FrozenHaddock

A Challenger Approaches

Hello, It's HiddenSpartan from the forums. I'll probably throw up tutorials at some point, but not right now at 4:53 AM. Bookmark and Share More »Powered by Bookmarkify™

PHP Tutorial Part II

Yeah, so, this is Part 2 of the PHP Tutorial. I just hope somebody reads it... Anyways, last time I showed you the echo statement. However, the echo statement is pretty boring on its own, because you can just type whatever it is out in the HTML document. Its usefulness will be shown in time. However, [...]

PHP Tutorial Part I

This is a colloquial PHP tutorial. You need to know the basics of HTML and how the internet works. So. PHP. Awesome. What is PHP? It stands for "PHP: Hypertext Preprocessor." It doesn't make sense when you think about it, but you can ask Wikipedia for more details. Now, we raise the question as to why [...]

If you haven’t already guessed…..

FrozenHaddock has not had ANY updates for about 2 years now. We did leave it in the hands of a few loyal community members, but with no updates at all this has not obviously worked out. So yeah, this is pretty much a post saying that FrozenHaddock is now inactive. The site will remain here and [...]

WP-Mochi

(Ok, so the post editor in Wordpress is still playing up, so apologies if this is formatted oddly) I have installed and played with Emanuele Feronato's WP-Mochi plugin/theme and you can see the results by clicking the banner above. It still needs tweaking, and I'll get back to you with a proper post on it soonish :) Bookmark [...]

HTML Basics

This is a lengthy tutorial about HTML basics. Prepare yourself. Origin HTML stands for HyperText Markup Language. That means that it's text with uncanny abilities to manipulate time and space, and present to you web pages. It's based on a tag system, like XML. Obviously, you don't see these tags everywhere; they represent content that your browser shows [...]

How to get out of a creative block

Colour by adotjdotsmith, on Flickr. We've all been there, haven't we? The need to develop, but no idea where to start. Idea count down in the region of times I've successfully run cross country without complaining (For those who even pondered that for a second, that's approximately... none), and you don't know what to do about it. Well, if you've stumbled across this post through a search engine, you've started right. Research is a great way to get ideas and get out of a creative slump. If the next time you open flash, you end up staring at a blank stage for 10 minutes, close it again. Open up your browser of choice, and surf on over to one of the larger games portals. Have a look at what's doing well right now, as well as looking at the brand new submissions. You're bound to find a feature, gameplay element, idea amongst them that you think you could apply to a new game. (Note: Don't outright copy games, but developing on ideas they've touched upon is a great way to start a new game) If you can't find anything here, why not check out some retro games? They can often be addictive, fun and easily portable to Flash. Also, try checking out some independant developer sites (Hey look, you're doing that now!) and read some game development blogs (You're doing that too, good job!). A good place to start with searching for new Flash blogs to read would be FlashGameBlogs (Another brainchild of the FGL team) Of couse, if these ideas dont' manage to get you out of your slump, try this: Close your eyes, mash the keyboard and cross your fingers. It's better than doing nothing ;)

Procrastination and Meatspace

Rails by FrozenHaddock, see more on Flickr Many apologies for the severe lack of content here recently. I can assure you, I'm not dead. To start with, I was merely a lazy teenager recently discovering *gulp* actual social interaction and taking exams, then general Meatspace issues interfered with my access to a computer with a copy of Flash. However, I have computer access now (Admittedly still no Flash, but I'm hoping to return to my trusty home machine soon) and I intend to get the blog moving again! I'm sure I own enough creativity to write without a copy of Flash for now... :) Thanks to the forum-dwellers for keeping it alive in my absence, even though we had an attack of spam. You guys rock. This post does't have much interesting, so I'll leave you with one of my photographs for now. It's a habit I've gotten from my personal blog, and I like the effect. I'll try and include at least one relevant image with each post from now on, though as this doesn't have much of a theme to it, I raided my Flickr account. I hope you don't mind. - Tom, Frozenhaddock Admin

Flash inspired music?

Remember playing Pandemic 2? Remember sitting there watching the Earth crumble before your mighty infecting powers? Remember buying a new keyboard after you hit the last one too hard after Madagascar closed it's ports for the 50th time that night? Well one person sure does. Ben Forbes: Singer songwriter, friend of mine and nerd. His latest song to be released online is all about Madagascar and their pesky ports... go and have a listen! Anyone else know of any flash-inspired music?

AS3: Avoider game, part 12, and a new project

The latest post at MichaelJWilliams' blog brings his AS3 Avoiding game tutorial to an end with part 12 ...or does it? This final segment details garbage collection, the nitty gritty part of game development that's important to you, but doesn't bother the players that much, until they notice the lag that inevitably comes from leaving each of those enemies onstage... Anywho, it's a must-read and a nice tie-up-the-loose ends post, and this series of tutorials is once of the best out there. Now, why may it not be coming to an end? Myself and Michael shall shortly be launching a new site geared around the wonderful Avoiding game, hosting both our tutorials amongst other things, and we'd love for you to get involved! Perhaps you have an avoiding game you've written and want to show it off, or you want to share the secrets to that interesting feature you've worked in, throw us an email or hit me up in the comments for this post and we'll get back to you. Stay tuned for more information :)