A Crash Course on Graphic Philosophy 101

A Crash Course on Graphic Philosophy 101

by: Lala C. Ballatan

Novice and professional graphic designers, we are aware that you know the basic principles of graphic philosophy. But then, as workers of art – though digital and graphic art already borders in commercial arts, there’s no harm in continuously improving our craft through constant study and practice, is there? Really great graphic designers I know have come to their status because of painstaking application and study of their past works.

We’ll review the theoretical concepts of graphics and graphic forms as a foundation on how we have to go about our graphic designs. To begin with, a graphic form is the shape that embodies a certain idea. We can take a tree and use it as an example. How many ways can we depict a tree? We can depict by a photo of a tree, or the silhouette of a tree, or even its outline. By having these forms that represent a tree, we are therefore conveying the idea of a tree.

A word of caution, though, the effectiveness of which the idea is communicated depends upon many levels of context.

The abstraction of an idea into a flat space, to make it a graphic form, is an integral part of Graphic Design. Usually, the goal is to communicate the idea as clearly as possible. So why not depict the apple as close to reality as possible with a photo? This clearly depicts an apple and leaves no room for misinterpretation. So why not use photos of everything?

The idea is usually not as simple as just an apple. The graphic form is merely a component of an entire design. In a design of a poster for example, the existence of multiple forms and large amounts of text can compete with one another for the reader’s attention. To increase readability, graphic forms are usually simplified into basic shapes, and flattened into a limited amount of color. They are made to work with type more harmoniously and further refined to convey the layers of information with clarity.

The concept of contrast also defines the graphic form of an idea. In a field of 10 squares and 1 triangle, the form that will be noticed is the triangle. A design placed on a wall, on a billboard, or on the internet, are usually lost in a field of other designs. In order to help define your idea over the others, forms that contrast those around it are effective. Basic factors such as typeface, color, scale, and form are elements that can easily help get a design noticed.

The representation of an idea goes beyond its place on the page or its place on a wall. There is the larger context to consider the audience. The ability of the audience to interpret your design is based on the ability of the audience to understand the forms in which an idea is embodied. Preferences of form, and the ability to understand form, can change by age group, location, and through time. We all understand the representation of dollars by a symbol: $. Though symbols universally communicate, they are become ordinary by usage. As the audience becomes visually educated and aware of these forms, the visual language of graphic design expands. However, the evolution of forms must also take place in order to keep interest.

In the overall scheme of things, fresh ideas and interesting graphic forms have always been able to attract attention. New ways of representation strike curiosity. But the goal is to communicate and the form is part and parcel of visual communication.

About The Author

Lala C. Ballatan is a 26 yearold Communication Arts graduate, with a major in Journalism. Right after graduating last 1999, she worked for one year as a clerk then became a Research, Publication and Documentation Program Director at a nongovernment organization, which focuses on the rights, interests and welfare of workers for about four years.

Book reading has always been her greatest passion mysteries, horrors, psychothrillers, historical documentaries and classics. She got hooked into it way back when she was but a shy kid.

Her writing prowess began as early as she was 10 years old in girlish diaries. With writing, she felt freedom – to express her viewpoints and assert it, to bring out all concerns imagined and observed, to bear witness.

For comments and inquiries about the article visit http://www.graphicdesignsunlimited.com

[email protected]

This article was posted on March 29

by Lala C. Ballatan

Internet Marketing Idea: Publish an Ezine

Internet Marketing Idea: Publish an Ezine

by: Jack Elmy

Chances are if you surf the net much you have noticed that almost every website offers a free newsletter or ezine in some form or other. Wonder why someone would go to so much trouble to publish a newsletter and offer it for free? The answer is because it is a brilliant Internet marketing idea. True, it does take some work to publish a quality ezine, however the benefits you can reap in sales for your main product or service is worth the time and effort.

What makes writing and publishing an ezine such a good Internet marketing idea is that it allows you to have direct contact with your customers and readers on a continuing basis. Even if they forget to visit your site again (and let’s face it; with all of the work and family demands placed on all of us, no matter how good your site is, this is a possibility) if they are subscribed to your ezine you have a golden opportunity to remind them why your site is fantastic. Secondly, when done tastefully, it gives you a chance to earn a little extra through advertising. Finally, there are relatively few other ways you can build a relationship with your site’s visitors. And as all good salespeople know, building a good rapport with your customer is key to making the sale.

There are a few golden rules you should understand before hurrying to write your first edition, however. While you may be able to convince a visitor to sign up for an ezine when they visit your site, your job as a publisher doesn’t stop there. To get them to actually open it every time it lands their inbox and not hit the delete key, you need to develop a plan. At a minimum, keep these tips in mind in order for an ezine Internet marketing idea to be successful:

Take the time to include informative, interesting and entertaining content for your ezine. Give the reader a reason to want to read your newsletter and better yet, recommend it to others!

Reassure your readers. Always, always include a privacy statement and give them an opportunity to unsubscribe. Hopefully, if you provide relevant, original information you’ll never have to worry about this; but doing so shows you care about your reader and that you produce quality material.

Once you decide to publish an ezine, be consistent about it. If you tell your readers it’s a weekly publication, make sure it comes out weekly no matter what. Failing to abide by this rule tells your reader you’re unreliable and untrustworthy.

Finally, remember that although writing and publishing an ezine is a fantastic Internet marketing idea, it is also a chance for you to have some fun and really expand your skills. Be creative and have fun!

