Michelangelo di Lodovico Buonarroti Simoni was born on March 6, 1475. In his lifetime, he created many of the world’s most famous works of art, including the famous statue of David and the Sistine Chapel Ceiling. He also designed great works of architecture such as the Medici Chapel and the Laurentian Library.

I’m telling you, they just don’t make artists like they used to.

In honor of Michelangelo’s birthday, “Michelangelo: The Game” will be free for the next three days.
You can get the game here on iTunes!

It’s February 14th. Valentine’s Day, my birthday, and also the day that Michelangelo, my iOS / HTML5 puzzle game, was released on the iTunes App store! It’s available now for the low, low price of 99 cents.

See screenshots of the game here.
Check it out on iTunes here!

During the development of my game Michelangelo, code-named Glass, I used Twitter as a sort of lightweight development diary.  It was a fun little exercise that encouraged me to reflect on my development process as I was making the game.  It also got me into contact with people who knew more about PhoneGap than I did which proved to be really helpful during development.

So, for the curious, here’s a descending chronological list of Tweets I made while developing Michelangelo:

Prototyping Victory! Mocking up a screenshot in GIMP just saved me from writing code I *THOUGHT* I would need. #glass

March 21, 2011 8:56 am via webReplyRetweetFavorite

@nobunagaota

Robert Ota Dieterich

Fun PhoneGap Fact: CSS-declared dimensions for a canvas seem to affect performance more than its tag dimensions. #glass #no_easy_upscaling

March 26, 2011 10:43 am via webReplyRetweetFavorite

@nobunagaota

Robert Ota Dieterich

Ok <canvas>, you've made your point. You're SLOW. I promise not to use you for animation, ok? #glass

April 6, 2011 5:14 pm via webReplyRetweetFavorite

@nobunagaota

Robert Ota Dieterich

The story I based on the game design is changing the design itself. Cool feedback loop. I wonder where the point of convergence is? #glass

April 9, 2011 6:40 am via Keitai WebReplyRetweetFavorite

@nobunagaota

Robert Ota Dieterich

Good t' know: complexity of the underlying DOM object significantly affects the performance of your CSS animations on iPhone. #glass

April 14, 2011 6:30 am via webReplyRetweetFavorite

@nobunagaota

Robert Ota Dieterich

In other words: It's faster to CSS animate an image block than it is to animate a div containing text. Makes sense really. #glass

April 14, 2011 6:33 am via webReplyRetweetFavorite

@nobunagaota

Robert Ota Dieterich

Bit the bullet and switched to a CSS-centric tile implementation. It's not fast, but it's faster than the <canvas> approach. #glass

April 17, 2011 1:06 pm via webReplyRetweetFavorite

@nobunagaota

Robert Ota Dieterich

Thank you Google Closure for making Javascript behave more like C++. Yeah I said it. I love my const values, that's why. #glass

April 25, 2011 2:29 pm via webReplyRetweetFavorite

@nobunagaota

Robert Ota Dieterich

Hooray for PhoneGap's localstorage implementation! Now I can share data between game scenes on different html pages. #glass #smallvictory

May 12, 2011 12:41 am via webReplyRetweetFavorite

@nobunagaota

Robert Ota Dieterich

Most of my indie game dev takes place on the train or bus to/from work. Kinda gives new meaning to the phrase "mobile development." #glass

May 16, 2011 4:58 am via webReplyRetweetFavorite

@nobunagaota

Robert Ota Dieterich

Okay, okay, I promise this is the last time I completely change my game design. #glass #fifth_times_a_charm

May 17, 2011 1:10 pm via webReplyRetweetFavorite

@nobunagaota

Robert Ota Dieterich

Okay, PhoneGap, if OrientationChange events don't work out of the box, I'll live without them. Maybe in version 0.9.6... #glass

May 19, 2011 3:47 pm via webReplyRetweetFavorite

@nobunagaota

Robert Ota Dieterich

Google Closure. Javascript Syntax checking: awesome. ADVANCED_OPTIMIZATIONS however may not be worth it. #glass #mistargeted_optimization

