- Topics:
- apps
- css
- games
- javascript
- mobile
- node
- php
- speaking
- tehcl
- textmate
- tools
- video
- webgl
Topic: mobile
- published:
- 2013.11.27
- topics:
- apps
- games
- javascript
- mobile
I'm very pleased to announce my first commercial video game release! The Legend of Equip > Pants is a pantsventure RPG taking place in an alternate universe where an old man in a cave would hand Link some wooden underwear instead of a sword (if there were old men living in caves). The game unveils itself as a series of brief episodes, because who has the energy to stay invested in 40 hour long RPG plots anymore? I sure don't.
Currently available for free for iPhone, iPad, and iPod touch. Coming soon to Windows/Linux/Mac on the Chrome Web Store. GoGetYourPants.com
Please try it out! Episodes 1 and 2 are now playing.
- published:
- 2013.07.24
- topics:
- apps
- games
- javascript
- mobile
Mathematical Opportunity!
I had the joy and privilege of working on the Beemo - Adventure Time iOS app. I'm a huge fan of the cartoon, so this was a special project for me.
The app was produced by Cartoon Network and designed by Ham in the Fridge. My company Zachstronaut LLC was hired by Ham in the Fridge to program the app for iPhone, iPad, and iPod touch.
- published:
- 2013.01.28
- topics:
- games
- javascript
- mobile
- node
I participated in the 2013 Global Game Jam with many other folks from IGDA-TC. I teamed up with Will Buck and Scott Lembcke to make a game called Operation Party.
Operation Party is a realtime multiplayer party game, inspired heavily by our collective admiration of the incredibly fun game Space Team. Our game was built in HTML5 with reasonable support across desktop, iOS, and Android making it pretty accessible for a large group to play together in a room. The server is written with Node.js, and the networking is done with Socket.IO (a wrapper for WebSockets.)
Will and I focused on the game engine and networking, and Scott put together some really silly and fun interactive widgets (that play best on a touch screen). Barry helped a ton by cranking out the artwork for us. Not too shabby for a weekend's work!
The code is available on GitHub.
- published:
- 2011.12.04
- topics:
- mobile
I've run into two bugs and a third bit of tricky behavior with Mobile Safari on iOS 5. I thought I'd share what I found in order to hopefully save somebody from pulling out their hair.
1. Bug With CSS Translated Form Fields
In this bug, giving keyboard focus (such as via JavaScript) to a form input that is translated off screen with CSS transforms causes the page content to shift position and the text input caret to render in the wrong place.
Check out my test case.
2. Inconvenient Behavior with Fixed Positioned Header Bars and Form Fields
Many of you may begin using iOS 5's new CSS position: fixed; support to add fixed nav or header bars to the top of the screen. If you have any form fields in your content that are given fixed positioning (such as a search field in your header bar), you must anticipate that your fixed positioned content will come unglued when those form fields are given keyboard focus.
See my example, including a suggested design fix.
3. Fixed Position Content May Become Un-Clickable or Invisible
This is a particularly pernicious bug. If you add content to your mobile web site / app via AJAX, or reveal hidden content to the user, and this new content scrolls off screen -- if a user reloads your site while scrolled to the bottom of this content, it may make your fixed positioned content (such as a top nav bar) either disappear or become temporarily un-clickable upon reload.
Read my test case for more information, and for a bug fix.
That's it for now. I hope this is helpful to you.
- published:
- 2011.07.06
- topics:
- apps
- mobile
- tools
My project Firebomb is a Firefox plugin, a browser bookmarklet, and an iOS App. Firebomb lets you pretend to blow stuff up with 8-bit explosions. I'm sure you are probably familiar with Firebug, the ubiquitous debugging plugin for Firefox.
"If you can't fix a bug with Firebug, blow it up with Firebomb!"
Firebomb started out as a tongue-in-cheek parody of Firebug that I originally did for the 10K Apart Contest in 2010. Quality stress relief! Firebomb has since evolved from the original gag and developed a life of its own.
Get Firebomb for Firefox and Other Browsers
My Firebomb plugin for Firefox 4 and 5 was developed with the new Mozilla Add-on SDK that hit its 1.0 release in June 2011. Originally called JetPack, the Add-on SDK allowed me to build out a true plugin for Firefox using a smart JavaScript API. This was a really quick and fairly painless process. I definitely recommend the SDK for web developers looking to do a Firefox plugin. I also made Firebomb Lite as a browser bookmarklet so you could have the joy of firebombing Internet Explorer... I know you want to!
Firebomb for Firefox and the Firebomb Lite bookmarklet are both free and available for download today! Use them whenever you need more firepower than Firebug alone!
Buy Firebomb AR for iOS - Blow Stuff Up in Augmented Reality
I made Firebomb AR for iOS because I also wanted to bring the fun of 8-bit explosions (including gratuitous chippy kaboom sound effects) to the world outside of web browsers. Just like The Kids in the Hall used to pretend to crush heads between their fingers, you can launch the Firebomb AR App, aim your camera at a target, and pretend to blow it up by tapping the screen.
Firebomb AR is great for taking care of crashing computers, alarm clocks, piles of work papers, your boss… It's old school stress relief. Available in the App Store today for 99 cents! (Not for use on lolcats. Aim away from face. Batteries included.)
Buy Firebomb AR for yourself, or as a fun gift for the special geeks and kids in your life. (Big, grown-up kids, too!) Your purchase will support an independent App farmer who uses 100% organic 1s and 0s, and it will greatly encourage his odd sense of humor.
