Some of you may be wondering why I haven't posted recently. Well, I am working on a program that may or may not cause a paradigm shift in the use of sound in calculator games.
To quote the script of Captain EO:
Captain EO: Very beautiful within, your highness, but without a key to unlock it. And that is my gift to you.
Supreme Leader: So, let me see this gift.
Captain EO: Not only see, your highness, but hear.
[Captain EO breaks into song and dance.]
In other news, I am also working on a project that involves the video game crash of 1983.
I'm sorry. I don't have an obscure reference for this announcement.
Stay tuned for more announcements!
Saturday, July 30, 2011
Tuesday, July 12, 2011
Thursday, July 7, 2011
Hello World!
"Firsts" are important to everyone's life. From infancy to adulthood, each new experience makes a significant impact on one's life. Some of a my significant technological "firsts" were my first laptop, video game console (Nintendo Gamecube), graphing calculator (TI-84 Plus SE), and blog (this one here). My most important computer first was learning a programming language. A few years ago, I started learning PLT Scheme. Although the language is quite limited in functionality, it taught me basic control structures and optimization techniques. While Scheme was informational, I slowly became bored of programming.
Years later, my parents bought me a TI-84 Plus SE. I was first intrigued by the "PRGM" button and soon became determined to learn TI-BASIC. I made a few programs for extra credit, but I wanted to make fun, entertaining games. My first (and probably last) finished game in TI-BASIC was a pixel-based Snake clone. I spent hours squeezing every last drop of speed it would possibly allow. While I managed to run it at a decent speed, I knew that I could never write CPU-demanding games. I realized that I had to learn this "mystical" assembly language.
I failed at my first attempt at learning Z80 ASM. I was not able to grasp the concept of the registers and the commands. Looking around, I found an eye-catching program named Axe, an application that compiles BASICesque code into Z80 machine code. It took some effort to grasp the new concepts, but I soon realized how much more powerful it is compared to BASIC.
Browsing around, I discovered Omnimaga, a thriving community dedicated to calculator programming. They hosted marvelous Axe Tutorials and BASIC documentation. I became a member and was soon impressed by their dedication to being a peaceful, constructive community. There, I found Hot_Dog's ASM tutorials. They were thorough but easy to understand. To this day, I have not found a better guide for beginners to ASM.
I know TI-BASIC, Axe, and ASM, but I still have not released a program yet. Why? I can't stay on task. (Actually I just lose the interest for some of my projects. :P) I created this blog so I can have a personal area to talk about my projects, say random stuff, and post fake news.
-RalphDSpam
Editor's note: As you can see, the quality in writing declines the further you get to the bottom of the post. I'll improve that. I also shouldn't have to put an editor's note. I'm the editor anyway. Now I'm just randomly babbling. Great.
Years later, my parents bought me a TI-84 Plus SE. I was first intrigued by the "PRGM" button and soon became determined to learn TI-BASIC. I made a few programs for extra credit, but I wanted to make fun, entertaining games. My first (and probably last) finished game in TI-BASIC was a pixel-based Snake clone. I spent hours squeezing every last drop of speed it would possibly allow. While I managed to run it at a decent speed, I knew that I could never write CPU-demanding games. I realized that I had to learn this "mystical" assembly language.
I failed at my first attempt at learning Z80 ASM. I was not able to grasp the concept of the registers and the commands. Looking around, I found an eye-catching program named Axe, an application that compiles BASICesque code into Z80 machine code. It took some effort to grasp the new concepts, but I soon realized how much more powerful it is compared to BASIC.
Browsing around, I discovered Omnimaga, a thriving community dedicated to calculator programming. They hosted marvelous Axe Tutorials and BASIC documentation. I became a member and was soon impressed by their dedication to being a peaceful, constructive community. There, I found Hot_Dog's ASM tutorials. They were thorough but easy to understand. To this day, I have not found a better guide for beginners to ASM.
I know TI-BASIC, Axe, and ASM, but I still have not released a program yet. Why? I can't stay on task. (Actually I just lose the interest for some of my projects. :P) I created this blog so I can have a personal area to talk about my projects, say random stuff, and post fake news.
-RalphDSpam
Editor's note: As you can see, the quality in writing declines the further you get to the bottom of the post. I'll improve that. I also shouldn't have to put an editor's note. I'm the editor anyway. Now I'm just randomly babbling. Great.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)