About The Author

Jack Elmyกs web site provides information on the basics of creating business plans that get results and will help you succeed in your business, visit: http://www.900businessplans.com

You have permission to publish this article electronically, in print, in your ebook or on your web site, free of charge, so long as you leave all links in place, do not modify the content and include our resource box as listed above.

This article was posted on March 06

by Jack Elmy

Are There Secrets to Gaining Media Coverage?

Are There Secrets to Gaining Media Coverage?

by: Carolyn Moncel

Are there secrets to gaining media coverage or is it pure luck? Itกs a question that I am asked often while meeting with smallbusiness owners who are seeking press attention for their companies or products. While luck certainly plays a part, the short answer to this question is กmaybe.ก However with a little practice and skill, a smallbusiness owner can significantly increase the chances of garnering coverage by following some basic journalistic rules.

I started my career in public relations the way many college students do as an intern. While working for a PR agency one summer, I learned the greatest lessons from a crusty, old newspaper editor with whom I had to have constant contact.

Each time that I called him to follow up on a story idea, I would learn something new by the time he stopped yelling at me. At summerกs end that editor had become a mentor for me and the rules introduced by him have served me well in placing news stories over the years. You see the greatest gift that he gave me was not a hypothetical example found in my college textbook. Rather, it was practical experience in pitching story ideas to ‘realก journalists.

What I learned from him about approaching journalists with story ideas can be summed up in one word relevancy and its multiple meanings. Allow me to share with you what I learned that summer. ·

Relevance to Beat Assignments: Only approach a journalist with story ideas that are relevant to his or her news beat assignment.

Relevance to Newsworthiness: Keep in mind that stories must be new, unusual or important, and informative.

Relevance to Time: Take stock in whatกs happening in your world and in the lives of others around you by paying attention to current events.

Relevance to Audience or Readership: Make sure that your story idea will matter to the specific group of people who comprise the media outletกs readership or viewers. For example, the story idea may only make sense in a magazine that targets working women, or menกs health newsletter, or the residents of Cheyenne, Wyoming.

Fifteen years later, I still think about that editor and every PR mentor I have since encountered whenever it is time for me to pitch a story idea to another reporter. I still stand by my answer that กmaybeก there are secrets to gaining media coverage, but truly understanding the power of relevancy and how journalists regard it is a better bet. It could make the difference between whether a story idea makes it on the front page or lands in the trashcan.

About The Author

Carolyn DavenportMoncel is president and founder of Mondave Communications, a global marketing and communications firm based in Chicago and Paris, and a subsidiary of MotionTemps, LLC. Contact her at [email protected] or by phone in the United States at 877.815.0167 or 011.331.4997.9059 in France.

This article was posted on May 07, 2003

by Carolyn Moncel

How To Choose A Camera System

How To Choose A Camera System

by: Amy Howard

There are many reasons to install a camera system. If you own a business, you may want to be able to identify or avoid theft or keep vandalism from your property. Or you may just want to be able to keep an eye on things without actually being there physically. As a homeowner there are a bunch of other reasons to have a camera system. You may be having trouble with a neighbor, trespassers, vandals, or perhaps you have kids and want to be able to keep an eye on them but you can’t be there every minute of every day.

Whatever your reason for wanting a camera system if you don’t get the right kind of equipment based on your needs, you will just waste your money. So if you are thinking of getting a camera system, you will need to look at your situation in order to get the right system.

Some questions to ask yourself:

1. Is what you want to see indoors or outdoors?

2. How many areas do you want to see at your location?

3. Is there a lot of light available throughout the day and night?

4. Do you want to see a wide area, such as a parking lot, or a specific location, like the front door?

5. Is it important to see the small details or is a general idea good enough?

6. Do you need to see the picture only on sight or is off sight viewing necessary?

7. Do you need record what the camera sees?

8. Do you need to record for a long or short period of time?

Okay, now that you have an idea of what you are trying to view, we can take a closer look at the equipment.

Camera

First let’s look at the camera itself. There a hundreds of cameras to choose from. There are even fake cameras that you can use if you only want to give the illusion of having a system. Of course there are different prices ranging from cheap (poor quality) to the ridiculously expensive but does everything. If you don’t know what to ask for, you could be disappointed in what you get.

Do you want color or black/white? If you need to see the details clearly and you have good lighting throughout the time you need to keep watch, then a color camera is probably going to be the way to go. Color cameras are typically more expensive than black/white and they don’t see very will in the dark.

If you only need to have a general idea of what is going on in the area then you can go with black and white. Don’t misunderstand me, you can get a nice clear picture with a black/white camera but if you are looking to be able to identify someone and not have there be any question, then color is for you. If the lighting in the area is bad then color may not be the best camera for the job. If you only have lighting issues at night then you can get a day/night camera. That will get you a color picture in the daytime and a black/white picture at night.

Lens

Now let’s focus on the lens for a while. The type of lens you want will depend on what you want to see, how far away it is, and how wide of an area you want to see. For most applications you can get a lens that is adjustable to fit just about all your needs. There are some cases where only a very specific lens will work, but those usually only occur in high end jobs. If money is real tight, then you can get a camera that has the lens built in. I would like to caution you here and say that once you get a camera like this, you can’t just go and adjust it to get the picture you originally wanted. So, make sure you get a camera with the right lens.

