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Comment by rwol | Hacker News Reader

Newgrounds forums is where I first learned how to code. My early attempts at Flash games were so basic, but in such an endearing way. Such a good community surrounding the Flash games scene. I ran FreelanceFlashGames, if any game developers on here remember the site. Cool to see this surfacing on Hacker News.

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I learned how to “code” from Wario Ware DIY, a Nintendo DS game where you could build your own minigames. I would have been about 13 at the time.

I remember being absolutely stumped trying to use the game maker at first. But I followed in-game tutorials, and it finally clicked how it worked. It was mostly just creating sprites and setting logic on them, i.e. “if you tap this sprite, set a flag”, “if this sprite collides with another, do Y”, etc

But I do credit it with first opening my mind to the fun and possibility of making computers do things.

Excellent game, just recently started playing touch for old times' sake!

I wonder if Mario Maker served similarly for the next cohort. Or even if Tears of the Kingdom, with such a flexible play style, encourages a similar spirit.

I remember FreelanceFlashGames - used to work for Flashgamelicense in the early days as a game tester. Your book was a great help in getting enough money in sponsorships to pay for a couple of nice vacations, so belated thanks!

Hey, no problem! Hearing that made my day. Glad you enjoyed the book. Flash Game License was really groundbreaking in providing a space for developers and sponsors to come together. A great way to get early feedback on games too!

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