DEV Community: pieterjoubert

Arcology Roguelike Lifestream E6

pieterjoubert — Mon, 25 Nov 2019 17:55:01 +0000

Scheduled for 25/11/2019 18:30 GMT

Episode 6: Procedural Generation

Planned

Add a loading bar
Try and fix the procedural generation so that doors/openings match up
Add camera controls
Add basic MouseClick interaction

Link and actually completed work

Loading text added
Spiral procedural generation implemented. Needs quite a bit of work, but it's looking much better
Camera controls added

Still to do from this session

Fix camera rotation
Fix procedural generation
Add MouseClick interaction

Arcology Roguelike Lifestream E5

pieterjoubert — Mon, 18 Nov 2019 19:37:59 +0000

Episode 5: Procedural Generation

In this video I build on the Procedural Generation algorithm discussed in the previous video.

I start with a bit of Game and Art Design, exploring the idea of the game having levels or floors that are separated from the other floors or levels in the game. To implement this visually I add a very basic "scaffold" effect.

I look at ways to get better coverage of the entire level with Rooms.

I also attempt a solution to prevent rooms from overlapping. The code works, but the generated levels lack play-ability. In this instance Game Mechanics trump the correctness of the algorithm.

I also add some code to ensure our level always has one entrance, and finally, I add random rotations to placed Room Templates.

I might not look like a major difference (if you just glance at the thumbnails) but there is major progress being made towards playable levels, which will allow for much easier testing of combat mechanics, unit balance and various other Game Design Aspects.

Arcology Roguelike Lifestream E4

pieterjoubert — Sun, 17 Nov 2019 14:35:42 +0000

Episode 4: Procedural General

I start out the video by fixing my error from the previous video and getting random room templates to display.

I continue the video by creating a number of additional Room Templates. I then also use a basic Context Free Grammar to create an algorithm for creating logic Levels.

The video ends with me generating a random level, that while not perfect is a pretty decent start for the Game.

Arcology Roguelike Lifestream E3

pieterjoubert — Sun, 17 Nov 2019 14:28:13 +0000

Episode 3: Procedural Generation

In this video I continue with the Procedural Generation algorithm, attempting to generate an entire level made up of randomly placed room templates. The video ends with me getting a little stuck on getting the full Procedural Generation to work! (Don't worry the next episode shows the fix...)

Arcology Roguelike Lifestream E2

pieterjoubert — Sun, 17 Nov 2019 14:22:40 +0000

Episode 2: Procedural General

In this episode I look at creating the first part of the Procedural Generation for the Levels of the game. This part includes reading in templates from files for the various Rooms that will be generated in the game.

I end the video of by displaying a full room template using prefabs created from basic Unity 3D shapes.

Arcology Roguelike Lifestream E1

pieterjoubert — Sat, 16 Nov 2019 21:23:29 +0000

Episode 1: Planning

Here I introduce the game I want to build, the tools I want to use and the process I'm going to follow as well as doing some basic planning.

Learn to Program 04: Anatomy of a Program

pieterjoubert — Fri, 04 Oct 2019 08:46:23 +0000

Rust Hello World Example

Replace the text inside the double quotes where my name Pieter was with your name. Assuming your name is Name the code will look as follows:

fn main() {
  println!("Hello Name!");
 }

So, what is actually happening in the small program we wrote above?

We've written some instructions (commonly known as code) that tells the computer to perform certain actions. There's an interesting idea hidden in the use of the word code to describe the instructions that we provide to the computer.

A code, more commonly, is some kind of encrypted message that needs to be decrypted or deciphered. This rough definition gives us the following useful insights into the properties any programming code we write will have:

The code is not in plain language (known as a Natural Language). Instead it's written in a different language, often referred to as a Formal Language. Formal also refers to the fact that there are specific rules that this language needs to follow.
The code needs to be decrypted by something or someone. Depending on the language you are using this will either be an interpreter or a compiler, a piece of software that translates your code into something the computer can understand.
There is an intended message or purpose to our code. This is what we, as the programmer, are trying to achieve with our code. It is important to understand what this purpose is, so that we can determine whether the computer is executing our code correctly.

Why are these properties of code important? Well they guide us in terms of what we need to do to write working and successful code. Each of these properties loosely fits into a basic coding principle or practise:

We need to understand the rules of the language we are using. (We don't need to memorise them fully but we need to understand them, and understand them well enough to research any new rules we come across).
We need to setup our interpreter or compiler (and the associated tools) in such a way that maximises our efficiency in writing code.
We need to follow some kind of structured approach to determining, documenting and sharing the purpose of our code.

So, for Task 2: Let's look at what happens when we do not follow the rules of the language we are using.

Create a new C# repl.it
Copy over the code below

using System;

class MainClass {
  public static void Main (string[] args) {
    Console.WriteLine ("Hello World")
  }
}

Carefully look at the results of running this code.

Link to Main Content Post. If you are confused about this post start here.

Learn to Program 03: The How

pieterjoubert — Thu, 03 Oct 2019 11:55:42 +0000

Finally we get to the how. How exactly will this series be structured to help you (the reader) learn programming? How will you be able to measure your progress? How exactly will this work?

The first answer concerns structure. The series will be structured as short posts (typically less than 5min to read) that cover a single topic, concept etc. Attached to these posts will be small programs, where appropriate, where you can see and test the concept in question.

My advice would be to use a site like Repl.it in which to run and practise the programs provided. The examples will not be written in one language only. Different languages have different strengths and will be used in this way to showcase various aspects of programming. This is not a series in which you will learn python, or rust or any specific language.

(As an aside a proper Computer Science professor like Donald Knuth writes a whole new language just to teach programming. I am not anywhere close to that level so my readers will need to be content with existing language!).