Quads/Multiplexers

A quad processor will give you the ability to view more than one camera on one screen or one at a time. If you have a system with four cameras you can see all of them on one television screen or if you see something going on one camera you can choose to see only that location. Caution – the recorder you put on a quad will only record what the quad is allowing you to see.

A multiplexer is a step up from that. You can view your cameras any way you want. You can see each camera individually and multi cameras on the screen, in intervals. The playback, allows viewing the cameras in any form you like.

Recording devices

First you must decide how long you want to record. If you have a business and you are closed on the weekends and holidays, you may want to record for at least 72 hours. If it’s for your house and you go out of town for long periods of time you may want to consider a longer recording time. There is a time lapse recorder (very reasonably priced) that can record for 960 hours. That’s 40 days and a whole lot of video to watch if you are looking for something that happened a week ago.

Something that has been on the market for a while and is finally coming down in price to something that is almost reasonable is the Digital Video Recorder (DVR). The DVR comes with so many features it’s a little scary. First the picture quality is improved because you aren’t viewing it from a tape that has been recorded over again and again and again. Second, it has a built in multiplexer that will let you view more than one camera at a time on the same screen. Third, it’s easy to upgrade so that you can view your cameras remotely. So if you want to go on vacation and still keep an eye on things you can. Forth, the video is stored internally and it’s a whole lot easier to view video without having to rewind and fast forward. Plus there is no need for a tape library. There are probably a few more things a DVR can do but these would be the most popular.

Monitors

What do you want to see the picture on? Monitors can vary in size and picture quality depending on your budget and how much space you have. You can view cameras on your existing television or you can view them on your computer screen or over the Internet.

Wireless Systems

A word about wireless systems. Wireless technology has come a long way. It’s more reliable and the picture quality has improved greatly. I also like the idea that you can easily move the system. There is a system that just came out that has an awesome price. I have no idea how long the system will last, what the range is or if there are some environmental factors that can interfere with the picture. But if you are on a serious budget, this could be the answer for you.

I would like to thank you for reading this report. I hope this report has helped you learn a little more about camera systems. It’s not easy to make an informed decision when you know very little about the subject. I hope now that you have read this report you have gained some insight into what kind of system would work best for you. If your system is driven only by cost, then please don’t expect to get a great quality picture. If your system is driven only by features, then you had better open you wallet a little. I would highly recommend that whatever you are looking for, that you talk to a security consultant and discuss what is available for you in your price range.

Listen I have only scratched the surface when it comes to cameras. There are so many varieties available today it can be a little overwhelming for someone who doesn’t know what they are doing. There are cameras that can PanTiltZoom. There are covert cameras that would make James Bond proud. You just have to know what you want and how much you can spend. I’m sure you wouldn’t go shopping for a car or a house and not know what your budget is or have an idea of what you wanted. Take this information and use it wisely

About The Author

Amy Howard has been in the security industry for more than 13 years. She understands the frustrations that people can go through when trying to find a camera system that will fit their needs and not break the bank in the process. She has created a website for people to get more information on camera systems and camera equipment. You can visit her website at www.cctvhomeonline.com.

[email protected]

This article was posted on August 31

by Amy Howard

Testament to Testimonials

Testament to Testimonials

by: Cal Hyslop

Should You Use Testimonials on Your Website?

We have all seen websites showcasing their testimonials either spread strategically throughout the site or all together on their own glorious page. They’re there with the intent of leading us toward that high dollar purchase or convincing us of something’s legitimacy. Sometimes we read them and sometimes we won’t. Sometimes we believe them and sometimes we don’t. Well, are they really worth all the time and effort?

The quick answer: Only if you do it right. When done correctly, testimonials can really serve you in establishing your site’s credibility. Testimonials give you an opportunity to back up your claims. Believe it or not, as soon as someone visits your site you have immediately begun a relationship with that person. Your site will be one of the determining factors in solidifying that relationship and your testimonials can be a key component in building their trust. When done improperly, you might actually drive people away from you and what you have to offer. If your testimonials aren’t believable and honest then you probably don’t want them posted in the first place.

Here are a few guidelines to follow if you decide to use testimonials on your website.

Testimonials Should be Brief. You want your reader to get the point quickly and read the entire quote. You might have a great testimonial, but it is a page long. The odds of someone reading it in its entirety are pretty small. A good idea would be to break it up into sections.

Don’t Fake It. Your testimonials should be believable and the best way to assure yourself of that is not to make them up your self or have someone else do it for you. Honesty is always the best policy. Phony testimonials will ruin your credibility immediately. Say ขadiosข to your customers if you want to fake it.

Specifically Identify. Testimonials should be signed with a full name and a specific title. Don’t use something like ขBusinesspersonข or ขProfessionalข. People wan to see a name and area of expertise. It is also a good idea to put a link to their website. This will help establish the legitimacy of their testimonial.

Ask Permission. Before you publish someone’s comment make sure that they are aware of what you are going to post and that you have their consent in doing so. It is easier to ขsellข the idea if you agree to post a link to their website beneath the quote.

Address a Specific Benefit. A specific positive result has much more impact than something generic. It is better to post something to the affect of ขYour product helped cut costs by 18 percent last quarterข as opposed to ขYour product is greatข.

Spread Them Out. You can have a page dedicated to testimonials. It’s a good idea, but you can’t guarantee that a visitor will visit that page. In addition to your testimonial page why not post a testimonial or two on each page throughout your website. You can even interweave your quotes into your content. This can most likely increase the strength of your message as your visitors peruse each page.

