A Path-finding Scenario

A* algorithm example

One big reason why I enjoy game programming so much is it makes us think outside the box. In a lot of situations, we as programmers must come up with custom solutions. One solution doesn't always work in all situations, especially when dealing with platforms with limited resources such as mobile phones. I also like to see other programmers' thought processes.

The article Path-finding For Princes by Rod-Mathisen, is a classic example of combining path-finding solutions to work best for his scenario for the iPhone. Of course, there are probably several number of solutions for his scenario, and I'm sure there are critics, but a lot of times, "whatever works" or "appears to work" in game programming is acceptable, especially if the solution is a fairly simple one.

Really Big Sky - Impressive Indie Shmup

Really Big Sky looks like an awesome indie shmup. Everything is procedurally generated and looks very impressive. At only $10, I'll most likely be picking it up shortly.
Support your indies and buy it here!.. (Demo is also available) http://bossbaddie.co.uk/bigsky/

.NET Memory Management and Garbage Collection

Clive Tong (from Red Gate) has an excellent post on The Top 5 .NET Memory Management Misconceptions, which does a great job of explaining how the .NET garbage collector works.

Now those Performance Counters listed under ".NET CLR Memory" (and debugging .NET memory issues in general) make more sense.

There's also a nice post by Ian Nicolade on High-End Performance Optimizations on the XBox 360 and Windows Phone 7 which explains some common ways to keep from generating huge amounts of garbage in apps that use potentially never-ending loops (such as games).