Pokitto Magazine Issue 2: Article Submissions

Ok. I am going to write:

  • Python basics: adding sounds, using eeprom, etc.
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Added to the list :smiley: thanks!

Pokitto hardware schematics, part 2 by me

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I will need Jonnes help - i sent him my draft for an article, but shortly afterwards my PC broke, couldn’t restore everything including my article :roll_eyes:

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Hey Nicole - I totally forgot this - sorry. I will dig up the email!

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A reminder that the “suggest a programming article” thread never came to fruition…

If nobody comes up with anything I might just pick a crazy topic and write an obscure article that baffles half the forum. :P


I think pretty much anything I write would probably end up being a rehash of a better explanation of the concept, but now I’m beginning to think that even a watered down rehash in the magazine is more likely to get people to actually listen to the idea.

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Want me to put you down for a To Be Named programming article?

Not just yet, I’m going to hold out hope that someone will come up with something they actually want to know about.

If I have the time and nobody comes up with something specific then I’ll fall back on preaching the virtues of C++11 and ‘good form’, explaining some undefined behaviour and/or ‘gotchas’, or just damning the things I don’t like.

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:smiley: alrighty. Just let me know!

What is the time frame for mag 2? I could do an article on the Tilemap class in C++ (based on @Hanski’s Python sample) and build it out from there.

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I didn’t personally have any deadlines. It would be a little while for folks to come up with and write out articles and other content.

OK … count me in for a tilemap article. It would have a bit of code / a bit of explanation. What format do you want the submission in?

On the last magazine I was asking for odt files that LibreOffice understands.
See: last time

I think the font could be a bit smaller. It looked a bit too big for a paper magazine at least.

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Still plenty of room for more content submissions or proposals.
Remember it doesn’t explicitly have to be an article. For example we had a PhotoBooth section in the first magazine and that turned out awesome! Very unique and fun photos of Pokitto’s from around the world.
We also had a crossword puzzle!
There was talk about a tech related jokes, we could try and do a section on that this time if folks have anything good to share. Maybe a custom Pokitto related comic :wink: ?

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GAME REVIEWS WANTED!

If you do not want to make lengthy articles, play a game and make a half-page review! I’d love to read your thoughts.

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Maybe we should establish a standard rating system for consistency first? I know it doesn’t sound fun but it will help the potential reviewers and make it easie to manage for the people working on the magazine.

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That is an excellent idea. Maybe we can find a template from one of the older games mags?

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For programming articles I would really like to see a topic on pushing the limits of the hardware, most notably pushing raw 16-bit color to the LCD. I’m currently experimenting with an RPG system that would use 220x176x16bpp resolution and so far it’s really looking incredible (though I’m “borrowing” graphics from my old copy of RPG Maker 2003 for testing so can’t really demonstrate it yet, will dig through OpenGameArt once I have a bit more functional prototype).

Another possibility is an article centered around @spinal’s video player for streaming FMV sequences. Again this is another aspect I’m toying with for a concept RPG game.

A third one is a good rundown on simply abusing the hardware/compiler to do more then what it thinks it’s capable of. For example, how to compile function(s) to a separate bin file (ie. shared library) that can be loaded and executed at runtime, but stored on the SD card. One scenario this would come in handy is for state-based games they can load all the relevant code (either to RAM or flash) when switching states which would allow for each state to have far more complex code that takes a good chunk of flash since it would only load the code for the current state (possibly having one or two states always loaded if they are constantly used, but only briefly like a menu state).

None of these articles would really need to be fully detailed, in-depth tutorials, instead they could be a basic rundown of the core concept focusing more on how it’s possible to do X and what limitations/challenges would be involved. They could also have a very simple proof-of-concept code example that would allow others to take that concept and see what they can do with it.

I’ve been scouring over a bunch of my old Game Informer mags for examples and one thing that stood out was their reviews. They all had an overall X/Y score as well as a 1-2 sentence summary of Concept, Graphics, Sound, Playability, Entertainment, and Replay Value. My old Nintendo mags didn’t have a review section but they did have sections for brief walkthroughs of some games, which could also be great for a Hints ‘n’ Tips section that doesn’t focus on development, but rather on tips for playing certain games complete with screenshots.

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Or @spinal’s recent FM radio HW/SW project for Pokitto. That would make an excellent article!

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