Android + UNITY + Ouya + Eclipse

My go-to IDE for everything for the past 5 years has been Netbeans, so to switch to Eclipse is something new for me. But, Eclipse is insanely popular, so there’s got to be a good reason for it.

Google seems to love it, too, and it’s always great to be in tune with them. I used to develop stuff for the Google App Engine and it was the same thing as it is with Android this go-around: if you didn’t use Eclipse, it was a bugger to get going. Relying on a third-party plugin from Kenai to access a closed system was just too much of a reach-around and I got out of there.

So, Eclipse. Excited.

Why Android? Well, this recent hullabaloo about Ouya has got me excited. I’ve been toying with game development now for years and after completing a few games in the past few Ludum Dare/7dfps/Guelph Game Jams, I can safely say that the idea of getting my games up on the TV screen with a controller turns my crank.

It was the same thing the first time I played BastardBlaster (my html5/javascript shmup) on the Wii, using the Wii browser and Wiimote. I loved it and wanted to have more.

Playing games on a PC/laptop is just not the same as on a console. Don’t get me wrong, I’ve got hundreds of PC games and love them dearly. But, there’s something special about a controller in your hands and a big TV screen in front.

I’m looking now through the Youtubes and Googles for Android development stories, tips, tricks, hints, tutorials, cautions, etc. If you’ve got experience in this area and would like to share your story, I’d love to read it.

Whatever happened to Virtual Reality?

Am I the only late-20-something that’s sorely disappointed that Virtual Reality has basically dropped off the face of the planet?

When I was young, Virtual Reality was supposed to be the “next big thing.” And for a while, it was. I played Dactyl Nightmare with the best of them on a Virtuality machine in a mall in Port Huron and anxiously awaited any tidbit of news to come from Atari about their Jaguar 3D headset.

Then, all of a sudden, VR disappeared.

I think it’s because of the Virtual Boy. I really liked that system, but I guess at the time it made a bunch of people sick and companies got scared to try it again.

Here’s what I want:

  1. A lightweight, high-resolution, full-vision 3D display headset with built-in (at least Stereo) sound. If it needs to take advantage of dual-header DVI graphics cards, so be it.
  2. Two Nintendo PowerGlove-ish devices that let me manipulate objects in 3D.

Can you do it for cheap?

Does anyone know of a high-quality headset like the one described above? Let me know in the comments!

As far as the gloves… I was thinking about getting 10 Nintendo Wii controllers and removing and then mounting the IR units on the tips of my fingers. Take advantage of the many open-source Wii controller drivers around the net to build a PC joystick driver that can work in engines like Torque.

I often fool around with 3D tools like blender and Torque Construction Set. I get frustrated at the interface with my computer. Not only is any size screen too small, a mouse and a flat 2D display just can’t manipulate the objects fast enough. I want to use my hands, damnit!

Just think of how cool it would be to wave your hand and have a forest grow behind it or earth raise into a mountain. The Matrix, here we come!