Fruit Ninja Template - Who wants to contribute with me?

Mells

Hi,

I am currently working on a Fruit Ninja gameplay for one of my apps.
I need to be able to cut objects through swipes (1), have them cut physically (2) and have the app recognize a different set of gestures (draw circle, draw square - multistroke gesture recognition). (3)
I also need the app to recognize different swipes (from top to bottom, bottom to top, left right, diagonal) (4).

All those great resources have already been made available on the forum separately by @ar2rsawseen and @bowerhaus if I remember well - sorry if I am mistaking, please correct me if that is the case - I am making some progress but am not sure that what I am doing is optimized.

So I was wondering, if somebody wanted to provide some optimized code (best practices) that stiches all those resources, and I would provide the art (visual feedbacks, objects), we could release together a polished template for the Gideros community, useful for all the members.
The goal is not to provide something complete, but a good and reliable starting point.
Please understand that I am not asking you to "do the job for me". I am not able to provide good code, so i wouldn't even be able to provide anything if I decided to do it all by myself (like i intended first, release a template all by myself).

So if you are interested and think this is a good idea, please let me know here
I would be happy to contribute a bit to the Gideros resources library.

gorkem

Atilim has been working on it for some time, but haven't released the code yet. @atilim I think you can release the code now and Mells can provide the visual arts. Would be a very good starting point for newstarters and an added value for the community.

avo

oh this is exciting

Mells

@gorkem : And if @atilim is too busy with other priorities and there is still some work to do on the template maybe a coder with the knowledge, from the forum, could take care of it?
Just trying to find the best way to take it a step forward

atilim

Hi Mells,

I'm attaching the sample code. I couldn't release it as an official sample because I don't own the graphics included. But I think there is no harm to share it in this forum.

phoen25

@atilim you're the man !!

atilim

@Mells On the other hand, I think we should create a new Fruit Ninja game. The idea of creating a game from the ground with this community excites me a lot. Everyone can contribute, shares his/her experience and learn a lot from this project. At the end, it will be really fun.

Mells

@atilim

Template

Great!
So if I provide updated graphics and release it under CC you'll be able to release this template as an official sample right?
That would be great if someone could comment the code (at least at each file's top) so it could become a learning resource.

What I would like to add :

1. Add Multistroke gesture recognition :
   • draw circles
   • draw squares
   • two or three fingers swipe
2. Add recognition for different types of swipes (from top to bottom, bottom to top, left right, diagonal)
   

Question

So is that out of the scope of this template, or is somebody willing to :

• Comment the code
• Add those extra features (1 and 2 above)

Make a game

I think we should create a new Fruit Ninja game

You mean, merge with the game template to provide a basic title screen, level selection?
If so, I think this is a great thing.
Best would be to have the ability to "plug" a game template (title screen, level selection, options screen) to any kind of template.
That would make the creation of templates very effective.

What do you have in mind when you say "create a new Fruit Ninja game" and which level of polish are you expecting? Would it be a starting point, or a more polished/finished game?
(I think the difference between the level of involvement and commitment is huge.)

atilim

So if I provide updated graphics and release it under CC you'll be able to release this template as an official sample right?

yes and that would be great.


But what's on my mind is creating a polished/finished game all together. And while doing this we can totally ignore this sample and design the game from ground up with multistroke and different types of swipes (and maybe with a story in it).

alexzheng

This is a more advanced implementation than fruit nijia.
I have read a similar tutorial using cocos2d and box2d,but your method is much more cleverer. =D>

Mells

But what's on my mind is creating a polished/finished game all together. And while doing this we can totally ignore this sample and design the game from ground up with multistroke and different types of swipes (and maybe with a story in it).

@atilim
While several programmers can contribute to the app with little to no problem (but still this is an investment) and share the amount of work (especially if the code is well commented, and I believe there are mainly programmers in this community?), the thing is I think when you work on a game like this you need to have one illustrator (max 2) for the art direction to be consistent.
From what I understand, there would be a lot of work : create the story, create several illustrations for the introduction, + title screen, chapter screens, end of game illustrations, etc).

Maybe I'm thinking too seriously but if the goal is to use that game to promote Gideros, it better has to be polished and well-thought.

