I’ve been quite busy with work lately. So I did not manage to update my website or this blog in quite some time. But this is definitely worth a post:
J2ME Development – The way it should be
Take a look at the Opposite Lock Development Video. They show you how to write J2ME games the right way. You don’t need a thousand different jar files to target a thousand different phones. There is enough common ground within the J2ME platform. And look closely how cool things are as long as you target J2SE, too. Not only for the editor(s). But for the game, too.
I always hated working primarily with the WTK emulator or going to the real phones too early. You fix device specific bugs and issues with them. But you do everything else on the platform that is most efficient for it. And that surely isn’t the WTK emulator or a real phone.
I’m trying to do the same with my RunME emulation layer and the IntensiBuild system. My framework is not as advanced as what the Numfum developers show in their video, but it gets the job done, too. For example I have JamJam (formerly known as BlockShock or IntensiTris.. :) running on most MIDP2 devices and on the desktop (via Java WebStart). There are only minor differences between the versions. (And of course I can build specific versions to allow for different soft key codes and little glitches in the oh so perfect J2ME world. But the same JAR will run on all phones.)
For Galaxina – my next game – I had to create an editor for the enemy flight paths and the level design. There I, too, embedded the game into the editor. It makes total sense. Of course by far not as cool as the Crysis Sandbox.. :)
I really hope I find the time to finally release RunME and IntensiBuild to the Open Source world. So far work has kept me from doing it.
Slideshow Engine
One of my older projects is a generic slide-show system. I’m updating this right now as part of one of my commercial projects. But I’m thinking about open sourcing at least the old version. If you should have a commercial interest in a generic slide-show system for J2ME, please contact my business partners www.psychocell.com.