Since Blitz3D recently went open source and can be downloaded from their site for free (instructions), I decided to recover those old games and put them on my github. Apart from a little game in Javascript, I haven't made any games since then. Lately, I've been experimenting with the popular Cocos2D platform and I hope I can get some time for Unity as well.
Friday, August 14, 2015
My first Blitz3D mini games
My first experience with programming games (actually, my first programming experience at all) was with DIV Games Studio, an awesome framework for making video games created by a Spanish company called Hammer technologies. At that time I also started learning about digital 3D modeling thanks to awesome magazines such as Jumping. I had the idea of making a 3D game, but unfortunately DIV Games Studio was designed mostly for 2D games. After some searching I found Blitz3D, a simple environment for game creation that supported 3D objects and seemed easy to program. With the help of a friendly IRC community, I managed to build my first demo games in no time.
Since Blitz3D recently went open source and can be downloaded from their site for free (instructions), I decided to recover those old games and put them on my github. Apart from a little game in Javascript, I haven't made any games since then. Lately, I've been experimenting with the popular Cocos2D platform and I hope I can get some time for Unity as well.
Since Blitz3D recently went open source and can be downloaded from their site for free (instructions), I decided to recover those old games and put them on my github. Apart from a little game in Javascript, I haven't made any games since then. Lately, I've been experimenting with the popular Cocos2D platform and I hope I can get some time for Unity as well.
Thursday, August 13, 2015
My first marble machine
Marble machines are one of the best ways I know of for experimenting with mechanisms such as levers, pulleys, inclined planes, gears, or cams. The one in the following video is the first one I've built:
But let's start from the beginning. During last year's Maker faire I got surprised by the skills of Denha sensei at building his own complex marble machines.
After the Maker Faire, I spent hours admiring his creations and how he checks every detail in a methodical way. I came to the conclusion that a marble machine is usually made of some of the following components:
For my first marble machine I tried to make it simple. For that reason, I only used two common artifacts: a wheel elevator and an inclined plane. For finding the centre of the wheel, I used simple geometry. However, I had to drill a big hole for the bearing to fit in. That affected the accuracy of the centre. For that reason, I had to use a small spring that would automatically adjust the distance between the wheel and the motor's shaft (probably it would have been easier if I had used brass wire for the wheel's axis instead of a bearing). The inclined plane was made using a chisel. This is the list of materials I used:
But let's start from the beginning. During last year's Maker faire I got surprised by the skills of Denha sensei at building his own complex marble machines.
After the Maker Faire, I spent hours admiring his creations and how he checks every detail in a methodical way. I came to the conclusion that a marble machine is usually made of some of the following components:
- Fences for balls not to escape
- Ball accelerator (inclined plane)
- Lateral motion
- Flip-flop
- Funnels
- One step (can be made with wood spoons)
- Funnel laddles
- Ball release mechanisms
- Lifter/Elevator
- One-stage lifter
- Two-stage lifter (linkage)
- TJ (Theo Jansen) lifter
- Swinging arm lifter
- Arm lifter
- Spiral
- Wheel
- Zig zag lifter
- Cardan lifter
- Stairs lifter
- Rotation lifter
- Elevator
- Push up lifter
- Catapult
- Double wheel lifter
- Rolling ball lifter
For my first marble machine I tried to make it simple. For that reason, I only used two common artifacts: a wheel elevator and an inclined plane. For finding the centre of the wheel, I used simple geometry. However, I had to drill a big hole for the bearing to fit in. That affected the accuracy of the centre. For that reason, I had to use a small spring that would automatically adjust the distance between the wheel and the motor's shaft (probably it would have been easier if I had used brass wire for the wheel's axis instead of a bearing). The inclined plane was made using a chisel. This is the list of materials I used:
- Geared motor: MOT114A1B 6V 60RPM 12GA (Sengoku 1280yen)
- Gear for the shaft of the motor (Sengoku) and a rubber cover (Ishikawa-neji)
- Balls 7mm diameter (Tokyu hands)
- A small spring (from a pen)
- Brass wire 1mm diameter (Radio depaato in Akiba)
- Wood (a home center and Daiso)
- On/Off push switch (from an junk board)
- 2*AA batteries with a case (Daiso and Akizuki denshi)
- Aluminium plate (Yokyu hands)
- Bearing (from an broken stepper motor)
- A precision hand drill
- A precision wood saw
- Dremel 4000 with various bits
- Tweezers
- Cable cutter
- Long/round nose pliers
- Tape
- A universal vise
- Chisels
- Sand paper
Sunday, July 26, 2015
Kanazawa: nicotech and tourism
I had wanted to visit Kanazawa city for more than 8 years, since my Japanese teacher in Spain (Hattori-sensei) made a reference to it during a class. After the Shinkansen to Kanazawa was finished a couple of months ago I had no choice but to visit it.
