Technical Writing & Wikis

Code & Other Technical Documentation

• RUTL, the Really Useful Template Library (C++ library documentation). The GameFx studio of THQ used C++ to code their games. To maximize performance, they created RUTL instead of using the C++ Standard Template Library, as RUTL was faster and simpler. RUTL also contained game-useful classes that STL did not. I documented the RUTL library, see RUTL.
  
  
• Sinistar: Unleashed AI Data Values (game AI documentation). Sinistar: Unleashed is a 3D space shooter game from GameFx, a studio of THQ. It had extensive game AI, which I documented in a 230+ page illustrated manual. See the document, Sinistar AI Data Values.
  
  
• GA Networking Code (code documentation). Genetic Anomalies (GA) was a pioneer of online virtual goods and games. They wrote extensive networking to support their operations, and I documented it. See GA Networking Code.
• RAGE, the Raging AGB Game Engine (game engine documentation). Rage was developed by Helixe, another THQ studio, as their game engine for the Advanced Game Boy. I documented the engine; see RAGE.
• Birdopolis Display Organization (programmers' aid). Birdopolis was implemented in Flash/ActionScript and used a strong hierarchical display organization. I created the following diagram to help programmers learn the organization:
  
• Facebook Test Accounts (technical documentation). Facebook allows app developers to test their apps using special test accounts that are separate from user accounts. However, Facebook's documentation of these accounts is not in depth, so that considerable trial and error is needed to fully master how to use and manage the accounts. I documented this based on my own experience with using the accounts; see Facebook Test Accounts.
• Sherlock Holmes Prototype User Manual (technical documentation). Sherlock Holmes was a prototype for a mobile game for "feature phones" (the mobile phone generation before today's smart phones), for mobile content developer Zingy. The prototype used HTML/CSS/JavaScript to simulate a complete section of the game as it would appear on a feature phone. The manual covers how to use and update the prototype and documents the technical design and function calls of the prototype. See the manual, Sherlock Holmes Prototype.
• Birdopolis Local Currency Support (technical documentation). The Facebook game, Birdopolis, was launched with only support for US dollars in its game store. I created a document, Birdopolis: Supporting Local Currencies, on how to use the Facebook SDK and how to modify the code to support showing prices in the users' preferred local currencies.
• Birdopolis ActionScript 3 Procedures (technical documentation). This is a wiki page I created to document ActionScript 3 procedures the Nuukster programmers needed to follow when coding Birdopolis. See Birdopolis ActionScript 3 Procedures.
• Birdopolis God Codes (technical documentation). This is a wiki page I created to document the ActionScript 3 god codes of the Birdopolis game. See Birdopolis God Codes.
• Helixe Database Library (code documentation). Helixe created an extremely memory-efficient database system for use in their games, and I documented it. See Helixe Database Library.
• Hardwired Games Programming Style Guide. Working with the team of software engineers at Hardwired Games, I created their programming style guide.
• Quick Reference for the Hardwired Games Programming Style Guide. The programming style guide for Hardwired Games ran to 25 pages, so I made a quick reference version that condensed their key guidelines onto two pages.

Application & UI Documentation

• Birdopolis Civic Buildings (functional & UI specification). Civic buildings were added to the Birdopolis game as an additional content gate: players would have to build civic buildings to increase the population limit of their yards, so that new, different birds could visit the yard. See the design, Birdopolis Civic Buildings.
• Nurturing Birds (functional & UI specification). Birdopolis was originally planned to have a set of minigames where players helped their bird friends raise their families from eggs to chicks to fledglings. However, time constraints required a light-weight version of nurturing be designed for fast implementation, and the Nurturing Birds Lite document covers this as a click-fest in place of skill-based minigames.
• Batch 2 Birds (game design documentation). This document specifies the second batch of birds planned for Birdopolis. It covers all aspects of adapting real birds to become bird characters in the game, such as their appearance, gender, region, food preferences, and so on. See Birdopolis Birds Batch 2.
  
  
• Bird Collection UI (UI specification). One aspect of Birdopolis was to encourage players to "collect" all the birds in the game, by spotting and gaining multiple levels of friendship (bronze, silver, gold) with them. The Birdopolis Bird Collection UI document specifies how the bird collection interface is organized.
• Gifting and Requests (game design & UI specification). The Birdopolis Gifting and Requests document specifies how the in-game social gifting and requests systems operate, both for functionality and user interface.
• Rhythm Zone (game flow charts & UI specification). Rhythm Zone is a music game similar to Guitar Hero or Rock Band with the innovative feature of playing any music you have on your PC in the game itself. I documented the Facebook design, RZ Facebook.
  
