Technology

Game Dev : Tutorial Hell 3/30

To play todays version of the game,
1) click on the play button for the console,
2) drop the above .png image into the black screen
3) Type RUN

Or just click here for the lastest version
^ You can play it on your phone

1) Early day focus

I spent alot of this morning reading the manual, generating AI podcasts based on the pico-8 zines and watching some youtube videos on handheld devices for the pico-8.
I thought it could be really fun to have an actual physcial device to share these games but with more thought on it, I dont need to invest in a handheld at the moment - it really is optional.

I need to remember the goal here is to stick to minimals and make something basic.

Later, I was using some AI agents to "teach me the fundamentals" and it did help in some aspect to learn how to detect collisions but it very soon ran out of steam and could not benefit me further. I am trying to get the AI to teach me by providing code samples and then getting me to explain it, while increasing the difficulty gradually but I dont really like the coding style the AI does as its not following best practice.

2) Tutorial Hell

I am using this youtube tutorial to learn the fundamentals.
Often when trying to learn something new with programming (there is always something new), we look for working examples from others and youtube videos are a very accessible resource. I had The Lazy Dev recommended to me so I am giving it a fair chance and I have already learned a fortune of the tools availible but I also run the risk of only being able to copy what the guy shows me.

I really want to avoid that. It is one thing to be shown a tool and quite another to understand the fundamentals enough to decide how and when to use said tool.
This is true for anything that is taught.

At some point the guard rails need to come off and either
a) you do understand the fundamentals enough and the mistakes you make are recoverable or
b) you dont understand fundamentals enough and the mistakes you make are expensive and cause irreparable damage

This is true for driving, sailing, investing and any topic that requires a limited resource + a skill.
I am very aware of how this may be holding back in programming and I will consider it if is true for me in other parts of my life, and if so then what I can do about it.

In either case, this challenge is a way to change that. I will allow myself tools and tutorials for the first week or so and then afterwards I will evalaute my needs.