Unless somebody takes the illustration part, I am afraid that I don't have myself that much time and money to commit to another project these days (and I believe non-profit? so can't balance the charges), that's why I was suggesting that I could at least contribute with the template without investing so much time.
I can donate my time for a basic template (with pretty placeholders) but I'm afraid a game is another step.
Programming wise, it should be easier to share the work across the volunteers and make it relatively light for each one.

If it was not about a constraint of money and time investment, I would have gladly contributed to that game to promote Gideros more and more, but from what I understand this is a lot of work and my plate is already full.
Unless we open a Kickstarter campaign to fund the game

ar2rsawseen

@atilim community developed app, that's sound like an awesomely fun idea.
I can take the game template, update it (as I already wanted to do that) and put it on Soup Ninja.

So is there any specific detailed plan, what scenes it has, any features, list of possible game modes, will there be any levels? Like recipes, where you need to slice carrots in twice, but crush the reddish in small pieces?

Magnusviri

I'm trying to develop a game for the Gideros class I teach in a month. I would be very interested in helping move this along. Is someone going to be "project manager"? All of the artists I know would want to be paid for their work.

And I know Fruit Ninja and Veggie Samurai are taken. How about Soup Sumo? LOL

MikeHart

Be careful folks. The Corona guys got a letter from the Fruit Ninja lawyers when they had their Fruit Ninja template out there.

ar2rsawseen

Well, actually I don't even really like FruitNinja game. But I liked the idea of creating an app together. So it can be any other app. Does anyone has any ideas? Cause I have like tons of them, but I can't learn to filter bad ones

phoen25

@MikeHart Is that means we can't make a ninja style game because of legal issues?

Scouser

I think the lawyers were trying to pull a fast one because (in the UK at least) General ideas and structures behind computer games and programs can be copied as long as the source code and graphics are not, the Court of Appeal has ruled. This would suggest that you can recreate a game with different graphics, and, if you you didn't copy the source code then you would be OK. Well that's my reading of it anyway.

Also Oracle just lost a court case in USA against Google when Oracle tried to sue over copyright of the Java API. The court ruled that APIs aren't copyrightable. This again says that you cannot prevent somebody from writing code to do exactly what your code does.

MikeHart

@phoen25 I am just saying that they took their game template down. And the said that they got a letter from the laywers and because of that were forced to do this. That is all.
You can create any game. But have to be ALWAYS aware that there could be someone who will sue you for it. Because they think they are right and they have the money to do ti. If they sit in the right country (like US), and you are not able to defend yourself in court, because of money or presents, then they will win automatically. No matter if they are right or wrong.

Scouser

@MikeHart: With the precedents set in the 2 cases mentioned above I think you will find lawyers willing to fight your case on a no win, no fee basis. It is only because joe public is unaware of the law that people will either pull out or settle but with big names i.e. Google setting the precedent I think these type letters will no longer carry any weight. If you were receive a letter like this then you could quote the case numbers / names back to the lawyers and they would have to withdraw it or risk losing their clients a bucket load of money in fees. IANAL but that's how I read it.

techdojo

In a lot of cases the original companies (and the lawyers) are often just pushing their luck - working on the idea that "cease & desist" will be enough to scare off a potential competitor or stop them in their tracks at an early stage.

Either ignoring them or telling them a flat out NO is often enough to deter them - but then again like @Scouser IANAL!

#cynic

Plus - think of all the bad press a lawyer would get if the person they tried it on with pulled the "big brother is picking on me and trying to get my philanthropic educational project to help small children in impoverished countries work their way out of poverty closed down" angle.

# /cynic

Magnusviri

Well I think it should be different, not an exact clone of Fruit Ninja. Nobody can make Tetris clones either. I've had friends who got letters from the Tetris owners. But there are a lot of games that use the same idea, like I've seen one with with marbles that roll and you get rid of rows by matching colors, and another with very different shapes. You just can't use the same shapes.

I just had some projects come up so I'm going to take a back seat on this and maybe just chime in occasionally.

gorkem

There's a tetris clone named Ksirtet from the early days of K Desktop Environment (Linux), and I'm wondering what kind of a claim Tetris owners are using to warn developers.

