Live Stream this Friday or Saturday night. Any Interest?

cocos2d-x
#1

So I was considering doing a live stream either this Friday night or Saturday night via Twitch.

Simple: Live stream coding a game concept. Take advice, suggestions from those watching as to what we accomplish.

I’m not sure where everyone is but if Friday I was thinking of starting around 7-8pm PST and if Saturday maybe 8-9pst.

Anyone have thoughts?

1 Like
#2

Hey, its nice idea :smiley:
Its 12 hours gap for me, so its too early for 7-8 PST :wink: Early morning-No internet…
I think I could join only if it is Fri ~9pm PST(which is Sat 9:30am IST for me), or Sat ~9pm PST (which is Sun 9:30am IST for me)

Anyways, here is what I would like to request.

Does this mean, you’re already have a game concept and we’ll be coding that?

Ok, here are few things things I would like to say… Since you’ve not mentioned that whether cocos2d-x API is focus (I mean tough things in cocos2d-x) or it is general game coding approach with cocos2d-x, so I am assuming you would be including anything :smiley: that we could wish for… Here is list:

  1. Design strategy and coding for it (NOT JUST iOS but ANDROID (please) too :sunny: )
    I mean not need to talk about all the design res things because they are already taught in wiki. But since an example case has not been taken for android. So, I would highly admire if you could, if possible, give example for writing code for android’s various screen sizes and resolutions with our cocos2d-x design polcies :smiley:
  2. Advice to all kind of users (eclipse, XCode, VS ) to what should be things that one require to gain most during coding with cocos2d-x. Like Debugging in Xcode is already talked about somewhere in the website, so you could talk about debugging in ECLIPSE
  3. Free Tools (because we’re mostly indie or learners) to design assets, like inkscape/photoshop and how to design for particular design strategy that I mentioned in the 1st point above.
  4. Now let’s start real coding… After importing the framework and running the default HelloWorld, you could talk about what are the things that one should change inside the file.
    *No need to cover things like setting portrait/lanscape. Adding additional cpp/h files to our code because they’re already been explained nicely in the wiki,
    You could do things in 1st point.
    5) Most important thing is you can teach how to simultaneously refer to cocos2d-x API while we’re writing code which is I guess very important for us all, because we must know how to teach ourselves

6) You may talk about integration of plugins, external libraries like chipmunk-box2d. Advice about using chipmunk with INBUILT PHYSICS or box2d with INBUILT PHYSICS together. Also, any advice about using other libraries and plugins, and the correct time to add these things (I mean, once we finish coding our final game, or before starting the final game or when)

7) Advice about what code files in framework needs to removed/added in the last so that it does not compile and package the things we don’t require in our final game.

As of now, this is what all I would wish to say…
Hope it becomes a nice and learning experience.
I wish I could join it on time. Can you please tell us the exact timings otherwise can you also record and upload if there is option :smile:

Thanks

1 Like
#3

Yes, it’s very interesting

#4

Yes, it’s very good.

#5

Record + Upload pls

#6

Yeah, I was thinking of uploading to Twitch so that anyone could watch it.

I wasn’t sure about scripting anything. I thought I might just take it wherever it heads.

Need to think of a concept to develop!

#7

I think it is a great idea!
I’m 17 hours ahead, and teach kids in a programming class on Saturday afternoons - which would be perfect (although it’s week 1 of the term, so they might not be up to it!)

personally I would think developing a nice simple game - maybe an infinite scroller with physics, just a ball rolling along an infinite plane and jumping over obstacles to start with; it can evolve from there!

I can’t wait!

#8

Hey Hey, I think it would be too much for him to cover because I think even if he makes the platformer game-infinite scroller, then also it will take him more than 3-5 hours, I mean because he would be explaining along too.
I think first he must decide that what kind of audience he is targetting-beginners/little experienced(like me)/experienced.

@slackmoehrle
Otherwise, if he wants to just demonstrate the awesomeness APIs of cocos2d-x then the best thing could be he can make
snippets of short short examples… This way he could cover all kinds of audience.
First he must categorize things… Like Sprite Animations, Physics, gestures, etc
Snippets can be,

  1. Rolling a ball on platforms… Thats all nothing much nothing less.
    Where he’ll make a rectangular platform, give some physcicsmaterial. Make physics ball with some physics material. Put ball over it. Now, slide up and ball will jump. Slide down ball will come down at faster speed.
    He may extend it to accelerometer usage which ball could slide.
    This way he could show gestures, and accelerometer usage.

