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Joined 2 years ago
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Cake day: June 15th, 2023

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  • If you’re a programmer: NixOS.

    Define your OS config, which programs to install, and dotfiles in one repo. Install a fresh OS, pull in the repo (nix-shell -p git, because NixOS doesn’t come with git >_> ) and run the command to install the whole thing (sudo nixos-rebuild switch --flake .#wodan for me. wodan is just the name of a config - I have multiple all combines into one repo, so I can share configuration between machines).

    Took me 17 minutes to set up my laptop exactly the same as my Desktop. Same configuration, applications, and OS settings. It’s so fucking nice.

    With Windows, that used to take 2 days to download and install everything manually.

    Only downside: You’ll need to learn Nix-the-language, nix-the-os, and nix-the-terminal-program, which took about a month of deeply digging into the Vimjoyer and LibrePhoenix channels.







  • Start with pen and paper - no computer, because that’ll just distract you.

    Write down what kind of game you want to make. Sketch out what you want your player to see when they play the game (top down, third person, first person; which UI elements should they see? Health? Mana or power bars? Selected items?). Does it have a story of sorts? What kind of setting (future, past, fantasy, sci-fi). 2D or 3D? What kind of visual style are you going for (realistic, cartoony, abstract?).

    This will be your Game Design Document. You don’t have to get it perfectly at the first go - iterate over it, scratch things that you feel won’t work.

    Once you have something that looks like a minimally viable product (MVP), THEN you can start making something in Godot, Game Maker, or Love2D. Because now you have something to follow along. Try to get something out ASAP, because feedback from people who are not you is important. Maybe you made something that feels fun to you, but no one else likes it - you would want to know that as soon as possible, not after toiling away for 5 years.

    Do not start caring about “what is the fastest programming language”. Even the slowest of languages are fine, because you’re learning how to build a game, not how to program like a pro.








  • What are the chances you are GenZ / Alpha?

    Older generations bitch about “damn kids these days don’t respect their elders” ever since at least Socrates.

    The young have always bitched about the older generations being stuck in their ways and being too nostalgic about their own youth.

    This is the way.

    You’re not special.