SPECIAL TIP: Anytime you have a good experience with a website or online purchase send your own testimonial adhering to the abovementioned guidelines. If published, you’ll probably get a link to your website. Over time that can add up and increase traffic to your site.

When it comes down to it, testimonials help provide an independent and unbiased medium to promote you and your website. You have the option to use them or not. If you decide to use testimonials on your website then use them properly. Wellpositioned and authentic testimonials can easily make a positive impact and strengthen your site.

About The Author

Cal Hyslop has a background in business and technology with a Masters in Business Administration and is an owner of a website design firm located in Houston, Texas. The mission of his company, WebChrysalis, is to help individuals and businesses look like a million dollars online through the use of web templates and expert design.

[email protected]

[email protected]

This article was posted on February 23

by Cal Hyslop

What? Me Start a Home Business?

What? Me Start a Home Business?

by: Rudy Cline

Most folks in the workforce dream at one time or another of starting their own business. Have you ever heard the phrase กYou need to fire your bossก? Many of us would like to do that! Yet when it comes right down to it, most will never venture to make it on their own. Even worse, statistics show many who do venture out on their own, fail within the first five years.

To succeed, you must have a passion and a plan.

Enter me. At the age of 45, I found myself an unemployed Purchase Manager as my textile factory shutdown. I looked all over to find a job of equal maney and/or benefits. During a period of high unemployment, I was not successful in my search. Thus I began to look for ways to make money from home or starting my own business.

In my quest for my own business, I found that franchises offer a simple prepackaged business or money making idea. But most franchises would require a million dollar investment. I found myself looking elsewhere.

However, on the internet, there are literally hundreds of home business ideas from which to choose which will suit every personality and all levels of financing. From internet marketing to growing your own profitable home garden to sell gourmet foods to restaurants and catering services.

While brainstorming and searching the net, I found some of the following ideas for a home based business:

mobile windshield service

vending service

answering service

multilevel marketing (mlm)

floral plant service for offices and hospitals

pooper scooper service

dog walking service

gift basket service

income tax service

pool cleaning service

landscaping service

pet grooming service

Hopefully the ideas above will give some fresh ideas of your own. Once you do have your idea, it is a good idea to find someone else who has had success in this business. Then wherever possible, copy them as much as possible.

Whatever your choice for a home business, once you have made the decision to go forward. Go for it!! Do not accept no! Remember to tell yourself กFailure is not an optionก. Too many businesses fail because the owner lacked confidence or passion. Like the now deceased coach Jimmy Valavano told his team many times: กNever, ever ever give up!!ก. You MUST be passionate about your future.

Good luck in all of your self endeavers and don’t forget to enjoy your new found freedom!

Copyright 2004 Rudy Cline

About The Author

Rudy Cline of Homeworkforyou.org can help you launch your own moneymaking website thatกs 100% ready to take orders and pull in massive profits right now…guaranteed! Visit: http://www.pluginprofitsite.com/main2380.

I am a former Purchase Manager of a large corporation for 12 years. My company got moved overseas. I am semiretired and spend much time surfing the net. I\กve been sucessful at making money on the internet and enjoy helping others do the same.

This article was posted on March 24, 2004

by Rudy Cline

Get Started in Computer Game Creation

Get Started in Computer Game Creation

by: Daniel Punch

Getting Started in Game Creation

I’ve always loved video games, ever since I first played them on a friend’s computer in the afternoon after elementary school. There’s something almost magical about the fact that we can move images around and interact with virtual worlds, a living fantasy presented for us to interact with however we please. I’ve also always wanted to make games myself but, until recently, didn’t have the technical knowledge to do so. Now, I’m a second year software engineering student, so if I weren’t able to code a game without too many dramas there’d be something drastically wrong. But what about the common person: the person for whom the term ‘memory leak’ conjures up images of their grandfather, ‘pipeline’ is where the water flows, and ‘blitting’ is unheard of? Well, everyone can get in on the game creation process, and you don’t even need to learn ‘real’ programming to do so.

So where do games start? With an idea. Games, like all fiction, require an idea to be successful. Sure, in the same way you can just sit down and write a story without foresight, you can jump on in and slap a game together. However, unless you get ridiculously lucky, the best works are usually the ones that have been well thought out beforehand.

There are two methods of planning a project. You can start from a known technological standpoint and build your project on top of that or you can just go for the design, add as many features and ideas as you like, and then remove the ones that you can’t use when you’ve decided on the technology you’re going to implement the game with. In general, the second type is probably the best one to go with when designing games. When you’re first starting out however, the first option will save you many headaches.

So, for a first game you’re going to want a pretty simple idea. Don’t get me wrong, crazygonuts game ideas are fantastic, and there should be more of them out there, but you’re not going to be able to create a real world simulator with fifty billion virtual people all interacting real time with your actions having a butterfly effect on the future of the virtual universe when it’s just your first game. Really. Many people try it; none that I know of have succeeded. Imitation is the best way to start out. Simple games such as ‘Space Invaders’, ‘Tetris’, ‘Pacman’ or even ‘Pong’ are great places to start. All are largely simple to create but have some inherent challenges. ‘Pacman’ for example, requires path finding for the ghosts. I recommend that you start even simpler than that for your very first attempt. ‘Space Invaders’ is a nice point to jump in. You can make a simple, complete game without much effort and it’s almost infinitely extensible.

If you’re stuck for an idea, pick a genre that you enjoy. Do you love adventure games such as ‘Monkey Island’, ‘Grim Fandango’, ‘Space Quest’, ‘King’s Quest’ etc.? Design one of those. Are you into fighting games like ‘Street Fighter’, ‘Tekken’, ‘Soul Calibur’, ‘Mortal Kombat’ and so on? Come up with an idea for that. Do you like first person shooters such as ‘Quake’, ‘Half Life’ or ‘Doom’? I don’t recommend it as a first project, but you can always give it a go. Feel free to be as generic as you like, this is a learning experience after all.

Now that you have your idea it’s time to flesh it out. Don’t worry about the technology or the fact that you may not know how to actually implement a game just yet, just grab yourself some paper and a pencil and go crazy with ideas. Describe the main characters, game play, goals, interactions, story, and key mappings, anything you can think of. Make sure you have enough detail so that someone can read through the notes and play through the game in their head with relative accuracy. Changing game design during the coding process is almost always a bad idea. Once it’s set, it should remain set until the tweaking phase (I’ll go into this more later) or you’re likely to enter ‘development hell’, where the project goes on and on; more and more work is done with less and less outcome.

At the end of this period of your game creation, you should have the following:

A written outline of the game’s characters and possibly a sketch or two (be they space ships, yellow circles, cars or the prince of the dark kingdom of Falgour, you need to know who or what the player will be and who they will compete against)

A written outline of the story (if there is one, this isn’t too vital for ‘Space Invaders’ or ‘Tetris’, but for ‘Uber Quest: An Adventure of Awesomeness’ it’s a really good idea)

A description of game play, written or storyboarded. Storyboards are visual representations of ideas. Draw your characters in actions, with arrows showing the flow of action and short written descriptions detailing the events occurring in your image (because some of us aren’t fantastic artists and our images can be a little… open to interpretation…)

Now that you have a fleshed out idea, it’s time to work out how this will all get put together. If you’ve gotten to this point and are worried that you’re going to have to spend years learning complex programming languages in order to implement your idea, fear not! Others have already done the hard yards for you. There are many RAD (Rapid Application Development) Tools available for game creation, a number of which are available for free online. Some of them still require you to learn a ‘scripting language’ (a simplified programming language made for a specific task) but in general this isn’t too complicated or involved. I’ve compiled a brief list of some of these I have found at the end of the article. The free ones are listed first, organized by game genre.

Well, that should be enough to get you started in the creation of your game. The most important thing to remember once you’ve gotten this far is that you need to complete your game. Many people start a project and then lose interest and it fails, or they keep moving on to one new project after another without finishing anything. Start small, build a working (if simple) game that is, above all else, complete. When you get to this stage you will always have a huge number of things that you wish to change, fix etc. but you’ll get a great feeling from knowing that it is, in its way, finished.

From this point, you can start the tweaking phase. Play your game a few times and ask others to do the same. Take note of what isn’t fun or could be better and change things here. At this stage, it is more important than ever to keep backups of previous versions so that if a change doesn’t work you can go back and try something different without losing any of your work. It is at this point that you can add all new features, improve graphics and sounds, whatever you please, safe in the knowledge that you’re working on a solid foundation.

When you’re happy with your game, why not share it with the world? There are many cheap or free places out there for you to host your files on and then you can jump on link lists and forums and let everyone know about your creation. Well, I hope that this has been a helpful introduction into the art of creating games. It’s a great deal of fun, and can open whole new avenues of creative expression for you to explore. Jump in and have fun!

Links:

General Game Creation:

(Tools that allow easy creation of many different game types)

Game Maker: http://www.gamemaker.nl

MegaZeux: http://megazeux.sourceforge.net/

Adventure Games:

(Games such as Monkey Island, King’s Quest, Space Quest etc.)

Adventure Game Studio: http://www.bigbluecup.com

AGAST: http://www.allitis.com/agast/

3D Adventure Studio: http://3das.noeska.com/

ADRIFT (for text adventures): http://www.adrift.org.uk/

Role Playing Games (RPGs):

(Games such as Final Fantasy, Breath of Fire, Diablo)

RPG Maker:

OHRPG: http://www.hamsterrepublic.com/ohrrpgce/

RPG Toolit: http://www.toolkitzone.com/

Fighting Games:

(Games such as Street Fighter, Mortal Kombat, Tekken, Soul Calibur etc.)

KOF91: http://sourceforge.net/projects/kof91/

MUGEN (unfortunately the site is largely in French): http://www.streetmugen.com/mugenus.html

SideScrolling Games:

(Games such as the 2D Mario Games, Sonic the Hedgehog, Double Dragon etc.)

The Scrolling Game Development Kit: http://gamedev.sourceforge.net/

There are many others available as well. One particularly useful site for finding game creation tools is: http://www.ambrosine.com/resource.html

Also of note, although not freeware, are the excellent game creation tools available by Clickteam at: http://www.clickteam.com/English/

Klik and Play and The Games Factory in particular are the programs to have a look at and download the free demos of.

If you really want to do things right and program the game yourself, there are some excellent programming resources available at the following locations:

Java Game Programming:

http://fivedots.coe.psu.ac.th/~ad/jg/

http://www.gamedev.net/reference/articles/article1262.asp

http://javaboutique.internet.com/tutorials/Java_Game_Programming/

Visual Basic Game Programming:

http://markbutler.8m.com/vbtutorial.htm

C++ Game Programming:

http://www3.telus.net/alexander_russell/course_dx/introduction_dx.htm

http://www.rit.edu/~jpw9607/tutorial.htm

General Information:

http://www.gamedev.net/

http://www.gamasutra.com/

About The Author

Daniel Punch

M6.Net

http://www.m6.net

Daniel Punch is a university student learning how to make a living by having fun.

