Ask HN: Been writing code for 40 years and can't get hired

Huedoko is fun for the first few plays anyway. I love the clever name. Being 4 years old and never updated may not “read” the greatest evidence that you’re actively developing.

The core gameplay is alright. It’s not going to be a game that I’ll find addictive, but the core gameplay was interesting and different in a generally good way.

What was missing was some of the challenge/fun elements of modern puzzle games. A timer, a target number of moves, maybe locking in the squares that were already correct. (Why would it move them anyway once I knew they were correct?)

It was also missing some polish. On an XS Max, it didn’t fill the screen. Every so often, I would end up with a solid red screen that I had to click on to proceed.

In your shoes, I’d consider using that app as the basis to rewrite it in React Native. That will give you a game where you know the core dynamics and gameplay, a modern platform that’s highly relevant and well-understood by recruiters.

For oogieCam, I got nothing at all useful until I realized I had to turn off the hardware mute button on my phone (which generally lives engaged but if you can find in software the fact that it’s set, you could give the user a hint). This one’s much more on me than you/the app, but a recruiter or hiring manager is going to be making a 5 minute judgment, so maximize your chances.

Best of luck!

Yes, and that's the problem for programmers - those who'd prefer to solve problems better in the long run, which costs more in the short run.

In other words, there are programmers, who don't see a point in learning something which isn't really novel and isn't really progressive, but which is required to get a job. Some go for lower salaries, those are sometimes much lower - that's why people with high salaries e.g. from FAANG can be seen as delusional about their actual skills when compared with someone 1/5 of their salaries and stronger design abilities.

The problem - and the associated question - is what to do in the long-irrational market. One answer is known :) but it's not a particularly good one. Hope there are better ones -

> I chose some hot technologies that I could tolerate because I understood that’s just where it is

Sometimes market wants more than you could tolerate - emphasis on the last word.

“Tell us more about what you want to do.”

It didn’t seem on-topic to mention goals and such in my original query, so here is a short list of software goals and answers to a question above:

    creating a “killer app” :  Since the 80’s. many many tries.
     was lucky enough to work on CineLook for several years,
 
    synesthesia: the merging and mixing of different types of media : this has been a fixation of mine for decades

    making UI’s that look good AND are easy to use

    data visualization:  good data visualization can really help 

    game development: my first app that sold was a math game

“Do you have anything you want focus on or do you pride yourself on being a generalist?”

It seems to me that AR will become the de facto standard for UI/UX, and most software will need to adapt to that new metaphor. That includes multimedia and musical software. It would be great to help out in that area somehow. In the 90s I wrote lots of in-house tools, which required me to think like a generalist. This sort of work is fine for me but I would place it as a second priority desire in a perfect world.

. . . “Architect, team lead, or pure development of a system from day to day?” Have led a team on a few occasions and was able to handle it but it would depend on the team. Have done pure development for decades but it doesn’t have to be the only thing I do.

. . .

“And business domains that you’re especially familiar with or interested in?”

Anything involving new uses of media and trans-media. Some things being done in aerospace are very appealing, such as the concept of a 3D-printed rocket. Financials are interesting also, as would be supporting research in astronomy, physics (especially superconductivity) or perhaps infrastructure. Education is also a great field to do work in.

thanks once again for all the info and support!