Github for Unity - Use Latest Version

You need to use v1.0.1.  Otherwise, the "push" will be grayed out in the plugin.  For some reason, when I downloaded the plugin from the Unity Asset Store, I did not get the latest version.  I will freely admit that it might be user error on my part because I am still figuring out Unity.  Anyway, you can download Github for Unity from here:

https://github.com/github-for-unity/Unity/releases

Book Review: Designing the User Experience of Game Development Tools

I started to read David Lightbown's Designing the User Experience of Game Development Tools after seeing him speak at GDC 2017.  This pdf describes the talk.  I am about two-thirds of the way through the book.

I really wish someone had written this book a long time ago!  Most of my time at work is devoted to writing tools to help artists.  Yes, this book has "game development" in the title and is written by somebody who works for Ubisoft.  However, the insights are applicable to anyone who writes tools for a living.  In my case, I am a Pipeline TD, who works in animated television.

The book is slim, and that's a good thing.  The author gets to the point and explains the material in a straight forward manner with plenty of real world examples.  I have started to use some of the techniques in the book at work.  For example, I wanted to pitch a tool to a production, so I made a series of mockups that acted as a storyboard that showed how the tool would work to get buy in from the the producers and the CG supervisor.

All in all, this book deserves a place in any technical director's bookshelf.

UE4 and Sequencer

I attended a Studio Workshop today at Siggraph called UE4 Virtual Movie Production and Sequencer.  Sequencer is pretty impressive and now you have everything you need to make a movie inside Unreal.  Basically, Sequencer lets you record your gameplay animation and edit the "footage" on a timeline.  You can even do multiple takes and add audio!  The game engine has assets that resemble real world filmmaking equipment (camera rigs and tracks).

One limitation is that the workflow is not super intuitive.  Actually, the workflow is probably intuitive to an Unreal Engine pro, which I am not.  At one point, I stopped trying to follow along with the instructor and just started watching him.  The other limitation, which is probably a limitation that anyone trying to make a movie inside a game engine is going to come across, is that you are limited to the Unreal Engine "look".  Maybe you can render movies generated by Unreal using other renderers?  Of course, if you did that, then the virtual filmmaking process will no longer be a real time one.

Finding A Bug in an Open Source Project

Kinda feeling proud of myself.  I helped locate a bug in Mongoengine:

https://github.com/MongoEngine/mongoengine/issues/1278#issuecomment-226260261

Yes, the little things in life make it worth living!

:-)

What Is Dead May Never Die

Yes, I stole a title from the article to use as a title in my blog.  Of course, they stole from a television show, so I think I get away with it.

Anyway, the article covers something that I am currently struggling with right now.

https://late.am/post/2016/04/28/delete-your-dead-code.html

This is especially difficult when you inherited a code base.  I am still trying to figure out parts of the one I inherited.  Anyway, food for thought...

When advice is a mistake (from Rob Galanakis)

Ha!  This made me laugh!

http://www.robg3d.com/2016/03/when-advice-turns-out-to-be-a-mistake/

He makes some valid points.

Mob Programming

Has anyone out there tried mob programming?  Seems like pair programming on steroids...

http://mobprogramming.org/mob-programming-basics/

I'm intrigued!