Play Nation Driver now!

Nation Driver Installer is now available for download! You can now play our entry for the Imagine Cup 2010 Game Design category.

You can download it here (link temporarily down, installer bug reported).

Here are some screenshot of the game.

Here are sample videos of the game.

Enjoy the game. And be the best Nation Driver you can be!

Competitions Galore.

Oo, natalo kami sa Imagine Cup. Pero ang pag katalo lang na iyon ang nag bigay sa amin ng mas malakas na loob. Ang Imagine Cup ay ang aming naging simula para sa mga susunod pang mga contest.

Ngayong term na ito, may tatlong contest kaming balak salihan; ang Android Challenge, Samsung Bada at CodeSpark. Meron din isang contest kung saan ipapadala ulit namin ang aming Nation Driver.

Oo, kami na ang adik sa contest!

At ang lahat ng iyon ay dapat magawa ngayong term na ito.

Tingnan niyo ang Sticky Note ko sa baba. Makikita dito ang schedule namin.

At oo nga pala, kami rin pala yung gumagawa ng The Lasallian website at kailangan na itong matapos sa simula ng July.

Ang dami naming contest ano? Sana naman, mapunta na ang aming mga picture sa Proudly Lasallian!

"The more contest we join, the more chances of winning!"

Jenny from Taft

If you know a student studying in DLSU, CSB or even St. Scho, try to ask if he/she knows Jenny. More likely than not, they will answer "Yes". And there is again a big percentage that the Jenny they know is not just any Jenny like Jenirose, Jennifer and Jennylicious. They know "Jenny from Taft".

Any student in that area knows Jenny. And that's a fact.

Jenny is...

"an ordinary man who lived an extraordinary life."

- from one of his Facebook fan page.

For me, I describe him... Yes, it's a HIM, he's a man. I describe him as a person that asks for alms and roams around Taft especially the DLSU and CSB area.

Why so special? Because he is not just an ordinary person, he can be considered as a hero. He earns respect and trust from the Taft people in his more than 14 years stay in that area (based from our conversation with him). He also helps students around and a fan page in Facebook is created just for the testimonials about it.

Here is an example:

"my first year in DLSU a friend of mine lost her phone somewhere in taft area... we told jenny... this was in the morning, by afternoon he returned it to my friend... i think hawak nya mga snatchers in taft... LAKAS..."

He is really a good person, if he asks for alms, even how much you give, or even you did not give, he will not curse or grudge you, unlike most of the beggars. Instead, he will talk to you comfortably like a friend. He sometimes ask for left over foods in the fast food chains across Taft. He is the only beggar I know that can freely enter stores and ask some water. I also heard that food chain managers can ask Jenny to pay the water / electric bills for them. And with it, I think Jenny's everyday lunch is free, sometimes a slice or two at Yellowcab. Yes, a beggar eating a Yellowcab pizza.

There is also a rumor that Jenny is a rich guy that owns a condo units in one of those building in DLSU. Why? Students gave him alms, ranging from a peso to I think even 20 pesos or more. Come to think of it, if he asks for alms to all the student he sees, and because students trust him, they will give him some money. How much will he gain everyday with that? And take note, free lunch.

When this school year starts, everybody is searching for Jenny. And news has come to us, Jenny from Taft is dead.

But even though he's dead, his legacy is still alive for the Lasallians (or Taft people). As a matter of fact, some Lasallians requested Maalaala Mo Kaya to feature Jenny in the show.

I hope that request will be granted so that Jenny can be a very good example not just in Taft, but also around the world.

"Pogi, pengeng piso."

East Gate.

Tuwing pumapasok ako sa La Salle, di ako dumadaan sa main gate o ang South Gate. Dun ako, kagaya ng karamihan sa CCS sa isang gate dumadaan. Tinawag itong East Gate ni Excel. Di ko malaman kung bakit, pero East Gate narin ang tawag ko dito.

Ang East Gate

Ang East Gate ay yung gate na katabing katabi lang ng South Gate, at ang gate bago mag Conservatory.

Nag simula akong dumaan dito nung second year na ako. Di pa ako dumadaan sa East Gate noong frosh pa ako, sa kadahilanan na sasabihin ko mamaya. Di nag tagal ay natuto din ako at dumaan sa shortcut na ito.

East Gate - ang shortcut na gate.

Napakalaking ginhawa ang naidulot nito sa akin, dahil nga ito ay shortcut, napabilis ang pag punta ko sa Gokongwei. Ang hirap pa mag scan ng ID sa South Gate. Dito na rin ako dumadaan pauwi at ganun din ang dahilan.

Ang daan na ito ay hamak na mas mabilis kaysa ang daan sa South Gate.

