Frequently asked questions
1. Why bother building a game to begin with ?
The long term goal is to build a virtual world. So far I learned some of the concepts and techniques required in terms of programming, networking, illustration and animation to name a few. During this learning experience, I built a working prototype which is very basic though. I have still got a lot to learn but to turn it into a full virtual world experience, the top requirements was probably content and ongoing entertainment. That's why it occured to me that building a game was the next logical step.
2. Why make a silverlight game now ?
Silverlight brings the power of the Microsoft .NET framework to the web browser, especially when it comes to multimedia projects (music, video, animation, games, etc). And I just happen to specialise in those Microsoft technologies.
Ok, let's face it, Silverlight for Windows and Mac is getting obsolete, so this is probably the last chance (or not?) to release a silverlight game before it gets completely
deprecated and replaced with alternative technologies.
#ThreeWordsToLiveBy Just Do It. Later we will see where/how to port next games/versions.
3. Yes but HTML5 is big now, why not HTML5 ?
It's not just that it still makes sense to use Silverlight based on my current skills set, there are a few others incentives to do so. For instance, my mentor Darren Mart recently released
RAGE (Retro Adventure Game Environment) which is what I needed to start off with my first game. Also, this work could integrates more smoothly with my other .NET projects if required. Finally, it's not Silverlight VS HTML5. Silverlight will not replace HTML nor does it intend to. It's more like a special kind of tool for a special kind of job.
4. Why choose the ivorian crisis as game topic ?
A wise guy once said: If there is something really awesome, and you can't understand why somebody hasn't done it before, it's because you haven't done it yourself. That's DIY for those in the know: Do It Yourself.
I couldn't find any point-and-click game about the #CIV2010 story, not even an adventure game about the Ivory Coast. So there we go.
5. Who? Me?
I am Necemon Yai, Microsoft .NET technology specialist. Full time developer. Part time digital artist, strategist, essayist and entreprenerd.