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Indrema Developer's Network Site Comes Up
Sam "Criswell" Hart writes "Just checked out the Indrema Developer's Network website and saw they have a lot of new content. You can now get the IESDK here (which is of course a bunch of things already available like OpenAL and Mesa3D, and includes the Linux kernel 2.4-pre10). You can check out what's "Under The Hood" of the L600 (which is really just information that's been available for a little while now). While it does look very kewl, and I am stoked to try my hand at coding for the thing, I am wondering why the IESDK doesn't include any 2D graphic libraries (such as SDL)... since not all games are 3D ;)"
Playstation 3 will be based on Linux (the console as well as the development enviroment).
:)
Linus was there when they announced it few months ago back in Japan. I saw this info on the register and some other places..
So don't forget to try some Linux programming
Hetz (Heunique)
I don't know if it'll make it or not, but I think it actually has a decent chance of making it.
--
Ben Kosse
--
Ben Kosse
Remember Ed Curry!
I forgot we were talking about everything under the sun. My bad.
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Ben Kosse
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Ben Kosse
Remember Ed Curry!
I'm sorry.... they want develpoers to pay ( even freeware ) to get their software certified for a open platform. Seems a little iffy. How can they demand royalties for comercial games? They have an open platform right? or is it.
What if you don't get your application certified and sell it anyways... what can they really do? Consumers rarley care if the software is certified, as long as it runs. If they don't open the certification they will loose freeware programmers in the long run.
Until the major companies black list the company and refuse to deal with them. It's kind of like the MPAA with movies sure you can make a movie that isn't rated but don't expect any theater to run it
Soon it may not matter want the MPAA thinks.
A friend of mine just bought a digital cam corder. He already has an iMac with iMovie software. Think about it, the tools to make movies, albeit probably pretty bad movies, but movies never the less, are now affordable to the average consumer.
He's got two kids. They, and a lot of their friends, are going to grow up with this technology.
The generation that grew up with computers gave us video games. What are these kids gonna do?
I have a small home theater set up. DVD, progressive scan TV, DD processor, surround speakers, etc. Cost a few grand all told. Really good home theater set ups are still a bit pricey. Equivalent in price to say a nice boat or a nice in ground pool (complete with patio and deck).
With the advent of HDTV, which looks great on a larger screen, and falling although not yet reasonable prices, how long will it be until home theaters become fairly commonplace?
So, we have a generation that will grow up making movies and viewing technology moving into the homes. So what if the local theater won't play it. We'll just watch it in our home theaters.
Once upon a time computing resources were locked behind glass doors and only a select few had access. Today I've got four computers in my condo. The PC revolution has changed how we work and play. Of the big mainframe makers, only IBM is still around (unless you want to count Unisys).
We can start the see the glimmerings of a similar shift in entertainment. The MPAA and the RIAA are right to be terrified of PCs and the net. Because it will completely change the way they do business. And many of their member companies may not survive.
I'm looking forward to it.
Steve M
Or however you spell it.
:)
From the 'under the hood' bit:
"The evolution of the home entertainment system will see the eventual extinction of proprietary 'black boxes'"
and
"The GPU and frame buffer memory reside on the IES Slide Bay, a proprietary technology"
One the one page, in adjacent paragraphs. Thank you, and goodnight.
Dave
I write a blog now, you should be afraid.
Of course, you could always just write to X, or port SDL if you really want it.. Should be 99% the same...
Blessed are the pessimists, for they have made backups.
You can do 2D with OpenGL quite well. In fact, a good OpenGL 2D engine can include a lot of nifty effects that are quite difficult/slow to do normally (transparency, lighting) In fact, a lot of Playstation 2D games are really 3D games with a fixed viewpoint. (according to LaMothe.)
A deep unwavering belief is a sure sign you're missing something...
Usually TV is 512 pixels across and anywhere from 300-600 lines up and down.
HDTV depends on the spec.
480i - 640x480 pixels interlaced
480p - 640x480 pixels progressive
720p - 1280x720 pixels progressive
1080i - 1920x1080 pixels interlaced
I stole those from
this site.
A deep unwavering belief is a sure sign you're missing something...
Common man, where's your sense of adventure : )
I agree these things could happen, as they could happen with any console, but look at indrema's potential!!
I must admit, that when I heard the prices of this generation of console (~$300), I figured I wouldn't get a machine. But after hearing about indrema, I'm all hyped and ready to get one. why?
(i) Hack value!! could you imagine the stuff you can do with a modular open-source game console!!
