E! True ZX Games Story: Boulder Dash
Boulder Dash, released
in 1984,
is in no way balderdash. Please do not take
the "we do not like pun"
high horse here as in terms
of this article
it has
to do
with the history of invention.
Here is couple of quick facts about
the Boulder
Dash story:
*
Peter Liepa, who is credited as the game creator, studied Physics just like Douglas Smith (
http://www.zxgames.com/en/loderunnerstory.shtml).
* Unlike Lode
Runner's creator, Peter did not become quick- and super-rich.
So, here is the story
* Game Inventors: Peter Liepa, Chris Gray
* Occupation at the time of invention: Peter Liepa - unemployed; Chris Gray - unknown
* Location at the time of invention: Canada.
The game concept and its realization seem
to be simple (at least in terms of modern technologies). However Boulder Dash's cookbook is composed of one man's versatile interests and another man's idea.
Fascination
with animation
Born in 1953 in Ottawa, as
a kid Peter aspired
to be an animator or special effects designer
on the one side, and a particle physicist on the other. He had to drop the latter as he found it too practical and
fuzzy and thought
there was vague future
for particle Physics.
The incentive for animation, on the other hand, lived with Peter until there was the right time to let it out.
Fascination with computers
When in high school, Peter was sent to the National Research Council of Canada for a week as part of an internship program. He had to
work in a physics lab, Peter's supervisor had a shiny new Wang Calculator and it arrested the young intern's attention. In the same week all interns
were taken on a tour of the Council's
computer center. Amazed by what he saw, Peter asked to spend the rest of his internship time there. At the computer center there was an interactive
terminal, which in those days was something similar to Teletype or IBM Selectric hooked up to a central mainframe. Peter quickly learned to program it, but after the end of week's internship there was no opportunity to study computers for a long time. In those days, the concept of personal computers was unimaginable.
Peter started off in Physics in university, but soon switched to math. His summer jobs
were in computer programming, and he spent a
lot of time playing
early things like Conway's Game of Life, which printed results on paper and had not digital screen whatsoever.
Fascination with human nature
After graduating in math, Peter drifted around studying subjects like human memory and perception. He received a master's degree in Control Theory. Both Control Theory and knowledge of human nature are another key points in what was later to become the cult game.
Another man's idea
When Peter was in his late twenties, he visited a friend of his, who was deeply into electronic toys and had a large screen TV and an Atari 400. Peter spent several evenings playing games, and then had a "I can do this" flash. He went
out and bought an Atari 800 to start writing games. But rather than just starting to write a
game, Peter thought it would be prudent to contact a local game publisher to see what sort of game might be in demand.
The publisher put Peter in touch with Chris Gray, who had submitted a game in Basic, but did not have the skills to convert it into machine language. The game was similar to an arcade game called The Pit, but after examining it more, Peter found that the game had very few game play
variations - too much of it was predetermined.
The development
Not satisfied with Chris' game algorithm, Peter started playing with
basic elements of dirt, rocks and
jewels and within a couple of days had built the basic "physics engine" of what was to become Boulder Dash. He realized that using a random number generator one could generate random caves, and that by controlling the density of rocks and jewels one could get some interesting game play. The game play fascinated not only from a puzzle standpoint, but it also appealed to various emotional drives - the obvious psychotic ones like greed (collecting jewels), destructiveness (dislodging rocks and killing fireflies) and the neurotic ones like cleaning all the dirt out of a cave.
Chris and Peter lived quite far apart, so that their meetings were infrequent and involved a long drive.
It turned out quite quickly that their design goals and methods were fairly incompatible. Peter was developing a game quite different from Chris' original, and did so just about completely on his own. Peter
designed all of the elements, physics, caves, the game play, the graphics, the music, and the title. Chris helped out with a few odds and ends - he suggested, for example, how to make the graphics for the game title by composing big letters out of the Atari character graphics. In the end, there was a lot of debate as to how exactly Chris should be credited and what his share of royalties should be.
The working title of the game for a long time was
Cavern Raider, and several other
variants like Cavern Crystals. Eventually Peter came up with the name Boulder Dash, which is a takeoff on the word balderdash. Coincidentally, a board game named Balderdash was also published in 1986.
