Sonic the Hedgehog (Game)

Sonic the Hedgehog (ソニック・ザ・ヘッジホッグ Sonikku za Hejjihoggu?), trademarked Sonic The Hedgehog, is a video game character and the main protagonist of the Sonic video game series released by Sega, as well as in numerous spin-off comics, cartoons, and a feature film. The first Sonic game was released on June 23, 1991, in order to provide Sega with a mascot to rival Nintendo's flagship character Mario (see 1991 in video gaming). Since then, Sonic has become one of the world's best-known video game characters, with his series having sold more than 70 million copies. In 2005, Sonic was one of the first game character inductees into the Walk of Game, alongside Mario and Link.
Artist Naoto Ōshima, designer Hirokazu Yasuhara, and programmer Yuji Naka are generally credited with the creation of the character, a blue 15-year-old anthropomorphic hedgehog, who has the ability to run faster than the speed of sound and the ability to curl into a ball, primarily to attack enemies. This is a major part of the gameplay of the series.

Origins and history
Sega wanted a game capable of competing with Mario and a character to replace Alex Kidd as the company's mascot. Several character designs were submitted by its AM8 research and development department, including an armadillo (which then developed into Mighty the Armadillo), a dog, a Theodore Roosevelt look-alike in pajamas (which would later be the basis of Dr. Robotnik/Eggman's design), and a rabbit (intended to use its extendible ears to collect objects; these aspects were later incorporated into Ristar). Eventually, Naoto Ōshima's spiky teal hedgehog, initially codenamed "Mr. Needlemouse", was chosen as the new mascot. (Note that "needlemouse" is a direct translation of the Japanese word for hedgehog ハリネズミ (harinezumi).) Sonic's blue pigmentation was chosen to match Sega's cobalt blue logo, his shoes were a concept evolved from a design inspired by Michael Jackson's boots with the addition of the color red, which was inspired by both Santa Claus and the contrast of those colors on Jackson's Bad, while his personality was based on Bill Clinton's "Get it done" attitude. The character was created without the ability to swim because of a mistaken assumption by Yuji Naka that all hedgehogs could not do so. A group of fifteen people started working on the first Sonic the Hedgehog game, and renamed themselves Sonic Team. The game's soundtrack was composed by Masato Nakamura of the band Dreams Come True. Sega sponsored the group's "Wonder 3" tour, painting Sonic on the tour bus, distributing pamphlets advertising the game, and having footage of the game broadcast above stage prior to its release.
The original concepts had Sonic with fangs and in a band with a human girlfriend named Madonna, however a team from Sega of America led by Madeline Schroeder, who calls herself "Sonic's mother", "softened" the character up for an American audience by removing these, sparking a heated issue with Sonic Team, although Naka later admitted it was probably for the best. Sonic's appearance varies greatly depending on the medium and the style in which he is drawn. In the video games, Sonic's original design by Oshima was quite short and round, with short quills, a round body and no visible irises. Artwork featuring this design and drawn by Akira Watanabe was displayed on the package artwork for Sonic the Hedgehog, and most subsequent Sonic video games featured similar designs.
When Sonic the Hedgehog 2 for the Mega Drive appeared, the proportions of Sonic changed. The original 1:2 head to height ratio became 1:2.5.
Beginning with Sonic Adventure, in 1998, Sonic was redesigned by Yuji Uekawa as a taller character with longer legs and a less spherical body, longer and more drooping quills, the addition of shoe buckles, and green-colored irises. Further subtle changes to the character's design have been made in subsequent games. Spin-off media such as comics and cartoons have featured variations on all these video game designs, with restrictions set by the standardized model sheets.

