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Business Goals For 2005

Friday, January 7, 2005

My main goal for 2005 is to build Yellow Wood Studios into a business that generates enough profit for me to make a living. I plan to release the following products this year.

  1. Trichromix
  2. Extensions to Ronkes.nl
  3. A new puzzle game
  4. An e-book on object-oriented programming in C++
  5. A variation on Trichromix

According to my original plan, Trichromix should have been released by now. However, at this point I think it's more important to get the basics right. The way things are looking now, I expect Trichromix to be ready for release in early February.

Later this year, I want to do a variation on Trichromix that allows you to play against an opponent. This moves it from being a puzzle to being an actual game. You'll be able to play against your friends or against computer players. The game will be different enough from the original Trichromix to be sold seperately, but close enough to use the same name. It's also a business experiment, as you might have guessed.

I already have an idea for a new puzzle game, too, but since I'm still working on Trichromix, it's still very rough. Although I certainly have dreams about games that are a lot bigger than a simple puzzle game, I'm having much fun coming up with original puzzles. It also gives me the feeling that I'm building a good foundation, both in terms of game code and in terms of game design, so I'll stick with it for a couple more games.

Also on the list is extending this web site. I promised to go into more detail about some of the books I recommended and I will. There will also be some new recommendations in the near future.

On top of that I'll write some tutorials from time to time. About three years ago I was teaching an introductory course on programming in C++ and I wrote a tutorial for it on how to program a simple game. The tutorial is still on my server - albeit a bit hidden - and to my surprise I receive e-mail from time to time from people working their way through it. Because of the way C++ was taught at the school where I worked, the tutorial doesn't really show what I consider to be proper use of C++. It's also in Dutch, which limits the audience somewhat. So, I want to rewrite it. Most of my tutorials will be on game programming until I learn enough about the shareware business to write about that, too.

Ever since I was teaching C++, I wanted to write a book on C++ for total beginners. There are some great books out there on C++, but most of them are for experienced programmers. I've also seen quite a lot of books on C++ for beginners, but there's not a single one I would actually recommend. Appearently, most authors think that you shouldn't learn about object-oriented programming until you've reached chapter 9 or so, but I think you should start learning about it right away, in chapter 1.

That's what you can expect from me this year. Of course, there is more I want to do, but I can't do everything at once. Actually, writing a blog about this helped me be realistic about setting my goals. So, thank you for helping me out. :-)

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Comments

GBGames says:

Have you read Accelerated C++? That one is simultaneously targeted for beginners AND teaches you to use STL. You're introduced to using C++ properly from the first example as opposed to leaving things as "advanced topics". There is also Beginning C++ Game Development. It is cool because it doesn't focus on using things like Direct3D or SDL. It focuses on the language and explains how you would use things like vectors and the like to make games.

Friday, January 7, 2005 5:24 PM

Joost Ronkes Agerbeek says:

I've heard of both books, but have read neither. My local book store doesn't carry them at the moment, but what I've seen from the books on Amazon, I still believe my book will be sufficiently different and more accessible to someone who has never programmed before.

Sunday, January 9, 2005 10:40 AM

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