The game's main character - Rockford.
Originally, in the early physics engine stage, Rockford was just a static shape similar to a cross. When one
moved the shape, it dug through the earth and absorbed
jewels. In fact, the graphics were very simple, and elements were all single characters in a 24x40 character
display. There was no scrolling in the early versions of the game. It was Chris who suggested that the digging shape should be a "man", and together they came up with a simple human shape. When Peter showed an early version of the game to a potential publisher, they pointed out the "the man" was way too small and needed to be a more
recognizable character. But it was not possible to make "the man" more prominent without making everything larger as well. So this was where the hard work began of converting the game from one that
ran on a 24x40 character display to one that scrolled over a much larger region.
Now that the game elements were bigger, Peter was able to add much more detail, including making "the man" more recognizable. He built a character editor to work out the pixels and the animation. It was at this point that the Rockford character took shape. Rockford was not supposed to be any particular kind of human or animal, he just evolved in the pixel editor. Since Peter used to be interested in animation, he worked out the character to make Rockford blink his eyes and tap his feet. This was an innovation that added a lot of depth to the character.
The result
Overall, it took Peter about 6 months to finish the first version of Boulder Dash with no more than 2 hours of actual work per day.
Even though Boulder Dash was finished in half a year, it took another six months to find a publisher and work out a publication agreement. By this time Peter was already full time
employed at a company that developed word processing software.
And so, the rest is history - Boulder Dash was eventually published by First Star in 1984 and was an instant bestseller.
Having survived for over two decades on the market, the game is still here to fascinate us.
You are always welcome play our remake of Boulder Dash (
http://www.zxgames.com/en/boulderdash.shtml), which is as close to the original as possible and needs no emulators to run.
Where is Chris Gray now?
We have no idea.
Where is Peter Liepa now?
Peter works in software development at a company named Alias, which produces 3D software for design and entertainment.
Mikhail Zhilkin of ZX Games (Sales, Support and Public Relations). Apart from being ZX Games founder, Mikhail is doing his post-graduate study in Physics, lives in Tokyo, Japan and expresses his extreme
pacifism by not doing compulsory military service in his home country. Mikhail enjoys playing soccer and ZX Spectrum games.
Why My Puppy Bites
Many
people try to find
solutions to
problems without even knowing
what causes
the problem. Dog owners are
no different;
they try to stop
their puppies from
biting without
the knowledge of why the
puppy is biting. "For
every action there is
an equal and opposite
reaction Isaac Newtons third law of
motion. Everything happens for
a purpose and
a reason and dog biting is
no exception. Puppies
will bite and if you keep a
close eye on
your new pet you
can learn why they bite.
The most common cause of
puppy biting is the result of teething. Puppies will
teeth between 4 to
6 months
with a maximum age of 10
months. It is a very painful stage for young
pups so they bite to sooth their gums around their new teeth. Their jaws are also weak which limits the
amount of force needed to bite so they compensate by gnawing. So with a combination of a weak jaw and sharp needle point teeth the developing puppy will inflict numerous play bites as a feedback mechanism to determine the force of their bites which will also
strengthen their jaws as they grow.
The more opportunities your puppy has to play bite with other people, dogs, and other animals the greater the chance your dog will bite as an adult.
The responsibility of teaching bite
inhibition lays with you the owner.
Another very important factor is socialization. A lack of socialization with puppies between the age of
3 weeks to 3 months with people and other dogs can lead to growling and ultimately
biting, Apart from teething and socialization, be aware that puppies explore objects in their environment, they
not like us they have paws and not hands so they use their mouths to
do their exploration.
As a responsible dog owner do not tolerate aggressive behavior from either a puppy or an adult dog. Also never
lose sight in the fact that dogs do
what they
feel is correct no matter what the situation. In order to avoid biting and behavior
problems it is best to prevent them from forming.
Copyright Bryan Collins -
http://puppytrainingpro.blogspot.com
Experiencing A Great Golf Game
Although
great deal
of interest has been recently directed to
the amazing game
of golf, as in all things in life,
golf does maintain
a fair part
of its own mystery
and does indeed entail change
and progress.
For example,
the origin of golf is still open to debate among Chinese, French,
Dutch and Scottish, while
the golf course has not always had eighteen holes.