Mells

@gorkem

• Defining Tetris: How courts judge gaming clones
  
• Developments in The 'Tetris' vs 'Mino' Legal Battle Could Provide Ammo for Cloning Victims

ar2rsawseen

@Mells, you just made my day.
I was working on a block building game, which I was always afraid will be consider to infringe Tetris copyright.. But by that definition, it's pretty far away from Tetris.
Only thing that overlays for now is "The display of the next piece to fall".
But since:
"any of these features, when viewed in isolation, might not be enough to prove copyright infringement"
I don't have to worry about it

techdojo

But to reiterate and summarise what @Scouser said - "you can't copyright an idea".
Trademarks yes but not ideas, you can try scare tactics if you like but at the end of the day if the other party stands their ground and is prepared to fight it out then there's not a lot you can actually do.

If you make a tetris game and call it tet*** or **ris then maybe your on slightly dodgy ground, if someone could convince a judge that your intention was to "ride on the coattails..." (my take on the Mino case) likewise you *might* have an issue (provided the other party had deep enough pockets - which the Tetris company obviously have).

Other than that - go for it, make a game, have fun! and take any "interest" from others as a compliment that they feel your "game" is good enough to be a threat

Scouser

I think what all of the linked cases show us is that my original assumption about the lawyers pulling a fast one were correct. The game mechanics cannot be subject to copyright as there are many ways to achieve the same results via code and if the game mechanics were to be protected by IP law then there would only ever be one of each genre of game.

Imagine a games industry where nobody could create a platform game because Nintendo held the copyright on platformer game mechanics because of Donkey Kong. There would never have been games like Manic Miner or Jetpac.

So as you were chaps, nothing to worry about here, carry on

:P to the lawyers, lowest form of bottom dwelling, bottom feeding pond scum :P

techdojo

@Scouser lawyers only one level higher than game testers and producers then

Mells

So :

1. Will there be a fruits ninja template released for Gideros or not and will it be an updated version from the one that @atilim posted (code comments, additional features)?
2. Will it be a template (I can provide a few images) or a full game? (not in a position to be able to donate that much amount of time)

Scouser

I think between us we could probably produce a decent game template. How about a platform based fruit ninja game

Teranth

@atilim, very cool code, the polygon split function alone makes this pretty awesome--and of course the textured shapes which is a awesome feature in Gideros.

Is that code free for use--I can think of a few times I would love to slice a polygon up and would prefer not to reinvent the wheel heh, bring on the NINJAS!

I am not sure how much time I will have to play with it, but I might go through and comment in some, stick it in a simple template of sorts, i will of course re-post it here if I do get around to it--have quite a few projects on the burner at the moment heh

@Mells, I would certainly say go with @atilim's code as it's a great start for that type of game, honestly he's got most of what I remember about fruit ninja working already--I never really played the game, but I like the idea of slicing polygons up heh

My guess is that it would be easiest to release it as a Template of sorts as most of the people on the form are working towards releasing games for either direct cash or ad money so that always tends to get messy in some way or another. But a template is just a nice donation to the community that they can take and create their own game from--usually the templates are practically a game anyway, just a single level game without the bells and whistles My vote is on the Template Idea based on @atilim's code--if he doesn't mind of course as I didn't see a license in the actual code files for it.

Anyway @atilim's code is the real gem, I am sure you could whip up some graphics to replace the uses being used currently and put it together as a great example for the community to learn from and more then likely create a lot of clones with heh :P

Mells

@Teranth
Yes, that's why I am asking what the plan is.
only @atilim, @deniz or @gorkem can tell us what their plan is and if they plan to release it as a template officially.
As it was stated, there "could" be some legal issues with it so that's not a good idea to move before having the Gideros team's official opinion.

If this template becomes an official resource (quick protoyping and learning purpose) then it needs to be commented.

I have already started working with the files that atilim provided above.
If I'm asking for clarifications, it's only to contribute and learn more from this in the near future (comments).
Also I am asking if somebody plans to add multistroke gesture recognition to the template because that could be a great way to enhance gameplay and not end up with xx clones of Fruit Ninja.
It would open doors to people tht have ideas but less technical skills.

Releasing a template without those features would lead to beginners (like me) being stuck with the same gameplay than fruit ninja.
I think that it would not put Gideros in the light.
Add those features and I (for example) could take it further.