(I gave two talks at SPLASH this year. Besides my Onward! Essays submission, I was kindly invited to open the PAINT workshop on Programming Abstractions, Interactive Notations and Tools. Because it was not recorded, and there was no associated paper, I'm posting a lightly edited script here. This is my first iteration of these ideas; … Continue reading PAINT25 Invited Talk transcript: “Notational Freedom via Self-Raising Diagrams”
Category: Game development
Aborted attempt at Greenspunning Java
During summer last year, I was required to use Java for an ill-fated fan project. One that I had foolishly signed up for, in the hopes it would jolt me out of my programming limbo. Instead, it accompanied me into depression! But on the bright side, the sheer frustration I experienced at vainly trying my … Continue reading Aborted attempt at Greenspunning Java
Ideas for Nightfall: Gameplay and misc.
Following from the previous entry. Microcosm, macrocosm Many games have a broad structure linking 'rooms' or 'stages' at one level, and the individual rooms / stages at another level. This often takes on a geographical meaning, where you select, say, a region on the map and then you complete the challenges associated with that area. … Continue reading Ideas for Nightfall: Gameplay and misc.
Ideas for Nightfall: Style, mood etc.
Following from the previous entry: Language that obfuscates and intrigues Deus Ex: Human Revolution (DX:HR) has a foreboding organisation with a foreboding name: Belltower Associates. I love this name, although I can't tell why I like it so much, and I've no idea if it's just me. Anyway, there is a basis set of entangled … Continue reading Ideas for Nightfall: Style, mood etc.
Ideas for Nightfall: Quantum, Concurrency.
I've had these as drafts for nearly a year; time to get it all out there. The motivation for writing what follows was my being stuck in programming-limbo over the past two years or so. Numerous attempts to design the Perfect Language in which to express all the domain concepts had failed. So I just … Continue reading Ideas for Nightfall: Quantum, Concurrency.
Nightfall Attempt 2: Java, JSFML, 2013
It is summertime in 2013. By now, I've read Design Patterns and other stuff on software architecture. I think the reason for this is that I bought the 4th edition of Game Coding Complete (GCC4), which makes reference to it. I've also been forced to let go of the bare-metal mentality a little by switching … Continue reading Nightfall Attempt 2: Java, JSFML, 2013
Re-inventing the Square Method Dictionary
So far, I have shown how modelling using objects or data structures in certain languages, like C++, is very different to doing so in more dynamic languages like JavaScript. The first thing that happens is that, because a method is either always present or never present for all instances of a class, it ceases to … Continue reading Re-inventing the Square Method Dictionary
I have no m_mouth, and I must scream()
Previously, I laid out some background on static vs dynamic software artefacts. I finished on the note that there are significant and popular programming languages, which do not provide the ability to modify their own code, or at least do not make it easy—let's call this the static code property. When we use these languages, … Continue reading I have no m_mouth, and I must scream()
A survey of Nightfall, around the Web
(Last Updated: 4 Feb 2024, added SuperEssence's project, added pics, fixed egregiously out-of-date info) (Also, all 5 databattle music tracks are now on YouTube!!) Thankfully, I'm not the only coder who has been suffering a case of terminal nostalgia for Spybotics: The Nightfall Incident. Those wonderful other people, though, are somewhat scattered around the search results; … Continue reading A survey of Nightfall, around the Web
Nightfall, Attempt 1: C++, SFML, 2012
In 2012, I feel ready to have my first proper go at re-creating the Spybotics game. The experience is eye-opening. For the first time, I am properly required to organise large amounts of diverse code in some fashion, and let me tell you, I suck at it. True, I manage to get some tiles displayed … Continue reading Nightfall, Attempt 1: C++, SFML, 2012
Programming, Made Complicated 