What a better excuse than the celebration of the Nicotech event in Kanazawa, which gathers DIY hackers/makers to show their new crazy inventions such as a dice that always comes up 6; or a relay-controlled melodica presented by nezumi-san. Other inventors: natok (@natok), and @mayusaki3 (check the twitter hash #NT金沢).
If anything, Kanazawa is famous for its splendorous Kenrokuen (兼六園) garden, developed by the Maeda clan and one of the 3 great gardens in Japan. If you were only going to spend a few hours in Kanazawa, the Kenrokuen garden would be the thing to see. When you are there, try to find a sign with a haiku written by Bashō that says: あかあかと日は難面もあきの風 (akaaka to hi wa tsurenaku mo aki no kaze). As many other haikus, this one also talks about the change between seasons, in particular from Summer to Autumn. My personal translation would be something like: "The sun shines red, ignoring the Autumn winds". Here are a few other translations. A decomposition of this haiku can be found here (in Japanese).
Other attractions in the city are its tea houses (Chaya). There are two famous tea house districts: Higashi (east) and Nishi (west) Chaya. However, I'd suggest you to check this non-touristic tea house called Shōkōan (旧園邸・松向庵). See the access map and pictures from inside.
Kanazawa also has a famous fish market called Ōmichō, where you can buy different types of fish and seafood. There are also a few restaurants if you want to try sushi, crab, kaisen-don (a bowl of rice with different slices of raw fish) or any other delicatessen. Here is a nice guide to the food of Kanazawa in pdf. I would also recommend the restaurant "arroz" (rice in Spanish) where you can eat a delicious "cocido" as the one in the picture above.
Kanazawa has also a Samurai district called Nagamachi (長町) though it's not as big as the other tourist attractions.
What I liked the most about Kanazawa was its relaxed atmosphere; the river that crosses the city which was very close to the place I stayed in; and the fact that you can rent a bicycle to go around the city.
What a better excuse than the celebration of the Nicotech event in Kanazawa, which gathers DIY hackers/makers to show their new crazy inventions such as a dice that always comes up 6; or a relay-controlled melodica presented by nezumi-san. Other inventors: natok (@natok), and @mayusaki3 (check the twitter hash #NT金沢).
If anything, Kanazawa is famous for its splendorous Kenrokuen (兼六園) garden, developed by the Maeda clan and one of the 3 great gardens in Japan. If you were only going to spend a few hours in Kanazawa, the Kenrokuen garden would be the thing to see. When you are there, try to find a sign with a haiku written by Bashō that says: あかあかと日は難面もあきの風 (akaaka to hi wa tsurenaku mo aki no kaze). As many other haikus, this one also talks about the change between seasons, in particular from Summer to Autumn. My personal translation would be something like: "The sun shines red, ignoring the Autumn winds". Here are a few other translations. A decomposition of this haiku can be found here (in Japanese).
Other attractions in the city are its tea houses (Chaya). There are two famous tea house districts: Higashi (east) and Nishi (west) Chaya. However, I'd suggest you to check this non-touristic tea house called Shōkōan (旧園邸・松向庵). See the access map and pictures from inside.
Kanazawa also has a famous fish market called Ōmichō, where you can buy different types of fish and seafood. There are also a few restaurants if you want to try sushi, crab, kaisen-don (a bowl of rice with different slices of raw fish) or any other delicatessen. Here is a nice guide to the food of Kanazawa in pdf. I would also recommend the restaurant "arroz" (rice in Spanish) where you can eat a delicious "cocido" as the one in the picture above.
Kanazawa has also a Samurai district called Nagamachi (長町) though it's not as big as the other tourist attractions.
What I liked the most about Kanazawa was its relaxed atmosphere; the river that crosses the city which was very close to the place I stayed in; and the fact that you can rent a bicycle to go around the city.