Pero minsan, pag magkakasama kaming magkakaibigan, pinipili namin dumaan sa long way.

Ang mga dahilan.

Para malaman ang nangyayari sa DLSU

Ang Gox ay nasa labas ng DLSU. Ang mga pangyayari sa La Salle ay madalas ginaganap sa Central Plaza. Pag hindi kami dumaan dito, para bang wala na kaming balita sa La Salle. Hindi na namin alam ang mga nangyayari.

Para makakita ng mga magagandang babae

Masakit man aminin, ang Gox ay kulang na kulang sa mga magagandang babae. At wala kaming magawa kundi tumingin nalang sa ibang college. Kaya ayun, dumadaan kami sa long cut para tumingin ng magagandang babae na nakatambay at naglalakad sa SJ Walk. At ito rin ang dahilan ko noong frosh pa ako.

Para sa Ampitheater

Minsan, kapag ginagabi kami, mas pinipili na namin dumaan sa long way. Bakit? Dahil sa Ampitheater. Ang Ampitheater ay isa sa pinakamasarap na tambayan sa La Salle basta hindi mainit. Kaya ayos dun kapag gabi. Pero hindi kami dumaan dun para lang tumambay sa Ampi. Hindi yun ang sadya namin, kundi ang mga tao na nakatambay dun. Lalo na yung mga lovers dun. Diba ang saya tingnan sa malayo ng dalawang taong nag mamahalan? Ang saya lang.

Ang East Gate way ay isang shortcut na daan para sa mga manggagaling sa may McDo at may klase o papunta sa Gokongwei Building, Sports Complex, at Andrew Hall. Pwede rin itong shortcut para pumunta sa Velasco at Miguel.

Maraming daan sa La Salle, pero hindi naman ito ganun karami tulad ng mga daan sa UP, Ateneo, o UST. Kaya hindi mahirap madiskubre ang pinakamagandang daan para mapabilis sa iyong pupuntahan.

Mas gusto ko ang daan na ito kaysa dumaan sa labas ng La Salle.

Ikot ikot. Ang La Salle ay maganda.

Immortal text or Immortal call?

When Globe announced Immortal text last year I immediately subscribe to it. It was a blessing for me. I also made a blog entry comparing it to other Globe promos.

Back in those days, Immortal text subscription only worth 10 pesos. And you will eventually have a 50 Globe-Globe text and 10 free texts to other networks in an unlimited time. VERY GOOD PROMO!

But too bad, Globe realized that it was so loved by their subscribers that they stop it. Ironic isn't it? The so immortal Immortal10 is now extinct. Still, the Immortal name did not leave us without any souvenir, there is Immortal15. 50 Globe-Globe text and 5 minute Globe-Globe call.

It was a decent replacement for Immortal10. But unlike it, I still need to keep some extra load for other networks.

Few days have passed. And another Immortal advertisement was shown in TV. Immortal20 it is. It offers 75 Globe-Globe text and 10 free texts to other networks. It is 10 pesos much than the extinct Immortal10, but is it worth a subscription?

The first time I heard this promo, I did not subscribe immediately. I still stick to Immortal15. I do not text other networks after all.

But now, I received messages from various networks, from Smart, from Sun. I needed to reply from those texts that I subscribed to Immortal20. And I realized that my 20 pesos did not go to waste at all.

So currently, as far as I know, there are two Immortal promos exist. But what is better? Immortal15 or Immortal2o?

For me, I use both at the same time. I can text other networks without thinking about my load. And I can call Globe subscribers any time I want. It is such a convenience for me. I also immediately subscribe to both promos as soon as I got my load.

Also, my no. 1 load problem in the past is not a problem anymore. Because Immortal promo is "The first with no expiry".

Back to the drawing board.

Yeah. Well, we lose.

Our game that is rich in concept but poor in graphics does not managed to enter the Imagine Cup 2010 Game Design Category Finals.

Nation Driver. :(

I wish this will be a lesson for us. No cramming next time. And if we cram, it needs to be a very serious cramming. Not a joke cramming. Not like those nights before the deadline where we just sit, relax, then program, without that much pressure. Parang walang deadline.

If I will sum up how many days we did Nation Driver, I think... it will be 7 days. A day for planning, four days for round 1, and just two days for round 2.

Cramming is cramming. And now it is over.

And if our chance for Poland is totally gone now. Nation Driver is still not over. We will send our game for another contest. And submit our game here.

Then tomorrow, we will start planning for our entry next year. My years without love life will extend by another year.

But we got a consolation prize!

Thanks to Jan for the dogtag.

Also, another thing I learned... WE CAN CREATE A GAME IN A SHORT AMOUNT OF TIME!

IGF 2012 anyone?