May 20, 2011 4:39 pm via webReplyRetweetFavorite

@nobunagaota

Robert Ota Dieterich

The ad-hoc nature of Google Closure's documentation makes it tough to answer even simple questions about its extern syntax. #glass

May 22, 2011 1:05 pm via Twitter for iPhoneReplyRetweetFavorite

@nobunagaota

Robert Ota Dieterich

Adding characters can go miles towards bringing a game's theme and gameplay together. #glass

May 23, 2011 3:00 pm via webReplyRetweetFavorite

@nobunagaota

Robert Ota Dieterich

Loading Media is actually FASTER on my iPod than in the simulator. Not fast enough for lazy loading, but still kinda cool. #glass #phonegap

May 24, 2011 2:54 pm via webReplyRetweetFavorite

@nobunagaota

Robert Ota Dieterich

My goal for the Glass project is to make a small, but feature-complete, iOS game with HTML5. And what's a game without unlockables? #glass

May 25, 2011 4:23 pm via Twitter for iPhoneReplyRetweetFavorite

@nobunagaota

Robert Ota Dieterich

Writing HTML5 is easy. Writing games is hard. Writing games in HTML5 is... still hard! But am I discouraged? Hell no! #glass #bring_it

May 26, 2011 3:48 pm via Twitter for iPhoneReplyRetweetFavorite

@nobunagaota

Robert Ota Dieterich

My phone died and now I have an Android Sirius Alpha. Glass may be going multiplatform sooner than expected. #glass #death-and-rebirth

May 28, 2011 8:21 am via SKY AndroianReplyRetweetFavorite

@nobunagaota

Robert Ota Dieterich

As long as I don't instantiate Media() the iOS music player keeps playing. Custom soundtracks anyone? #glass #phonegap

May 30, 2011 2:16 pm via Twitter for iPhoneReplyRetweetFavorite

@nobunagaota

Robert Ota Dieterich

WebView's scroll behavior can be a real pain. Even if suppressed on a top-level div, a child can sometimes cause scrolls. #glass #phonegap

May 31, 2011 1:36 pm via Twitter for iPhoneReplyRetweetFavorite

@nobunagaota

Robert Ota Dieterich

Sometimes less IS more! Just dropped some of my animations and now my gameplay feels so much faster and more interactive. #glass

June 1, 2011 1:44 pm via Twitter for iPhoneReplyRetweetFavorite

@nobunagaota

Robert Ota Dieterich

Nothing like a warm cat sleeping on your side to help the coding go by ever so much smoother. #glass

June 2, 2011 4:18 pm via webReplyRetweetFavorite

@nobunagaota

Robert Ota Dieterich

Lesson learned: you don't need to be a fighting game to benefit from buffered input. #glass

June 4, 2011 1:33 am via SKY AndroianReplyRetweetFavorite

@nobunagaota

Robert Ota Dieterich

It's a relief to find out that, despite what some sites say, playing mp3s through PhoneGap's Media API works on my iPod Touch. #glass

June 5, 2011 10:19 am via webReplyRetweetFavorite

@nobunagaota

Robert Ota Dieterich

Ugh. Relying on JavaScript and CSS animation interplay to manage game object state is an inherently error-prone process. #glass #phonegap

June 6, 2011 3:04 pm via Twitter for iPhoneReplyRetweetFavorite

@nobunagaota

Robert Ota Dieterich

Lambda functions can be really, really useful. Though they sometimes make my single-threaded head spin. #glass

June 7, 2011 2:55 pm via SKY AndroianReplyRetweetFavorite

@nobunagaota

Robert Ota Dieterich

You can do a lot of cool effects with <canvas>, but drawImage calls on iPod's are just too slow in most cases. #glass #close_but_no_cigar

June 9, 2011 1:01 pm via webReplyRetweetFavorite

@nobunagaota

Robert Ota Dieterich

I can write C++ and C# sans reference like no one's business. I am helpless in HTML/CSS without google. #glass #coding_on_the_train

