While developing the game was loads of fun, there were a couple challenges that we had to overcome in order to get this game off the ground…(OH SNAP! See what I did there? off the ground? traveling? airplane? no?…okay)

After being presented with the idea, the first thing that came to mind was how to manage the HUGE map the player had to travel around in. I’m talkin’ loading and moving a 6400×1600 bitmap without sacrificing image quality or performance.

Many tests later, we decided that the best way to solve the filesize issue was to seperate the map into 800×600 tiles, keeping low resolution tiles embedded in the swf file so the player can start the game as soon as possible. While the player travels, the high resolution tiles are being loaded in the background, replacing the low res images one by one as they finish loading. Not only does this reduce the total filesize of the main swf, but it also lets the player continue without having to wait for the giant map to load.

As for performance, most of us know that moving something as big as 6400×1600 around on screen can be choppy. To improve the animation, I used the display object’s scrollRect property. For those who aren’t familiar with this handy feature, it basically acts like a mask, displaying only a section of a display object on screen but with way better performance than a mask. Read more about it in the docs here.

So that takes care of the map, but what about the mini games?

In order to keep the games organized, each one is a separate swf file that gets loaded. This let’s me encapsulate each mini game, keeping its functionality hidden from the rest of the game. A manager had to be created in order to keep track of all the different games and is in charge of displaying a game when needed, communicating the user’s performance to the main swf, and cleaning up after a game so the game engine can be reused.

Videos…so many videos…

For the videos, we wanted to do something simple, using only basic controls to toggle between play and pause states plus a couple events that we can listen for. The FLVPlayback component, while convenient, has too many bells and whistles for our purpose and using the Video class didn’t give us the amount of control that we wanted. So I decided to go with the built-in VideoPlayer class, which is also a subclass of the Video object but a lot simpler than the FLVPlayback component.

#$%@#!!!

While this wasn’t an issue, it was something that was completely new to me and thought I’d share the experience. Since this is a children’s game after all, we needed to make sure that text inputs filter out “no-no” words. Luckily, there’s only one text input in the entire game (*high-five!). Instead of clearing the field when a bad word is detected, I chose to just disable the “go” button. This makes it less frustrating for children with names like “Dickson”.

Now, how am I suppose to detect inappropriate words? Should I just type out every word I could think of?….Interwebz to the rescue!!! Check out the list. Now the only thing I needed to do was copy the entire list and write a quick script to format it the way I want, instant digital earmuffs.

So in the end, I would have to say that this project was probably one of the biggest I had the opportunity to code on my own (yes, I’m a big boy now). I had a chance to take my time, lay out an architecture, and execute smoothly and with ease. While there were some speed bumps along the way, mostly flash “gotchas”, there was definitely a lot to learn from this project.

So you’re a master penguin-flinger and finished all the levels? Not so fast! There’s more levels to conquer ranging from beginner levels all the way up to expert. You can also grab the lite version (iTunes link) to test the frozen waters and make sure your fingers can handle the pure penguin awesomeness.

Zinc Roe also launched a brand new game for the iPhone/iPod touch featuring the Zimmer Twins!

Stack Master (iTunes link for Canada, iTunes link everywhere else) gives you control of the magical tray and your task is to stack and balance random items as high as you can. Simple right? It’s harder than it sounds! You gotta watch out for energy-draining swirls and 13′s sneak attacks! Go check it out for yourself!

You’ve flung some penguins and built the tallest tower, but still want more? Check out some other games in the app store from Zinc Roe!

over and out.

Arctic Shuffle is a fun little arcade game. Start with ice curling, then mix in some mini-golf, exploding penguins and cloning devices and you have an idea of what the game play is all about.

To play, you just aim and fire your penguin pal trying to land him on a target. Look out for obstacles that block, bounce, drown and destroy your precious penguin. The initial release has 52 levels and look out for new levels in future updates. Arctic Shuffle flinging good fun!

You’ll find screenshots on our site…
http://www.zincroe.com/portfolio/show/arctic_shuffle

And video of the game play on vimeo…
http://vimeo.com/3443065

Arctic Shuffle is available for $2.99 on the App Store…
http://itunes.apple.com/WebObjects/MZStore.woa/wa/viewSoftware?id=%20306757969&mt=8

We’re a small interactive studio based in Toronto. We have been building casual games for a while, but this is our first effort for the iPhone so we’re keen to gather as much feedback as we can.

Arctic Shuffle screenshots for the iPhone/iPod Touch

If anyone has a good one, please send them through. Thanks!

-Carlo

I don’t usually do a lot of freelance but when the right type of project comes strolling my way, I simply can’t resist. This time around it was a small portfolio website for art director, Vic Bath. The thing that attracted me to this project was the content. I love art, in fact, I used to be an artist before all the scripting, so when I got the opportunity to take on a project so simple and full of art, I was quite the happy camper.

Check out Vic’s portfolio: http://www.vicbath.com

First of all, it’s been almost two weeks and I’ve still yet to remember the names of at least a quarter of the people working there. But oddly enough, I felt right at home.

Second, the dev process there is unbelievably organized. I won’t go into the “deets” but damn, it’s crazy. In a good way.

I guess the only thing I can complain about is the lack of sushi places in the area, there is one (and a really good one) but I feel like I can never find a true replacement for Hosu Bistro. *tear.

Check it out: http://www.virginmobile.ca/blackberry

I’m notorious for having some sort of “Coming Soon” page on my website, whether it be plain black text on a white background, or some sort of cool graphic, there was always some form of coming soon page, even if it’s been 2 years. So I thought to myself, “Carlo, what’s the one major thing you’ve been procrastinating on?” and my website is at the top of the list.

So now, let me introduce you to my very first “flash-less” actual website! Deciding on whether to go with a flash site or not was pretty big, considering that I’m mostly a flash developer. But that’s the reason why I decided to do it in HTML/CSS, I needed to get out of my natural environment and do something different. It’s been a while since I did a lot of CSS, so this was kind of a challenge for me and I loved every minute of it. This doesn’t mean that I’ll be producing only CSS from now on, this was just a little exercise to keep my skills sharp in other areas of web dev.

Check it out: http://www.alducente.com

Biore Canada
Check out to see just how many blackheads you can strip away!!! Warning: Can get addictive.

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That’s it for now!
-Car

-Carlo