Dylan Falconer

Engine-free game programming.
Self-reliance over abstraction.

[Dylan Falconer @falconerd]

@alightinastorm Lol.. good luck brother

[Dylan Falconer @falconerd]

Oh, so every web development job I've had was infested with CIA operatives

[Dylan Falconer @falconerd]

@CloudlessStudio Common wisdom is to get 7k wishlists minimum before nextfest since you can only enter 1 nextfest per game

[Dylan Falconer @falconerd]

@OlexGameDev I love this message. I'm rooting for you, Olex

[Dylan Falconer @falconerd]

In this issue of Bytes Beneath, I explore the programming lie that limits the possibility space of games you may create without you even noticing.

https://t.co/q0czsJc2AQ

[Dylan Falconer @falconerd]

@DjMolehill @grok True. And a horse can be faster than a car if the car is parked

[Dylan Falconer @falconerd]

Your CS degree convinced you that:
- Garbage collection is necessary
- Manual memory is too hard
- Performance doesn't matter

All lies.

Memory has lifetimes.
Learn this once. Use it forever.

[Dylan Falconer @falconerd]

@AnalogDreamDev I've been following your progress and it's looking really unique! Love to see it

[Analog Dream Dev @AnalogDreamDev]

There’s a quote that keeps floating around in my head as I get older:

“The enemy of art is the absence of limitations.”

Its one of those lines that feels more true the longer time goes on. Games lost an entire relationship between hardware, art, and the player.

[Dylan Falconer @falconerd]

@TheGingerBill As well as the lmgtfy slap in the face, perspective is cultivated through experience and is often nuanced

That's one reason why I value humans teaching me something (even via another medium like a book) rather than an AI response

[Dylan Falconer @falconerd]

Once you realise engines hide complexity instead of removing it you almost have no choice but to build from scratch

[Dylan Falconer @falconerd]

Stages of programming dependencies

Beginner: NewSolution.sln -> Solution Explorer -> Add NuGet Package

Intermediate: cl src/main.c -I include/ /LINK lib/...

Advanced: Copy the code you need into your repo. Delete the rest.

Master: cl my_game.c /NODEFAULTLIB

[Dylan Falconer @falconerd]

A simple observation about programming:

It pays to embrace complexity early on

You'll be much better prepared than if you're always protected from it

For a beginner:
Manual memory is scary. Collision detection is complex. Building from scratch seems impossible.

When you've worked through the fog of uncertainty and see it for what it is?

The journey becomes a lot easier

[Dylan Falconer @falconerd]

Entitled people think that because they put effort into something that means people owe them money and/or praise

They always seem to learn the hard way and crash out

[Daniel Friedman @DanFriedman81]

I don't think the industry and games journalists understand how little gamers care about what is happening to the games industry right now.

The 40-person studio that made "Expedition 33" is comprised of former Ubisoft developers. Ubisoft hasn't made a game as good as "Expedition 33" in at least ten years.

Ubisoft employs 17,000 people. If all of them lose their jobs and some of those people manage to form even a single small studio that makes a game as good as "Expedition 33," then we one more great game to play than we would have had otherwise, because Ubisoft will never make a great game. Great games are not Ubisoft's business model and that is why Ubisoft is unsalvageable.

What is happening in the games industry right now is not the destruction of anything that deserves to be preserved. We are seeing the inevitable collapse of giant corporate studios that make mediocre games that nobody wants to play.

[Dylan Falconer @falconerd]

@AceaLashley @rcgamering @_SpyDtroid_ Yep, the remakes are a multiverse/sequel series. It's not actually a remake, unfortunately

[Dylan Falconer @falconerd]

@reitinet Good stuff :)

[Dylan Falconer @falconerd]

99% of indie games I see don't:

- Ship with a small file size
- Run well on old hardware
- Use simple, direct code

Too much bloat.

Not enough craft.

[Dylan Falconer @falconerd]

@japaneseremedy

[Dylan Falconer @falconerd]

How to learn game programming:

Old way
- Unity tutorials
- Asset store plugins
- Following YouTube step-by-step
- Never understanding what's happening

New way (ancient way)
- Build from scratch in a systems language
- Implement collision yourself at least once
- Break things, then fix them
- Actually understand your game

Understanding > abstraction

[Dylan Falconer @falconerd]

@malavolence_ It seems like many indies go full-time too early and have to scramble to make money

It's common to "just get it out" instead of canceling a project when it's not very good

I'm not sure how I feel about it since the market decides anyway

[Dylan Falconer @falconerd]

@jogamedev @raysan5 💯

[Dylan Falconer @falconerd]

@korzewarrior Off the top of my head:

Refactoring: https://t.co/mo5TpOtGdt

Memory: https://t.co/eX4kerouwK
https://t.co/sKjYE1Jva1

Algorithms:
https://t.co/wbwZ357rDr

Networking and/or physics:
https://t.co/TOoPmTwHCt

Shaders:
https://t.co/pV6kryCaVb
https://t.co/6ogS3cSQY1