Hack and Slash

Previously I had been using my magic spells to combat the enemy in Angband. However I found the Beaked Axe of Hurin. Initially I wielded this weapon for the CON +2 advantage. But I found that once I wielded this axe, and got up to 2 hits per turn, it was time to use the weapon for combat.

I kept finding treasure and selling it in town. That allowed me to buy strength and dexterity potions. I am strong and agile enough to get 2 hits per turn with Hurin. One long awaited item I was able to buy in town was some gauntlets of Free Action.

My only disappointment was finding the Cloak of Thingol. It has a nice +3 to both DEX and CHR. However that cannot compare to my current Cloak Colluin which provides resist poison. So for now, Thingol stays in the closet. I have not sold the cloak though. If I can find another source for resist poison, I shall be putting it back on.

Equipment Choices

Right now I'm playing Angband 3.0.6. This character is Puff the Mage. I had prepared for paralysis by wielding some Boots of Free Action. Then I put Rings of Intelligence (+5) on both hands to up my MP over 200. Things were looking good.

Then I came upon the Boots of Speed (+6). You know I was going to wear them for the speed bonus. However I was now concerned. I no longer had a defense against paralysis. Former characters have discovered the hard way that you normally die when you get paralyzed.

It would have been optimal to have some Gloves of Free Action. Currently I wield no gloves to avoid an MP penalty. I ended up wearing a Ring of Free Action. The tough part of that decision was that my MP dropped about 100 points after removing on Ring of Intelligence. Ouch. I will keep you posted on the further adventures of Puff.

The Gaming Industry

I attended Anthrocon 2009 this week. One session at the conference was a question and answer period with some game developers. It was a good time. I learned a lot of details there which I want to share here.

Many game developers code in the C++ programming language. But there is some Java and C# development going on as well. Although there is still custom coding to solve game problems, there is also a heavy use of game specific middleware.

There is still crunch time in the game development industry. You should beware companies that court fresh college grads and provide free Coke to programmers. Some game shops have instituted policies where you cannot work more than 55 hours a week. It is criminal that there even has to be such rules in place.

Software process is often lacking in the game development arena. However some shops are trying to go agile and/or use Scrum. That being said, there continues to be sloppy or non-existent processes at some companies. This probably mimics the state of software development across other domains as well. Thanks to the panel of guests at Anthrocon for sharing their experiences.