[email protected]

This article was posted on November 25, 2004

by Daniel Punch

Is Your Company A Member Of The Community?

Is Your Company A Member Of The Community?

by: Kirk Otto

One particularly hot south Texas day, I was making a routine sales call to a family Mexican restaurant. Angela, with whom I had an appointment, is a real กhands onก lady. She can’t sit still in her restaurant and let others do all the work. Therefore, itกs always a bit of a wait to talk to her. But, this place has great iced tea, so I didn’t mind the wait. I finally got some of her time, where she sat down, covered in flour as usual. I have a strong amount of respect for Angela. Sheกs such a strong entrepreneur, and, she makes a great glass of iced tea. I really wanted to provide her with specifically the right kind of marketing that she was looking for. I asked her if there was anything she had in mind for her marketing efforts. She barely hesitated, and said, กI want it to be common knowledge that my restaurant is a member of this community!ก

Apparently, most of her restaurantกs business was from local truckers passing by. This Mexican restaurant is in a small town, bordering the very big town of San Antonio. Angela was happy with the number of customers from San Antonio who were passing by on mostly work related missions. But she was a little disappointed that there were only a small handful of กlocalsก stopping in. Angela presented me with a unique problem. This was the first time I had ever heard this particular request. My mind started racing, as I took sips of my iced tea to buy me some time. I thought about the local periodicals, which Iกd already knew she advertised in and, being in the promotional product advertising sales business, of course I tried hard to think of something, anything I had available that met her needs. Luckily for me, Angela had to get up and spend about 10 or 15 minutes working out something, and speaking in Spanish to the cook. Okay, this is good. It gives me time to think of something.

I wish I could describe some divinelike epiphany, and the hallelujah chorus playing in the background, but thatกs not what happened. I did have a new idea that I was quite proud of, but thatกs validated only if Angela liked it well enough to buy into it.

Since football season is just around the corner for high schools all over the country, my idea was for Angela to buy some foam hands holding up the กnumber 1ก sign, fairly common at sporting events. They would support the local high school, with big bold letters saying กGO BULLDOGSก on it, and in much smaller print below it, กbrought to you by,ก and the restaurant name. Schools don’t usually trademark their logos, mascots, or name, so thereกs no additional cost. Always a good thing when you want to make a sale. I also suggested that they be distributed in two different ways. One, sold at cost ($1.25 each) when your ticket is over 20 dollars. The second way was to sell them for $2.50 each, no purchase necessary.

Angela loved the idea, because she saw it for what it was. Free advertising! Promotional product advertising focused specifically at the market where she aims. By supporting the local high school football team, sheกs making the statement that she is in fact a supportive member of the local community. She gets a few thousand people seeing her ad every Friday for the next few months, and she gets ‘the localsก to come in and try her food. I just hope this doesn’t mean I have to wait too long in my stops for iced tea. กMy only bummer,ก Angela revealed, กis that I have to wait the month or so before football season starts!ก

Is your business viewed by ‘the localsก as a member of the community? It will be of value to you, to reflect on this, and pay strict attention to your customers. My idea paid off quite well for Angela. Once people in the area tasted her food, she was just as competitive in the local market as she was with passers by.

Need content? You may use this article at your website, or in your newsletter. The only requirement is inclusion of the following sentence Article by Kirk Otto of www.MakeYourCompanyVisible.com a premiere source for promotional advertising products.

About The Author

Authorized dealer of Kaeser & Blair, and known as ‘the fabulous fat manก of promotional product advertising, Kirk Otto is an energetic marketer. He is currently living in San Antonio, TX and is a father of 2 wonderful children. His website can be found at http://www.makeyourcompanyvisible.com.

[email protected]

