FAQ
General Questions
- Q. Are these questions actually frequently asked?
A. No, not really. So far as I know, they've all been asked only once, when I myself asked them while trying to figure out what sort of questions should be on this page. So no, this isn't so much about actual frequently asked questions, as it is catechistic way of getting across some information about Cairn Hill.
- Q. When's the game going to be finished?
A. The game will be finished as soon as I can finish it; hopefully, that will be in a year or so. Let's say that I aim to have a playable download, at least, by the new year (Jan 1., 2004). If you're that very impatient, you could offer to help, you know.
- Q. What's Cairn Hill about?
A. Did you not read the intro on the main page? If that's not enough, check out the content and mechanics sections. If you don't like reading, look at the Quick and Dirty Description in the mechanics section.
- Q. May I e-mail you about something?
A. Certainly. My e-mail address is jihgfed@hotmail.com.
- Q. What's a "jihgfed", anyway? Were your parents hippies?
A. No, of course Jihgfed isn't my real name; it's part of my nom de net, Jihgfed Pumpkinhead. It's simply "DEFGHIJ" backwards; I thought it was cool. I appended "Pumpkinhead" simply because they sound nice together, and, for whatever reason, I'm rather enamoured of pumpkinheaded people right now. I didn't use my real name because, well, I don't want any of you people to know who I am.
- Q. Can you tell me more about yourself?
A. Yeah, gee, what's your sign, too, eh? Seriously, I never quite understood the rationale behind putting personal information on any web-site that isn't a dating service. I'm selling Cairn Hill, not myself ("selling" is a figure of speech: the game is free, of course). If you want some context, all you need to know is that I'm male, young (old enough to drink, but not to adopt), and live in Toronto. If you want to know more than this, then you're probably not the sort of person to whom I should give away my personal information, anyway.
- Q. So, you're from Canada, eh? [chuckle, snort]
A. [sigh]
- Q. Speaking of free, why are you making this game for free?
A. That's like asking the exhibitionist why he doesn't charge, like the strippers (i.e., big game companies) do. Same two reasons: 1) I'd like to think I'm rather above pimping off my artistic creations, and more importantly 2) the strippers have quite a bit more to show than I do. You've no right to complain about size or somatype when you're getting a free show.
- Q. Is there any way I can help out in the making of this game?
A. Yeah, right, like that's a frequently asked question. It would be lovely if it were one, though. If you do want to help, check out the helping out page, and thanks a lot.
- Q. Will you help me make a game of my own?
A. God, no. Well, maybe. If you pay me, sure... but you're not likely to do that. If you want something I can easily give you (graphics, say, or code, or something), feel free to ask, and I'll most likely say yes. If you want anything that might take a significant amount of my time, then no, unless it's a really, really worthwile game. When Cairn Hill is well and truly done, I might (might, as in possibly, but possibly not) write a little thing on how to make your own game. It will say "do this", and "do that", and not "do as you like", or "I would reccomend". It will give you very little freedom, because when you're writing your first game, a lot of freedom is a very bad thing, as I have discovered in so many painful ways. But that's when I'm done with Cairn Hill, which will be quite a while yet.
Technical Questions (boring for most)
- Q. On what system will the game work?
A. I should have a version for Windows (95 and up) definitely, OS/2 most likely (if I can steal a Mac from one of my friends), and possibly, but not likely Linux. Sorry, but I just don't know anyone who owns a machine with that OS. The code should be fairly portable (my code should, at least, I don't know about the libraries I'll be using), so anyone with Linux wishing to compile a Linux version is more than welcome to do so.
- Q. What language are you using?
A. C++.
- Q. What system, compiler, etc., are you using?
A. Win95 right now, and the Borland 5.5 Command-Line Compiler. It's free! Finally, I'm also using the Allegro game-programming library. It's free (a must, because I'm cheap), and extremely simple (a must, because I'm stupid).
- Q. Will you be releasing the source code?
A. Definitely.
- Q. How far along is the actual game?
A. Um... I'd rather not answer that.
- Q. Have you even written a single line of code?
A. Yep. Check out the progress page for detailed information on where I am right now.
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