It’s unfortunate that itch.io got taken down because of an escalating set of automated processes and overreactions– but it’s got me thinking about hosting games myself. Own your data should apply to everything, not just blog posts and photos.


Finished Listening: The Return of Sherlock Holmes by Arthur Conan Doyle 📚


Currently reading: Game Magic by Jeff Howard 📚


Finished reading: Light It, Shoot It! by Graham Chaffee 📚

Honestly this felt a little rushed, it was over before I had a chance to really care about these characters.


Finished reading: The Arab of the Future 3 by Riad Sattouf 📚


I decided I was tired of faking my way through Inkscape, so I grabbed this course on sale a few days ago. I’m about an hour into the course, but feeling pretty good about it. Grids, guides, the Align & Distribute tool were all minor epiphanies.


Finished reading: The Arab of the Future 2 by Riad Sattouf 📚


Nora Reed says you should have a website

If you don’t want to learn to use technology, other people will use it for you, and they will use it to place you under their thumbs in a way that makes it as impossible to switch to something else as they can. Making a website is a great way to experiment with getting agency over your relationship with the internet, your phone, and computers.


I’ve submitted Pinball Putt to the 1-Button Game Jam. A mini-golf/pinball mashup where you need to earn enough points to pass a level, without running out of strokes. Most of the level designs and some of the art were made by my son, Benjamin.


OK, I’m pretty happy that the dethrace project exists so that I can play Carmageddon natively on linux.


My “chill mini golf game” for the 1-Button Jam is coming together– though I don’t think I’ll be done for the 5pm deadline tomorrow. Luckily, the organizer said late submissions aren’t a problem, so I’m going to spend a few more days on it.


I had hoped to complete a couple more obstacles/gadgets today, but only got this pinball-style bumper working.

I’m happy with the mouse graphic that appears during attract mode, which doubles as a teaching tool.

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— RossK (Nellee Hooper Edit) (@ross.karchner.com) November 28, 2024 at 12:23 AM

(I’m having some issues uploading video on micro.blog this week– so I’m uploading to Bluesky and embedding those posts here. Technology!)


I’ve added an “attract mode” bot that plays plausibly but seldom successfully. It can’t really deal with obstacles yet.


I’ve migrated fediverse following/followers over to my profile on mastodon.gamedev.place. ross.karchner.com will now cross-post to that account.

I’ve decided I want the full-fat Mastodon experience again, for now at least.


Working on a chill mini-golf game for the 1-Button Jam.

[image or embed]

— RossK (Nellee Hooper Edit) ([@ross.karchner.com](https://ross.karchner.com)) November 26, 2024 at 12:01 AM

Finished reading: The Arab of the Future by Riad Sattouf 📚


The Smithsonian has a model of the ship from Close Encounters of the 3rd kind. If you look closely you can find R2D2 and a couple of other Easter eggs.


Another year in your feed

I was on the fence a bit, but I allowed my yearly micro.blog subscription renew today.

There are a thousand ways to put a site or blog up online, but I like the apps, and how micro bridges to BlueSky and the fediverse. I also enjoy the bookshelf feature, which seems like a quirky one-off (I mean, why not movies, TV, and games?) – which somehow makes it more lovely.


Finished Listening: The Hound of the Baskervilles by Arthur Conan Doyle 📚


Finished reading: Delights: a Story of Hieronymus Bosch by Guy Colwell 📚