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I wrote some code and then had an epiphany. A minor one but one that made me realize I had approached something in the wrong way. It was not much code and can be reused with the new idea. First, the requirement is that the train move in…
Continue readingIn about 1994, I wrote software for Windows 3.1 that let me add icons over an image in the app window and then create timed sounds and effects using these icons to represent the locations of the outputs. I built a crude timeline editor that triggered items only…
Continue readingAfter playing the board game Arcs recently, I realized that no matter how well a game’s theme is developed, that theme can be weakened if the action selection mechanism feels unthematic. In board games, “action selection” refers to the process of choosing what to do on a turn….
Continue readingI’ve been dealing with this issue for years. I want a Swift custom view class based on a .xib file. That means the .swift file contains the logic for the class, but the definition of the contents, such as text fields, icons, constraints, etc., is in a .xib…
Continue readingI wrote some code to simulate creatures in an environment. It didn’t work because it was not well thought-out. I wanted to jot down some thoughts about it to help me do a better design job on version 2. My creature simulator is a Mac app written in…
Continue readingCities: Skylines 2 is about to come out. It has been available for preorder for a while now and I’m excited to get it. But it does have one flaw that most video toys have: The developers are trying to make it a game. I think that the…
Continue readingViticulture by Stonemaier Games is a worker placement game where players plant grapevines, harvest the grapes, make wine, and sell wine. Rules and Gameplay Summary Players in Viticulture first take turns picking a player order during the Spring season; this is their “waking” order. This fairly innovative feature…
Continue readingThe most important problem to solve with any process is letting people interact with it. Software does processing; It is like a machine where you put something in at one end and something else comes out the other end. A drawing program let’s you put in mouse, pen,…
Continue readingAutomation Empire is a computer game where you create a production system to drill or mine resources and then sell them or refine and combine them into more profitable materials. I’ve spent about 8 hours, an hour or two at a time over the last week playing this…
Continue readingI played Tokyo Metro for the first time last night with two friends. I need writing practice so here’s my first impression of the game. Tokyo Metro is a worker placement game with some automated train movement and a stock-based economic feature. The game is played in rounds…
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