NanoTanks - A tiny programming game for a tiny world by mjb
Nanotank is programming game which pits your wits as a programmer against the tiny mind of the computer. Your creations (written in a tiny Scheme-like language) will battle for supremacy of the tiny world of the computer. Its a small and simple world, but the nature of the language makes it an extremely open one.
Contains a complete custom tank-controlling progamming language, graphics and some buttons. And a disabled slider bar. Read the README for documentation and instructions.
Stuff I was happy with
----------------------
- I like the concept. It's not that original, but programming little tanks in Scheme-like is actually quite fun (for me).
- The language implementation is pretty solid. I spent way too much time on it, but it's not that horrible.
Stuff I would have done with more time
--------------------------------------
- A better code editor. I recommend editing the code in a better editor and using cut and paste. Also syntax highlighting would be awesome.
- More game mechanics and balance. It's very minimal as it stands.
- Sound and Music.
- Much better language documentation. I had a tutorial planned, but ran out of time.
- Better looking UI.
- Testing on Windows and Mac.
Contains a complete custom tank-controlling progamming language, graphics and some buttons. And a disabled slider bar. Read the README for documentation and instructions.
Stuff I was happy with
----------------------
- I like the concept. It's not that original, but programming little tanks in Scheme-like is actually quite fun (for me).
- The language implementation is pretty solid. I spent way too much time on it, but it's not that horrible.
Stuff I would have done with more time
--------------------------------------
- A better code editor. I recommend editing the code in a better editor and using cut and paste. Also syntax highlighting would be awesome.
- More game mechanics and balance. It's very minimal as it stands.
- Sound and Music.
- Much better language documentation. I had a tutorial planned, but ran out of time.
- Better looking UI.
- Testing on Windows and Mac.
Ratings
| Coolness | 56% | 3 |
| Overall | 2.81 | 524 |
| Audio | 1.60 | 695 |
| Fun | 2.08 | 784 |
| Graphics | 2.24 | 748 |
| Humor | 1.62 | 715 |
| Innovation | 3.52 | 160 |
| Mood | 2.16 | 737 |
| Theme | 2.04 | 831 |
java.util.zip.ZipException: error in opening zip file
at java.util.zip.ZipFile.open(Native Method)
at java.util.zip.ZipFile.<init>(ZipFile.java:127)
at java.util.jar.JarFile.<init>(JarFile.java:135)
at java.util.jar.JarFile.<init>(JarFile.java:72)
...
Unfortunately, I felt that the language isn't very approachable. Also, it's hard to want to learn a new programming language and change the code that's there without any goal in mind.
It seems like you can spawn two things and select two algorithms to control them(?) but there's no indication as to what is the "player" and what is "ai" or even which script controls which bot.
If the object was to modify some code to defeat a very simple AI (who's code you can't change and perhaps can't see), this would be a fun game!
Dave: Agreed. I had a more interactive editor planned (and, at least, syntax highlighting and checking) but ran out of time.
However I would've chosen a language style that would be clearer or neared to what most people know. Lots of brackets around ;)
Congrats on implementing the whole thing in 48 hours though, that's pretty impressive.
I've made my last two games for Ludum Dare in lisps (screw the haters), and am interested to see how this ended up working out.
My stack trace is here: http://pastebin.com/SEUUKtKy
Thanks for the stack trace. I'll see if I can track down a mac to reproduce the issue. JOGL does some dynamic binding magic, which is what appears to be broken here.
I've been thinking of making a programming game myself. Didn't even occur to me to have the code and simulation displayed at the same time. Duh.
Anyway, kudos for doing a programming game. I'll probably spend more time on it some day in the future -- perhaps perusing the source as well -- interested to see a homegrown compiler.
I'll have to take another look when I'm back at my desktop.
java.util.zip.ZipException: error in opening zip file