Showing posts with label [ info ]. Show all posts
Showing posts with label [ info ]. Show all posts
Tuesday, April 17, 2012
0
Tuesday, April 17, 2012
Ric RAT
PlayDroid Update
All,
I've been receiving a steady trickle of game-review requests since my last post several months ago, and a surprising number of page-views despite the lack of updates. I'm very appreciative. The fact is, phone technology has out-paced my current phone, as well as game requirements, and - try as I might - I can't seem to convince HTC or Samsung to send me a free phone :) So, I'm waiting until June for my contract to renew before deciding if I will be posting any more reviews. Games are so cheap these days as to not warrant the hours spent doing a review. Thanks for all your support and see you in a few months.
~ Jason
read more
I've been receiving a steady trickle of game-review requests since my last post several months ago, and a surprising number of page-views despite the lack of updates. I'm very appreciative. The fact is, phone technology has out-paced my current phone, as well as game requirements, and - try as I might - I can't seem to convince HTC or Samsung to send me a free phone :) So, I'm waiting until June for my contract to renew before deciding if I will be posting any more reviews. Games are so cheap these days as to not warrant the hours spent doing a review. Thanks for all your support and see you in a few months.
~ Jason
Tuesday, October 26, 2010
0
Tuesday, October 26, 2010
Ric RAT
Mission & Methodology
So, you find yourself reading my reviews and thinking, "Yea, but what phone does he have?" Let me tell you a little bit about my processes and philosophy.
As of October 1st (ish) 2010, I upgraded from my HTC Hero to an Evo 4G - and while I'm still dreaming about the 4G part (gripe gripe, complain), the phone is a dream for gaming and apps. At that point, I decided I wanted to do game reviews for Android. Most gaming blogs and review sites on teh Interwebz are disorganized and scattered, at best, so why not add my own spin? Besides, I have the attention span of a gnat, and would rather play 20 games for 10 minutes each, than 1 game for 2 hours. Obviously, Xbox 360 games are excluded from this logic.
Logically, based on the above information, any reviews you see from that date going-forward have been done solely on my HTC Evo 4G. It's a piss-poor sample size for any statistical analysis, but this blog is just me, and just my phone. If you want to buy me another phone to do reviews on, feel free to contact me.
Regarding content, I review the paid-app when I buy a game outright, or the free-app when I'm feeling miserly or the game looks so simple that I could get the gist in the demo-version. The review will link to the appropriate reviewed-version via QR code and Market url (click the QR code from your phone).
All text is written courtesy of yours-truely, and 95% of screen captures are done using the Google Android SDK (ddms.bat) method via USB cable. Android has a notorious problem, however, with fast-moving games and screen-tearing on captures. For these games, I'll either contact the developer for screens or find something else on the web that will do. Screens that I've "borrowed" will show an attribution url in the Lightbox caption. If you're deeply-offended by my use of a screenshot from your website, please contact me before you file a lawsuit and I'll take it down. I do not lay-claim to my own screenshot copyrights, so feel free to use them in your reviews as long as you plug my site.
Finally, a word about stars. I feel it is the case that the vast majority of game review sites on the web are far too lax in terms of rating games and handing-out stars. After-all, what's the point of a review site if all their reviews are 4-stars? I use a 5-star rating system, where 5-stars is damned near perfect, 3-stars is a good game but may not hold your interest for long, and a 2-star game is simply "meh"... but works. I've added the "number of stars" as labels so you can easily sort the good from the bad from the ugly.
read more
As of October 1st (ish) 2010, I upgraded from my HTC Hero to an Evo 4G - and while I'm still dreaming about the 4G part (gripe gripe, complain), the phone is a dream for gaming and apps. At that point, I decided I wanted to do game reviews for Android. Most gaming blogs and review sites on teh Interwebz are disorganized and scattered, at best, so why not add my own spin? Besides, I have the attention span of a gnat, and would rather play 20 games for 10 minutes each, than 1 game for 2 hours. Obviously, Xbox 360 games are excluded from this logic.
