Just read on the google blog that a new release of the NDK (release 3) has been made available. The NDK really hasn't been getting the press it deserves but this latest release should be of great interest to games developers.

The new NDK release includes native access to the OpenGL stack for applications targeting Android 2.0 or greater. While you might be forgiven for stepping pass this, because we've had access to OpenGL via Java APIs all along this really is an important step.

One of the problems we've seen with OpenGL and Java in the past is how noisy the API is (lots of calls) and how slow the native interface is. This native layer finally gives Android developers the chance to write high level scene graph APIs to expose to the Java API and then write tight C OpenGL code underneath. This hopefully gives us all the ability to build games that really utilise the hardware on these new android platforms.

I was contacted recently asking about advertising on coke and code. I get alot of these mails, generally it's generic spam, this one however came from a site I've seen before 3DRT (3D Real Time). I've been through before, purchasing some of the models for various projects I've worked on. I had a quick look through the free section and got a strange feeling I'd seen the models somewhere else:

Wow, what a blast from the past! In one of the very early versions of NewDawn's space game, Dark Void, we used that very model to make the game look that much more professional. At the time however 3DRT were called "Ghoulish Art". It's so great to see how far along they've come. Anyway, they're and indie outfit, so on with the plug..

3DRT are now producing some seriously high quality models with nice low poly counts for those of us targeting lower end platforms (not to mention some incredibly details ones). In most cases they seem to provide mesh, textures and files to allow creation of variants of the models (something thats extremely useful!). The packs cover everything from RPG characters to large city scape building sets.

One thing has changed, the models cost, but the prices are crazy for whats provided. There's not one pack thats over $200 (100 pounds) at the moment and I'm thinking for the cost of 2 packs I could resource a complete game with professional art. What's more the models look like a project artist could extend the set easily to give your game that unique look. That's seriously good going!

Right, plug done. Do yourself a favor, go over to 3DRT, check out their wares and give your game a really professional look!

The JGO Competition 2009 was run this weekend. Unfortunatley I missed the first couple of days and ended up with about half a day to create something. The theme was the rather tricky "Bending". Check out the entries and their associated journals for more details. Well done to everyone involved, it was alot of fun.

Since I was short on time I stuck with my known tools (my personal Java APIs) and the focused on a simple idea - and out came Bend Hero.

The story line runs likes this:

In an alternate reality wires are placed on to circuit boards by nano-creatures called benders - thats you. Your job is to bend the wires to match the circuit designs provided by the mighty engineering gods. Each design must be matched within the requried accuracy level for you to be considered the highest grade of bender, Bend Hero!

So you're the yellow bug thing, it travels along the wire. You push left/right to bend the wire to match the underlying pattern. It's really that simple. There are 10 progressively harder levels. It's kinda fun, but I feel like it needs just one more feature. Unfortunately the contest finished at 8am this morning so it'll probably just stay as is for a few weeks.

Since I was using my own toolset as a side effect of writing the applet there's also a version for Android:

The contest was a lot of fun, I'd forgotten how much more productive you can be when pushed for time. There are some other great entries (Cat on the Wire for one in particular). If you enjoy Bend Hero please go and vote over at JGO.

Here's hoping there's another contest soon. I hear GameJolt are having one, maybe I'll go try that one too :)

GameJolt have announced a contest, it open to all technologies including Java! Wonder if I can find the time:

Hey everyone!

Some of you may have already heard about Game Jolt's plans regarding an Ad Revenue Sharing system for developers. We're extremely excited to finally announce that the closed beta is now starting! We've posted more information on the site to hopefully answer all the questions you may have.

More information on how Ad Revenue Sharing will work can be found at:
http://gamejolt.com/developers/ad-sharing/

That's not all, though. To kick off the beta we're going to be running a game making contest! Three winners will be picked, all of which will be immediately accepted into the closed beta of the Ad Revenue Sharing system as well as have their games featured on the front page of the site. A first place winner will also receive a free single game from Steam (no packs)!

More information on the contest (rules and such) can be found at:
http://gamejolt.com/community/forums/topics/our-first-contest/11/

We're totally psyched to finally get the Ad Revenue Sharing system rolling and closer to being ready for the public, and we hope to see lots of great contest entries as well.

Hope to see you there!

Go take a look at Game Jolt, it's a games site that will be accepting Java applets soon that just smacks of quality and independence. They of course accept other technologies (flash, silverlight, standalone) as well but it's the first site I've seen accepting Java that:

a) Wasn't specifically designed for Java Games
b) Looks so professional
c) Appears to be gathering momentum

Go and take a look! I've already found a few flash games on there I hadn't seen before that are great. Top stuff!

Just signed up as a developer so I can submit stuff (just need to sort them out now) - I'll probably use the blogging facility over there for player yore updates I guess.

Anyway.. do your self a favor, go take a look.

I've just put the last levels into my final (?) 4k entry for this year's competition. Putty Shuffle is a 16 level block sliding puzzle game which incoporates the putty merge/split mechanic from my previous creation, Putty Puzzle.

I reakon it's a better more approachable version, though the visuals arn't as cute due to the 4k limit. It's applet based on the Putty Shuffle website and looks a bit like this:

So, that brings it to three entries for the year. Not bad for someone who wasn't going to enter at all this year. Check out the other two below (they both need resonably decent machines to run I'm afraid):

Keggle

4x4K

Think thats it for this year though... maybe.

My second entry for the 2009 Java 4K contest is ready to play. It's called Keggle after the the game that it's based on, Peggle.

You can either play it via Webstart here or go over to the Keggle Website to play as an applet and get some extra info.

Woo hoo for 4k games, it's so much fun!

Got my first 4k game out of the way. The aim was to:

a) Implement a 4K game to get going, I like to write more than one for each contest.
b) Write a physics system from scratch instead of porting and extending others work
c) Have fun

The first game has worked out ok, check out 4x4k. It's a simple terrain climbing truck game, balance the truck as it goes up steep slopes and complete the courses as quickly as possible. It's not turned out as fun as I'd hoped but it was a good test case for building the physics engine.

So, I used that verlet physics stuff to build a simple response simple based on primitive line/circle collision detection. The world is spatially culled, constraints are supported, restitution and friction all work correctly. I set the arbitrary goal of getting the basic physics fitting under 2k leaving 2k for the game. It came in at about 2.2k, so I had room to make the game look pretty (for a 4k entry).

All in all, a) check, b) check, c) check. Don't think it's a winner, but on to the next entry!

Markus Persson, author of Miners4k, brings us another tiny masterpiece in the form of Breaking the Tower. This amazing little game was his entry for the 48 hour Ludum Dare contest. The game plays a little like Settlers, or Black and White - i.e. it's about managing a bunch of peons to achieve a goal, in this case "breaking the tower". If you don't mind slower paced games, check this out - it really is a lot of fun packed into a tiny package.

License: Freeware
Developer: Markus Persson
Status: Complete

Here's another good looking JME project in progress, Ferrari 3D by Dennis Bijlsma. It appears to be a stock racing game but shows off JME quite nicely. It also has a great debug modes which hint at how the game works - cool. More details over on the JME Thread.

License: Freeware?
Developer: Dennis Bijlsma
Status: In Development