Source download instructions

February 7th, 2011 by greg  |  comment

I’ve added a page into the Developers’ section with instructions on how to download Lassie Shepherd source code from Google Code. Hopefully this will help folks who have limited experience with version controls systems like Subversion. The new page is available here.

Lots o’ new Shepherd documentation

January 31st, 2011 by greg  |  comment

For anyone following the source repo’s commit log, you’ve probably seen that the Lassie Shepherd Manual PDF has been getting lots of updates recently. Indeed it has. I’ve finally gotten around to writing about the editor controls, and have been taking some time to better organize the document as a whole. While I wouldn’t say that these updates are going to clear up all the outstanding questions about working with Lassie Shepherd, I figure they can’t hurt!

Latest documentation PDF will always be available for download here (to download, right-click the “view raw file” link and choose “save file as…”).

The who, what, and why of open source…

January 12th, 2011 by greg  |  comment

Wow… there’s been a flurry of activity since yesterday’s open-source announcement, so I thought I’d follow up with some of the logistics and FAQs.

First – why? Well, it wasn’t all that hard of a decision and one that I’ve had on my plate for quite a while. I’ve mellowed on the whole “what’s mine is mine” philosophy since the height of my college days, and I’ve really grown to respect open-source over the years. Also, I’ve long since decided that I wasn’t interested in putting the effort into Lassie to make it a viable mainstream commercial product, so really – who was I keeping it from? No one. I was just turning off potential developers and denying the engine all chances of growing a true developers community. So, I’ve been thinking about going open source for a couple of years now. I’ve just never gotten around to it because I’ve been so focused –specifically– on Stitch.

Okay, so it’s open. Now, can you contribute? Well, I will neither welcome nor restrict contributors at this point. I am completely open to other developers joining the charge to make Lassie even better. However, I’m not prepared to open the floodgates yet. By all means, please email me if you have ideas, proposals, or new code – and we’ll see where it goes!

Lassie Shepherd released as open source

January 11th, 2011 by greg  |  comment

This has been on my to-do list for over a year now, so I’m pleased to finally make the announcement. The complete Lassie Shepherd ActionScript 3 code base is up on Google code at http://code.google.com/p/lassiestudio. You’re welcome to check out the repository for complete access to all engine-related material, including the editor app, player app, game menu, localization kit, and application bundle.

This release contains the complete engine codebase behind What Makes You Tick: A Stitch in Time. In fact, I’ve even added some new features in since Stitch, including localization tools, auto-numbering for dialogue sounds, and touch-based UI support.

So, have at it! I only ask that you accredit me, Greg MacWilliam of Lassie Games, in your primary production credits as the “Engine Programmer”. Thanks, and good luck.

Seeking translators for Lassie menu

October 12th, 2010 by greg  |  comment

In an effort to step-up Lassie Shepherd’s localization support, I’m trying to get the game menu application translated into several major languages to provide some built-in language support. This job consists of translating about 100 words making up short phrases like “Load Game” and “Are you sure you want to quit?”. I currently have English and German versions of the menu, and I’d like to expand that to include (at least) French, Italian, Spanish, and Russian if possible. Contact me if you’re interested and could offer some native translations; I’ll send you a Flash script where you can directly replace the English text.

Thanks all!

**UPDATE**

We now have English, German, Italian, Russian, Spanish and Catalan translations. Thanks to all who responded! Whenever possible, I’ve made a note in the localized class comments to document who provided the translation (I did loose track of a few of the early translation authors – sorry!).

“What Makes You Tick: A Stitch in Time” Released!

September 10th, 2010 by greg  |  comment

After two years of continuous development, Matt and I have finally put Stitch out to pasture for purchase. All told, we’re really happy with the final game and think it’s particularly neat that a story we dreamed up in a Swiss pub back in 2007 is now a real game. It’s been a long haul building it, but it’s also been really rewarding to see it all come together.

Stitch is a commercial release – we financed the project so that we could designate fulltime human resource to the project (otherwise it never would have been built!). The game is selling for $15 USD, and we’d really appreciate all the help we can get in making the game a success! You can check out the new game website at http://www.lassiegames.com/stitch.

Enjoy!

Lassie Shepherd v1.2 released

August 20th, 2010 by greg  |  comment

If you visit the Lassie Shepherd downloads page, you’ll find that a v1.2 application bundle has been posted. This new version includes several miscellaneous features that I’ve added while polishing up Stitch, including custom item-on-object contextual titles, a “Continue Game” menu feature, an EULA menu screen, and cross-domain security permissions. Lots of good stuff, although nothing that you’ll probably write home about.

However, there is one small but significant item that I think our community will really appreciate… I’ve removed the watermark. It’s gone. Your game will be pristine and unobstructed. The watermark just wasn’t doing the job I originally intended it to do, so I took it out. I was hoping the watermark would serve as a friendly reminder for developers to send me a link to their project in exchange for a free license key (I get a kick out of seeing people’s creative work!). HOWEVER, it seems I’ve been asking too much. I’ve still only given out a single license key, despite having offered free keys to other developers in exchange for a link to their projects. So, the system has not been bringing in links to third-party projects the way I hoped – it’s just been sending cheesy-looking branded Lassie games out into the world. So, I’ll give up my cause, with just one more plea: if you build something with Lassie, PLEASE just tell us about it! There are many folks around the Lassie community who are interested in what the engine is doing. Show your stuff off, please! Send us a link!

Benthic Zone

August 12th, 2010 by greg  |  comment

WOW. There has been a new LassieAS game released by Rainer Nowak called “Benthic Zone”. Believe me when I say that you’re going to want to check this out. Rainer has built a spectacular underwater world where you play as a pond lifeform wandering the waters. The animations and environments are fantastic. The game is fairly small and short, but is well worth the play. Check it out at: http://rainernowak.de/benthiczone.html

Really nice work Rainer!

“A Stitch in Time” Release Date!

August 1st, 2010 by greg  |  comment

After two years of development, testing, tweaking, and polishing, Matt and I are finally calling “What Makes You Tick: A Stitch in Time” done. The game will be released on September 9, 2010. Stitch will be a commercial release (we need to recoup our development costs), on sale for $15 USD. We hope you’ll check it out!

“What Makes You Tick: A Stitch in Time” Demo Released

March 17th, 2010 by greg  |  comment

It’s live! The game demo is playable online, or available for free download as an Adobe AIR application. All demo material is available from the demo’s website at:

http://www.lassiegames.com/games/stitch_demo

So, this is big news! Not only is this a major release for the “Stitch” project, but this also for Lassie Shepherd. This Stitch demo now assumes the role of the official Shepherd demo game, and it does a fine job showcasing the engine’s capabilities. Within this demo you’ll see in-game cutscene programming, custom UI elements, dynamic game logic, Flash media includes, and much more. Overall, Matt and I very happy with the way this game has turned out, and we hope our friends and fans enjoy playing it as much as we enjoyed building it.

Happy Adventuring!