  2. Magnetic Coins (I implemented this thing, it was just 5-6 min each with setPosition, MoveBy and moveTo but it could be worth)

  3. Follow Player.

  4. Storing and reading user data, eg scores and reading the last score when the game starts again.

  5. And other APIs that are not very basic but interesting… He can focus on those things more which he is not putting in the programmer’s guide :stuck_out_tongue:

They’re actually not specific to me but these are few things that I came across few days back on the forums

This all would not give a picture of how to make complete game but this will help to make interesting things with cocos2d-x APIs.

Similarly he can pick 10-12 things and can implement it and can start explaining them in his session with the difficulty level.

#9

Sorry - yes, I wasn’t thinking of covering the entire game in that time, from scratch - I was kind of assuming there would be more than one session - and it’s nice to have a real end goal in sight IMHO when you start.

Your rolling ball on platform is exactly how I would see it starting for beginners. Once you have a physics ball rolling along a physics platform, now look at how to make it jump (touch). Use the accelerometer to make it move.

It is now a set of logical steps to move from this to a scrolling game…

Rather than necessarily have pre-conceived ideas of what to cover, the advantage of a live session would be that we (both noobs and the more experienced) can ask questions, and guide the direction the session takes.

If it just ends up being a scripted video tutorial, that defeats the ‘liveness’ of it - may as well do video tutorials and edit them nicely!

(incidentally your proposed steps 1-3 would essentially allow an infinitely scrolling game with magnetic coins!)

#10

This is all really good. I like the rolling ball idea.

I think I do want to shoot for just seeing what happens and what the end result is.

Now, to decide when to do it, what time and where (I’m thinking twitch) but I also know HitBox does this.

#11

For me, i prefer friday.

#12

Haha, actually yes, I meant to say that instead of making the complete workflow for the game. He can break down the interesting components of the game and cover them…
He can script them live and people can ask doubts… This was my idea :stuck_out_tongue:

#13

Whenever you do it… please make an offline availability so that if anyone is not able to join due to any reason then he should miss this great thing :smile:

#14

ok, twitch.tv/slackmoehrle

Start from ‘Hello World’ and I’ll be assuming the role of a newbie :slight_smile:

#15

@slackmoehrle
Hi, also can you please list down some of the topics that are certain to be covered apart from the live questions? :wink:

Thanks

#16

Great idea @slackmoehrle

Too bad it’s not an hour at which I am awake (4am where I live), I second offline availability.

I was thinking about doing local LiveCode (it’s about the same, except it’s generally done in a pub, and you generally have 30 min to code), and for that, a project simple enough is “Shoot the X” (where X is what you want, for example bugs, dots or some random characters), where you have to tap on the X. It is simple enough to fit in 30 minutes, and easily allow to add more concepts (add some Y you must not tap on, add some menus, add in-apps, add physics for the movements …)

Looking at @catch_up list, I would be very interested in Eclipse debugging (never got it working …).

Advertising Cocos Studio and Plugin-X would be good too. A visual editor and native wrappers are, in my opinion, undervalued by devs using cocos2d-x. (if you ask me, I am still using CocosBuilder, and I developped FenneX for my native wrappers need, but CocosBuilder is deprecated, and FenneX isn’t beginner-friendly yet).

#17

OK guys, I am doing it Saturday night starting at 8pm.

I’ll be recording also.

#18

@Fradow
Yeah same here, even I never made cocos2d-x debugging through eclipse worked :smiley:

I saw the fradow’s request for time change today… I travelled expecting the session would start today … LOL It got shifted…

Haha, I think I would have to see the recording only, because it doesnot suits my timeZone…

Nevermind :smile:
But I hope @slackmoehrle, you’ll upload the video recording link as soon as possible

All the best Guys :wink:

#19

@slackmoehrle

Hi, have you uploaded the video somewhere?
Can you please give us the link?

Thanks

#20

It started out good but then we had audio issues and then I could not get the stream restarted. I think it went for about 45+ mins before that happened. I am going to do it again this coming weekend and bring home a dedicated microphone too.