Plan for Ryan Ackley

After a 3 month stint as a php/mysql intern programmer, its back to school for my seinor year as an undergrad. Yeah, well, that means a smaller paycheck but more time to have my IDE compiling new builds of the TGE. Anyhow, as this isnt a blog, heres the real meat-and-potatoes of this .plan:

Ive cleaned out all my old projects and posted a fresh one. Er, well, For Hire had been previously posted, as i had the idea quite some time ago, but only recently have i had time to really work on the game design. Working 50 hour weeks as an intern kinda sucks the fun out of programming. Im hoping For Hire will bring JKAP Games some notierity, and help me land a job in the industry after i get my degree. My idea with For Hire is to initially release a map or two with the binary, and then release a mission or two every month or so, continuing the story. This would allow me to take the XP methodology and apply it to games (test early, relese often) and have continued interest in the story that people will (hopefully) find interesting. Its like the shorts they used to show in movie theatres (Will superman save the day? find out next week...). Anyhow, if this idea sounds completly bonkers, will someone let me know so i dont invest too much time in something that nobody will download...

Oh, and all the missions and binaries will be free. Coz im kind of crazy like that.

Oh, and has anybody Gotten the bravetree packs? Specifically the Car pack? I'm looking to put a few cars (As get-away vehicles, perhaps) and im wondering if they are worth the bones, i figure the 20 or whatever it costs is worth more than the many hours i would spend recreating the behaviors they have designed. That is, unless it sucks hard. The big question is, does it have a hand/emergency break and the skidding action? thats like key and nobody has focused on it... how any driving game can get away without one is beyond me...

Also, Can anybody clue me in as to the state of AI in TGE? As i spend the past 3.5 months locked in a dungeon, writing php, and the few months before that trying to get an internship, i havent been following the posts, and the threads can sometimes drive me insane trying to follow them. I know AI is possible, i worked on some basic pathing and such about a year ago, but school and women and booze got in the way, and this fall its back to basics.

Wow, this .plan is rambling. I thought it wasnt a blog...

Anyhow, if you've read this far, i feel your pain, but thanks for any feed back on the topics covered here.

Ryan '[nb]Caffeine' Ackley
JKAP Games