.
49. It might just change your life.
50. It is certainly a great way to fill 48 hours of it.

Actually, if you are serious about getting into game development I really think you should come along. When you go for a job, and you are sitting alone on your side of the big desk, they are going to ask you something like “What have you done with your life?”. You could easily spend half an hour talking about the fun you had at GlobalGameJamHull, the people you met, and that silly game you published as a result. As you say those things you will see the interviewers checking things off in their heads “Works well in a team – check”, “Likes making games – check”, “Not afraid to put their ideas out there – check”. And so on.

I can’t guarantee that going to GlobalGameJamHull will change your life. But I can guarantee that if you don’t go, you’ll miss out on the chance that it could.

Sign up at http://globalgamejamhull.com/