It's a small world. I post my game up on a few forum boards and I get responses from two fellas who I have been shadowing for years.
One of them is the fella behind Rusty Axe (www.RustyAxe.com). And he's been in game development for a number of years.
The other fella does sprite/pixel art and I've always loved his art work (spriteattack.com - custom graphics).
Both of them gave me some solid advice for the game. And some awesome art work!
Friday, November 23
Wednesday, November 21
Marketing A Browser Based Game
So as I roll this new game out, battleforcesonline.com. I wanted to advertise it and try to drive some users to the game. After some research and head scratching below is my plan. I'll write an update in a few days about how it's working.
Referral Program
The number one item that I put into place to help with marketing is the ability to refer a friend. If you refer a friend and that friend plays the game a bit, you can get a free unit (game piece). I'll be interested in seeing if this helps with word of mouth.
Forum Postings
I feel like such a heel. I've gone to about 10 different forums and posting a request for beta users for the game. I felt like a spammer. In my defense I tried to post only in those threads designated for new games or advertisements.
To be honest I don't expect a lot of traffic from these posts.
Gaming Directories
I've posted the game to a number of gaming directories, it will be interesting to see which ones will prove to send the most traffic.
Stats
I should point out that I am using Google Analytics for my stats tracking.
Referral Program
The number one item that I put into place to help with marketing is the ability to refer a friend. If you refer a friend and that friend plays the game a bit, you can get a free unit (game piece). I'll be interested in seeing if this helps with word of mouth.
Forum Postings
I feel like such a heel. I've gone to about 10 different forums and posting a request for beta users for the game. I felt like a spammer. In my defense I tried to post only in those threads designated for new games or advertisements.
To be honest I don't expect a lot of traffic from these posts.
Gaming Directories
I've posted the game to a number of gaming directories, it will be interesting to see which ones will prove to send the most traffic.
Stats
I should point out that I am using Google Analytics for my stats tracking.
Battle Forces Online - Released
I've been hard at work on a new game called Battle Forces Online. Here is the marketing blurb on it. I'll be posting more information about it in the coming days.
Battle Forces Online is a tactical turn based RPG game. You control a number of "Blades". You configure their starting setup. You battle other players in a multi-player heads up arena.
Free for all to play! How many can you gather under your command?
This is an isometric game in which you have 6 Blades / Units to start with. Wager and win more Blades from other players. There will be something at stake every single battle!
http://www.battleforcesonline.com
Battle Forces Online is a tactical turn based RPG game. You control a number of "Blades". You configure their starting setup. You battle other players in a multi-player heads up arena.
Free for all to play! How many can you gather under your command?
This is an isometric game in which you have 6 Blades / Units to start with. Wager and win more Blades from other players. There will be something at stake every single battle!
http://www.battleforcesonline.com
Sunday, October 7
More Thoughts on AI
I was thinking of simple test which could demonstrate that technology is capable of true learning. I'm trying to keep it as simple as possible...
Image a wheeled robot with one input, a bumper sensor that returns true or false if the front of the robot is pressing against something.
This robot can take two actions. It can roll forward, it can roll backward.
We place this robot in a box (say a 6 foot square box)
That's the environment and scenario. So the question is what "algorithm"/process do we put in place.
I run into a problem at this point as I realized that this had not specified any "goal" for the robot. Am I putting the horse before the cart asking this question at this point? (I don't know)
I think that every action we take (conscious or unconscious) is driven by some motivating factor. At it's most basic this motivation would be to stay alive, this would account for our involuntary actions.
If this is the case then the robot also will need to have some motivation, otherwise we place it in the box and it does nothing.
I got over this hump by assigning an ambiguous goal for the robot. It wants/needs to cover 100 feet of ground.
Keep in mind, even though there is a goal. The process that I am designing is not designed to achieve the goal. The process is designed to allow the robot to "learn" what it can do.
To me this sounds as a natural place to separate "mind states" (I'm not sure of the terminology). One piece of the mind is going to track the goals. Another piece of the mind is going to track what it "knows". I think the second part is what I am focused on at the moment.
What does the robot "know", I think this is where the predictive model comes into play. Knowing something means that when you receive a certain input and you take a set of actions...you can predict what the next set of inputs will be.
Currently the robot is unable to predicate any input / actions. I ran into a problem here as the technical side of me wanted to describe how the robot should capture this input = action = input relationship. I set this aside for the moment though.
