Games
Here is what I tend to use my programming knowledge for: accessible computer games!
In 2002, I began programming accessible Windows computer games. My early work can be found at BSCGames.com. We began with Troopanum, a classic shoot-the-ships-before-they-kill-you arcade game. The game was very well-received, being one of the first audio classic arcade games for Windows. The game, in concert with enhanced availability of and interest in audio games for windows, spawned the creation of quite a number of similar arcade titles. The game went through several versions, culminating in a large overhaul in 2004 with version 2.0. Among many other features, that version saw the introduction of a pretty wicked final boss that I remain pretty psyched about. Interleaved with Troopanum releases, we created a couple versions of a less traditional, though still successful, game called Pipe. Pipe version 2.0 combines several game elements, including time-based puzzles, and side-scrolling levels. The combination seemed tenuous to me, but try telling that to the gamers.
In 2004, I opened DanZGames.com, the vestiges of which can be found right here. My most successful solo project was a game developed in 2005 called Super Deekout (Registration Patch; extract into Super Deekout program folder), a defense-based though deceptively addicting arcade game. The idea is Pacman-ish: avoid bad guys while collecting coins that enable you to complete the level. The innovation (or lack of innovation, perhaps) in the game was to dispense with the idea that you were facing a specific direction (used in other audio games), and instead to use the arrow keys to move in their corresponding cardinal directions. This permitted extremely fast gameplay -- no compensatory slowdown for awkward directional navigation. The game was my first to use 3D sound: a suitable four-speaker setup would allow you to hear the enemies exactly where they were. Two-speaker setups were also supported through clever use of volume to indicate distance on the y-axis.
DanZGames.com also included some smaller games:
- Chainlink (Registration Patch): connect words based on their commanalities
- Search Party (Registration Patch): generate and complete word search puzzles
- Maze Craze: can you escape the maze?
- DanZ Memory: memorize and repeat patterns
And here is some even older game-related stuff, the legacy of my youngest programming days: