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The Dream Land Java Project is an effort on Reality's End to create a fully featured, fan-created, online version of the Kirby's Dream Land series, and to do so with hand-written code and original graphics. As opposed to a single game, this project encompasses a number of games available for play within a web browser -- securely and without downloads.
The logs presented here detail the development, thought process, and intentions of the Dream Land Java project.
If you look around this great big Internets of ours, you can find endless stories of people complaining about the ill-suited combination of Java, Linux, and sound. I originally set out to fix just my applets, but I think I came up with a way to get ALSA to play nice with all Java I run -- and you can, too~!
I have done (or had done by others) testing on a plethora of platforms: Windows, Debian, Red Hat, Solaris? I never had a problem with anything until, on a job interview, I was told that one of my applets died shortly after starting. He was using Ubuntu, which I had known to work fine for another unwitting test player.
Over time, I stressed my Debian to the limit, trying to reproduce any sort of error that would only happen on a GNU/Linux OS and not the more common (for desktop use, anyway) Windows. I finally narrowed it down to a null pointer exception being thrown when a sound was supposed to play.
Lazy exception handling on my part, granted, but what was up with that sound? The audio was unable to open. And why did it only happen on some of my kernel configurations?
ALSA (Advanced Linux Sound Architecture) is the "new" sound system for the Linux kernel, and that simply means "the one which isn't deprecated currently." ALSA is the more ...
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Recorded Sessions Behind the Scenes, Development, Humour Posted on Nov 17, 2009 22:22 One of the best known morals of the Dream Land Java Project was to create games that can be played right inside your browser -- "no" downloads necessary. (At least, no executables or security threats.) The reason for this is simple: people are less want to play something they have to be wary of. Take the risk out of it, and you open up your potential reach.
And yet, the internet still has its lazy types. Hell in a hand basket, folks, and I am unfortunately allying with one of the very causes.
I, of course, am referring to recorded sessions of Kirbj on YouTube.
Reach has very little to do with it. It is proven that social networking only has any noticeable impact if you put effort into it. I've read it takes hours of dedication to get any real business advantage. It also requires acting as though one does not completely and utterly detest those vainglorious mouth-breathers.
Sorry, but I'd rather not be popular.
I have ulterior motives for opening (at my most horrid admission) an official YouTube channel for this site.
# People won't play. Sure, they can, but it's Java. Tubin' is Flash. People like Flash. It is awesome. Except for all of the reasons it is not, like propriety software and the fact that unless it's ...
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 In what was supposed to be an inconsequential and fun release, Tuesday Knight Titans proved to take more than the previously thought problematic release and proved itself the worst-developed installment of the Dream Land Java project to date.
Granted, the project only has three games to its name, but a year? Really? That is just horrible...
Kirbj has its roots in fan-creation. It itself is a fan work, it features a fan's spin on in-game components, and the first installment featured a fan-made boss. Running off of the same contest that produced Moogong, Tuesday Knight Titans attempted to allow others' creations in a real game, not just a wish or a thought.
With the level maker in place and even a quick demo game showcasing Sceptre Knight, everything seemed to be in place for the requests to roll in, the creme of the crop to be chosen, and for a good game with some good Knights to be released in a short time.
So, of course, things totally didn't go that way.
That green grappler Bogg was already featured in the prior release, yet without his trusty weapon -- the mace (actually a spiked ball-and-chain). To remedy this, a game had to be made which featured both Squeaky Bogg and a mace enemy from which he could take a mace -- all of which are ...
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Ripsaw Knight Concept Artwork, Development Posted on Sep 30, 2009 22:18  The first (and really, the only) fan-submitted character to appear in Kirbj is Ripsaw Knight, created by Capsule J3.
Ripsaw was the last of two fan knights submitted by Capsule J3 for one of KRR's Interactive Fandom contest, this particular one being Round Knight Recruitment. It was originally described as follows:
Ripsaw knight looks somewhat similar to a Togezo, with a purple "Shell" (Really armor) with two eyes underneath, yellow shoes, a floating pair of hands and two Ripsaws protruding out of his armor. Ripsaw is about the same size as Kirby.
