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Do as I tell you!

The Next Step

  I was brainstorming a bit today, and debating on which feature I should add to the game next. I wanted to start adding in some items (swords, guns, lights, etc.), but I think that might make things too complicated for now. I'd have to develop an inventory system, figure out how to interact with items, add things to the inventory, etc. I figured it would be more work than I want to do right now.
  So I'm thinking that the next step will be putting in some sort of "look" feature, so you can "look" at a room to get a more detailed description or "look" at a specific thing in a room. You won't be able to interact with anything in the room yet, but it'll bring us one step closer.
  And for testing and debugging purposes, I'll keep the game to three rooms for now. That should be big enough to give me enough testing possiblities and small enough to make problems manageable.
  One thing I haven't gotten around to fixing is the text area that displays all of the descriptions, etc. The way it's set up now, every time I enter a room it just adds the description on after the previous one. I'd rather it just erases what was there before, but I don't quite remember how to do that. Oh well. I'll get around to it eventually.
  I'm pretty sure I'm still just writing all this stuff to myself, but on the off chance that someone actually reads this, give me some input! I'd love to hear your ideas.

Mission Accomplished

  It finally happened! The two ingredients I needed actually came together: I found some time and I found a compiler. For now, at least, I'm using a program called jGRASP. It seems pretty sleek and fast, and it doesn't have a bunch of junk I don't need like NetBeans. I wasn't a fan of that one.
  I plugged in the code that David Reilly gives on his website, made a few syntax tweeks to make it familiar, and WHAM-O! It works! The next step will be to start making it my own: Setting up the rooms, adding decriptions, etc. What I'm thinking for now is that I'll start off with three rooms. The first will be a shoreline where the player "wakes up", then an area with a cave entrance, and finally a store room or something. I'm just keeping things simple so I can work out any bugs that come up. I'm not going to worry about items or weapons or anything for a while still.
  Ah, it feels good to get started! I'll keep you posted.

Shameless Plug: Morrowind

  Since things have been a little slow with the "meat" of this blog (I admit I don't have the hang of it yet), I thought I'd toss in a quick post about something else I'm interested in: Morrowind! I'm talking about the third videogame in the Elder Scrolls series by Bethesda. I bought this game about 4 or so years ago and I quickly became one of my favorite games of all time. Possibly THE favorite. It's a must-have for any RPG fan. Not because it's super-action-packed or extra gory or terribly innovative, but because it's HUGE.
  You, the player, are dropped off in a small port town. After some character customization and a few instructions to get you started, you're given the freedom to explore the entire island of Morrowind, doing what you want, when you want, and how you want. Seriously. Kill anyone you don't like, steal anything that's not bolted down, whatever. There are over 400 dungeons and dozens of towns to explore, and over a score of skills to develop. I'd literally need to write a book to explain everything you can do in this game. If you can't tell, I love it.
  If I've whetted your appetite, check it out at Amazon: Elder Scrolls: Morrowind (Game of the Year). You can get it dirt cheap there. I would get the Game of the Year edition, but it's up to you. Hope you enjoy Morrowind as much as I do! And no, I don't own any stock in the company, if that's what you're wondering...

Get GAME... Thou canst get ye GAME!

  Ok, so things are off to kind of a rough start. I've found that work doesn't leave much time for programming. Not only that, but I can't seem to get a Java compiler running. I remember using SSH for one of my classes, but apparently that's not free anymore. And obviously I'm not going to use something unless it's free (legitimately or otherwise...) After that disappointment I tried downloading Sun's compiler, but for some reason it wouldn't install (huh?).
  I really want to get this thing off the ground so I'm hoping to find SOME kind of compiler (that will work) tomorrow. In the very-off-chance that someone happens to stumble across this blog in the next day or so, feel free to give advice!

Day 1: Getting Started

  Obviously the first step in writing my own game is to consult the internet, right? The first site I came across was this little beauty created by David Reilly: Java Coffee Break
  Not only does he give a good conceptual layout of what should go in to a text game, but he gives some java object code and an applet that puts it all together! I like this guy. I think I'll use this code to give myself a jump start and maybe re-work it a bit so it has my "style". So my first step will be getting the code to my liking, then setting up maybe two or three "room" objects with descriptions, and we'll see how things go from there!
  But all that will have to wait until after Christmas. Speaking of which, don't forget why we celebrate the season! If you don't know why we do, ask me ;)

Ye awaken to find yeself in a blog....

  Welcome, people of the interwebs! I'm glad you managed to find me. This is my first attempt at blogging, so you'll have to bear with me until I get the hang of things. Why am I starting a blog? Well, I'm glad you asked! In an attempt to get a better grasp of the Java programming language, I'm going to write a text-based adventure game.
  I want to deviant from the typical knights/swords/dungeons/flasks type of game by making mine a pirate theme. I'll still incorporate some gaming stereotypes, of course, but I'll try to keep things fresh.
  So, I'm deciding to document my progress as I program this text game and learn about Java. I hope you find it interesting! I don't see why you wouldn't, but I guess not everyone enjoys the geekier side of life.