I’ve been very much ‘'partially” involved in my efforts to get a game engine up and running. I’ve figured this much however: there is a lot going on in creating a game and getting a game engine up and running is not the hardest part. That's possibly why there are quite a few books about it. What really is tough is understanding how the various APIs that power your game engine fit together. Direct3D, OpenGL, and the various physics and artificial intelligence and various game co-ordination stuff, not to mention the theory behind 3D positioning and various themes that go with it. Actually, writing a game engine is easy: Just have a core that abstracts all that stuff I just mentioned – but you need to know what that stuff is to begin with. That's the challenge, I guess I’m left with and that’s what its all about. Is it really about creating a game, well no. Could it eventually become a game - maybe. 

I’m also very enthusiastic about using C++ 11 but I don't want to use it because I don’t think I’ll need to write reusable components as this will be entirely specific to my needs in terms of learning and the end product – otherwise I’d just use a game engine that out there and learn nothing.

I went to bed early last night. I didn’t feel like working on my computer or watching TV. Usually I make dinner, which I still did, and eat it in from on the TV which I guess most people do. After I’m done eating, its usually important to either be really enjoying the program on TV at that point, otherwise I’m done with the TV and its shower/evening time. I don't like watching a whole lot of TV really because its such as useless activity.

Very recently I’d watch “You’ve been framed” which is like a “America’s Home Videos” or “Candid camera” type show. It usually makes me laugh. Recently however, the commentator who introduces each video and puts his own ‘humour’ on it is becoming rather samey/corny and it detracts from the humour somewhat. So when faced with the prospect of that yesterday and thought I’d just skip it. Sometimes I then watch the Simpsons instead. And I’ve probably already done in excess of 8-10km or on some days 10km+ of running so I’m pretty tired. That's also why its easy to go to sleep early.

In other news - recently I’m not concerning myself with a lot of things that previously I might have been. I’ve labelled this my ‘don’t care’ phase. Don’t care about Trump. Don’t care about X-Factor, Don’t care about Brexit, Don’t care about other people’s problems. Don’t care Don’t care don’t care. It’s actually pretty fun. I’m a whole lot less stressed out because of it, you know . Whereas before I’d ask myself, ‘does that or this matter?’ now I just replace that with hmm ‘”Don’t care.”. When someone asks me something or I hear something being said, my little voice comes out - and I can actually sense him coming out the door of my brain, strolling over casually to my inner ear and stopping momentarily and whispering to me very silently…”don't care. don’t care. don’t care”. He’s pretty badass.

I had an interesting day today. It all started with me not sleeping particularly well last night. I was thinking too much and my brain tends to run off and do its own thing while we(me and myself) are trying to get some much needed sleep. I remember starting to think about game development and in particular, game engine design. That was enough for my brain to go off and do its own thing. I didn’t sleep with a restful type of sleep that I’d have liked to. Instead, it seemed like I was half-awake most of the night. This played particular havoc on my body this morning. I was tired, really tired all the way through my morning.

At one point I nearly fell asleep on the bus. I also had to take a 5-7minute ‘power nap’ before my run to the bus stop. I never need to do that. But non-the less I ventured on and well I did quite well. 60+Kms of running this week. That's good. I could’ve run into the office again today but I was too tired and could just about manage the combined efforts of the morning’s 5km. Not bad – it all adds up, you know.

On Wednesday had a rough day in terms of my brain. Everything else went fine but my brain went, and left me high and dry… I basically had tried to complicate my very simple design(typical really) to the point at which it was falling every which way and I couldn’t fill in the cracks fast enough while the complexity was filling up. I drowned in my own complexity and because I just left it like that(I’m doing this now, I just leave at the end of the day in whatever state I'm in) my brain eventually solved the problem during the course of my evening routine between showering and watching T.V. The solution was to revert back to the simple solution, add a simple tweak and it had essentially solved the problems my complex solution was trying to solve…and it was still dead simple! lesson learned. Don't be daft, the shorter the code, the simpler it is, and the simpler it is to adapt or change it.

Needless to say, I sent of my work to QA and they reported that it works as it should. Simple designs, they are the best.

Someone asked me if I wanted to play ping-pong today at work during lunch. I don't like ping-pong. I said OK. That was a bad decision because as soon as I sat down to have my lunch I saw them playing ping-pong and as I watched them, I realised again…I don't like ping-pong. That and my lunch was enough for me to get up, interrupt the current game to announce that I’d pass on the Ping-pong and that I’d play next week. Fat chance. I’m not going to play ping-pong next week. I’d rather scratch my eyes out. I went back to my seat and eat my lunch. Lunch is more important than ping-pong. In fact there are a lot of things more important than Ping-pong. The most important one is that I don't like it.

Also, table football – both activities we have at work. We’re lucky to have activities sure, but I’m very over these things. I’d rather go for a walk with the guys up near Chalfont Heights. We saw a house with 3 Rolls-Royce cars parked out front in the yard. About 300,000 pounds each. I never even seen that amount of money before, let along 3 times that!

In other news, the sun was out and about today which was nice – I nearly sat outside. But the sun disappeared behind some clouds and I thought better of it. 

I ordered 2 books. One on game design and the other on 3D rendering. Both come in about a week’s time. I’m looking forward to that - I’m never going to be a game designer but I’ll darn well know exactly what's involved and how its done! I felt the same way about my broker project.

That's about it really.