The robot would survey it's input, see that it's bumper is not true and would then decied to take one of it's actions. (I equate this to what a baby does, hands waving, feet wiggling and so on)
Let's assume the robot rolls forward, (it could have choose to roll backward). This is where a sense of time needed to come into play. The robot is going to roll forward for a small time segment (maybe a few milliseconds) at which point it's going to review it's inputs.
So let's say it rolled forward 2 inches, at this point it needs to make that input = action = input relationship.
It will continue this cycle until it hits a wall. At this point, it now gets conflicting relationships. How does it resolve this conflict? And this is where I get stuck...
Image a wheeled robot with one input, a bumper sensor that returns true or false if the front of the robot is pressing against something.
This robot can take two actions. It can roll forward, it can roll backward.
We place this robot in a box (say a 6 foot square box)
That's the environment and scenario. So the question is what "algorithm"/process do we put in place.
I run into a problem at this point as I realized that this had not specified any "goal" for the robot. Am I putting the horse before the cart asking this question at this point? (I don't know)
I think that every action we take (conscious or unconscious) is driven by some motivating factor. At it's most basic this motivation would be to stay alive, this would account for our involuntary actions.
If this is the case then the robot also will need to have some motivation, otherwise we place it in the box and it does nothing.
I got over this hump by assigning an ambiguous goal for the robot. It wants/needs to cover 100 feet of ground.
Keep in mind, even though there is a goal. The process that I am designing is not designed to achieve the goal. The process is designed to allow the robot to "learn" what it can do.
To me this sounds as a natural place to separate "mind states" (I'm not sure of the terminology). One piece of the mind is going to track the goals. Another piece of the mind is going to track what it "knows". I think the second part is what I am focused on at the moment.
What does the robot "know", I think this is where the predictive model comes into play. Knowing something means that when you receive a certain input and you take a set of actions...you can predict what the next set of inputs will be.
Currently the robot is unable to predicate any input / actions. I ran into a problem here as the technical side of me wanted to describe how the robot should capture this input = action = input relationship. I set this aside for the moment though.
The robot would survey it's input, see that it's bumper is not true and would then decied to take one of it's actions. (I equate this to what a baby does, hands waving, feet wiggling and so on)
Let's assume the robot rolls forward, (it could have choose to roll backward). This is where a sense of time needed to come into play. The robot is going to roll forward for a small time segment (maybe a few milliseconds) at which point it's going to review it's inputs.
So let's say it rolled forward 2 inches, at this point it needs to make that input = action = input relationship.
It will continue this cycle until it hits a wall. At this point, it now gets conflicting relationships. How does it resolve this conflict? And this is where I get stuck...
Friday, September 21
Artificial Intelligence
I've been reading a number of articles on A.I. Here are some useful links:
Wikipedia: Machine Learning - The design and development of algorithms and techniques that allow computers to "learn"
Wikipedia: Computational Learning Theory - mathematical field related to the analysis of machine learning algorithms
Wikipedia: Learning to Learn - Applying knowledge gained from one problem or task to a different but related problem or task. For example, learning to walk could be used in learning to run, or learning to recognize cars could be used in learning to recognize trucks. (More info is needed on this topic)
Wikipedia: Alife - simulating life and intelligence
Wikipedia: Digital Organism (Bot) - Self-replicating computer program that mutates and evolves.
A.I. Systems Integration - Making individual software components interoperable with other components to create larger, broader and more capable A.I. systems.
Wikipedia: Agent Communication Language - Proposed standard language for agent communications
Example Environments
Breva - Build 3D simulations of decentralized systems and artificial life. Uses a language called Steve. (website)
DarwinBots - a virtual environment in which a number of "bots" interact, fight for resources, and eventually reproduce and evolveEvolve - Allows the user to create simulations, run them, and watch the evolving creatures.
Technosphere - Users build their own creature, modular type of AI. This was very interesting and I'd like to follow up on it.
Ideas
Create an Agent Framework that uses REST and XML protocols
Wikipedia: Machine Learning - The design and development of algorithms and techniques that allow computers to "learn"
Wikipedia: Computational Learning Theory - mathematical field related to the analysis of machine learning algorithms
Wikipedia: Learning to Learn - Applying knowledge gained from one problem or task to a different but related problem or task. For example, learning to walk could be used in learning to run, or learning to recognize cars could be used in learning to recognize trucks. (More info is needed on this topic)
Wikipedia: Alife - simulating life and intelligence
Wikipedia: Digital Organism (Bot) - Self-replicating computer program that mutates and evolves.