Is it be impossible to build a PS,xbox etc emulator for indrema?... software library tweaks and upgrades, etc. I'd bet someone will have this thing running apache+php and serving websites in no time : )
(ii)Linux gaming. If indrema gets *any* support from the gaming industry ( and that depends on the support they get from us, the consumer ) then the effects will be that linux will be more support as a gaming platform. Think of something of a spill-over effect. If you're into linux gaming, you should get an indrema
(iii)By looking at the hardware specs, the indrema seems like a pretty solid game platform
Sure, it's not the *safe* platform to invest in, but think of the potential of this system.
With a little support, Indrema could do to the gaming console what linux is doing to the software industry.
PS. I am in no way affiliated with Indrema
Just learn to program, it doesn't matter on what machine. In fact it's better if you cover many different machines and types of architecture: learning only one thing in detail would be doing yourself a disservice because platforms change all the time, and skills you learn now would be irrelevant by the time you came to look for a job.
I'd start by writing a couple of different types of game (simple things, Space Invaders, Tetris, etc), on whatever platform you have at hand. Then write some other non-game stuff on some other platform. Keep coding, keep learning new languages and systems, be obsessive, and put together a nice varied showreel of your work.
The main thing is to have absolute mastery of C and C++, which you can only get by writing a large volume of code, and to be versatile enough to pick up other languages and toolsets whenever required. For example, an ideal showreel would probably include some sort of 3D demo (maybe a spaceship flying around a starfield, using OpenGL or D3D, with some nice lighting or whatever), some sort of other game-related demo (eg. pathfinding AI in a 2d tile map game), and whatever other impressive coding work you can come up with (I'd be a bit nervous about hiring someone who had _only_ ever done game stuff).
I'd forget about the Indrema, from what I see it's a kind of interesting but pointless idea since it lacks any unique reason for people to buy it (Linux doesn't count for most console users). In terms of both hardware and software it's almost identical to what you already have sitting on your desk, so just crank up gcc and get working on your OpenGL code...
--
Shawn Hargreaves (professional PS2 developer)
http://www.climax.co.uk
It's all very nice -- this Indrema stuff -- but call me a skeptic: I'll believe it when I can order it and have it in my grubby hands within 24 hours.
Until then it's all flash, no substance. Sorta like the ZapStation: an interesting machine, a pretty good price-point (although the ZapStation should be about 200 bucks cheaper), but is it available?
Not a chance.
When is the Indrema gonna ship? By Thanksgiving? HA!
By Christmas?
I doubt it.
Show me the goods. Until then? The tease is pretty damn irksome.
If you don't pretend to be anyone, are you?
DV Linux (Indrema's distro) will have a serious binary-only component which will do content management. It will certainly be non-trivial to circumvent this system - Im sure they understand the nature of the OS community which has a significant component of people who feel information ought to be free (libre&gratis). This community of hardcore first-adopters will not stand for over zealous ip-control, but no corporate entity ($ whores) will develop software for a system, marketed to the afore mentioned group, that hasnt some strong-ish method to control 'their ip' (i dont believe such a thing exists... but not the point of this article/post).
From the IDN site, to wit: The IES Digital Rights Management (DRM) system contains proprietary encryption code that protects an IES game, entertainment application, or digital media content from piracy.
When you say "certification for freeware is going to be totally unenforceable" I think we will find that this is not at all true - if Indrema does The Right Thing(TM) (which I believe they will) you will find that their is lots of Linux Apps that get 'ported' to DV Linux as long as their 'free cert' program is equally gratis/libre as the intent of OS developers.
If they dont do this - we will all be downloading XDV Linux distros and blowing DV off our beauty little boxes... ala iOpener et al.
Ok America, enough kidding around: Are you really going to continue to watch your Democracy sold to Corporate taskmasters? NO? Tomorrow do the world a favour and VOTE NADER!
the category that games that would have porn as their them on consoles would be in the AO category of rating and as of yet I havn't seen too many.
Come to think of it I havn't seen any porn related games lately for *any* system at any software shops that I frequent let alone open source ones.
Respond to s
I swear i've seen HP calculators with porn on them. It was cindy crawford to be exact.
:)
Cars: why do you think the back seats of 60's cars were so big?
space and SR71 - i'd be the first to sign up if there were a possibility
I would love to get into game programming. It is basically my life long dream job to make video games or computer games. I am still in college, but I think I know enough to make a decent game. Anyways, my question is... would it be a good idea to try and start developing for the Indrema or is there a better way to break into the business? I figure I could at least learn a few things as I go even if I never get to actually complete a real game. Just looking for some suggestions, thanks.
