[HN Gopher] Show HN: Robot Unlock - an open-ended programming ga...
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Show HN: Robot Unlock - an open-ended programming game/zachlike
Hello, In 2010 I made an open-ended programming game based on
Befunge and Brainf*k. I was young and didn't know what I was doing
- coding it in AutoIT of all things and using borderless windows
for sprites. Nevertheless, it was a full game and some people
actually played it, sharing solutions with each other. I took it as
a sign that the game had some potential - I appreciated this very
much at the time. It was zachlike at its core, except that it came
out earlier than SpaceChem and the term hadn't been coined yet.
Years passed, I worked in the game industry, had some fun, learned
a few things and eventually burned out. Meanwhile, Zachtronics kept
making games and managed to define a genre, proving that there
indeed was a market for such games. I'm very happy about that. Now
I want to have a shot at going indie and almost 15 years later I'm
launching the sequel to my 2010 game. One of my playtesters has
been at it for 26 hours so I know it can be a real nerd sniper.
It's a game for the type of person who loves quirky languages and
optimizing their programs under extreme constraints. I have been
hanging out on HN for a long time and thought some in this
community might like the game. I want to keep doing this and I will
as long as I can afford it. Looking forward to your questions and
feedback. https://store.steampowered.com/app/3318050/Robot_Unlock
Author : adrianton3
Score : 23 points
Date : 2025-05-01 15:38 UTC (7 hours ago)
(HTM) web link (store.steampowered.com)
(TXT) w3m dump (store.steampowered.com)
| pwillia7 wrote:
| haha I love the term zachlike
| beardedmoose wrote:
| As a fellow zachtronics fan I will check this out when I get off
| work.
|
| What language and or engine did you end up using for this?
| adrianton3 wrote:
| The game itself is written in JS and packaged up with electron.
| I used PIXI.js for all the rendering - it's great for
| 2D-anything really. On the server side, the evaluator is
| written in node and a bit of php.
|
| I'm aware this tech stack is a bit divisive :) but I made sure
| it runs just fine at 120 fps on my non-gaming laptop.
| malux85 wrote:
| Good for you for plowing ahead and "just getting it done" and
| launching!
|
| This is the hacker spirit that hacker news was originally
| built on, and it's joyous to see it still alive
|
| p.s. the game looks great I have purchased a copy!
| adrianton3 wrote:
| Thanks for the kind words. People's passion projects are
| the main reason I keep coming to HN - the spirit is alive
| and very healthy!
|
| Hope you have fun!
| zellyn wrote:
| Looks fun. For OS, it just says "11" -- does it run ok on Mac OS?
| adrianton3 wrote:
| I clarified it on the steam page - thanks for bringing it up!
|
| I tested it on Windows 11 and Linux (via proton). I'm afraid I
| can't say anything about Mac OS until I get my hands on apple
| hardware and I'm not familiar enough with their emulation
| layers to take a guess.
| nneonneo wrote:
| If it's just electron, any reason it can't be "native"
| Linux/macOS?
| citizenpaul wrote:
| Looks cool. I would possibly play it if there were some way to
| kind of add your programming language of choice instead of
| generic symbols. While more universal its less educational. Sort
| of like Scratch programming language.
| pimlottc wrote:
| Might be useful to explain "zachlike" for those unfamiliar with
| the genre
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