Smalltalk contract work

Looking forward, I'll have some time available between now and the end of the year to take on other projects.  If anyone is interested in contracting some work to Simberon let me know.  Simberon specializes in Smalltalk software development (VisualWorks, ObjectStudio, VA Smalltalk and GemStone).  Services include:

• Version upgrades
• Custom software development
• Tracking down difficult bugs
• Mobile application development on Android and iOS in VisualWorks Smalltalk
• Instructor-led Training
• Introduction to Smalltalk
• Advanced VisualWorks Topics
• Design Patterns
• Improving Object Oriented Design

Contact me at info@simberon.com if there are any services you would like.

Sea Turtle Rescue

I've been a bit quiet about my game recently.  It's not because I'm not working on it - I am.  It's that I'm changing the game around so much that I have to get my head around it.

I'm in the process of transforming the game to a new theme and new title.  I've hired an animator and graphics artist to do artwork for me.

The new game will be "Sea Turtle Rescue". The goal of each level of the game is to hatch sea turtle eggs and guide the sea turtles into the ocean.  The basic mechanics will be the same as HexSolve but the graphics and animation will all change.

Tiles in the board will become tiles covered with sand.  The target will become a sea turtle egg.  When you make a sequence (a path) from 1 up to the tile with the egg, the egg will hatch and a sea turtle will emerge.  The sea turtle will shuffle down the path you built (in reverse order: eg. 4, 3, 2, 1) until it gets to the 1 tile where it will drop into the ocean below.

I'll be adding sound and music to the game to add an extra ambiance.

I like the new theme much more than the strict mechanical puzzle theme of HexSolve.  It gives a nice purpose for the game and an interesting theme.  I'll try to keep you posted as we make progress.

Native development of mobile games

When I tell people that I'm developing mobile games in VisualWorks Smalltalk, they often look at me quizzically and ask why. It's hard to explain the advantages of using Smalltalk when the game needs to run on a mobile device with only a serial interface connected to my own low-level debugger.

I've now broken through that barrier. I can now run the code natively in a VisualWorks development environment.

This is my game running inside a VisualWorks window on a Windows 10 laptop. The Smalltalk code is virtually identical to the Smalltalk code that runs on the mobile device. The only differences are in the low-level interfaces to the file system, the FreeType library and OpenGL.

This is a game changer for me. I now have access to the full Smalltalk development environment including the inspectors, the debugger, condition breakpoints and the ability to change code while the game is running.

Now I feel like my decision to use Smalltalk will pay off in spades.