Gundam v1.0.6 beta

It was said, "It couldn't be done..." It was said, "Technology isn't upto the job..." It was said, "You want me to suck what?!"
But here it is ... the worlds first 2D shoot'em up written in pure Java!

Gundam v1.0.6 beta

Yes, Gundam is an arcade game written in 100% pure Java.

After becoming tired of designing n-tier enterprise architectures and developing server side EJBs, JSPs, Servlets, etc... I thought I'd try my hand at something a little different - a horizonally scrolling arcade shoot'em up!

How much does it cost?

Gundam is FREE!! It is free to download, distribute and destroy as you please. In fact, I'll even throw in the source code! What more could you ask for?

Where did Gundam originate from?

Gundam was originally a Japanese cartoon series about giant robots in space! Cool huh? And I honestly don't know anything more than that! Oh and me mate bought me a cool Mobile Suit Gundam DeathScythe action figure for Christmas!

I got the name 'Gundam' from the name of sprite that's since become the main character in the game. I just thought it sounded cool, I didn't know it had such a huge following as it does! Check out the Gundam Offical site for more details.

The game's fantastic! What's next?

Well, I'm afraid that's all folks!

No seriously, that's it! It's hard to say but I've lost interest in Gundam for now. There are lots of reasons, I'll list a couple of them:

• Sun's dissapointing implmentation of the accelerated images means that the game speed is far too slow and will remain so until they update their API (OK, so I have thought about reducing the screen size to 320x200 but man that's small!).
• Lack of graphics. To get a consistant look and feel, all the graphics need to be produced from the same artist. Ripping different pictures from the internet just doesn't cut it!
• Bizzare sound problems. On my development machine I always get a severe lag between playing a sound effect and hearing it. It's like watching a badly dubbed film!?

On a more positive note, I started the project to prove my worth (did I mention I just became a Sun Certified Programmer for the Java 2 platform - 96% !?) and because I had time on my hands. You never know I may just get bored again, 'cos I've still got a lot of idea's in my head!