Sunday, June 28, 2015
Getting an amateur radio operator license in Japan (4th level)
About one year ago, I went to see the Japan Ham fair in Tokyo. Despite having studied about radio communications at University, the amateur radio (ham) world was still unknown to me.
Near the entrance there was a stage with talks about the ham world. Many of them were introductory so I listened to a few. I wanted to learn what's so fun about amateur radio that you can't do with the Internet. These are a few ways to enjoy amateur radio that I learned of at the ham fair:
The ham fair wasn't just about introductory talks though. There were many booths organized by amateur radio fans and radio equipment sellers. In a way, it reminded me of a Makerfaire exhibition. In fact, this fair can be very convenient if you need to buy oscilloscopes, function generators or frequency counters at a low price tag.
With all the excitement, I decided that this was cool and elitist (kidding!), and that it might be worth giving it a try. I bought a book for the 4-th level (easiest) of the Japanese amateur radio operator license test, which is all you need to get started. On the spur of the moment I also bought an entry-level walkie talkie valid for the 144MHz and 430MHz bands (see other frequency bands here).
I took the test the Japanese way. That means I had to learn many Japanese technical words. In retrospective, I'm glad I went the hard way because now it's easier for me to talk about amateur radio with other Japanese fans. Note however that you can also take the exam in another country and have it validated by JARL (Japanese Amateur Radio). The test is held in several Japanese cities. If you live near Tokyo, then you are lucky because you can just show up on the test day without previous registration. Check the dates here. You just need to go to 日本無線協会 (map link) bringing with you a copy of your 住民票 (get it at your ward office), 2 photos, a pencil and the money for the exam (~5070 yen) and the operator license (~2270 yen). The test is divided in two parts: engineering and law. As I went through the book I tried to summarize most of the knowledge required in the two diagrams above. I have also prepared a cleaned-up text version here in English for you. I hope it's useful to someone. After passing the exam, on the same day, I applied for the operator license. A couple of weeks later, I got my license card by post and next I applied for the radio station license (you need two licenses: operator and station). Ok, I guess that's all for this post. Hope to see you at Japan ham fair 2015!!
Near the entrance there was a stage with talks about the ham world. Many of them were introductory so I listened to a few. I wanted to learn what's so fun about amateur radio that you can't do with the Internet. These are a few ways to enjoy amateur radio that I learned of at the ham fair:
- Talking to your neighbours: a good way to make new friends.
- Hiking a mountain and trying to get far-away signals from the top.
- Talking to people from all around the world: I was pointed out by someone that amateur radio operators are usually well-educated people and allow for good conversation.
- Enjoying it from a technical point of view: improve your equipment with better antennas or transceivers.
The ham fair wasn't just about introductory talks though. There were many booths organized by amateur radio fans and radio equipment sellers. In a way, it reminded me of a Makerfaire exhibition. In fact, this fair can be very convenient if you need to buy oscilloscopes, function generators or frequency counters at a low price tag.
With all the excitement, I decided that this was cool and elitist (kidding!), and that it might be worth giving it a try. I bought a book for the 4-th level (easiest) of the Japanese amateur radio operator license test, which is all you need to get started. On the spur of the moment I also bought an entry-level walkie talkie valid for the 144MHz and 430MHz bands (see other frequency bands here).
I took the test the Japanese way. That means I had to learn many Japanese technical words. In retrospective, I'm glad I went the hard way because now it's easier for me to talk about amateur radio with other Japanese fans. Note however that you can also take the exam in another country and have it validated by JARL (Japanese Amateur Radio). The test is held in several Japanese cities. If you live near Tokyo, then you are lucky because you can just show up on the test day without previous registration. Check the dates here. You just need to go to 日本無線協会 (map link) bringing with you a copy of your 住民票 (get it at your ward office), 2 photos, a pencil and the money for the exam (~5070 yen) and the operator license (~2270 yen). The test is divided in two parts: engineering and law. As I went through the book I tried to summarize most of the knowledge required in the two diagrams above. I have also prepared a cleaned-up text version here in English for you. I hope it's useful to someone. After passing the exam, on the same day, I applied for the operator license. A couple of weeks later, I got my license card by post and next I applied for the radio station license (you need two licenses: operator and station). Ok, I guess that's all for this post. Hope to see you at Japan ham fair 2015!!
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