Compiling the FBX SDK for Linux on Ubuntu

Currently working getting a cool animation system for Multi, I'll write up another post about how it works in the future. But for now, if you require the importing of FBX meshes and animations into your game engine you'll need to use the FBX SDK which is provided free by Autodesk for Windows, Mac and Linux.

They also provide Python bindings into the SDK for easier usage, but it seems that access to the animation system is currently disabled.

Once you've installed the SDK on Ubuntu, in order to compile one of the samples. First cd into the samples folder and into the sample you'd like to compile.

Make sure you have the following packages installed build-essential, libxmu-dev, libxi-dev and libx11-dev by running the following commands.

sudo apt-get install build-essential
sudo apt-get install uuid-dev
sudo apt-get install libxmu-dev libxi-dev
sudo apt-get install libx11-dev

Open up one of the makefiles you'd like to build, I went with Makefile-x64-static, and modify the reference to the gcc4 compiler to gcc.

CC = gcc
LD = gcc

Add -lX11 to LIBS

LIBS = -lfbxsdk-$(LIBFBXVERSION)$(STATIC) -lm -lrt -luuid -lc -lstdc++ -lpthread -ldl -lglut_gcc34-amd64 -lGLEW_amd64 -lGLU -lGL -lXmu -lX11

Add  -DFBXSDK_NEW_API to C_FLAGS and CXX_FLAGS

CFLAGS = -m64 -DFBXSDK_NEW_API 
CXXFLAGS = -m64 -DFBXSDK_NEW_API

Finally run Make with the makefile you've chosen, in my case Makefile-x64-static

make -f Makefile-x64-static 

It'll build and deploy the resulting executable in the ../../bin/<platform>/<config>/ folder

Job Done!

Mobile & Gaming Awesome 2013

On the 3rd of April 2013, we headed to Google Campus to host an Unconference aimed at mobile and game development. With talks ranging from Test Driven Development, Unity 3D, Three.js, Node.js, MongoDB and Tizen. As well as some amazing project showcases featuring HamiltonKidd.co.uk and The Realm Game.

We had a great turn out packing out the 3rd floor for a whole 3 hours. Below you'll find videos from all the talks and presentations. If you'd like to attend or present at the next session be sure to join our meetup goup: http://meetup.com/mobiledev

{ Intro Video : Photo Gallery }

Test Driven Development
Hasanein Khafaji (Lbi.com)
Hasanein goes into the pros and cons (mostly pros) for using TDD in developing software.



Using Three.js & Node.js to create a 3D RTS Game
Guillaume Gouchon (http://giggsapps.blogspot.co.uk)
Guillaume goes through his 3 week dive into using Three.js to create a web based RTS game that allows for PvP action.



Showcase: HamiltonKidd.co.uk 2D/3D/Motion/CGI Studio
Ben Kidd (http://hamiltonkidd.co.uk)
HamiltonKidd traditional produces amazing TV and Movie animations however they've recently delved into the world of Apps and Games.



Showcase: The Realm Game
Tom Szirtes (http://therealmgame.com)
The Realm is a visually stunning graphical adventure that will set a new benchmark for tablet gaming.



Intro to Unity 3D - Prototyping a Side Shooter Game
Yaser Al-Haidery (http://geekyhamster.com)
Yaser goes through step by step on how to quickly setup a new Unity project that features a 3D robot shooting missiles against some basic AI.




Packaging HTML5 Apps for Tizen
Jerome Portier (http://www.linkedin.com/pub/jerome-portier/b/849/7a5)
Jerome goes through step by step on how to create a new Hello World HTML5 app and package it for distribution on the Tizen platform

Thanks for coming/watching,
Ash

Big Bang UK Science Fair 2013

On March 2013 we were invited by NESTA and Apps for Good to help show and inspire school children to get into games development.

It was awesome! I love kids, they're so passionate and enthusiastic about making things. It's like working with an army min-indie games developers who have so many ideas and share such excitement behind each one of them.

The kids that visited ranged from ones who just loved playing games, to always wishing they could make games, to one or two who actually got into Java programming thanks to the vast YouTube tutorials online about scripting for Minecraft. Which was really interesting because some of the kids were telling me about their amazing experiments, yet their accompanying teacher/parent had no idea that they shared such passion and know how about making games.


In the end, I was blown away, when I was younger I'd always wanted to make my own games, but previously I thought that most kids would rather play than make games. But I'm glad to learn that I was wrong. Kids love the idea of making games, and hopefully we'll be able to help them in their quest to do that.

Here's some more photos from the event.

Finally, if you're interested in getting into games or mobile development and are based in London, we've recently started a development group to hopefully continue to encourage and support it's growth.
http://meetup.com/mobiledev

Ash