A.I. Systems Integration - Making individual software components interoperable with other components to create larger, broader and more capable A.I. systems.
Wikipedia: Agent Communication Language - Proposed standard language for agent communications
Example Environments
Breva - Build 3D simulations of decentralized systems and artificial life. Uses a language called Steve. (website)
DarwinBots - a virtual environment in which a number of "bots" interact, fight for resources, and eventually reproduce and evolveEvolve - Allows the user to create simulations, run them, and watch the evolving creatures.
Technosphere - Users build their own creature, modular type of AI. This was very interesting and I'd like to follow up on it.
Ideas
Create an Agent Framework that uses REST and XML protocols
Tuesday, August 7
Don't and Do
I was reading an interesting book, Forget Selling: 12 Principles of Influence and Persuasion in Sales, Leadership, and Life , There was an interesting statement in it.
Technically the brain can not distinguish between a do and don't statement. This is because don't is not a noun so we do not visual it. (See you just tried to visual it, even when I said don't)
Don't think about the elephant.
Don't smoke
This is a sneaky way to persuade someone into doing something. Place the thought in their head and come back around to it.
Technically the brain can not distinguish between a do and don't statement. This is because don't is not a noun so we do not visual it. (See you just tried to visual it, even when I said don't)
Don't think about the elephant.
Don't smoke
This is a sneaky way to persuade someone into doing something. Place the thought in their head and come back around to it.
Monday, August 6
Notes on Reading Stock Chart
Regular Chart Patterns - Learn them
Please note: I am not a financial advisor, take all you read here with a grain of salt.
Head and Shoulders - picture
Cup and Handle - picture
Double Top, Double Bottom - picture
Symmetrical Triangle - picture
Ascending Triangle - picture
Wedge - picture
Gap - picture
Triple Top - picture
Triple Bottom - picture
References:
Please note: I am not a financial advisor, take all you read here with a grain of salt.
Head and Shoulders - picture
Signals that the price will make a downward move after having moved up in past periods.
Inverse Head and Shoulder signals the opposite
Cup and Handle - picture
Signals that the price will continue in an upward direction after the handle after having moved down in past periods.
Pattern should be a nicely rounded formation, similar to a semi-circle.
The valley should be between one-third and two-thirds the size of the previous upward movement
Double Top, Double Bottom - picture
Sometimes called "Twin Peaks"
Double Top (M) - Signals a downward direction change after moving up in past periods
Double Bottom (W) - Signals an updated direction change after moving down in past periods
Symmetrical Triangle - picture
Signals a consolidation to a given price. Once consolidated it may move in original direction, but it can go in the opposite direction.
Ascending Triangle - picture
Triangle shape, the top of the triangle will be straight. Each "side" of the triangle should be "tested"/"touched" multiple times.
Signals the price is to take an upward direction.
The optimum point to get in on this is right before it moves above the top of the triangle.
Descending Triangle signals the exact opposite.
Wedge - picture
Looks a lot like the symmetrical triangles, however they tend to last over longer periods of time.
Good Question: What's the difference between a wedge and a triangle
Gap - picture
A gap doesn't signify much as far as price trending, other then drastic changes in price.
Triple Top - picture
Trend has to test the same limit 3 times
Trend has to fall to the same support 2 times
Each test of limit will be marked with declining volume
Signals a downward direction
Triple Bottom - picture
Trend has to test the same limit 3 times
Trend has to fall to the same support 3 times
Signals an upward direction
Be careful as this looks just like Triple Top but signals an upward trend.
References:
Investpedia
Random Links for Week of 07.31
Some random links from round the web:
- Teach Kids to Program - Scratch is a simple web based platform which makes it easy to learn programming.
- Creating a valued Blog - Very interesting article on how to create a profitable blog space.
- Using Code Review for Interviews - Using code reviews to help weed out people during interviews.
- Create Draggable CSS Windows - A simple way to implement draggable windows using scriptlicious.
- SitePoint - Request a design, list a price, watch the masses compete.
- Search for Code - A few different search engines that specialize in finding source code.