Whether people
will one day agree on who invented golf first or decide to add more holes on
the golf's playground is a matter of time and interest. But, what golf professionals, fans, and spectators in general, undoubtedly attest is golf is an excellent game to exercise
the human body and mind.
In fact, the most crucial aspects of the golf swing and the game, in general, all revolve around the building of a strong and
solid foundation fro the body, the
mind and the basics of an athletic
swing. Specifically, the most important concepts that play a critical role in our understanding of what creates a
great round of golf, as
well as to what contributes to a lifetime of enjoyment of the game,
are stamina, stability, strength, flexibility, spirit, sequence and skill.
Although many golfers tend to ignore the cardiovascular element of golf, the great American golf championship Tiger Woods has stated that fatigue
can affect
one's focus and cause the player to make a bad decision. If one
considers in addition to this comment that golf walkers cover approximately a distance of 4-5 mile in each round, staying in shape is as important as knowing how to golf.
Then, a golfer has to think
about stability. Developing
strength from the core region of the body outwards, allows forces to be
transferred successfully from one's feet to
his arms and thus to his ball swing. Finding and practicing on keeping a specific posture,
stabilize one's trunk and joints, can separate the good from the great golf player. More
specifically, strength comes in many forms with regard to the golf swing. Exercising and developing strong back muscles allow the golfer to exercise greater forces on a swing.
In fact, experts support that combined muscle strength produces balance and coordination.
Of course, flexibility is perhaps the most crucial physical characteristic a golfer must possess, as it directly influences a golf swing. Maintaining a tight body might result in a
restricted swing
motion and produce less that optimal results. Keeping a flexible body posture, while being firm and confident is a goal few golf players in the history of golf have managed to attain. Directly
affected by the flexibility factor, a true understanding of proper body motion at each sequence will ensure consistency in one's swing. Essentially, it is the goal of every golfer to
manage to develop and maintain a fluid, but
repeatable golf swing. But apart from the necessary golf practice, developing good swing mechanics requires the presence of skill. Considered as an absolute necessity, in every sport, skill
cannot be underestimated.
Finally, a golfer should keep in mind that a winning and positive attitude is everything in this game. As in every
competitive game, what one thinks, says or how one selects to act can contribute positively or negatively to the game's outcome. Keeping a positive and hopeful spirit when playing golf can be one of
those things that will lead
you to victory.
Kadence Buchanan writes articles for
http://parorbetter.com/ - In addition, Kadence also writes articles for
http://sportsoftheworld.net/ and
http://universeofentertainment.com/.
Home Beginners Beware! Everybody Wants You To Think Working At Home Is Easy...All You Have To Do Is "Spend Your Money" And You'll Be Super Rich!!
There have always been 4 basic ways in which
a Home Based Beginner could make
money online
from their
Business website and if you want to Work From Home it is vital you make
the right choice.
Which one you decided to choose will make
the difference between Home Based Business Success
and Home Business misery. If you are already skilled
your path to success may be a little easier but Home Based Beginners have no chance
of success
by just Jumping in
the deep end.
Most Internet Beginners start out with a rough idea
of what Home Business
Venture they want to get involved
in, but
the truth is, very few people actually
know what they are doing.
And That Is Why Over 95% Of Home Based Business Beginners Fail Before They Even Start. And Of Those People Who Last Their First YearLess Than 3% Will Ever Make Any real money!
Which one of the 4 ways you choose will depend on
your knowledge, your experience and your Business background. But be absolutely sure that you cannot make it alone and you cannot find Success without the right knowledge.
How
successful you become is dependant on many things, but one thing is
for sure
Choose The Wrong One
For You, And
You Will Spend Everyday Wishing You Were Back In Work Earning A wage!!
1. You could sell your own products from a Home Business website.
2. You could sell Other Peoples Products on your website.
3. You could sell Banner Advertisements to other
website companies.
4. You could show
banner ads from one of the many advertising networks on your Home Business website.
Each One Of The Above Require A Lot Of Time And Dedication. Some Methods Require A Great Deal Of Knowledge And Luck. I Dont Believe In Luck And Neither Should You!! Especially When Youre Financial Future Hangs In The Balance.
