Add Colorful Cows to Your Terminal
Have you ever wanted to see a random, funny and colorful message every time you launch your terminal? Well I did, and and here’s how you can do it too.
Use React Dev Tools in Electron
I recently set up React Dev Tools inside an Electron app, so I thought I’d write a small tutorial on it. The whole process should take less than five minutes so let’s get started. Step 1 – Install React Dev Tools Chrome Extension Before we can use React Dev Tools in Electron, we need a copy of it. To do that, install it from the Chrome Web Store Step 2 – Locate the Extension Files Chrome puts all extension files under the extension’s ID.
Forging a New Path
Just over a month ago, I left my job to pursue a career as an independent software developer. In other words, I quit my job to work on an app by myself. I am now officially “living the dream” (ugh). The decision to leave was not sudden. I wrestled with it for months. My job was great, it paid well, and the team was awesome. I just couldn’t stop thinking about the things I was doing outside of work.
Why I Switched to Hugo
Last weekend I converted my website (the one you’re looking at) to the Hugo Static Website Engine. If you don’t already know, a static website engine converts a directory structure of (usually) Markdown files to a set of HTML files that can be uploaded to a static web server like Surge.sh. I’ve grown fond of Hugo over the past few days so I thought share a few of the things I like and dislike about it.
Pros and Cons of Building a Custom Physics Engine
I am currently building a 2D platformer game called Platform Pixels. I chose to build the game using the libGDX framework because it can export to iOS, Android, and Desktop very easily. The framework also includes (optionally) the Box2D physics engine, but I chose not to use it. Instead, I wrote my own physics engine.
How I Fixed libGDX Sounds Causing Game Lag on Android
tl;dr add silence to your sound files if they’re too short. The release of my first ever mobile game Platform Pixels is coming up, so I’ve been testing it on as many devices as I can. I was confident after seeing it run on an old HTC One X (2012) but was saddened when I later saw it stutter on a more powerful Nexus 7 (2013). Then I noticed something. The stutter disappeared completely when I disabled the sound.
How I Implemented a Lantern Lighting Effect in 10 Minutes
I am not an artist, so when I set out to make a game I needed to find other ways of making it look good. One of the things I did for my game Platform Pixels was add a lantern lighting effect. Here’s what it looks like (zoomed out for greater effect). This effect was actually very easy to implement in the game, so I felt like sharing exactly how it was done.
10 Essential Tools for Making an Indie Game
When I started working on my first game Platform Pixels about a year ago, I had no idea how much work it would be. Since starting the project I have learnt how to make a game, create music, design graphics, edit video, and a bunch of other useful stuff! As I prepare for the initial launch, I though it would be cool to put together a list of the tools I found most useful throughout the development process.
Platform Pixels – Beta 6
Android Beta: Visit Beta Link iOS Beta: DM your email to @PlatformPixels It’s been a couple weeks since the last beta, but that’s fine because this is a big one! Along with an entire engine rewrite, this beta includes a bunch of visual improvements and refinements. Changelog Here’s what’s new: new lighting effects better visuals moving obstacles tweaked levels coins now remain collected total coins now shown in the UI now have gold and silver coins (10 silver == 1 gold) rewrote controller logic rewrote/refactored entire game engine New Lighting Effects The most noticeable thing in this beta is the new visual effects that I mentioned above.
Platform Pixels – Beta 5
Start playing Beta 5 Now! Web Beta: Visit demo.platformpixels.com Android Beta: Visit the Google+ Community iOS Beta: DM your email to @PlatformPixels This week’s beta may be the most significant yet. Up until a week ago, I didn’t have a clear view of what the finished game should be. This made for a long, unproductive, and difficult development cycle. Believe it or not, I actually want to finish this game soon.