Logically, based on the above information, any reviews you see from that date going-forward have been done solely on my HTC Evo 4G. It's a piss-poor sample size for any statistical analysis, but this blog is just me, and just my phone. If you want to buy me another phone to do reviews on, feel free to contact me.
Regarding content, I review the paid-app when I buy a game outright, or the free-app when I'm feeling miserly or the game looks so simple that I could get the gist in the demo-version. The review will link to the appropriate reviewed-version via QR code and Market url (click the QR code from your phone).
All text is written courtesy of yours-truely, and 95% of screen captures are done using the Google Android SDK (ddms.bat) method via USB cable. Android has a notorious problem, however, with fast-moving games and screen-tearing on captures. For these games, I'll either contact the developer for screens or find something else on the web that will do. Screens that I've "borrowed" will show an attribution url in the Lightbox caption. If you're deeply-offended by my use of a screenshot from your website, please contact me before you file a lawsuit and I'll take it down. I do not lay-claim to my own screenshot copyrights, so feel free to use them in your reviews as long as you plug my site.
Finally, a word about stars. I feel it is the case that the vast majority of game review sites on the web are far too lax in terms of rating games and handing-out stars. After-all, what's the point of a review site if all their reviews are 4-stars? I use a 5-star rating system, where 5-stars is damned near perfect, 3-stars is a good game but may not hold your interest for long, and a 2-star game is simply "meh"... but works. I've added the "number of stars" as labels so you can easily sort the good from the bad from the ugly.
Monday, October 25, 2010
0
Monday, October 25, 2010
Ric RAT
Using Lightbox for Blogger
My friend informed me today that something called Lightbox is all the rage these days when it comes to image-viewing on blogs, and sent me the link. As it turns-out, adding Lightbox support is a fairly simple process for Blogger!
First (and last), go check out this straightforward posting on the subject; it will tell you everything you need to know. Basically, you'll be posting a block of code at the end of your <head> code in Design mode, and then inserting a snippet between the <a and the href= tags of every embedded image you post.
You can also add an [album] tag if you want to group all images in a logical group, allowing you to cycle-through the images as a set (vs. opening and closing each, individually). Finally, you can add an Image Caption, if desired, which will appear at the bottom of each image. I don't use captions, but it's another option.
<a rel="lightbox" title="Image Caption" href=
<a rel="lightbox[album]" title="Image Caption" href=
Pretty simple? Check out any of my game reviews to see how Lightbox works.
read more
First (and last), go check out this straightforward posting on the subject; it will tell you everything you need to know. Basically, you'll be posting a block of code at the end of your <head> code in Design mode, and then inserting a snippet between the <a and the href= tags of every embedded image you post.
You can also add an [album] tag if you want to group all images in a logical group, allowing you to cycle-through the images as a set (vs. opening and closing each, individually). Finally, you can add an Image Caption, if desired, which will appear at the bottom of each image. I don't use captions, but it's another option.
<a rel="lightbox" title="Image Caption" href=
<a rel="lightbox[album]" title="Image Caption" href=
Pretty simple? Check out any of my game reviews to see how Lightbox works.
Sunday, October 17, 2010
0
Sunday, October 17, 2010
Ric RAT
Linking to the Market
How do I link a post directly to an app on the Market?
If you take a look at any of PlayDroid's game reviews, you'll see a QR code image that's also linked directly to the app in the Android Market. When a reader (such as yourself) clicks the QR link from within an Android web-browser session, the Market app will open and display the related app for download.
Getting the actual code is a bit tricky, but I managed to figure it out via some other resources around the web.
The url format is href="market://search?q=pname:<app id>"
Next, you'll need to find the app or game's ID. As it turns-out, the website cyrket.com actually displays the ID in the browser's address bar once you've searched and clicked on an app. Try it yourself! Once you're on the app-page, look at the address.
