Today I attempted to write a short D&D campaign using the Homebrewery. It was a total failure. I was incredibly tired, and didn't manage my time well.
I made my first android app today. It was terrible and I plan to never do it again.
It took me about three hours of trying to get the sample apps to run before I gave up and made something from scratch. Both involved heavy use of ChatGPT (not my usual flow).
That said, if you want an app that reminds you how to tie your tie in an easy step-by-step way, you can download the APK from my website, and I believe you should be able to run that on your phone.
I don't know how to easily share Android source code, so I won't.
Today I hacked together a simple but servicable Go game. It uses chinese scoring, and you have to manually mark dead stones at the end of the game. You can play a demo here. Source code is on github.
Right now you have to sit down with someone else to play. I plan to spend a day adding multiplayer to a few games, if I have time.
Can't Stop is a push-your-luck style dice game designed by Sid Sackson in 1980. I've found it to be fun on BoardGameArena.
I wrote my own version for hack-a-day. You can play online. The source code is on github.
I'm pretty happy with this one. I didn't get to online play or even AI opponents, but you can play on your own or against friends in the room.
Today I wrote a little game where you make food in a kitchen.
You can play here. Source code is on github.
This was so-so. I didn't have a ton of fun making it, and it's not that fun to play either. I spent way too much time with things like trying to get sprites to load, and not as much on making the game fun. I think it could be much better with another day or two of work (as usual for hack-a-day).
Today I made a TODO list. It has whiteboard sections to write tasks in, an eraser, and a timer. You should be able to use it flat or on the wall, though it's a little bulky to use flat.
The blue is mostly spray paint, with some hand acrylic painting near the tape. The various bits on top are held in place with magnets, which I epoxied.
The cost to make this was $17. $5 for the whiteboard marker, $5 for the MDF board, and $7 for the timer. The eraser I made for free. I already had paints, whiteboard tape, epoxy, and magnets.
Originally I had planned to add a bunch of electronics (LEDs for which task is active, a built-in timer, a buzzer, etc), but I decided not to. I was way too ambitious, so I didn't think I'd have time. On top of that, I was having a rough time getting my microcontroller to work, or figuring out how to mount hardware cleanly on MDF. I don't think I would have been happy with the electronic version (even with enough time to do it well), and I am with this version. I'm glad I gave up on that part early. I don't think I'll attempt another physical electronics project during hack-a-day -- it's too hard with too little to show for it at my skill level.
Today's project was one I've been wanting for a while--a way for people to send me files.
There were two components -- a web form where you can upload things, and a server that you send the things to. Both were fairly easy.
You can now send me things at upload.za3k.com
Today's project was a "vibe piece". I've been obsessed with the idea of easy, relaxing games based on organization.
In this game, you sort squares into like colors.
You can play online here. Source code is on github.
There are 24 hours in a day. This shows you how many of those are daylight. You can use it as a calendar, or you can wistfully watch it, waiting for the sun to come back.
As on day 02, I tried to make a soma cube, this time milling it out of aluminium on a milling machine.
I picked up some aluminium from a local supplier, and headed to Hive13, the local hackerspace, to use their milling machine.
After about 7 hours, despite hard work, I had almost finished cutting the blanks, and that was it. Milling is no joke, especially for a beginner!
And had to call it a night, both because I was tired and because the weekly meeting was starting. I was feeling pretty rough after this one -- three, nearly four failed projects in a row is not a great start to a hackathon.
