I am James of the Swindle clan. I like computers and doing stuff with them. I mostly do stuff with the web. I also dable in game design. Here are some things I do well at.
+ HTML
90%
HTML, like for most, was my first language. After many years of coding I have become quite proficiant and know now most, but of course not all, of HTML including the new HTML5 as well as XHTML. I also do well with semmantics and SEO, after working for a SEO company you pick up somethings. So basically, I am very fluent in HTML, yet not perfect because no one ever is.
+ CSS & JS
80%
HTML is not much without CSS, so I began coding CSS and JS along with HTML. I was always decent with CSS, but it wasn't until recently when I began with HTML5 that I became really good. JS is another story though, I have always tried to steer clear of a lot of JS, but I have come around and have integrated a lot more JS into my sites, mostly using jQuery.
+ PHP
75%
PHP is pretty much my pride and joy. It has changed my life in web development forever. PHP is much more extensive then HTML or JS, and therefore requires a lot more learning. However, I have learned a lot and can easily adapt to new functions/techniques easily.
+ Java
35%
Java is my newest language to conquor. I'm still a noob, but learn quickly. Most of my experience so far has been with JSPs, but I have had the unique opportunity to create compute cluster with a bunch of laptops connected to a server.
+ Photoshop
20%
I pretty much suck at Photoshop when creating things. I can manipulate things decently though.
I was first inspired to create Jaswin by the MMORPG RuneScape. I began developing static stats signatures for use on forums and websites. Having static sigs wasn’t enough for me though, I wanted animated ones. With a little help from PHP Classes I managed to create such signatures. These signatures are currently disabled since my latest remodeling, but I plan to redesign them and have them supported sometime soon.
Later on I began creating a system that would notify people when the Grand Exchange updates. This has now turned into the GE Updater which will be the hub for all RuneScape related projects from now on. I have converted Jaswin into my personal blog for all things I care about.
Runs With Walker was an idea thought up by Blake Spencer; friend, mentor, and former pastor. He had the idea for people to be able to share their stories with the whole world at a Youth Conference called Triennium. The title comes from the story of Nancy Sullivan who will literally run with her walker; her story can be read on the website. After the conference was over, the website dwindled away into basic non-existence.
SpeakCharity was a capstone project done by a friend from school. The project was to offer clothing for auction where all the proceeds go to charity. I worked on the website setting up a blog and shopping cart. The site was never launched due to financial and time constraints.
This started out as a simple project on Jaswin that I converted into a full web app. Features include SMS, Email, and Twitter notifications; a Profit / Loss Calculator; Item price graphs; and much more. There were many attempts to get this project working well enough, and I believe I finally have reached that point. It began simply as a way to alert myself when the Grand Exchange updated, and has now become a way for anyone to get notified about any item’s price.
The downside is the app is stressful on my hosting server and is becoming slower as more people discover the service. I am hoping to expand to more servers so I can fix this issue and make everyone happy. However, money is a problem.
This is a site I was working on for my co-worker. Her and her father invented this cart for Disc Golfers called the Ace Caddy. They wanted a website for publicity and to get their product out on the market. She asked me if I could help out in exchange for hot meals. Being a starving, poor college student I accepted. Sadly, they sold off the rights and the site never got finished.
One summer, I took a class about 2D Game Design. This is the game I created using Multimedia Fusion. It’s a space-invaders type game mainly with a platform level to suffice the requirements of the class.
This is a Half-Life 2 level I concocted while in an Intro to Game Design class. It’s fairly basic, a little cave with all sorts of creatures to kill. I usually die when I play it.
You walk through the cave warding off zombies at first when you come to a Combine encampment and you think this is as hard as it gets. Just wait until you reach the Antlions at the other end, your in for a challenge then.
This was a project in the "game design" class that I took in May term, which was a two week class. They called it "game design" and all we did was create levels from Half-Life 2. This is the level I created; I kind of rebelled and created a level for Counter-Strike instead, it was the best in the class.
This is a small hostage map where the hostages are in the office building and the CT team starts out in a garage next door. There’s a lot of interactions with the map including a train you can blow up!
This was a little side project to the RCHS Robotics Team I was apart of Senior year of high school. This was my first attempt at a Half-Life 2 Mod. I feel it worked out pretty well considering my experience. It was meant to replicate the actual robotics competition where you have to retrieve different objects across the field and place them in your collection square. It’s a pretty simple concept, somewhat fun to play. The mod was used in the display booth for all to see and play, however it gave me some issues with the crappy laptop I used.
At the high school I attended, every senior is required to have a final, capstone project that relates to one of the eight UN Millennium goals and to the chosen career of the individual. Considering my chosen career is Game Design, I decided to create a game; well a MOD to Half-Life 2 actually.
Currently the version that is able to download is the version I used for my presentation of my project. I am contemplating wether to continue this project or simply scratch it and start over on something new. Personally I don’t feel the current product is very good.
This is a video slideshow I made for an English project about the Vietnam War. I got marked off 2 points because my professor claimed the monk on fire wasn’t from the Vietnam War…Music is by the Gorillaz – "Fire Coming Out Of The Monkey’s Head".
This was done in an intro to multimedia class. The project was to be about water conservation, I found that boring, so I created this crazy scenario where zombies attack if you use too much water. The video is made to Metallica’s "All Nightmare Long".
I had a dream to have my own arcade cabinet, what better than a custom MAME cabinet? After some opposition by my parents, they finally allowed me to build my MAME cabinet. I picked up a used Beach Head 2000 cabinet off Craigslist with a USB controller and semi-working monitor for a great deal (in my opinion).
After fixing the monitor and a few months of hard work, the cabinet was complete! Then, the motherboard died, but was under warranty, so I got a replacement after another month. In December, the cabinet was really complete and full working.
The cabinet features 2 joysticks with 6 buttons each, side-pinball buttons, 2 lightguns, and a trackball with an original arcade monitor.
