Another week, another 2 chapters done!

The challenge now is applying what I learned.  Programming is as much about doing as it is learning.  So far, I’ve become an expert at copying text out of a book, but it is actually very helpful because you learn structure.  This week was exciting because I started coding new animations.  In previous chapters, I have had the chance to use pre-existing animations to remove, or move rows, but now I’m actually modifying objects to animate them.  It reminds me why I  wanted to start doing this in the first place; to make games

I have had a series of game ideas sitting in my head, and for the  most part, ideas without execution are just dreams.  Working with Core Animations, I can see how layers interact, and how I`d progress with games.  The challenge is my daily work life (which takes up 10-12 hours a day) forces me to think about using technology to develop applications instead of games.  Meaning, as I make my way through this book, I think more about applications that I could be building than games.  I think that will change, however, as I start my second book, which is dedicated to games.  Until then, I foresee myself focusing on working on applications.  And boy do I have a few that I`d like to start right away, if I could find the time.

What I learned technically

This week’s lessons introduced the concepts of animation.  I made a layer which was a box with an image associated with it that would moved to where I tapped, and then again moved to where I dragged it.  As I dragged the box around the screen, I remembered why I decided to start programming, and that was to make games.  It was a good feeling.  Since my wife loves tower defence games, I think that will be my first endeavour, and that will be purely a labour of love, cause God knows the app store has enough of those.

Recommended Reading

There`s an interesting post by MG Siegler on Techcrunch about hitting the App Wall.  It`s a bit disconcerting to think that the hey day of apps may be over, and I never even entered the game.  I`m a little bit relieved to know that the largest stake i have in the game is actually a platform being developed which applications access, so this isn`t an all or nothing game for me.  However, it would be nice to think there`s still room for creative apps to find a home.  Also, I don`t think I`ve seen an app that does what I`m thinking, so I got that going for me.  Plus, MG Siegler likes to stir the pot.