Lets talk OUYA

**Dan** · 05-06-2013, 10:50 AM

I have ordered it a few days ago as well. I'd like to see if I can make my gamedev framework work there=)
overall it seems like a very friendly platform for both the gamers and developers.

**laggyluk** · 06-06-2013, 12:49 AM

btw what are current 'pascal tools' for android?
building in lazarus seems like painful process, oxygen costs money, any other options?

**WILL** · 06-06-2013, 04:58 AM

Originally Posted by laggyluk

btw what are current 'pascal tools' for android?
building in lazarus seems like painful process, oxygen costs money, any other options?

That's basically it; FPC only, Lazarus or Oxygene for Java.

FPC and Lazarus solutions would definitely be a pain, esp. for mobile and OUYA dev. The way to go for Android and OUYA is definately Oxygen for Java, esp. if you seriously want to get a game on these systems and not be struggling with the tools. Also you cannot debug on the hardware it's self so you wouldn't be able to weed out any stability issues to make your game really shine as easily.

Honestly when it comes to the whole costs money part... how worth it to you is it that you can actually do this? Are you serious about making games or really not? Think about this, if you buy console a console game it goes for about $60 for each new game you get. Buy 14 new console games and that's about the money it takes to get the best tools to make your own games on a console.

Cost breakdown for equipment used by us at Red Ant Games to develop and test Subject 33:

1 OUYA + 1 controller: $99 + $30 for shipping (to Canada) *
+1 extra controller: $50
Oxygene (includes Java, .NET and Cocoa platforms): $699 *
Samsung Nexus S Android phone (second-hand used): $75
+1 extra OUYA + 1 controller: $99 + ~$30 for shipping (to Australia)

Our Total Equip cost: $ $1082 (USD) (* All you really need: $99 + $699 = $798 )

Now you don't really need all of that stuff, you'd just need the OUYA and controller for development and testing and I still highly recommend Oxygene as it's a great tool and you aren't just getting for some platforms, but ALL of their compilers' platforms so with a little bit of work you can port your games over to the App Store for iPhone/iPad and Mac as well as all the .NET stuff too. So maybe XBox Live Arcade if they are still supporting .NET on their new XBox thing.

But that's it really, for less than the cost of a decent PC rig you can make your own games on a pretty cool new console.

Content is a whole other issue, but if you have someone that is committed enough and wants to do the artwork then that's another expense it'll save you.

**laggyluk** · 06-06-2013, 06:53 AM

so far making games is a hobby of mine. I like pascal but not enough to spent $$$ if I can make same game in unity, openframeworks or whatever. hopefully developing in fpc for android will be smoother till I get to making next game :P

**Dan** · 06-06-2013, 07:37 AM

I'd really have to disagree with your representation of fpc/lazarus. sure, it's not a walk in the park where you simply install the software, make a new project, click run and it works on the device. fpc requires some advanced knowledge of its tools, but once you have that you'll see that it is very powerful.

one indisputable advantage that fpc has over any java based tool for android, is that it can compile native code for the platform. I speak out of experience here, because before I started using fpc for android development I did try to make a game using java. Half way to completion I ran into some really bad performance issues and that is already using a multithreaded architecture to separate the logic, rendering and input. in the end I decided to abandon the whole project and restart it using fpc. you can now find the finished game here: https://play.google.com/store/apps/d....gemmasterdemo and I am planning to release a new game for android very soon.

and yes fpc and lazarus are free, so if in the end you find that it's just not working for you then you won't loose anything.

"Are you serious about making games or really not", I'd say that if you are then you should not be afraid of investing some time in learning your tools. once you have fpc/lazarus and your gamedev framework properly setup to build android games then it becomes as easy as clicking two buttons (once to compile with fpc and once to assemble an apk and run the app). you can see the process here: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dr8QSAnSl1E

**Darkhog** · 07-06-2013, 11:40 AM

In any case, how one would compile Pascal game for Ouya e.g. from Lazarus or even directly FPC?

**Dan** · 07-06-2013, 04:33 PM

as far as I can tell it's just the same as compiling for an android phone/tab (arm-linux), since tegra 3 is a quad-core ARM processor. I should have some fun with that as soon as I have the console.

**Daikrys** · 09-06-2013, 09:03 AM

Originally Posted by Dan

as far as I can tell it's just the same as compiling for an android phone/tab (arm-linux), since tegra 3 is a quad-core ARM processor. I should have some fun with that as soon as I have the console.

correct, you just need to implement the conroller handling via ouya sdk and thats all

Some post content moved to more appropreate discussion thread here

**WILL** · 10-06-2013, 12:56 AM

Originally Posted by Darkhog

In any case, how one would compile Pascal game for Ouya e.g. from Lazarus or even directly FPC?

Here is a link to the FPC Wiki, but I don't know much about the specifics. http://wiki.freepascal.org/FPC_JVM_Android_Development Again, I wouldn't use this tool as I can't debug while it runs on the device using FPC. (Unless there is another tool or someone made a tool.)