Actor portrayal
Different actors have provided the voice for Sonic in his game appearances. Sonic originally had a few voice samples in Sonic CD, with Keiko Utoku providing the voice. Sonic's first true voice actor was Takeshi Kusao for the arcade game SegaSonic the Hedgehog, with Junichi Kanemaru continually voicing the role beginning with the release of Sonic Adventure. In Sonic Unleashed, Sonic is voiced by Tomokazu Seki whilst in Werehog form. Sonic's first English voice actor was Jaleel White (better known to fans as Steve Urkel on the TV show Family Matters) in the three animated series Adventures of Sonic the Hedgehog, Sonic the Hedgehog (SatAM) and Sonic Underground. Sonic's first English game voice was provided by Ryan Drummond beginning with Sonic Adventure, a role he continued until 2004, when he was replaced by Jason Anthony Griffith, who previously voiced the character in the American dub of the anime series Sonic X. Griffith was later replaced by Roger Craig Smith, starting with Sonic Free Riders and Sonic Colors in November 2010.

Donkey Kong (Game)

Donkey Kong (ドンキーコング Donkī Kongu?) is an arcade game developed by Nintendo, released in 1981. It is an early example of the platform genre, as the gameplay focuses on maneuvering the main character across a series of platforms while dodging and jumping over obstacles. In it, Jumpman (now known as Mario) must rescue a damsel in distress, Lady (now known as Pauline), from a giant ape named Donkey Kong. The hero and ape later became two of Nintendo's most popular characters.
The game was the latest in a series of efforts by Nintendo to break into the North American market. Hiroshi Yamauchi, Nintendo's president at the time, assigned the project to a first-time game designer named Shigeru Miyamoto. Drawing from a wide range of inspirations, including Popeye and King Kong, Miyamoto developed the scenario and designed the game alongside Nintendo's chief engineer, Gunpei Yokoi. The two men broke new ground by using graphics as a means of characterization, including cut scenes to advance the game's plot, and integrating multiple stages into the gameplay.
Despite initial misgivings on the part of Nintendo's American staff, Donkey Kong proved a success in North America and Japan. Nintendo licensed the game to Coleco, who developed home console versions for numerous platforms. Other companies cloned Nintendo's hit and avoided royalties altogether. Miyamoto's characters appeared on cereal boxes, television cartoons, and dozens of other places. A court suit brought on by Universal City Studios, alleging Donkey Kong violated their trademark of King Kong, ultimately failed. The success of Donkey Kong and Nintendo's win in the courtroom helped position the company to dominate the video game market in the 1980s and early 1990s.

Gameplay
Donkey Kong is one of the earliest examples of the platform genre (it is sometimes said to be the first platform game, although it was preceded by Space Panic). Competitive video gamers and referees stress the game's high level of difficulty compared to other classic arcade games. Winning the game requires patience and the ability to accurately time Jumpman's ascent. In addition to presenting the goal of saving the Lady, the game also gives the player a score. Points are awarded for finishing screens; leaping over obstacles; destroying objects with a hammer power-up; collecting items such as hats, parasols, and purses (presumably belonging to the Lady/Pauline); and completing other tasks. The player typically receives three lives with a bonus awarded for the first 10,000 points, although this can be modified via the game's built in DIP switches.
The game is divided into four different one-screen stages. Each represents 25 meters of the structure Donkey Kong has climbed, one stage being 25 meters higher than the previous. The final screen occurs at 100 m. Later ports of the game omit or change the sequence of the screens. The original arcade version includes:

• Screen 1 (25 m), Jumpman must scale a seven-story construction site made of crooked girders and ladders while jumping over or hammering barrels and oil barrels tossed by Donkey Kong. The hero must also avoid flaming balls, which generate when an oil barrel collides with an oil drum. Players routinely call this screen "Barrels".
• Screen 2 (50 m), Jumpman must climb a five-story structure of conveyor belts, each of which transports cement pans. The fireballs also make another appearance. This screen is sometimes referred to as the "Factory" or "Pie Factory" due to the resemblance of the cement pans to pies.
• Screen 3 (75 m), Jumpman rides up and down elevators while avoiding fireballs and bouncing objects, presumably spring weights. The bouncing weights (the hero's greatest danger in this screen) emerge on the top level and drop near the rightmost elevator. The screen's common name is "Elevators". This screen appears as an unlockable stage in Super Smash Bros. Brawl.
• Screen 4 (100 m), Jumpman must remove the eight rivets which support Donkey Kong. The fireballs remain the primary obstacle. Removing the final rivet causes Donkey Kong to fall and the hero to be reunited with the Lady. This is the final screen of each level. Players refer to this screen as "Rivets".

