APL game engine is indeed an unusual thing. I don't know much about APL, and never used it (toyed with J back in the days though). I am really interested in the development process and the challenges posed by using APL for that kind of project.
Also, I really appreciate that the ReadMe file doesn't try to sell this project as something more than it actually is - a buggy passion project. Such honesty is, I feel, relatively rare nowadays.
It beings back memories, I was learning CNC machining mainly on Fanuc machines. They were old, reliable, but ultimately quiete crude machines. When for the first time I was working on a modern Sinumeric milling machine, I was amazed how user-friendly it was. Instead of writing g-code by hand, user could just use a menu to choose operation to perform, like machining an island or a pocket. You could say that Fanuc felt like C, and Sinumeric like Python. Well, not 1:1, but close enough for analogy.
The article though, it's an interesting read, but I hoped for more technical details. It ends abruptly too, so I hope for a continuation.
You are talking about retirement, yet I was working with people who couldn't stand the 2-week long annual leave (which is mandatory for every under contract of employment where I live) because they had nothing to do. 30, 40 years old people. It's terrifying.
I use RPi 4 with a cheap SSD connected via USB-to-SATA connector as a tiny home server for a year already and it works without issues.
I know that not all USB-to-SATA connectors are compatible with RPi – I got lucky with the first connector I tried (Unitek). Not sure if RPi 5 has a wider compatibility.
TIC-80 is great indeed, I had even ore fu with it than with PICO-8 and that's a high bar.
But there is one gripe -- when packaging apps into executable, TIC-80 pulls templates from the Internet.
On one hand, it's not that big deal, we are online basically all time nowadays. But on the other hand, I would expect that kind of software to be self-contained.
I found a quite simple (but definitely not frictionless) workaround though - you can build the templates yourself, edit source code to work with localhost instead of TIC website, and host the templates on local webserver.
As I said, it's not a frictionless solution, but I don't know C well enough to make more substantial changes to this behaviour.
This is really fine article. I agree with its overall sentiment that it's difficult to draw hard lines.
Answering the question posed in title - I have no idea.
When I was a kid, I thought that person becomes adult in the day of their 18 birthdays.
But being 18 years old, I didn't feel so mature. "Maybe when I finish university", I thought. But nope, it didn't feel like being adult.
Maybe when I have a stable, "real" job? Nope.
Maybe after I leave my parents home? Still not.
Maybe after marriage? It's still not that.
I suppose I still consider being adult with being serious, busy, and in total control of their lives. And I don't feel that yet, probably I will never will.
I feel that this view of adulthood is a bit childish. And most likely I never will feel adult in this specific way. We never are in a total control of our lives.
But - do I feel more mature than in my 20'? Of course I do. I have much more responsibilities. My decisions and my actions are much more deliberate than they used to be.
But I just feel that I still have a long way to go...
Mine too likes to lie between the keyboard and the monitor, but if I want to actually work I still have to remove her from the desk.
The issue is that, while she usually is a lovely cat, the hand movements over the keyboard are turning her predatory instincts on, and sooner rather than later she's going to bite...
Not sure about Unity, bot Godot is already used to build tools, like Pixelorama (pixel art graphics editor, a bit akin to Asesprite), RPG In A Box (game engine targeted for RPG games), Bitmapflow (tool to generate in-between animation frames), and probably more I don't know about.
Well, if I remember correctly, the Godot editor is written in Godot.
I think that Wadjet Eye Games studio still uses AGS for their games, and most (all?) of the games published by them seems to use AGS as well.
I highly recommend checking their catalogue. While the first installements of Blackwell series didn't age that well I still think they are a quite nice starting point – they are short and memorable.
I have Sharp EL506T and it serves me well. I don't use it very often, mind, but it still happens semi-regularly.
The biggest reason for me are physical buttons and the fact I know the layout and capabilities. I'm just faster on physical calculator than on Android app.
But to tell the truth, usually I just use Speedcrunch on my computer.
Or spreadsheeds.
Or Python REPL.
Some time ago, Google AdMob started using a new format ads - two videos, one immediately after another, unskippable for the first 60s, sometimes more. You know how they called them? "High-engagement ads".
On some level, it's hilarious.
I'm from Poland, but my grandma was living in Germany (Essen). When I was (rarely, she was visiting Poland much more often) visiting her I definitely experienced similar behaviour from Germans.
My German is very poor, I used to somewhat understand what was spoken to me (if simple language was used), and to speak is short, basic sentences with shortage of vocabulary. This is just to provide some context - I never actually tried to learn German.
So I was trying to use English as often as possible. A lot of people - and I mean persons like clerks, salespersons, not random passers-by - either straight-up ignored me, or issuing comments like "Du solltest Sprachen lernen".
On the other hand, I never had similar experience when I was speaking broken French in France (or Marocco).
Please note that I don't want to bash Germans or to defend French. But it all depends on who you encounter - but these encounters might on some level shape your opinion on the whole nation no matter of you want it or not
Hello, I'm Tom, software tester with 2+ years of experience primarily in mobile apps testing, but I also dabbled with testing websites, PC games, and console games. I have good intuition and I believe in a methodical approach to testing. I am looking for opportunity to grow.
I find that a lot of similar analogies are flawed.
On the landing page of one of the frameworks (I don't remember which one, unfortunately) there was a description comparing a programmer to a woodworker.
It was written that this woodworker, as a reliable and skilled craftsman, makes meticulously each piece of furniture with the same care, which isn't really true. For example, quite often the back panels remained unfinished, with traces of aggressive planing.
So the whole premise that "this framework will help you craft software as meticolously as woodworker crafts furniture" doesn't check out.
For me, a great middle ground is building an engine similar to fantasy consoles (PICO-8, TIC-80, etc.)
This type of project is small enough to plan all the elements before you start (which helps to stick to the design and therefore to avoid feature creep). Yet, it is still complex enough to provide entertainment and challenge.
This approach also has the advantage – at least it is an advantage in the case of side projects – that you can see the results of your work quite quickly.
I'm working on such a project myself, and it is a great experience. Although to tell the truth, it is more of a "game creation kit" than an engine.
Not 100% sure if that's what you are looking for (I don't do much network works) but I think that Camsat's GlobalCAM-4.5G may be worth checking, with one catch: the company targets CCTV market. Still, that's just a router, without any special license fees or mandatory clouds.
Also, perfectly playable at mobile (at least a couple of first monsters).