The idea is for bite sized pieces of content that you can read while standing in line at your local coffee joint. In the same way programmers will often tell you to keep your methods to a size that fits on one computer screen, so too will I try and fit each post unto one screen (one screen while writing it, your reading experience might differ).

Finally, the entire process will follow (loosely), the Socratic method. In other words each post will tend to end with a question or task, and the following post will start with a possible answer to that question or task.

This nicely leads to Task 1: Update the rust example below to display your own name instead of mine:

fn main() {
  println!("Hello Pieter!");
 }

Link to Main Content Post. If you are confused about this post start here.

Learning to Program 02: The What

pieterjoubert — Thu, 03 Oct 2019 11:26:47 +0000

We've looked at a basic background and prologue to this series, just to contextualise the purpose of this series. We've also looked a little at the why, and hopefully you have an idea of why you want to learn to program. This is not something to be taken lightly as it will help guide you on your journey. The why is your ultimate goal that you are aiming for.

But let's take a break from these vague generalities and get into the what. What exactly will this series cover?

My intention is not for this series to be a linear progression, from your first program, to intermediate topics, to advanced topics. There are many excellent resources (tutorials, video series, bootcamps, books, degrees etc.) that follow this approach. My intention is for this series to be more of a undirected journey, that slowly builds up layer upon layer, brick upon brick, until we have constructed an overview and had a discussion about the most important topics, concepts and approaches in programming.

Even though this will be a somewhat meandering journey there is still a need for some kind of golden thread or focus, and some way to follow that thread. That is the purpose of this post, to be a continually updated repository of all the other posts in the series (with some sneaky recursion just for fun). I will update this post whenever I add a new post to the series so make sure you keep checking back here for updates:

Learning to Program 00: Prologue

pieterjoubert — Thu, 03 Oct 2019 08:51:40 +0000

Just like any good novel, where the prologue hints at a massive world filled with mystery, interesting characters and looming threats, I wanted to start this series with some background and some hint of where it's going to go.

I teach programming for a living. And I've been teaching programming in some capacity (either professionally or incidentally) for almost 20 years know. It's my one great passion in life, helping anyone understand how to program. I've used tools and languages such as Visual Basic, python, Scratch, C#, Unity, HTML + CSS + JavaScript on top of a full PHP and MySQL stack and even Lego Mindstorms, to teach a range of people from 10 year old school children, to working adults how to program.

The purpose of that previous paragraph was not to brag about all the languages I know (and the fetishization of languages is a topic I'll probably cover later on), but to bring up an important point: learning programming is not learning a language.

You will learn a language along the way, but that's almost incidental. I say almost as the choice of language will have some impact on how and what you learn.

The background has been set, at least one character has been introduced (whether he is interesting or not is up to the reader to decide), all that's left is the looming threat.

In the prologue to Game of Thrones, the reader is given the briefest hint of the White Walkers and the possible threat they might pose to our protagonists. In our journey what then is the looming threat, the hinted at horror that well be revealed piece by piece?

It's simply time. Programming is not something you learn over a weekend, or over a 6 week bootcamp, or even really over a 4 year degree. It's a continuous process, that, everyday in some small way you need to push forward on. Programming is one field where it is literally true that if you aren't moving forward you are moving back ward.

Let's start with that first small step right now:

Learning to Program 01: Hello Programmer

pieterjoubert ・ Oct 3 '19

#learning #beginners

Learning to Program 01: Hello Programmer

pieterjoubert — Thu, 03 Oct 2019 08:50:11 +0000

Most programming textbooks, tutorials etc. start out with the classic, the sometimes maligned and the universally known Hello World program. Something like:

print("Hello World")

Console.WriteLine("Hello World");

println!("Hello World");

Those examples are python, C# and rust incidentally. Three of the languages I enjoy working with and am most comfortable with.

The idea behind this small little program is quite simple I think. You, as the budding novice programming, are standing up and saying Hello to the big scary world of programming.

But the title of this post is Hello Programmer, and I'd like to focus more on you as the programmer, rather than the World into which you will be programming (more on that later!).

So, what is a programmer? There are many definitions and debates about this but here is mine that I'm going to be working off for the rest of this series:

A programmer is some who is unapologetically stubborn about solving problems, always willing to learn and has an insatiable passion to build things.

That doesn't described you? Don't worry, these traits can be learned, and most programmers don't start out this way. You slowly build up to being this kind of person. A programmer is something you are not something you do.

Maybe all you are interested in is earning a good salary. Or perhaps you want to expand your skillset to keep up with changes in your, non-programming, industry. Or perhaps you just want to build a Mod for your favourite game and you have no idea where to start.

That's all fine, for a start. The why is less important for the beginner programmer, but it does become important to keep your interest alive.

So instead of saying Hello World first, take a moment to say (insert your own name):

println!("Hello Pieter");

and ask yourself why are you doing this.

Link to Main Content Post. If you are confused about this post start here.

DEV Community: pieterjoubert

Arcology Roguelike Lifestream E6

Episode 6: Procedural Generation

Planned

Link and actually completed work

Still to do from this session

Arcology Roguelike Lifestream E5

Episode 5: Procedural Generation

Arcology Roguelike Lifestream E4

Episode 4: Procedural General

Arcology Roguelike Lifestream E3

Episode 3: Procedural Generation

Arcology Roguelike Lifestream E2

Episode 2: Procedural General

Arcology Roguelike Lifestream E1

Episode 1: Planning

Learn to Program 04: Anatomy of a Program

Learn to Program 03: The How

Learning to Program 02: The What

Contents

Learning to Program 00: Prologue

Learning to Program 01: Hello Programmer

pieterjoubert ・ Oct 3 '19

Learning to Program 01: Hello Programmer