The player loses a life if:

• Jumpman runs into a barrel, fireball, flaming oil barrel, spring weight, cement pan, or Donkey Kong;
• Jumpman falls off the structure or through open rivet holes;
• The bonus timer reaches 0.

These screens combine to form levels, which become progressively tougher. For example, Donkey Kong begins to hurl barrels faster and sometimes diagonally, and fireballs get speedier. The victory music alternates between levels 1 and 2. The 22nd level is unofficially known as the kill screen, due to an error in the game's programming that kills Jumpman after a few seconds, effectively ending the game. With its four unique levels, Donkey Kong was the most complex arcade game at the time of its release, and only the second game to feature multiple levels (the first was Gorf by Midway Games).

Story and characters
The eponymous Donkey Kong is the game's de facto villain. He is the pet of a carpenter named "Jumpman" (a name chosen for its similarity to "Walkman" and "Pac-Man"; the character was later renamed Mario and made a plumber, rather than a carpenter, when Mario Bros. was released). The carpenter mistreats the ape, so Donkey Kong escapes and kidnaps Jumpman's girlfriend, originally known as the Lady, but later named Pauline. The player must take the role of Jumpman and rescue the girl. This was the first occurrence of the damsel in distress scenario that would provide the template for countless video games to come.
The game uses graphics and animation as vehicles of characterization. Donkey Kong smirks upon Jumpman's demise. The Lady is instantly recognized as female from her pink dress and long hair, and "HELP!" appears frequently beside her. Jumpman, depicted in red overalls and cap, is an everyman character, a type common in Japan. Graphical limitations forced his design: Drawing a mouth was too difficult, so the character got a mustache; the programmers could not animate hair, so he got a cap; and to make his arm movements visible, he needed colored overalls. The artwork used for the cabinets and promotional materials make these cartoon-like character designs even more explicit. The Lady/Pauline, for example, appears as a disheveled Fay Wray in a torn dress and stiletto heels.
Donkey Kong is the first example of a complete narrative told in video game form, and it employs cut scenes to advance its plot. The game opens with the gorilla climbing a pair of ladders to the top of a construction site. He sets the Lady down and stamps his feet, causing the steel beams to change shape. He then moves to his final perch and sneers. This brief animation sets the scene and adds background to the gameplay, a first for video games. Upon reaching the end of the stage, another cut scene begins. A heart appears between Jumpman and the Lady, but Donkey Kong grabs the woman and climbs higher, causing the heart to break. The narrative concludes when Jumpman reaches the end of the rivet stage. He and the Lady are reunited, and a short intermission plays. The game then starts over at a higher level of difficulty.

RPG Maker VX (Features)

With RPG Maker VX you can create games with a resolution of 544x416, 32bit colours with a smooth, steady framerate of 60 fps. The ability to have characters run is now includes as a standard function and the in-game default font has been changed from previous versions for easier reading.

Map Editor
The map editor helps you create the set where your story will unfold. A large tile palette is included with the editor, making the creation of a new map as easy as drawing.

Improved auto-tile function makes map creation even easier
In RPG Maker VX the versatility of the autotile function has been greatly increased. While in previous versions the autotile function could only be used to map out coast lines, this function can now be used when placing walls, roofs, and other objects. Shadows are automatically included in textured and detailed tiles, giving your maps additional depth without any extra work.

Map creation is easier and faster
Tilesets are divided into five categories. A sets form the base layer of the map with the remaining sets being placed upon this base. Users can now place tiles without having to worry about layering issues. (Passing setups can be created upon the tile palette, so you don't need to open the database each time. This means you can change your setups right away.)

Database
Create characters, skills, magic, monsters, and more with the database. If you don't want to make your game from scratch, general contents are already prepared in the database. You create a game of your own easily just by setting up the basics yourself.