The ID you'll need to copy is immediately following the /android/
Copy the ID, paste it over the <app id> placeholder in the Android Market link url, and put the entire link in your website or blog. As an example, I've searched and created a link to the game, Everlands.
Try this link from your phone and see what happens:
market://search?q=pname:net.hexage.everlands
Note: A trailing forward-slash ("/") at the end of the url will cause problems.
UPDATE: There's a much simpler option... after finding the app on Cyrket, right-click the QRC image and copy the shortcut; it has everything you need! ta-da.
read more
If you take a look at any of PlayDroid's game reviews, you'll see a QR code image that's also linked directly to the app in the Android Market. When a reader (such as yourself) clicks the QR link from within an Android web-browser session, the Market app will open and display the related app for download.
Getting the actual code is a bit tricky, but I managed to figure it out via some other resources around the web.
The url format is href="market://search?q=pname:<app id>"
Next, you'll need to find the app or game's ID. As it turns-out, the website cyrket.com actually displays the ID in the browser's address bar once you've searched and clicked on an app. Try it yourself! Once you're on the app-page, look at the address.
The ID you'll need to copy is immediately following the /android/
Copy the ID, paste it over the <app id> placeholder in the Android Market link url, and put the entire link in your website or blog. As an example, I've searched and created a link to the game, Everlands.
Try this link from your phone and see what happens:
market://search?q=pname:net.hexage.everlands
Note: A trailing forward-slash ("/") at the end of the url will cause problems.
UPDATE: There's a much simpler option... after finding the app on Cyrket, right-click the QRC image and copy the shortcut; it has everything you need! ta-da.
0
Ric RAT
Use QR Codes
What is a QR code?
QR codes are a handy way to both allow a website to direct-link a url (via a QR image), and for a reader to use a bar code reader to scan and jump to the link using an Android phone.
How do I create QR images for my postings?
There are a couple options for creating and using your own QR codes.
Performing a simple Google search for "create qr code" will lead you to plenty of QR code generators. For example, try the generator at kaywa.com and see how it works for you. By entering some basic data, including what the code is linked-to, you will be given a QR code image. When you're done, save and embed the image in your website or post for your readers.
A second option is to find a pre-generated QR code on the web, then embed or link it to your own site. In order to get QR codes for the games listed on this blog, I use both androlib.com and cyrket.com. Try it yourself and see how easy it is! Follow the link to one of the websites, do a search for an Android game, and you'll find the QR code.
How do I scan a bar code using my phone?
The process to scan and jump to an app in the Android Market using your phone is quite simple. You'll need to download a bar code reader - most of them are free. I personally use ShopSavvy. Once you've installed the app, launch it and aim the camera at a QR code. In a matter of moments, your bar code app will have detected the code and jumped to the linking-site.
read more
QR codes are a handy way to both allow a website to direct-link a url (via a QR image), and for a reader to use a bar code reader to scan and jump to the link using an Android phone.
How do I create QR images for my postings?
There are a couple options for creating and using your own QR codes.
Performing a simple Google search for "create qr code" will lead you to plenty of QR code generators. For example, try the generator at kaywa.com and see how it works for you. By entering some basic data, including what the code is linked-to, you will be given a QR code image. When you're done, save and embed the image in your website or post for your readers.
A second option is to find a pre-generated QR code on the web, then embed or link it to your own site. In order to get QR codes for the games listed on this blog, I use both androlib.com and cyrket.com. Try it yourself and see how easy it is! Follow the link to one of the websites, do a search for an Android game, and you'll find the QR code.
How do I scan a bar code using my phone?
The process to scan and jump to an app in the Android Market using your phone is quite simple. You'll need to download a bar code reader - most of them are free. I personally use ShopSavvy. Once you've installed the app, launch it and aim the camera at a QR code. In a matter of moments, your bar code app will have detected the code and jumped to the linking-site.
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