Hacker News Reader

Comment by amitp | Hacker News Reader

Seeing my game programming bookmarks page up on HN is unexpected. :)

Yes, I started it a very long time ago (most likely 1994 but that's before Wayback Machine, and I don't have my own archive). I should update the links on that page, but I've been focused more on my new site (http://www.redblobgames.com/), where I'm writing tutorials with interactive diagrams.

Longevity is a goal for my site so I try to focus on algorithms, design, and techniques, rather than specific platforms, languages, or code.

View on HN

Thanks for putting together this incredible resource. I started programming about 8 years ago, making games in high school, and I owe a lot of my early learning to your site.

Hi Amit,

I came here to vote this article up. I didn't expect you to be posting here. I love your site. It has been an awesome resource and I have referenced it for other people multiple times.

I really enjoyed your piece on procedural terrain generation. It's so well written that it's the first thing I think of when I want to help people understand that concept.

I also really liked some of the work you did with the interactive diagrams, especially the article on modeling dice rolls.

The way you have made this information accessible is very impressive to me. You make me want to do the things you do for others.

Thank you!

Just had to sign in and say a big "Thank You". Your site was the first real resource I found that taught me what I know about game/graphics development. Back then it was predominantly on a Psion 3c in OPL, but hell, taught me to work within constraints. Thanks again!

I'd just like to chip in with the thank yous. I can only imagine how many people learnt about A* from your website. I know I am one, and I thank you sir.

been a fan of it for years, and i don't even do game programming :)

Thank you for Barren Realms Elite. You owe me many hours of my life!

Sorry but gotta jump in to set this straight. Amit programmed Solar Realms Elite. His brother Mehul did Barren Realms Elite. SRE came first, then later BRE was the more popular one thanks to the inter-BBS play.

Yep. I wrote SRE, and then wrote a game engine (modem communication, bbs interface, logins, menus, inter-bbs communication, ansi color, etc.) so that Mehul could write AC6 and BRE. He continued writing games (see http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Swirve.com). I had gotten bored of BBS games and decided to try a hex-board strategy/sim game. That didn't go anywhere but I learned a lot. Fun times.

Damn, I can't recall how many hours (and phone bills!) lost to playing SRE and BRE on all my local BBS's, thank you dude.

I remember implementing A* during first year uni holidays thanks to your guide. Thanks for the great resource!

I learned a ton from these articles back in the early 2000s. Thank you :)

Thanks you very much. Your A* search article was quite helpful recently.

Reply on news.ycombinator.com