Photoshop, I’ve worked with Fireworks. I know Fireworks. Fireworks has been a friend of mine. Photoshop, you’re no Fireworks.

Dramatic? Maybe. far from the truth? Nope.

Anyone who has used and loved Adobe Fireworks will understand where I’m coming from. Back before Adobe swallowed it, Macromedia was making a suite of elegant, modern apps while Photoshop was mired in it’s way of doing things. Click a layer to select objects. Poor type controls. Fireworks came along and was an intuitive revelation. You could add and remove filters at will. Objects were actual objects, separate and clickable, dragabble, resizeable. Autoshapes gave you dynamic control over rounded corners (at the time the holy grail of web design) – the entire program had an object oriented workflow to it. Similar to it’s cousin Flash, also by Macromedia, a generation of designers became acquainted with the object oriented approach dedicated programmers already enjoyed with code.

I tried to go back to Photoshop. I’d see beautiful imagery that was Photoshopped. The program seemed to be the choice of power users, of professionals, of big design businesses. But every time i picked it up I was boggled  as to why I couldn’t add a filter and decide to remove it later. I didn’t get why there was no real undo. Why couldn’t I just click and drag an object? Over the years Photoshop began to wisely incorporate some similar functionality, no doubt inspired by Adobe’s shiny new acquisitions. But to this day Photoshop has never matched the Pixel (focus on PIXELS here) love that Fireworks has delivered.

Fireworks was made for the web from the ground up. When you enter the world of Fireworks, you enter the world of pixels. These tiny little square become as much a part of you obsessive workflow as anything else. You also love to hate the idiosyncrasies. You learn to explain to clients that Fireworks PNG files will only contain layers if opened in Fireworks. You wonder why the rounded top left corner is JUST a bit fuzzier than the top right.

Photoshop always seemed snobbish to me. I’d come across endless posts about how Fireworks users just needed to stop whining and learn how to do things Photoshop’s way. Fireworks doesn’t ask you to do that. You work your way and it works with you. It’s kind of funny to assign a sort of humanization to a piece of software. But these things are complex organisms that are only going to get more so. They have their ways, their fans, their detractors, and now with Adobe’s decision, their assassins. Knowing that everything that made Firework’s workflow special will now cease to be feels like a punch in the gut.

Yes we can switch to Photoshop. Yes we’ll toe the line. Designers are not their software. Bla. Bla. Bla. It’s not about the logical, it goes beyond that. It’s about art, a touch, a feeling, a way of thinking and the pure glee that accompanies a piece of software that ‘gets’ the way you work.

Hopefully there will be a spiritual successor that will pick up where Fireworks leaves off. Already apps like webcode are grabbing attention as Fireworks lovers approach the changing era with a bit of trepidation and some sadness.

Photoshop is a great app, no doubt. And to be honest an ‘all you can eat’ subscription buffet sounds like it will bring many benefits for the Cloud Generation. But for today, for a moment, i’d like to reminisce with an old friend and say how thankful I am for all the amazing little touches, the moments, the colors that Fireworks has shared with me, and thank it for helping me transform the messes in the whitespaces of my mind into something on the web that everyone could share.

Nimian Legends, the HTML5 Adventure Game  is almost ready, and I have some fresh screenshots of what you can expect.

Each region has it’s own look and feel, as well as a unique soundtrack to set the tone.

Most items and labels are clickable to get more information

Quotes in the Niji language, one of the 3 mains species

Adventures and quests are contained in ‘Decks’ which open up more possibilities to explore in the world

The battle screen pits card against card, with a Perk Circle to quickly access your attacks, and a Battle Bar in the center that lets you know who gets the next attack.

The Island of Nueja is the main setting for your first adventure in Nimia. There are six regions, each with its own unique set of events and beasts. There is a separate soundtrack for each region as well to help set the tone for the area.

For close to a generation Mer Paladine’s sharp sword and quick wit have kept Bresk a safe haven of peace and prosperity.

An experienced fighter who refuses to fade into the woodwork

BooShoo Tush – A head on her shoulders and an ear to the ground

Meet Fritz Dandy, a bumbling well-to-do ladies man

What is Plum Nut?

For the past few years I’ve wanted to release Plum Nut for the holidays.Well, the time has finally come, and i’ll have a bit more information as we get closer to Christmas.

The games Nimian Hunter, Nimian Flyer Legends and Nimian Garden all have one thing in common: The world of Nimia.

I’ve launched a new website to celebrate it: http://NimiaWorld.com

It’s an interactive map that describes the Nimia (it’s a continent actually) and the world around it. There are some surprises coming up for it as well, including the soon to be launched Nimian Hunter Salvation game for iPhone. Here’s a few screenshots of the new site. Try it on iPad too

Map of Nimia

A few new screenshots showing off the new Bow and Arrow and a few new locations