June 10, 2011 2:47 pm via SKY AndroianReplyRetweetFavorite

@nobunagaota

Robert Ota Dieterich

Squeezing out gameplay-worthy performance can be a Sysyphian task, but being able to use HTML/CSS for menus is a win. #glass #phonegap

June 11, 2011 2:41 am via SKY AndroianReplyRetweetFavorite

@nobunagaota

Robert Ota Dieterich

CSS-styled button tags with a well-thought out onClick handler make for decent menus in a mobile app. #glass #phonegap

June 11, 2011 6:00 pm via Twitter for iPhoneReplyRetweetFavorite

@nobunagaota

Robert Ota Dieterich

Turn-based or time-based? That is the question. #glass #gameplay

June 12, 2011 8:56 am via Twitter for iPhoneReplyRetweetFavorite

@nobunagaota

Robert Ota Dieterich

Stars are terribly overused but, as a result, they provide a great short-hand for advancement in iPhone games. #glass

June 13, 2011 2:43 pm via Twitter for iPhoneReplyRetweetFavorite

@nobunagaota

Robert Ota Dieterich

Clever girl, Google Closure. Renaming 'numberOfLoops' and preventing my music from looping. #glass #phonegap #checkYourExterns

June 15, 2011 6:25 am via SKY AndroianReplyRetweetFavorite

@nobunagaota

Robert Ota Dieterich

Did 30 mins of paper prototyping just save me from 2 hours implementing a feature that wasn't going to work? Why yes, it did! #glass

June 15, 2011 3:30 pm via webReplyRetweetFavorite

@nobunagaota

Robert Ota Dieterich

As a C++ programmer, my most common CSS mistake is switching '.' and '#' when defining CSS classes. #glass

June 16, 2011 3:14 pm via SKY AndroianReplyRetweetFavorite

@nobunagaota

Robert Ota Dieterich

Some nights you're just tired and settle for setting sound effects on buttons instead of writing serious code. #glass

June 18, 2011 4:27 pm via webReplyRetweetFavorite

@nobunagaota

Robert Ota Dieterich

Real-time gameplay or turn-based. Hard choice. That's why I chose... both! #glass

June 19, 2011 1:40 pm via SKY AndroianReplyRetweetFavorite

@nobunagaota

Robert Ota Dieterich

Set webview.dataDetectorTypes to UIDetectorTypeNone. I haven't benchmarked yet but I'm pretty sure it didn't help perf. #glass #phonegap

June 20, 2011 3:25 pm via SKY AndroianReplyRetweetFavorite

@nobunagaota

Robert Ota Dieterich

This guy has PhoneGap game on iOS called Orbium (http://t.co/3VikIII). And it's open-source! Time to get my learning on. #glass

June 24, 2011 11:34 am via webReplyRetweetFavorite

@nobunagaota

Robert Ota Dieterich

For Phonegap on iOS, using ontouchend as your "button pushed" event handler makes buttons feel so much more responsive than onclick. #glass

June 26, 2011 12:11 pm via SKY AndroianReplyRetweetFavorite

@nobunagaota

Robert Ota Dieterich

It took some experimenting but I finally have my core gameplay figured out. Now to see how I feel after the caffeine wears off. #glass

June 26, 2011 12:35 pm via SKY AndroianReplyRetweetFavorite

@nobunagaota

Robert Ota Dieterich

Ouch. GUIMark3 on HTML5 vs. Flash mobile performance: http://t.co/kf3x1yT Still, designing a game under constraints is good practice. #glass

June 27, 2011 2:20 pm via webReplyRetweetFavorite

@nobunagaota

Robert Ota Dieterich

Organizing pages to minimize reflow when you change innerHTML can make a huge difference in performance. #glass #phonegap #less_is_more

June 28, 2011 2:29 pm via Twitter for iPhoneReplyRetweetFavorite

@nobunagaota

Robert Ota Dieterich

The 2nd most important screen in the game is the Results screen. It's the place to get the player to say: "Ooh I want more of that!" #glass

July 2, 2011 2:52 am via SKY AndroianReplyRetweetFavorite

@nobunagaota

Robert Ota Dieterich

Creative Commons provides a great resource for images but keeping track of all your BYs and SAs can be a fair bit of work. #glass

