Purchased. Nicely done. Can I be proud of you even though we are not in any way related? =)
Show HN: I'm 48 and finally learning how to be a game developer
211–220 of 258 posts
Re: Show HN: I'm 48 and finally learning how to be a game developer
#212Earlier quoted context omitted.
We use PaperMC too. We've tried to implement GeyserMC so that his non-bedrock friends can join but so far, no love. I haven't had time to dig into why. Very cool that you can write plugins for your kid's server!
Yeah. When he was little younger he had trouble with navigation when flying Elytra between our distant bases. In particular he made a huge tower on a remote (4k blocks) mountain and we made gunpowder farm in the middle of an ocean (7k blocks away). So I wrote a plugin where you can save your current location with a name and you get a small overlay that tells you where you are pointing -- ie. what is saved destination…
He def thinks you're the coolest dad!
Re: Show HN: I'm 48 and finally learning how to be a game developer
#213Earlier quoted context omitted.
Wow, this was not a thing where I grew up. I never even saw a real pc until I was in uni. That sounds awesome. Thanks for explaining. EDIT: Still totally fascinated by this. I asked my husband because I remembered that he had a much-beloved Spectrum when he was a kid and sure enough, he had digitized Your Sinclair issues on his iPad and he showed me several examples of games in Basic and hex. Super cool.
If you are interested in the history of games there is an excellent blog here: https://www.filfre.net/2011/06/the-trash-80-part-3/ Have been following it for years and would recommend reading it all the way through. Maybe even get an idea for the next project :)
Saved the bookmark for reading, thanks!
Re: Show HN: I'm 48 and finally learning how to be a game developer
#214Earlier quoted context omitted.
Wow, this was not a thing where I grew up. I never even saw a real pc until I was in uni. That sounds awesome. Thanks for explaining. EDIT: Still totally fascinated by this. I asked my husband because I remembered that he had a much-beloved Spectrum when he was a kid and sure enough, he had digitized Your Sinclair issues on his iPad and he showed me several examples of games in Basic and hex. Super cool.
Note that half the time, you'd make typos and it wouldn't run. So it sounds nostalgic, but not so much. However, debugging it helped to learn the language. :) Dr. Dobbs Journal was probably the king of source code listings in magazine format. Pre-Internet, there were some remarkable mass-distribution Unix magazines with significant source code for utilities: Unix Review and Unix World. Even today, the back issues wou…
So I can see how you can debug BASIC when you're doing the magazine thing and it doesn't run. But what about hex...how did people even find where they made had typos?
Re: Show HN: I'm 48 and finally learning how to be a game developer
#215Purchased. Nicely done. Can I be proud of you even though we are not in any way related? =)
I am proud of whatever you create, too. Thank you!
Re: Show HN: I'm 48 and finally learning how to be a game developer
#216Hey, looks like I'm not alone! I'm 49 and we (3 people, aged 30-49, with no prior gamedev experience) are working on an isometric sci-fi shooter-looter -- think Diablo meets Aliens: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eWN3l4LdTIA Also, 800 upvotes can't lie. I wonder, which part of the premise resonates with the HN crowd: "it's never too late" or "I always wanted to make games too"?
I would think that quite a good chunk of people who go into tech (as a general domain) did so because they loved games as a kid. This is true for us and anecdotally, everyone I know who is in IT has tried their hand at making a game at one time or another. As for "never too late": maybe when we're older, we do become aware that we are closer to the end than the beginning. Part of it is also the last few years. You do…
Thanks for the kind words!
>> How far along are you guys in development?
Movement and gunplay are basically done and feel great. Graphics is looking pretty decent (the video is a bit outdated). Story / progression is being written and integrated at the moment; it will be text-only so no voice acting is required, which should speed things up. Some items and their stats (armor, guns, sets, etc.) are already in place, but there are no proper legendaries yet. Crafting and talents are not yet in place. Sound is completely nonexistent at this point -- we're going to try an approach without music (it may work, see No Country for Old Men).
Re: Show HN: I'm 48 and finally learning how to be a game developer
#217@bananabat This is awesome, your write up put the biggest freaking smile on my face. Like you, it is something I've always wanted to do and put off, now 43 and still got to get back to my dream. I love that you've got your first game out, that is epic! - I'm off to go grab a copy, and I'm looking forward to seeing what you release next!
Thank you for reading it. I was a bit hesitant framing our experience in such personal terms because...huh...I don't know, I'll figure it out after a bit. Maybe because I'd get my feelers hurt if it didn't resonate with people?
I have to get better at being okay with sharing what I feel like sharing and also being okay with whatever I get back.
Thanks for giving our game a try!
Re: Show HN: I'm 48 and finally learning how to be a game developer
#218Someone once said, "It's never too late to become a programmer. I didn't even start until I was seven years old."
LOL I'm 41 years late but imma try to catch up.
Re: Show HN: I'm 48 and finally learning how to be a game developer
#219Wow, as someone who hit their mid thirties and basically decided the same thing congratulations! Do you have a next one in mind? Or are you going to see what the reception for this one is first? I must admit I focused on game jams to start, I've tried going down this road a few times before with little success. Having managed to complete a jam game has given me enough confidence to try and build something small which…
Thank you. We have a pipeline of ideas: some of them are pretty big in scope so will have to wait. Some of them are technically challenging so we'd have to level up in skill to bring them to life.
I am afraid of game jams lol and I applaud people who enjoy it! Maybe I'll get brave enough to join one someday.
Re: Show HN: I'm 48 and finally learning how to be a game developer
#220Earlier quoted context omitted.
> But a great majority of people are are always enthusiastic to help anyone who wants to learn. That's one of the things I miss about "the old Internet". I remember when I first started using it around ~2000 to communicate with other electronics hobbyists, back when avrfreaks was big or just random people's widget shops has forums. There seemingly wasn't the level of toxicity that exists today. The first time I think…
It's why I'm always grateful to stumble upon any community where the members are constructive.
If a friend who knows nothing about computers asks me for help, they are often ashamed of their lack of knowledge. I usually can fix the problem. However I feel even more deeply ignorant than them, since I have spent my life working with computers and electronics. For example I might reinstall Windows, and my friend thinks I am a computer wizard, but I am fraudulent in my own mind because I didn’t actually diagnose the cause of their problem. By learning more we discover the depths of our own ignorance.
I’m not sure how to nurture my own inner child of discovery and protect it from the unconstructive bullies in the world, or my own negative inner voices. We all have to learn our own techniques, since they have to be personalised to our own personalities.
Anyway, good fortune on your own path of discovery, and thank you for publishing your journey. I do find it inspiring!