A while back I kinda started to write a blog about my job and stuff I do there but some how there is not always enough stuff to write about, so I thought why not write about more stuff then just work. Below is the first none work related entry I did and it is about games and what I learned from playing them and the 'work' that came from that (entropia planets). --- Like many people my age I started playing video games at a young age. I remember my first computer being an MSX, which had a cassette tape drive and a slot for a game cartridge of which a friend of mine had 1. These were all simple game compared to today’s standards. Slowly the computers got better and games got more complex and better looking (not sure if they also became better games) and I of course followed that trend. NES 8bit (The Legend of Zelda), SEGA Megadrive (Sonic the Hedgehog) at a friends place, 386 PC (Dune), 486 PC (Command & Conquer – Red Alert), Pentium 4 (Need for Speed) with nice graphics, Core2Duo (The Elder Scrolls – Oblivion) with even better graphics up until the Quad-core with about the best graphics you can think of right now (Watchdogs) to name just a few of the computers and just a fraction of the games. A lot of people will either have taken about the same path or have taken the console path (PlayStation or Xbox). [more...]
I've learned a lot from videogames. I started in 1986 with a C64 and was in the comfortable situation to own a disk drive right from the start - 1548, device #8 - if I remember right ;-) The main goal was to help out the opposition in the former GDR - East Germany - with printing and duplicating documents of political content. OMG! I got a handscanner and this exciting "Printfox"-modul! I was able to make layouts in complete DIN A4 format with graphic-circumfleating text! Printed in black with some "Star" 8 needles printer - LOL! Of course I used my soldering-iron to put a reset-button to my "Brotkasten"! Parallel I got a fully functional 3D-design-software: GigaCAD++. Unbelievable, but true: I made my first 3D design AND ANIMATION-VIDEO! (24 frames, resolution ~150x80 pixel - don't remember exactly) on a C64! THAT WAS THE KICK! Finally it was the computer wich gave a chance to my kids to grow up and learn to live with and use computers. So - of course - we had games. Frogger, Boulderdash, Defender of the Crown and such. Later Lucas Arts popped up with Maniac Mansion, Monkey Island, Indiana Jones and The DIG. I don't remember when it happened exactly, but one day I got Tomb Raider. Guess what: Lara Croft's arse was THE BURNER! Was that Win95? Guess so. Latest at this point I was addicted to video-games of different kind. In 2005 I ended up at Entropia Universe for some wired reasons. But okay, I was working with serious software meanwhile (3D Studio Max, SolidWorks, Rhino 3D). I made 3D-Computeranimations and game-storybords during the past. I got permission by MA to grab the original 3D-geometry from the game and use it for private purpose. A friend in Austria made some attempts to print RL-3D-models from that. Didn't work very good. I had some attempts to bring some 3D-models to RL and got my own "Hobby"-3D-printer meanwhile. Finally all the accumulated know-how lead to be able to design the apartment-towers for Akoz' Monria. That's a part I am really proud on. At the other hand I left Entropia Universe meanwhile and enjoy Skyrim instead of. Really better graphic and "Ulla Nova" looks much better than "Jamira" ;-) But it's a long and good story of learning and handling 3D-issues.
