Stephen Calender Programming Blog


Preventing Defects And Defensive Programming

Tags: Filament Games, Game Development, Opinion.

As programmers, we can embed fail-safes into our code. In essence, we get decide what failure looks like. Full Article

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Features that add Value

Tags: Filament Games, Opinion.

When I provide insight into game development, instead of talking about specific games, the conversation revolves around the building blocks of games we call features. Through analyzing the atomic elements of games and how they can be combined and work together, we hope to learn generic lessons that can be applied to all games. Full Article

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Future-proofing Your Project

Tags: Filament Games, Opinion.

Technology is an ever-changing landscape. There are constant stories about the death of platforms, new ‘game-changing’ software or hardware, and wild successes or tragic failures for seemingly arbitrary reasons. Let’s explore how you can mitigate those risks and develop a project that has a lifespan measured in years. Full Article

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Taking Your Game From Version 1.0 to 2.0

Tags: Filament Games, Opinion.

I have written about the importance of considering content and cost during the early stages of project development, and provided a broad overview of what to expect during the production process. Now that you’ve officially launched the game, you may be considering taking your project to version 2.0. Full Article

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HTML5 and WebGL

Tags: Filament Games, HTML5, Opinion.

WebGL, like HTML5, is an agreed upon standard that browser software will support. It is based on OpenGL, which is the most widely adopted graphics standard in computing. This means that instead of relying on plug-ins, modern browsers can support rich content and advanced features without installing additional software. Specifically, WebGL allows for hardware accelerated graphics in an HTML5 canvas. Full Article

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Applying Assessment Strategies to Popular Games

Tags: Filament Games, Opinion.

In a previous article I talked about assessment strategies in games. Throughout that article I discussed games in a very abstract sense using examples of Filament Games’ work. In this article I’m going to assign assessment strategies to some of the most popular games ever made. Full Article

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5 Assessment Strategies in Learning Games

Tags: Filament Games, Opinion.

Every game we create at Filament Games is specifically tailored to meet pre-determined learning objectives. With this commitment to achieving learning objectives comes unique challenges in measuring the learning that occurs during gameplay. Full Article

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How To Get Started Making Video Games: An Interview With A Programmer

Tags: Filament Games, Game Development, How To, Opinion, Students.

On March 9, 2016, I met with the Game Maker’s Club at Norwich Technical High School via Google Hangouts. The interview was published on Filament Game’s blog and I am re-posting it here.
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No, I Will Not Listen To You Game Idea.

Tags: Opinion.

I think it happens to all game developers, when someone learns our occupation one of two things happen: we get our ear talked off about their favorite game, or we suffer through their idea for a game. This rant is about the later.
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Filament Games Podcast – How Did I Get Here?

Tags: Filament Games, Opinion, Podcast.

Employees at Filament Games are taking turns talking about the what, why, and how they do what they do. You can find the original post here.

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