July 31, 2011 11:23 am via SKY AndroianReplyRetweetFavorite

@nobunagaota

Robert Ota Dieterich

Speaking of Creative Commons, does anyone have a preferred way to fulfill Share-Alike obligations for modified images? #glass

July 31, 2011 11:25 am via SKY AndroianReplyRetweetFavorite

@nobunagaota

Robert Ota Dieterich

I've made my game turn-based since it's a better experience for gamers who face constant interruptions (commuters & parents, i.e. me) #glass

August 12, 2011 2:35 am via SKY AndroianReplyRetweetFavorite

@nobunagaota

Robert Ota Dieterich

Phonegap canvas: four 96x96 sprite draws, 8 fps on my iPod Touch. Not very promising. Is there any way to make it better? #glass

September 6, 2011 3:51 am via SKY AndroianReplyRetweetFavorite

@nobunagaota

Robert Ota Dieterich

iTunes Connect doesn't let me register a new app without ALL of my submission materials ready ahead of time. Amazingly primitive. #glass

October 29, 2011 1:03 pm via webReplyRetweetFavorite

@nobunagaota

Robert Ota Dieterich

Uploaded my first iOS / HTML5 game, Michelangelo (http://t.co/WEGs52TW), to iTunes Connect. And now, I wait...

February 8, 2012 1:49 pm via webReplyRetweetFavorite

@nobunagaota

Robert Ota Dieterich

Michelangelo, my iOS / HTML5 puzzle game is In-Review at the App Store. Yippee!

February 12, 2012 6:25 am via webReplyRetweetFavorite

@nobunagaota

Robert Ota Dieterich

And Michelangelo, my iOS / HTML5 puzzle game, has made it through app review. That was a lot faster than I expected. Not that I mind!

February 12, 2012 7:30 am via webReplyRetweetFavorite

@nobunagaota

Robert Ota Dieterich

Just got Michelangelo (available on iOS: http://t.co/GsgaZV5a) running on Android. Except for the parts that don't work, it works fine!

February 19, 2012 11:43 am via webReplyRetweetFavorite

@nobunagaota

Robert Ota Dieterich

Working on an update for Michelangelo (http://t.co/GsgaZV5a). Just switched to a native sound effect implementation. SO much faster. #glass

February 23, 2012 4:13 pm via webReplyRetweetFavorite

@nobunagaota

Robert Ota Dieterich

I just uploaded an update for Michelangelo (http://t.co/GsgaZV5a) for app review. If all goes well, it should be available on iTunes soon.

February 25, 2012 1:59 pm via webReplyRetweetFavorite

@nobunagaota

Robert Ota Dieterich

Anyone who’s been following my Twitter account (@nobunagaota) will have seen me posting a regular stream of obscure and hopelessly geeky tweets tagged #glass.  For my latest project, I decided to use Twitter to log my thoughts during development.  Those tweets are posts regarding my current project: a mobile puzzle game called Michelangelo written in HTML5.

Michelangelo? Yes, as in the Renaissance artist.  Why were the tweets tagged #glass? Well, “Glass” is the project code name I’m using while developing the game.  Originally, I was planning on theming the game on stained glass but I eventually settled on the works of Michelangelo.

This project started after I went to a seminar on HTML5 and CSS3.  Seeing how much the HTML/CSS feature set had grown, I decided to see how suitable it was for making a game.  And what better way to test that suitability than actually making a game?  I also decided to use this opportunity to get my feet wet in smartphone development for iOS (and Android).

The challenge I set for myself was to make Michelangelo a full, feature-complete game (multiple stages, unlockable content, high scores, etc.) using HTML5, CSS3 and JavaScript.  By using technologies with which I am only somewhat familiar on a platform with strict performance characteristics, I figured this project would be a good chance to learn some new programming techniques.

My plan going forward is to release Michelangelo for iOS and then port it over to Android.  Since, I’m using Phonegap and HTML5, porting the game should be trivially easy, but we’ll see how that goes.

I’ll post more about Michelangelo here as the project continues.  Look forward to it!