This article was posted on August 05

by Kirk Otto

Traditional businesses on the Internet

Traditional businesses on the Internet

by: Dirk Wessels

Have you ever thought of putting your business on the Internet, but simply not known where to start or you’re not sure whether the Internet is really meant for your business?
Most of the time we see the big Internet businesses like Google, Amazon and Yahoo or the big corporations like Microsoft, Airlines companies and banks being successful on the Net. On the other hand you find someone with a brilliant idea who slaps a website together and makes a huge success with very little effort simply because they had the right idea and acted on that idea. Of course, there are also those who recognizes a good idea, jumps on the bandwagon and shares in that success.
Bu what if your company does not fall into any of those categories? What if you have a traditional business where you manufacture a product or offer a service to your local community?
Does your business still belong on the Internet?
Most definitely!! Other than a place to share information, the Internet is intended to be a marketplace where we can find things that add value to our lives. If your local community finds value in your service or product, then the rest of the world should also. And even if your product or service cannot be made available to the rest of the world, which is hard to believe, the Internet could be used simply to make your product more attractive to your local community.
Can your business still be successful on the Internet?
Again, the answer is most definitely!! It simply depends on how you choose to use the Internet.
Let me give you two examples of local, South African businesses that successfully use the Internet to advance their business.
The first is Sizanani.com, an Internet logistics company that is tremendously successful in South Africa. They do not rely on their website to bring in new customers and yet the website is the core of their business. To my knowledge, Sizanani is the largest logistics trading zone in the Southern hemisphere. They have more than 200 customers and more than 400 transporters (who are actually also customers of Sizanani) doing huge amounts of business on the Sizanani.com website every day. Yet, when you look at their homepage, you would not believe that there are hundreds or probably thousands of transactions processed on that site every day.
In my opinion, the secret of Sizananiกs success is not in their brilliant Internet marketing skills, but rather lies in a concept often forgotten on the Internet Human Interaction. Every customer, including the transporters, has physically met a representative of Sizanani. When a customer needs help with the Sizanani system, they do not send an email to some faceless email address or fill in a meaningless form on the website. Instead, they pick up the phone and talk directly to someone they know at the company. In other words, this is a reallife, old fashioned company doing traditional business as we knew it before the Internet. The only difference is that they are using the Internet as a viable and convenient medium for delivering their service to their customers.
The second example is Qushum.co.za. This is a fairly new website and is not nearly in the same category as Sizanani. However, it is again an example of a business successfully using the Internet to deliver their service to their customers.
Qushum is a consulting company that helps their customers to obtain ISO 9000 accreditation and maintain that status. By placing their service on the Internet, they are not offering some incredible solution to their customers which has never been possible before, but the Internet is simply making the service more accessible to their customers and therefore making the customerกs daytoday life more convenient. Also, by putting their business on the Internet, they have taken a lot of mundane tasks out of their own hands, which allows them to spend their time more effectively on growing their business.
These are only two examples of traditional business being conducted successfully over the Internet. I am sure there are millions of other such examples, but I simply wanted to show you that the Internet can be used as an effective medium for traditional business. In both cases they are not putting their faith in specialized Internet marketing techniques or employing search engine optimization specialists or any of those concepts that generally scare oldfashioned business owners away from the Internet. They are simply using the Internet in a fashion that adds value to their businesses. Isn’t that the whole idea?
So how do you get started?
There are millions of articles on กGetting your business on the Internetก and I won’t repeat that here.
If you approach a web design company and ask them to กput your business on the Internetก, they will most probably sell you a complete restructure of your business with online payment and product catalogues and whatever else goes with an online business. Not because they are necessarily trying to make a quick dollar out of you, but simply because this is what most people think they want from the Internet.
My advice to you is this: Before you approach anybody about designing a website for you, decide what it is you want. How can the Internet add value to my existing customers? Think of the two examples above and try to use that approach in your own business. If you can find a solution to that question, then, by default, you will have a solution that will add value to new customers as well and your business will sell itself on the Internet.

About The Author

Dirk Wessels is a web designer and owner of GetquotesIT.com

This article was posted on July 07, 2004

by Dirk Wessels

Iกm Out of Ideas, Now What?

Iกm Out of Ideas, Now What?

by: Terri Seymour

I am actually out of ideas for an article this week, so I guess I will make that into an article. Do you have a similar problem? You write article after article and finally you just seem to draw a blank for ideas for another article! I am sure this happens to all of us at some point or other.

Well, when it happens to me there are a few things that I do to try to find some fresh ideas. Maybe some of these ideas will give you an idea or two. 😉

* Check the message boards Message boards are a great place to see what kind of information people are looking for. Follow the discussions and see what things people are interested in and need to know more about. I have found many an article idea reading the boards.

Try these boards to get started:

http://homebizlink.com/wwwboard/

http://www.internetmarketingforum.com/forum/index.php

http://www.friendsinbusiness.com/board1/

* Catch up on your email discussion groups Another great place to find out what info people are looking for is email discussion groups. Not only can you get ideas for your articles, but you can learn a lot as well. If you are not subscribed to any of these groups, here are a few I recommend:

mailto:[email protected]

mailto:[email protected]

mailto:[email protected]

* Visit a few Internet news sites These sites can keep you informed of current events, happenings and online news. Research and write your own news articles to keep your readers informed.

These sites might be of help:

http://www.internet.com/homed.html

http://www.internetnewsbureau.com/

http://www.newslinx.com/

* Read through your emails Take note of what people are asking you about and what they are most concerned with. Keep a file on hand and record all questions and email that can be turned into articles.

* Read through some ezines Ezines are a goldmine of information and ideas. They allow you to keep abreast of the latest products, programs, home biz opps, etc.

Find lots of ezines here:

http://www.myfavoriteezines.com

http://www.ezinesearch.com

http://www.directoryofezines.com

http://www.EzineLocater.com/

* Do a quick survey Write a two or three question survey and send it out to associates or discussion group members. You will find people are usually eager and willing to help in cases such as this.

For example: What concerns do you have for the Internet marketing world? What resources do you need but have trouble finding?

These types of questions might give you some fresh ideas to expand on with an article.

* Read other articles By reading other articles, you might possibly come up with an unusual twist or angle for an overused idea. It sometimes helps to get different views and insights on the same old ideas.

You can find all kinds of articles here:

mailto:[email protected]

mailto:[email protected]

mailto:[email protected]

http://www.MakingProfit.com

http://www.ideamarketers.com

Always have an open mind for article ideas. After awhile you will begin to see ideas all over the Net. Keep a notebook handy and when you think of an idea, no matter where you are, you can write it down and use it. I get a lot of my ideas in the middle of the night when I cannot sleep. I have learned to write them down so they do not go into oblivion! 😉

And remember, people want and need basic, straight forward, helpful information. They do not need college words, fancy storylines or overdramatized articles.

