Earlier quoted context omitted.
> Or does it, like Typescript for JS, only exist because of extreme antipathy towards C++? Typescript exist because people want a type-checked language.
Yeah, I too was wondering about that comparison...Programming in TS is more pleasant (to me) than JS.
Jonathan Blow has spent the past decade designing 1,400 puzzles
81–90 of 654 posts
Re: Jonathan Blow has spent the past decade designing 1,400 puzzles
#82Earlier quoted context omitted.
I've been watching Blow work on his compiler and game for many years. He has gone the deep end in his sympathies for Trump and Trump adjacents, but misogyny I've never witnessed from him. I think he is the latest victim of the Notch-Rowling slide into rightism. It happens when a relatively benign conservatives have opinions that get the internet mob riled up, bullies them, cancels them and thus makes them dig deeper…
I think your general idea is right, it sounds reasonable that the insane cancelation mania can bring some conservatives to dig into deeper holes. It is probably what enabled the recent right shift in politics. As to Blow specifically, I've watched his streams quite a bit. I've always had sympathy for him and have been able to relate to his opinions a lot (about software in particular). But I can see how some other pe…
I'm not a US citizen, but being enthusiastic about other people losing their freedom and freedoms is obscene.
Re: Jonathan Blow has spent the past decade designing 1,400 puzzles
#83Earlier quoted context omitted.
I feel like "simplicity" is often fetishized to the point of counter-productivity. Show me anything that either Blow or Muratori are doing that couldn't be done in an existing language or framework. People laugh at games with thousand-case switch statements or if/else chains but they shipped and the end user doesn't care about logarithmic complexity. And most of the time it doesn't even matter. What fails with games…
Right, if you look at say, Blue Prince, one of the most important "out of nowhere" type video game releases of 2025, the actual software engineering is trash . I'd fail code reviews for a lot of what was done, and there are cracks in the façade where a player will hurt themselves as a result - e.g. there's a bug where animations overwrite so you get short changed on the resources you were gathering when you go "too f…
Re: Jonathan Blow has spent the past decade designing 1,400 puzzles
#84I wonder how much of the 10 years spent making "a programming language, an engine, and a game" were actually spent on each slice. Hopefully, jai and the engine will help make the next game faster...
It's hilarious he had to build a new language just so he could create a sokoban game with graphics of flash era. I'm sure it builds fast and whatever, but you could make this in python in few weeks.
lol
Re: Jonathan Blow has spent the past decade designing 1,400 puzzles
#85Okay, but are the puzzles fun?
Re: Jonathan Blow has spent the past decade designing 1,400 puzzles
#86I always find Jonathan Blow and Casey Muratori to be great educators and advocates on the “simplicity” end of the spectrum. Jonathan can be super abrasive and comes with some political baggage, but does a good job advocating against what he perceives as unnecessary complexity in software. Opponents would suggest his domain and cherry-picked examples create the perfect environment for his positions and that he does ta…
Political? The most political I've seen him get was when he spoke out against the idea of accepting technical compromises for the sake of not hurting people's feelings and being PC. As in, you get to be cranky as long as you're arguing for the highest quality solution
Re: Jonathan Blow has spent the past decade designing 1,400 puzzles
#87The Witness was a slog, maybe he's learnt how to make puzzles which are actually fun this time.
Curious, it's probably my favorite video-game experience ever.
Re: Jonathan Blow has spent the past decade designing 1,400 puzzles
#88I found the voice acting in the trailer very annoying, hope this can be turned off in the final game. Or maybe I'm just too used to the "voice" over this game is him ranting about software development, from watching his streams :D
Re: Jonathan Blow has spent the past decade designing 1,400 puzzles
#89Earlier quoted context omitted.
I've been watching Blow work on his compiler and game for many years. He has gone the deep end in his sympathies for Trump and Trump adjacents, but misogyny I've never witnessed from him. I think he is the latest victim of the Notch-Rowling slide into rightism. It happens when a relatively benign conservatives have opinions that get the internet mob riled up, bullies them, cancels them and thus makes them dig deeper…
> he doesn't have the humility of accepting when he's wrong Isn't he pretty far on the autistic spectrum? It can be very difficult for that kind of personality to re-evaluate something, once they think they have reached a "logical conclusion". I'm not making excuses, just agreeing that the chances of him changing seem low.
I don't know, but I doubt it. He's too well adjusted at being social (his hobbies have him interact with people on the regular, and he's streaming on twitch, and doing public speaking at conferences) for me to think that.
Re: Jonathan Blow has spent the past decade designing 1,400 puzzles
#90Earlier quoted context omitted.
I feel like "simplicity" is often fetishized to the point of counter-productivity. Show me anything that either Blow or Muratori are doing that couldn't be done in an existing language or framework. People laugh at games with thousand-case switch statements or if/else chains but they shipped and the end user doesn't care about logarithmic complexity. And most of the time it doesn't even matter. What fails with games…
Right, if you look at say, Blue Prince, one of the most important "out of nowhere" type video game releases of 2025, the actual software engineering is trash . I'd fail code reviews for a lot of what was done, and there are cracks in the façade where a player will hurt themselves as a result - e.g. there's a bug where animations overwrite so you get short changed on the resources you were gathering when you go "too f…
I'm not endorsing slop, but rather advising against the equal but opposite.