Space will be open Sat October 26 @ Noon

October 25, 2013

by admin in Uncategorized

So come on down and hang out! The 3D printer will most likely be repaired and ready to go, plus you can see volunteers working on our access system.

Saturday, September 28th: We are OPEN!

September 28, 2013

by admin in Uncategorized

Hackforge is open until five today, and we’re testing the 3D printer. Come down and join us!

Windsor Essex Open Data :: first steps

September 27, 2013

by admin in Windsor Essex Open Data

Wednesday, October 2, 2013, 7:00pm – 9:00pm
Hackforge, Central Branch, Windsor Public Library

This will be a  ‘First Steps’ meeting with two topics on our agenda. The first will be a discussion on whether we should participate in a local Open311 initiative.

• Open311 Explained:: http://www.mysociety.org/2013/01/17/open311-explained/
• SeeClickFix :: http://seeclickfix.com/
• FixMyStreet :: http://www.fixmystreet.ca/
• an upcoming Open Data Challenge: https://www.kaggle.com/c/see-click-predict-fix

The second matter will be a discussion whether we’d like to be involved in any data *collection* work, and if so, with what common theme. Possible ideas include:

• bicycling
• energy related
• transit
• your suggestions

If you have any questions or suggestions, you can let me know at mita@hackf.org

Interested in being a part of it or just want to keep up with what we’re up to?  Sign up for our low volume email newsletter or keep tabs on us via Twitter.

Access System Malfunction

September 6, 2013

by admin in Uncategorized

We have had a malfunction of the access system, as such key cards aren’t working. Hopefully we should have the problem fixed on Saturday.

Hackforge Summer Games Resource List

August 17, 2013

by admin in Games

Here are some of the resources shared on Saturday’s launch of the Hackforge Summer Games contest. Share yours in the comments! 

Randy McGall’s List

• A Dictionary of Video Game Theory Half-Real: Video Games between Real Rules and Fictional Worlds, 2005 Jesper Juul http://www.half-real.net/dictionary/
• Behavioral Game Design Microsoft, John Hopson, 2001 http://www.gamasutra.com/view/feature/3085/behavioral_game_design.php?page=1
• Designing around a Core Mechanic Funstorm http://www.funstormgames.com/blog/2012/06/designing-around-a-core-mechanic/
• Game Mechanics Gamification Wiki 
• Game Mechanics Wikipedia http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Game_mechanics
• MDA: A Formal Approach to Game Design and Game Research, 2001 Robin Hunicke, Marc LeBlanc, Robert Zubek http://www.cs.northwestern.edu/~hunicke/pubs/MDA.pdf
• MDA Model for Game Design Talk, six part video Adelaide University Game Development Club, Dylan Sale, 2010 http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qv36o41OcLw&list=PL76402B306F2168E6&index=1

Anthony Garreffa’s Game Loop Presentation & Materials

• Presentation Slides https://docs.google.com/presentation/d/1oTuIPYY7cyhj7NbHymp3AwPxWtQih0c78TlT6P5O8Hs/edit?usp=sharing
  
• Demo Repo https://github.com/jhive/1945-demo
• Ash Seed Repo https://github.com/jhive/ashseed

Doug Sartori’s Presentation & Code

• Minimax Algorithm https://github.com/dsartori/minimax
• AI Talk http://hackf.org/wp-content/uploads/2013/2013_summer_games_ai_talk.pdf

HTML5 Game Development Resources by Jeff Szusz

Choosing an Engine

• Which HTML5 Game Engine is right for you? http://html5gameengine.com/
• Breakouts – Helping you choose a JavaScript game engine http://city41.github.io/breakouts/

Other Resources

• Articles and blogs about game development gamasutra.com
• Forum html5gamedevs.com
• Tutorials and articles html5gamedevelopment.com

Popular Engines

• impactjs.com – commercial game dev engine
• craftyjs.com – open source component/entity game engine
• html5quintus.com – open source game engine

Other resources 

Video game engines for young people ages 8 and up

• Scratch: http://scratch.mit.edu/
• Gamestar mechanic: http://gamestarmechanic.com/
• Stencyl : http://stencyl.com/
• Kodu: http://www.kodugamelab.com/About

Sell your game

• MaRS Startup Library: Digital Gaming: http://www.cdmn.ca/mars-startup-library-digital-gaming/
• Chasing the Whale: Examining the ethics of free-to-play games

Game Art Resources

• Lost Garden: Danc’s Miraculously Flexible Game Prototyping Tiles
• The Open Game Art Bundle

UPDATE:
Big thanks to Jessica Lowe and her computer science class in California for recommending this resource

• Programming Guide For Video-Gamers