Uniform Resource Locators

By Jim Straus, URLs@mactech.com

Don’t hesitate to notify me at URLs@MacTech.com of any sites that you think would be of interest! As always, the full list is maintained on-line at http://www.mactech.com/URLs.html.

Web Watch

December is the time of holidays, so appropriately, we will look at games and tools for developing games. Games are often the leading edge of applications. They drive graphic requirements, sound requirements, responsiveness, and even user interface. A game has to be intuitive in its use, and seamless in its action. Also, some of the tightest code can be found in games as their developers try to squeak out that last little bit of performance. This column will give you a leg up on the competition building the next blockbuster game.

Jeremy Vineyard has put together a very nice site of information useful to game developers. He has included several useful pages including tips and techniques, graphics and design, and music. Jeremy is also looking for support for the site. If you can help, contact him.

Butterscotch http://www.viperware.com/butterscotch/

Jumbo has been mentioned as a site with multiple resources. In one area, they have games to download. In another area, they have information for developers. Their source library contains many games from Chess to asteroid games. There are also sources to 3D and sprite engines that could be the basis for your own games. If you want to see how some of the freeware games were developed, this library should be of assistance.

Jumbo (games) http://www.jumbo.com/pages/games/mac/

Jumbo (sources) http://www.jumbo.com/pages/programming/mac/development/source/

Apple’s game developer suite, Sprockets, has an abundance of good materials all bundled together. It has been mentioned before, but it is still a great resource for game developers. At the Sprockets web site, you will find information on network games, Quickdraw 3D, sound, input libraries, and more. They have also started to include links to other sites to help developers using Sprockets.

Sprockets http://dev.info.apple.com/games/

Happy Puppy is a site devoted to games. They have now introduced a section for game developers. Included are multiple links that would help a budding (or experienced) game developer. If you just like playing games, check out the main Happy Puppy site.

Happy Puppy Game Devel. http://www.happypuppy.com/games/devel/

If you find that one of your games is having problems, you should check out this site of many game upgrades and patches. Even if you’re not having trouble, you might want the latest version of your game. There are patches and upgrades for all platforms, not just the Mac, and fixes for a number of bugs.

Game Patches http://www.cdrom.com/~mr2/

Every game developer needs to keep up on their game playing skills. Here are a few sites with some of the best freeware and shareware games. You will also find demo versions for many commercial games.

Mac Shareware Games http://www.astro.psu.edu/users/carkner/mac.html

The Game Place http://www.melis.com/gamesplace/macgames.html

Finally, check out stroyWeb. Josie Bloom has gone out and found various stories (mysteries, romances, SF, comedy, horror, etc.) and written reviews and summaries. It is one way to idle away some time while on the web.

StoryWeb http://www.storyweb.com/cgi-bin/bestguml/homepage

Thanks this month to Josie Bloom, Spec Bowers, Harold Halbleib, Jeremy Vineyard, and many others for their contributions, their suggestions and pointers to both new and old sites.

Quickies

Internet Related

MacOS Java Runtime http://www.devtools.apple.com/mrj/

MFC (formerly Project X) http://mcf.research.apple.com/

Other Programmer Resources

Butterscotch http://www.viperware.com/butterscotch/

Happy Puppy Game Dev. http://www.happypuppy.com/games/devel/

Vendors, Products and Miscellaneous

Bowers Devel. (AppMaker) http://members.aol.com/bowersdev

Excel Software http://www.excelsoftware.com

MacInTouch http://www.macintouch.com/