[HN Gopher] Show HN: 0xDEAD//TYPE - A fast-paced typing shooter ...
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       Show HN: 0xDEAD//TYPE - A fast-paced typing shooter with retro
       vibes
        
       Author : theden
       Score  : 109 points
       Date   : 2025-07-13 02:52 UTC (4 days ago)
        
 (HTM) web link (0xdeadtype.theden.sh)
 (TXT) w3m dump (0xdeadtype.theden.sh)
        
       | dorianmariecom wrote:
       | i you smash your keyboard it works too
        
       | spicybright wrote:
       | I like it but smashing the keyboard to win is a massive issue.
        
         | ethan_smith wrote:
         | A simple fix would be to only destroy blocks when typing the
         | exact letter shown on them, with penalties for incorrect
         | keystrokes.
        
       | MontyCarloHall wrote:
       | Passing each column should count for 10 points, and your score
       | should be dinged -1 point for each keypress. Pressing a key
       | that's not on the screen should be a -5 point penalty. Game over
       | if you drop below 0 points. That would solve the button mashing
       | easy win problem.
       | 
       | Also, perhaps my skills are lacking, but the game essentially
       | becomes impossible after the columns become 6 blocks wide -- the
       | fraction of open (i.e. fully breakable) rows becomes small enough
       | that open rows between adjacent columns are often further apart
       | vertically than the ship can travel, given its speed and the
       | game's horizontal scroll rate. I like the sibling commenter's
       | suggestion of pseudorandomly carving navigable paths between
       | columns, as opposed to the current method of having a uniform 80%
       | probability that an individual tile is breakable.
        
         | abrookewood wrote:
         | Yep, you can just spam press the keyboard
        
       | Zenst wrote:
       | I found myself picking a row and focusing on the letters, though
       | one stand out. Would have preferred it to be vertical scrolling
       | down over left to right. Maybe add options to pick the scrolling,
       | or is that an aspect of later levels?
        
       | iamwil wrote:
       | switching between moving up and down and typing is a weird
       | modality. I almost would have liked to hit `esc` and `i` (a la
       | vim) to change modalities.
        
       | type_enthusiast wrote:
       | Realizing here that my typing skills are extremely limited by
       | muscle-memory to things that I actually am likely to type.
       | 
       | It certainly makes a game like this more difficult, but I wonder
       | if it's really a bad thing?
        
       | LearnYouALisp wrote:
       | A lot going on for honest players. (And then you use your typing
       | fingers to move, that stops everything.) Perhaps some
       | fauxlgorithmically-generated 'word paths' with noise around them
       | (or without) would be nice. (e.g. what's that thing, the Markov-
       | chain kind)
        
       | strictnein wrote:
       | Reminds me of some of the old typing games on the C64, like Kids
       | on Keys [0]. A lot of other people have made the same suggestions
       | I would have made (penalize players smashing keys, etc). Good
       | start!
       | 
       | [0] https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kids_on_Keys
        
       | lysium wrote:
       | That's a fun game! I found out I have muscle memory for j/k
       | meaning up/down, instead of w/s.
        
         | Liftyee wrote:
         | Vim keybinds? Sadly never invested enough energy to get used to
         | those.
        
           | mnaimd wrote:
           | It's not really that hard.
           | 
           | You can just download Vim plugin on the code editor you're
           | already using and play with it 10 minutes a day. It would
           | work like MAGIC.
        
       | yash1hi wrote:
       | Ok apart from everyone saying "I can just smash letters" bro this
       | game is FUN
        
       | camtarn wrote:
       | Typing to destroy blocks is pretty satisfying, but I really
       | disliked the W/S to move.
        
         | the__alchemist wrote:
         | E/D would be better for homerow-rest.
        
           | jtokoph wrote:
           | That's what I kept hitting based on normal W/S in gaming hand
           | position (home-row offset by one)
        
       | Muvasa wrote:
       | I tried playing it but vi keybindings have poisoned my brain.
       | Kept trying to press j/k instead w/s
        
       | BiraIgnacio wrote:
       | oh super cool, and creative (IMO). Love it, thanks!
        
       | to11mtm wrote:
       | Wow this is very awesome. Love it. My only wish is that I could
       | do arrow keys or anything other than normal character keys for
       | the up/down, it's a weird barrier to put in my brain.
       | 
       | OTOH maybe that's the point... still amazing!
        
       | glgrau wrote:
       | this is fun!
        
       | mylesp wrote:
       | Weird, this seems to be getting keyboard input from somewhere
       | else. My split keyboard using ZMK I use for everything else
       | (including writing this comment) does not work, but my old crappy
       | standard one does. Is there some reason that it uses some other
       | type of keyboard input that excludes certain keyboards?
        
       | mnaimd wrote:
       | Very Great it was super fun, but can you please make a j/k mode
       | for vim? I guess a lot of people including me have that kind of
       | muscle memory.
       | 
       | Also I had some problem distinguishing V and U, I don't if it is
       | my problem or not but I'd recommend changing the font a bit.
        
       | hamdouni wrote:
       | Juste trying it without success until I remembered I'm using
       | vimium :-D
        
       | korrectional wrote:
       | This stuff is great. I liked the unbreakable too; they make you
       | work harder.
        
       | __s wrote:
       | doesn't register me pressing space since my board is QMK with
       | dual tap binding there. pressing space on laptop's keyboard works
        
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       (page generated 2025-07-17 23:02 UTC)