Ripsaw will use three attacks:
1. He flips over on his back, and drives like a Wheelie towards the player. If the player is about to be hit, Ripsaw knight will flip over and cut him with his ripsaws.
2. He jumps up and attempts to land on the player with his ripsaws a-buzzing.
3. As a last-minute move (if he has not been defeated by 15-30 seconds) he will fire the ripsaws out of his back. After this, he is completely invulnerable. The ripsaws will do damage if inhaled.
Ripsaw is quite hard to beat, as trying to inhale him while his saws are intact will only damage you instead. You will either have to attack him with a ability, a star, ...
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 Chief among the Meta-Army is the dreaded Mace Knight. At least, I think he is chief; he does seem to be the biggest.
Wielding a weapon as large as himself overhead, Mace charges into battle wildly or just sends in his chain. Er, his link. In the games, he has about two sections of chain. Good ol' graphical laziness!
I only needed to make Mace Knight since he is one of two enemies who uses the Mace Weapon. That guy Squeaky Bogg makes quite a bit of use outta that thing, so either this guy or Masher would have to be added eventually.
Masher is large and cannot be eaten, so Mace Knight away!
He is so much more than just ability-fodder, tho'. Mace Knight is a soldier in the Meta-Army, and there aren't many enemies which fit that bill. These battles were specially coded so that they functioned just like the actual Dream Land games: multiple levels and many waves of armored adversaries runnin' out and runnin' the player down.
As a player, I think that Mace Knight is lacking. Anything he can do, Bogg can probably do. The mace is one of the least versatile weapons. It can be wound up, thrown, aimed, and retracted. That's it.
The only skill that comes to mind is the Pitcher Man, a ...
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Movement (Arrow Keys & ASDW): Move your character in one of the four directions.
Action (Space Bar & Z): Attack using your currently selected ability. Different states (such as ducking or flying) may change which action is used.
Cycle Abilities (Shift & Control): Change the ability your character will use when pressing Space or Z. Some characters start with only one ability and therefore have no choices to cycle through.
Base Action (X, V, B, N, M, <, & >): Most of the bottom row of keys allow quick access to a character's basic attack without first having to cycle to it. The Base Action is that associated most with the character.
Copy Action (C key): For most characters, their Base Action is the same as their Copy Action -- an attack which allows them to learn new abilities from enemies. For those others, the C key can be used for quick access to the copying attack without having to cycle to it.
Pause (P key): The game automatically pauses whenever the applet loses focus; you can use this, too.
Skip Dialog (Enter/Return): Whenever a story sequence is occurring, pressing Enter will progress the dialog to the next speaker more quickly. Dialog ...
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 Since Kirby's Adventure, Bugzzy has become a beloved boss and purveyor of the Backdrop ability. In each of his appearances, he's also brought along two nameless insects he sics against the player. While minor roles -- even boss ammo -- usually gets some sort of title in the Dream Land games, this duo does not.
I call them the Fightning Bugs.
The Fightning Bugs appear to be five-spotted ladybird beetles with two shoe-ed feet at the end of spindly, noodle-legs. Their faces are dark and round while their eyes are light and ovular. Their appearance has changed little as they crawled from eight to thirty-two bits, and every time, they merit only two frames of animation: wings flapping, and wings not flapping.
These are not normal enemies, but rather minions of the miniboss Bugzzy, the 'sectoid suplexer. He will take a moment to pause and produce the pair, which fly out and seek the player. They can be inhaled and regurgitated back at Bugzzy. The beetles are lightweights and cannot block player shots; star bullets pass straight through the Fightning Bugs.
Without any name of its own -- even in Japanese sources -- I opted to go with Fightning Bug, 'cause puns are win. Or maybe it is just a pun to a regional boy like myself since we call fireflies ...
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