creative excrement
Dookie Trash
What does it mean for something to be finished?
If I'm happy with what I got out of it, does finishing even matter?
While it's fun to fantasize about making a cool app or the next indie-darling video game...
There's something to be appreciated about shit.
I mean it, too. Terrible, stinky, doo-doo-trash shit.
Shit like a goddamn donut made in blender.
Shit like a four-bar loop made in FL Studio called "new_jam52.flp"
On this site, we take a minute to appreciate finely crafted shit.
In the sea of ai-generated "slop", creative excrement is underrated.
Pyxel, Python, and Stick Gathering
So today, I am presenting to you, one of those shits.
In January, I discovered pyxel. It's like pico-8, the retro fantasy console, but via python rather than lua. I find python to be elegant and a treat to develop with, so I've really grown attached to this pyxel library.
At least 15 years ago, I watched this video series on youtube about game programming. In the video,
moosader teaches us to make a simple little game with the Allegro game library.
A game where you play a character that picks up sticks.
Kind of like "hello world", but a teensy smidge 🤏 more interesting.
Since then, it's been a ritual for me to make the silly stick collecting game when exploring new game libraries and engines. I give myself a nice pat on the back and then proceed to make nothing of interest afterwards. You know what, that's cool. I'm not coping, you're coping.
My favorite bit about this one is the little grass effect in the background.
Those are little dithered '#' characters.
Playable Link Here!
Your favorite stick collector,
Gentry