Characters
Characters, Portrait graphics are now available. You can add unique attributes to PCs, such as dual-wielding or auto-battle.
Classes, Edit command name for skills in battles
Items, Choose your own Icons for equipment and skills

Event editor
Events occur in-game and can be almost anything. Character dialogue, boss battles, or even simply opening a chest are all considered events. In RPG Maker you use all of these events and more to propel characters through the story. Events can occur both in and out of battle.

Quick Event Creation - Creating events is now even easier
Frequently used events such as transfer, door, treasure chest, and Inn can be made with a simple right click of the mouse. While you had to use scripts to make portrait graphics in the previous RPG Maker, in VX you can access them through the event commands.

Other Functions
In the new version, script editors are fully equipped, succeeded by the previous "RPG MAKER XP". Detailed using parts are improved, and became more users friendly. Functions are also fully equipped, by adding "Automatic Dungeon Generator" which will automatically make maze maps. The new version can be called as a compile version of the RPG.

H3 Make your RPG with simple operation!
"RPG MAKER VX" is a software that enables you to create your original role playing game without any special knowledge. The process is very simple. First, create a map which becomes the stage of your adventure. Secondly, setup the hero, monsters, items, magic, etc,all the things you need to play the RPG. Finally you can complete your very own RPG by creating the events and placing them around the map.

RPG Maker VX (Overview)

With RPG Maker VX you can create games with a resolution of 544x416, 32bit colours with a smooth, steady framerate of 60 fps. The ability to have characters run is now includes as a standard function and the in-game default font has been changed from previous versions for easier reading.

RPG Maker VX is software that helps you create you own unique RPG without any programming experience necessary. Making your own RPG is as easy as 1, 2, 3...
1. Create a world, this will be the stage where your adventure unfolds.
2. Populate that world with heroes, villains, monsters as well as powerful items and magic!
3. Create scripted events and place them in the map.

RPG Maker VX is easy to use!
In RPG Maker XP users had to use the RGSS script to make their games. But now you can make great games without any coding knowledge. Save time by making frequently occurring events (like chests, doors, etc.) with a single command. Create beautiful maps quickly and easily with our new software.

Use a huge catalogue of pre-rendered graphics and sounds!
For users who don't want to spend time creating their own graphics or sounds, RPG Maker VX comes with a wide array of both. Now you can get started on that brilliant storyline right away without having to agonize over making your own great looking graphics.

Share your games online!
Like its predecessors, RPG Maker VX allows you to save your completed game and share it with others. Now you can burn your game onto a disc or upload it online and share it with everyone.

AJAX Introduction

AJAX is about updating parts of a web page, without reloading the whole page.

What You Should Already Know
Before you continue you should have a basic understanding of the following:
HTML / XHTML, CSS, and JavaScript / DOM

What is AJAX?
AJAX = Asynchronous JavaScript and XML.
AJAX is a technique for creating fast and dynamic web pages.
AJAX allows web pages to be updated asynchronously by exchanging small amounts of data with the server behind the scenes. This means that it is possible to update parts of a web page, without reloading the whole page.
Classic web pages, (which do not use AJAX) must reload the entire page if the content should change.
Examples of applications using AJAX: Google Maps, Gmail, Youtube, and Facebook tabs.

How AJAX Works

AJAX is Based on Internet Standards
AJAX is based on internet standards, and uses a combination of:
XMLHttpRequest object (to exchange data asynchronously with a server)
JavaScript/DOM (to display/interact with the information)
CSS (to style the data)
XML (often used as the format for transferring data)
AJAX applications are browser- and platform-independent!

Google Suggest
AJAX was made popular in 2005 by Google, with Google Suggest.
Google Suggest is using AJAX to create a very dynamic web interface: When you start typing in Google's search box, a JavaScript sends the letters off to a server and the server returns a list of suggestions.

Start Using AJAX Today
AJAX is based on existing standards. These standards have been used by developers for several years. Read our next chapters to see how it works!