Also, do not be afraid to give your articles a little personality and/or humor. Just write from the heart and do your best to provide real usable resources and information. Write as if you were talking to the person, not at the person.

About The Author

Terri Seymour owns and operates MyOwnEzine.com.

Learn to publish and promote your own ezine.

mailto:[email protected]

Signup for the FR~E MOE Ezine Publishing Ecourse

mailto:[email protected]

You can contact Terri at mailto:[email protected]

This article was posted on May 07, 2003

by Terri Seymour

Top 10 Rules for Small Business Success

Top 10 Rules for Small Business Success

by: Brian Grinonneau

1. Target

You are not all things to all people. Decide on your nichenarrow your focus and broaden your appeal.

2. Be Different

If your competitors are doing it, don’t. Stand out from an overcrowded marketplace where so much of the advertising and products look the same.

3. Build a Team

Don’t hire an employee to fill a position. Employ a person to be part of a team to build your business.

4. Be Fast

Time is the most precious commodity. When delivery is expected Friday, show up Thursday afternoon. Return calls and emails now.

5. Say Thank You

A lot. Tell your customers and employees how much you appreciate them. Better yet, do it the old fashioned way: take pen to paper and write them a note.

6. Be Consistent

Make sure your business has a consistent look and feel. A customer must get the same flavor from everyone within your organization. Always.

7. Smile

Throw out the reasons you think people buy from you like price, product quality or your warranty. They buy because they like you.

8. Fanatical Optimism

The glass must always be half full. Attitude will always win out in the end and infect all of those around you.

9. Sell Soft

Don’t ever hard sell. Solve problems. Satisfy wants. Do what is truly best for your customer.

10. Leave Your Comfort Zone

Never accept the idea that this is the way youกve always done it. Never accept that a new idea or technology could never work for you.

About The Author

Brian Grinonneau is the general manager of McMann and Tate Advertising in Perrysburg, Ohio. His firm specializes in helping small business owners cut through the clutter in a crowded advertising marketplace.

mcmannandtatesite.com

[email protected]

This article was posted on August 25

by Brian Grinonneau

Ordinary product + Added value = Increased Profits

Ordinary product + Added value = Increased Profits!

by: Richard Grady

Ok, hereกs the thing….

Everyone that wants to get started buying and selling (either online or offline) is trying to find that กbargain buyก something whose wholesale price is 50% less than the standard retail price. It is possible to find such products but they are rare and as soon as one person starts selling the item, others will jump on the bandwagon and force the price down.

The fact is that there are few items nowadays with a huge retail markup and worldwide markets such as eBay do nothing to help this situation as there are so many sellers that there is only one way for prices to go and that is down.

So instead of taking the easy option and trying to simply purchase an item at one price and sell it on to someone else for double (which involves little skill, thus anyone can do it meaning the end result is that after a very short time you won’t be able to double your money because of competition), you need to try and find a way to ADD VALUE. In other words, buy a standard product and then modify/change it in some way to make it more attractive to buyers. This will enable you to make a larger profit margin and depending upon what you are doing to the product, may help reduce the level of competition you have to face.

Let me give you a couple of examples:

How about buying an ordinary, plain tshirt (wholesale cost for tshirts is as little as $1.80/£1.00 each) and then print something on it. If you are imaginative with what you print, you may well be able to sell the กnew improvedก tshirt for $25/£15. In fact, I have a friend that is doing this exact thing! He came up with a unique and original idea to print on tshirts and now prints his own tshirts using a homemade screen printing press (seriously, he got the instructions off the Internet and actually built a cheap press himself!) All of the tshirts he sells are either black or blue and he only prints in white a surprisingly simple idea but one that is proving to be fairly lucrative. Of course, it would be unfair to divulge exactly what he is printing on the tshirts but there must be thousands of possibilities that haven’t yet been thought of.

There are many other กartyก type things that you may be able to do if you have the necessary ability but even if you are not artistic, you shouldn’t let that hold you back….

I often get emails from people asking where they can buy blank CDRs to resell. Fact is that the profit margin on blank CDRs is tiny (in fact, unless you can sell thousands and thousands every week, I wouldn’t waste your time even looking at this market) HOWEVER, take a blank CDR and put something of value on it and suddenly that disc is worth a whole lot more than it was blank. Of course, I am not talking about putting pirated material on the discs but how about digital products that you have either produced yourself or that you have purchased resale rights to? To give you some idea of how far you can go with this idea, I recently purchased a training course that was supplied on five CDs. The value of the CDs and cases was less than $2.00 but I paid over $800 for the course!

Why? Because I wanted the content. I knew that the content was far more valuable than the CDs themselves and I knew that they were going to help me increase my own businesses profits (which they did and I recouped my investment within a week of studying and acting on the course material).

Once you have identified an opportunity such as those outlined above (and there must be thousands and thousands of them), start thinking about how you can get someone else to do the work for you. The goal of a true entrepreneur should be to free up his/her time and use it to come up with new ideas or to promote existing ones he/she shouldn’t be sitting in the garage printing tshirts!

Copyright 2004 Richard Grady

About The Author

Richard Grady has been helping people earn online since 1998. Find out more about Richard at: http://www.thetraderonline.com

eBay sellers: http://www.theuktrader.co.uk & http://www.theustrader.com

This article was posted on September 10, 2004

by Richard Grady