  
• Crazy Night Out (game design treatment). This is a story adventure game for mobile phones, available on Verizon Wireless. Players take the role of a character and progress through a branching story driven by the choices the players make and how they develop their characters. The design treatment covers the concepts and ideas from which the final game was developed. See the game treatment, Crazy Night Out Game Treatment.
  
  
• Name That Tune Deluxe (game flow charts & functional specification). This design became version 3 of the hit mobile game, Name That Tune! New features included multiplayer play, tournaments, and friend-vs-friend challenges. See the design and UI flow document, NTTD Flows, and the functional specification, NTTD Functional Specification.
• ToneMaker v6. This is a UI design for a mobile phone app that allows users to make their own ringtones by choosing sound tracks, recording audio/voice right on the phone, and mixing these elements to produce ringtones. See the UI design document, ToneMaker v6 UI Specifications.
• MovieMaker (application flow charts & UI specification). This is a design for a mobile phone app that allows users to make their own mobile movies by shooting and editing videos right on their mobile phones. The design supported sharing movies between users, rating movies, and entering contests. See the design and UI flow document, MovieMaker UI Flows.
  
  
• Fortune Teller for Kindle (application design & UI specification). This is a light-weight fortune telling app for the Kindle platform. See the app specification, Kindle Fortune Teller.

End-User Manuals & Materials

• Sinistar: Unleashed Game Manual. I created the end-user game manual for Sinistar: Unleashed. See the manual, Sinistar: Unleashed Manual.
• Sinistar: Unleashed FAQ. After Sinistar: Unleashed was published, I wrote and maintained the online FAQ for the game. See Sinistar: Unleashed FAQ.
• Birdopolis Help. Birdopolis is a Facebook social game, and I wrote its quick-start help guide. See Birdopolis Help.
• Star Trek Online Game Manual. I wrote the online documentation for Genetic Anomalies' Star Trek Online game. See Star Trek Online Manual.
• Dream Shots Help. Dream Shots was a mobile phone app. I designed its help system and wrote the help text. See Dream Shots Help.
• Rhythm Zone Beta Help. Rhythm Zone Beta was a web-based music game. I wrote the help text. See Rhythm Zone Beta Help.
  
• Croc Mobile: Jungle Rumble Hint Guide. This was a mobile phone game from British developer Morpheme Wireless that Zingy licensed for publication in the North American market. I wrote the web-based hint guide for Zingy. See Croc Hint Guide.
         

Wikis

• Birdopolis Technical Wiki. Nuukster used Redmine as a project management/bug tracking tool. I set up, administered, and contributed to a Redmine-based Birdopolis project wiki that was used by Nuukster's application development staff. Here are samples of materials I created for the wiki:
  • Facebook Test Accounts (technical documentation). Facebook allows app developers to test their apps using special test accounts that are separate from user accounts. However, Facebook's documentation of these accounts is not in depth, so that considerable trial and error is needed to fully master how to use and manage the accounts. I documented this based on my own experience with using the accounts; see Facebook Test Accounts.
  • Birdopolis ActionScript 3 Procedures (technical documentation). This is a wiki page I created to document ActionScript 3 procedures the Nuukster programmers needed to follow when coding Birdopolis. See Birdopolis ActionScript 3 Procedures.
  • Birdopolis God Codes (technical documentation). This is a wiki page I created to document the ActionScript 3 god codes of the Birdopolis game. See Birdopolis God Codes.
• Birdopolis End-User Wiki. See birdopolis.wikia.com/wiki/Birdopolis_Wiki for the end-user wiki for the Birdopolis game. This wiki was set up using www.wikia.com. I created the following guides for the wiki:
  • The Style Guide.
  • The Policies Guide.
  • The Images and Media Guide.
  • The Copyrights Policy.
• Sonic Boom Wiki. I was an application design contractor for Sonic Boom, and they needed a new wiki. Since I had experience with wikis, I put together a wiki candidates document and recommended a specific wiki, MediaWiki, which they adopted.

doxygen

doxygen is a code documentation generator. It uses specially-formatted comments in the source code itself to generate documentation based on those comments. I can use this tool; for an example, see the PHP Tutorial Code Documentation.