ittybitty8bit is back!

By admin | Published: June 21, 2011

About a year ago I created ittybitty8bit, a site featuring interactive, 8-bit style pixel art formatted for mobile devices. Everything was built using Big Block and served to push the framework further along. It also gave me a chance to focus on some pixel art for a while.

ittybitty8bit

Since then I’ve simplified the idea and made some significant progress with Big Block. There’s more to come. But the stripped down, re-designed site is back up.

I’m also featuring Tickles the Texting Cat on the re-launch. Tickles is an old friend from version 1 of the site. Tickles has an unlimited data plan and nothing to do all day but text his little kitty heart out.

If you have any questions or comments, please leave them below. Otherwise, check it out!

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Version .6.5

By admin | Published: May 29, 2011

This weekend I added a few new features and updated the latest version on gituhub. You can get details in the README. But here’s a list of what’s new…

  1. Increased the overall frame rate by reducing the number of calls to the DOM.
  2. Added another viewport at the bottom of the stack called ‘GridBG’ to display background images. To add an image to a scene, simply call BigBlock.GridBG.setStyle(“backgroundImage”, “url(screen001.png)”);
  3. Added an ImagePreloader object to preload images for later display in scenes.
  4. Added an Interface object to check for required parameters when objects interact.
  5. Updated the Log object to include methods in the Firebug API like timer, count and table. To output average framerate, set BigBlock.Log.timer_enabled = true in the console or in BigBlock.ready()

Pretty soon I’ll have some examples that use these new features and will post there here. Now back to non-pixel related weekend activities.

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Think div as particle.

By admin | Published: February 10, 2011

One of the most fun parts of the framework is the particle system. Typically <div>s are used to layout and organize contents of a web page. The Emitter class uses <div> elements as particles and throws them around in chaotic defiance of their original intention.

The Big Block Emitter – safety glasses recommended.

To demonstrate, I’ve setup a utility at the link above where you can configure a single Emitter, play around with the settings, and save the code if you want to incorporate it into a Big Block app.

Please leave any comments or questions below.

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Version .6

By admin | Published: January 30, 2011

The Big Block project is happy to announce the release of version .6 of the framework. While the framework is still in an alpha phase, this version is a significant improvement on the previous code. Below you can find a list of enhancements, new features and new demos. Enjoy!

Enhancements

  • Faster rendering
  • More concise syntax
  • Smaller file size… from 131K to 92K!

New features

  • Audio class for playing and controlling audio. You can now add music and effects to your Big Block apps!
  • Database class with methods to read and write to a local MySQL database
  • LocalStorage class with methods to read and write to the browser’s LocalStorage
  • Button class that can render buttons based on width and height or custom art
  • BlockBig class that renders one-color blocks based on width and height parameters
  • Frame rate reporting through the “debug_frame_rate” property of the Timer class

Big Block Framework

New Demos

When viewing the examples above, please keep in mind all the graphics and fonts are rendered via div’s… there are no external image files or plug-ins involved.

You can also view updated docs and examples. If you have any questions, please leave comments below. Thanks!

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The Big Block Framework project

By admin | Published: December 13, 2010

For the last year I’ve been working on a JavaScript framework to render pixel art and fonts in a web browser. You can read how this all started on the About page. While it’s still in development, the code is finally stable enough to share.

So what can you do with the Big Block framework? Check out these sample apps. Keep in mind the framework renders everything using <div&#62’s and CSS2 compliant styles… no images or font files are referenced:

Uber Luber - Fists of DoomUber Luber – Fists of Doom
A promo for an iPhone game I’m developing.


Chris Herz - The Last Block in HarlemChris Herz – The Last Block in Harlem
An excerpt from Chris Herz’s first novel.


Reggie WattsReggie Watts
An animation I created after seeing my favorite comedian in Gowanus, Brooklyn.


Try viewing the above on an iPhone, iPad or Android phone. All the examples accept touch events, a nice feature of the framework. The code is CSS2 and JavaScript 1.5 compliant and stable in virtually all modern browsers.

You can learn more about the framework on the Examples and Docs pages. You can also download the project from GitHub.

It’s nice to finally reach this point in the project! If you have any comments or questions, please leave them below.

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