Even if they do manage to produce the hardware, the mass-market won't give a damn about this. Basically the major VG software manufacturers are circling their wagons around one of the big 4 (Microsoft, Sony, Nintendo, and maybe Sega) and are going to get locked down under non-comp deals, if they aren't already. So we have to believe that Indrema, who will have to sell their console at a loss to compete with the big boys and their limitless cash sinks, is still going to be able to convince an independent SW maker to:
- pay any applicable licensing,
- Take a risk on the little console that could, and
- Spend oodles promoting characters/licenses to compete with Mario/Zelda/Sonic, and the various sports licenses that sell the other consoles to the 18+ crowd?
I don't think so. I'd call it a TurboGrafx 16, if I couldn't think of a shorter lived and more ill-conceived console.As a game developer I can give my opinion. (Hopefully the other game developers around here will chip in, like John Carmack, or Corrinne Yu
The best way to break into the biz is to make a demo, a small project, or even a small game. With that last option, I'm not intentionally being recursive. I'll give a list of things one could do in the process of making a game, (you'll have to find the one you like doing) and the steps you could do to get your foot in the door.
Since you specifically said you wanted to be a game programmer, I'll list the programming options first. =P
i.e.
A.I. Put together a Quake Bot (since the rest of the game is already written & works. :-)
Gameplay. Write a mod, ala Counter-Strike, or TeamFortress. Balance it for 4, 8, 12, or even N players. Take a mod for Diablo and modify it.
Graphics. Write Pacman, an early Ultima clone, or even a 3D Engine.
Math. Write a 2D physics engine. Now make it 3D.
Art. Make a good looking low-poly char. Create some textures. Create a UT level.
Music. Write some tunes, and drop them into a game so people can see how you set the atmosphere.
The trick is to find something you enjoy doing, and put together a portfolio of your talents. (For me, it was optimizating texture mapping code, which landed me my first "real" job at EA, years ago.)
So where do Consoles fit into this?
The answer is: "Can you get all the development tools" ? Obviously you won't be able to get a PS2 SDK, so look at your options: As a student, I know it's hard to afford the full blown MS Visuall C++. Look for a "academic version." If you're running Linux, you have gcc, SDL, and other tools & libs available.
Hope this was a helpfull start.
--
"The issue today is the same as it has been throughout all history, whether man shall be allowed to govern himself or be ruled by a small elite." - Thomas Jefferson
In terms of software applications Indrema offers two separate certification programs: For Profit Certifications and Free-ware Certification
Both Certification Processes carry a one-time charge for review of each software submission. For Profit Games that will be distributed for profit will also be charged a royalty for each title sold.
I hope they are reasonable about the amount charged to GNU games built for the L600. If the charge is anything more than a token $50 or dollars who is going to develop free (gratis) games for a system that has a $ cost for certification? I hope someone from Indrema can clarify this point quickly.
I may spend some time developing apps for the IES when its available, and release them GNU/Free-Ware cert - but if Indrema asks for much in the way of a "one time charge" they are going to SERIOUSLY hinder OS developer support.
ON TUESDAY PLEASE USE THIS OPPORTUNITY TO DISRUPT THE SYSTEM OF CORPORATE IMPERIALISM, AMERICA DO THE WORLD A FAVOUR:
There are many reasons to do this, but the basic idea is that modern 3D hardware generally has features such as hardware assisted alpha blending, rotation, scaling, etc. You can snap a modern 3D API into an orthographic projection and then use textured quads for 2D tiles and sprites. Then you get all of those fancy features hardware accelerated. Often these features, even if available on the card, are not hardware accelerated through the 2D APIs (DirectDraw, DGA, whatever) and you fall back to slow software emulation modes. Perhaps this is why they didn't include a 2D specific API...
As a matter of fact, DirectX 8 won't even have an updated DirectDraw. Only Direct3D. People writing for DirectX will have to use DX7's DirectDraw through COM interfaces or use Direct3D 8 for their 2D operations (Microsoft provides a library, D3DX, that makes it quite easy to use Direct3D as a 2D rendering system).
Of course, this doesn't always make sense...If you want your 2D title to run on low end video cards, you don't really want them doing it through Direct3D or OpenGL...But on a standardized platform with fast 3D, which describes Indrema, its not really as much of an issue.
Ok, i'm sure this has been said before but open sourcing a game system is great. Beta died because everything had to be verified before it could be put out on Betamax. But VHS had no restrictions. Of course that lead to porn. But whenever there's a new technology, porn is the first to take advantage of it: movies, VHS, internet.
Anyway: "Indrema CEO John Gildred discussed the advantages of IDN and the open source nature of the Indrema Entertainment System today at 11:30 PST"
I wonder if he talks about porn being a big deal? I doubt it, but i bet you'll be finding more than 1 reason to have vibrating controllers in the future.
I feel dirty after writing that, but it's true.