Selling your Own Products is by far the hardest and most time consuming way to make
money online. If you have
dreams of selling Physical products you will have to work 7 days a week.
The rewards are potentially massive if you know youre Niche and if you have a strong grip on the competition but remember, selling your own products from a Home Business is a
24 hour job if youre looking for genuine financial results.
Selling Other Peoples Products is a relatively easy procedure to
follow as long as youve spent a good amount of time researching the company and the products youre aiming to promote
or Presell then the Financial rewards can be staging!
There are
some very Essential Rules you must learn to master before you begin to understand the
skills involved in Preselling other website products but it is not difficult to learn and is one of the most stress free and rewarding ways to make money online.
You Take NO FINANCIAL Risks What-So-Ever When You Presell Other Peoples Products And You Could Be Making Money In Less Than
24 Hours!!
The risks are far less than if you were selling your own products and the rewards can be just as good. Working from home should not be a 24 hour day and should definitely not be stressful!
There are some pitfalls when you sell other peoples products or services from your own website and getting paid can be a real burden if you dont
spend enough time Researching the Affiliate Program you are thinking of promoting.
Selling banner advertisements and using your website to promote banner advertisements is the hardest way to earn money as a Work At Home Entrepreneur. If you are
an Internet Beginner the
task will seem almost impossible. It is a
never ending task of chasing and
Researching. Unless youre skilled, I would advise you to stay well away. If youre just starting out on the road to internet success I would recommend you keep things simple. Advertising can be a cut throat business.
But Its Not All Gloom And Doom For The BeginnerOr the UnskilledOr Those People Who Have No Idea What They Want To Do There Is A New Way To Make Money And All You Have To Do Is Learn To Write!!
The Internet has been moving at a speed which is faster than a speeding rocket and thankfully for all us work at home business people, the internet is fast becoming the Only Place To Be!
With The Introduction Of Goggle Adwords and Goggle Adsence the Work At Home Revolution Is At The Very Beginning Of A Very Profitable Golden Journey To Success.
All you have to
do is jump on board, read the rule book and hold on for the ride of your life. I kid you not!! There has never been a better time to find genuine success from a Home Based Business than there is RIGHT NOW.
There has never been an easier,
safer way for you to make money from the comfort of your own computer chair. You wont need to spend your savings and you wont have to wait to get paid.
All You Have To Do Is Provide The Search Engines With The Content They Need To Keep The Web Surfers Happy And Let Goggle Do The Rest!!
You wont have to package any products, youll spend zero time answering emails and if you want to work out the back in the sunshine with your laptop, thats
cool too!
And thats the beauty of Working From
Home. All you have to do is write about your passion or your hobby or even your skills. The
more you research and write the more potential you have for earning more money.
The more money you earn, the more youll want to write and the better your home business website will stand out. The more your online business stands out, the better youre Search Engine ranking.
The more you impress the Search Engine Spiders the more money youll earn. Its a great circle and none of it is
vicious! The only risk you
take is giving up some time to concentrate on living the DREAM in real time instead of when youre sleeping!
Start
Your Journey To Home Based Millionaire Today! Do Not Put It Off And Do Not Think Its Just A Dream. It Is As
Real As Monday Morning For Millions Of Unhappy Working People!!
If you need more time to convince yourself at the EASE at which you can achieve Home Based Business Success then I suggest you go to
http://Honest-HomeBusiness.comJohn Adams has been a Successful Home Based Business Entrepreneur since 1987 with more Business Ventures than you can shake a stick at!
Bad Behavior Or Bad Breath Why Is Your Dog Chewing The Table Leg?
I once
knew a man who gave away
his border collie because
the dog chewed on his furniture while
he was at work. The dogs second family discovered the pooch had bleeding gums
and two rotten teeth. Their vet removed the two bad teeth
and cleaned the rest.
While they were
prepared to bring
in an obedience trainer, they didnt have to because the dog never chewed up anything again.
When
a dog
that never used to chew things starts chewing, its a good idea to let a veterinarian rule out physical problems, such
as teeth
and gum problems. You and I know how
awful a tooth ache can be how we
press the side of our face, against the offending tooth to relive pain? Since dogs cant do that, they may chew on something hard, like the leg of a chair, to help relieve the pain. Sometimes there really
are medical reasons
for bad behavior
that dog
training isnt
going to fix.
Poor oral condition in dogs and
cats can lead to heart and kidney disease, as well as painful tooth aches,
or gum disease. According to the American Veterinary Medical Association, oral disease is the No. 1 health problem diagnosed in dogs and cats! But
if you follow the steps below, you'll increase
your pet's chances of a lifetime of healthy, pearly whites:
1. At least once a year, make an appointment with your veterinarian
for an exam and dental cleaning if necessary and schedule follow-ups if you
discover swollen gums.
2. Develop an at-home dental care routine that includes a nutritious
diet and
yes, regular brushing. While its best to start when they are young, with patience and persistence on your part, even an older animal can
get used to having their teeth brushed and they may even enjoy the extra
attention. And nix the table
scraps they cause plaque
build up.
If, after devoting attention to your
pets oral health needs, you find the
chewing continues, then you have a behavioral problem and youll
want to seek professional help. To learn
more, visit http://www.ezniche.com/data/article.php?l=83.
Patricia Collier is owner of
http://FloridaPets.net which offers pet-friendly information to Florida residents and
visitors, including where to vacation, play, dine, live and more. Copyright 2006.
What's Your Motive In Giving To God?
Rush hour commutes, soccer practice for
the kids, extra
work from the office and the everyday demands
of live in a culture awash in activities and time demands
is posing a serious dilemma for churches across the country.
People are
so busy that
they simply don't have time to serve on
church committees or work in church service projects.
How much do you care about the church?
About Gods people? How much
of your time
is spent helping
givingpraying for your church?
A lot of
people give money to the church but much less
give themselves.
There are a lot of reasons that move people to give to the
church. I know that
some people give
as a write-off so that they will get a break on the taxes they pay to the government. If that
is your only motive for giving, it is not a proper one.
A tax write-off is just not enough. That is not going to help you any with God.
Some people give to the church to gain a reputation for giving.
The
Bible truth of the matter is that God
really isn't interested in our
money. Oh, don't get me wrong. The Bible says we are supposed to give. But it's our
heart condition that God is most interested in.
In fact, even more
than money, he wants us to give our time, our prayers and our service to the institution he's created to be his hands and feet on this earth: The church.
There are Bible stories galore about the consequences of not supporting the church.
It is striking that the
very first
death recorded in the church occurred when a couple, Ananias and Sapphira, decided they would gain a reputation for giving that they did not
really deserve.
In the fifth chapter of Acts we read that other people
were giving property. This couple
thought they would get in on the honor and prestige that was being heaped on those who generously gave, so they gave
some of the proceeds from
tome land they
sold. But they pretended that they gave
all of it when they really did not.
When the Holy Spirit dealt with that hypocritical kind of giving he dealt very severely with it.
Some people give
because they were afraid of dying and they want to make Brownie points with God.
There have been people who give hundreds of thousands of dollars because they
felt it would help them in
their standing before God at the judgment seat. But they were not giving to help the cause of God or the church.
They gave because they thought they could
buy Gods favor.
All these are wrong motives.
When it
comes to giving, motive is more important than the amount.
God is not so interested in how much you give the church, but why you give. Do you love the church?
Thats the example we have from Christ.
More than 24 million
seniors collectively
volunteer 6 billion
hours each year in the United States. Researchers at the University of Michigan recently discovered that the survival rate of seniors who volunteered 40 or more hours a year for a single cause was 40 percent greater than that of non-volunteers.
"Seniors who volunteer say it improves their health, life satisfaction, and social well-being," says Donna Thurmond, director of Senior Services for Volunteers of America.
So helping
others and serving as Jesus commands us to do is not only a good thing to
do, it's good for us.
In fact, we were all created with a
desire to serve. That's why it feels so good when we do so, because it's
what we were made to do.
But the real reason we serve is because that is what Jesus did. that's the example he lefty us in the Bible.
We know it as the Golden Rule: Do unto others as you'd have them do to you.
Mike Fletcher publishes the Online Christian Shopper (
http://www/onlinechristianshopper.com) Christian clothing and jewelry Web site
