80 LEVEL·34wLevel Up Your Coding Skills With This Farming Game
The Farmer Was Replaced is a farming game that teaches programming through automation. Players use a Python-like language to program drones that handle repetitive farming tasks. The game offers continuous progression rather than isolated levels, making it beginner-friendly while still challenging experienced programmers. It launches October 10 with features like multiple drone support, expanded tech trees, and multilingual support.
Hacker News·34wDoomscrolling: The Game
A developer created a browser-based game called 'Doomscrolling' where players navigate through a Doom-inspired world using only scroll gestures. The project evolved from a failed attempt with GPT-4 to a successful implementation with GPT-5, incorporating real-time news headlines from RSS feeds as in-game elements. The development process showcased AI-assisted coding techniques, including creating standalone 'labs' for testing visual elements and using computational rendering instead of pre-made sprites.
The New Stack·34wMeet the 11-Year-Old Whose Code Was Adopted by a Gaming Giant
An 11-year-old programmer from Vietnam, Damir Buldakov, developed a Scratch SDK plugin for Playgama gaming platform that was officially adopted by the company. His JavaScript-based extension allows Scratch developers to connect their projects to Playgama's network of 300 million users. The gaming platform recognized his contribution with a mentorship program and financial award, demonstrating how young developers can make meaningful contributions to major tech platforms.
80 LEVEL·32wDeliver Mail on Tiny Planet in This Relaxing Web Game
Studio abeto released Messenger, a free web-based game built with WebGL and Three.js where players deliver mail on a tiny spherical planet. The relaxing experience features character customization, 3D emoji interactions, and a soothing soundtrack, demonstrating how modern web technologies can create engaging browser-based gaming experiences.
Hacker News·32wImproved Map Generation
Firaxis Games replaced their predictable fractal noise map generation system with a new Voronoi diagram-based approach for Civilization VII. The new technique creates more natural, varied maps by simulating tectonic plates and growing landmasses using configurable rules, while maintaining gameplay balance. Two new map types were introduced: Continents and Islands, and Pangea and Islands, with the system designed for future expansion and modding support.
Hacker News·33wWhy, as a responsible adult, SimCity 2000 hits differently
A retrospective look at how playing SimCity 2000 as an adult differs from childhood experiences. The author reflects on how real-world responsibilities as a homeowner and parent have changed their approach to the city simulation game, making them more empathetic toward virtual citizens and more thoughtful about urban planning decisions that once seemed trivial.
Unity·34wInside the Survival Kids Multiplayer Network Architecture
Unity Studio Productions developed Survival Kids as a day-one Nintendo Switch 2 launch title using Unity 6 and Netcode for Entities. The team created a unified network architecture supporting single-player, local co-op, online multiplayer, and GameShare functionality. They used Unity Relay for cloud hosting and maintained a single codebase for all play modes by treating single-player as a networked game with in-process connections. The biggest challenge was optimizing performance to run both server and client simulation simultaneously while maintaining 60 FPS.
GamesIndustry.biz·33wThe painful lessons learned from layoffs
Two game studios share their experiences with layoffs and strategies for avoiding them in the future. Spilt Milk Studios navigated publisher rejections by launching a Kickstarter and eventually rehired laid-off employees, while Aurora Punks scaled down from 50 to 20 people after rapid pandemic growth. Both studios emphasize the importance of diversified revenue streams, including work-for-hire projects and consulting, rather than relying solely on single game releases. The key lessons include maintaining multiple income sources, building sustainable team sizes, and focusing on consumer-driven revenue rather than depending entirely on publisher funding.
Gamefromscratch·34wBabylonJS Game Engine FINALLY Gets a World/Level Editor!
BabylonJS has officially launched its V5 editor, addressing one of the framework's major limitations. The new editor provides a unified development environment with built-in project templates for Next.js, vanilla JS, and other setups. It includes visual scene composition, script attachment to objects, asset management, and rendering pipeline configuration. While the editor shows promise with features like 3D model import, lighting controls, and post-processing effects, it's still in early stages with various bugs and missing features like animation tools.
80 LEVEL·35wSilksong's Launch Crashes Steam & Attracts 500K As Pirates Hold Back
Hollow Knight: Silksong launched after 8 years of anticipation, immediately attracting 500,000 players and crashing Steam due to overwhelming demand. The indie Metroidvania sequel received 96% positive reviews on Steam and surprisingly influenced pirates to purchase the game instead due to its affordable $20 price point and developer-friendly approach. Team Cherry's success story demonstrates how passion-driven development can overcome initial skepticism and achieve massive commercial success.
GamesIndustry.biz·33wBonfire Studios reveals its first game – nine years after it was founded by ex-Blizzard CCO Rob Pardo
Bonfire Studios, founded by former Blizzard CCO Rob Pardo, has revealed Arkheron after nine years of development. The team-based multiplayer game combines MOBA, battle royale, and ARPG elements in an isometric "Ascension Royale" format. The lengthy development involved iterating on Unity's DOTS system, rebuilding network layers, and finding the right balance between accessibility and depth. With $25M initial funding and a recent Series B round, the 70-person studio aims for sustainable success rather than massive scale, targeting both Western and Korean markets through publisher Drimage.
The Cherno·33wC++ Application Architecture - A Mini-Series
A comprehensive guide to architecting C++ applications using a modular approach that separates core reusable systems from application-specific code. The tutorial demonstrates building a clean architecture with an application system, window management, main loop, and layer-based functionality using OpenGL. Key concepts include creating a core static library for reusable components, implementing a layer system for custom behavior, and maintaining clean separation between framework code and application logic. The approach emphasizes simplicity and reusability, making it easier to create multiple applications without reimplementing core functionality.
80 LEVEL·33wAssassin’s Creed Black Flag Remake Removes Choreographed Combat
Ubisoft's upcoming Assassin's Creed Black Flag remake will shift from the original's choreographed combat system to an RPG-style approach similar to recent AC titles. The remake removes modern sequences, adds more pirate-era content including cut storylines, and features enhanced islands with additional activities. Built on the Anvil engine and reusing some Skull & Bones assets, the game targets early 2026 release and represents a faithful reimagining rather than a big-budget remake.
Hugging Face·32wVibeGame: Exploring Vibe Coding Games
VibeGame is a new high-level declarative game engine built on three.js, designed specifically for AI-assisted game development. The author explores the challenges of 'vibe coding' games using AI, comparing platforms like Roblox, Unity, and web technologies. The solution combines web stack's excellent AI performance with high-level abstractions similar to Roblox, using XML-like syntax and Entity-Component-System architecture. While effective for basic games, it currently struggles with complex features like multiplayer and combat systems.
Code Monkey·36wThe BIGGEST Problem in Game Dev!
The 'door problem' illustrates the complexity of game development by showing how implementing something as simple as a door requires countless design decisions. From determining if doors can be opened, locked, or are decorative, to handling multiplayer scenarios and enemy spawning, each choice impacts the final game. The problem demonstrates that game design involves making thousands of seemingly mundane decisions that collectively define game quality, requiring input from multiple specialists including programmers, artists, sound designers, and animators.
80 LEVEL·32wCheck Out Reflections & Refractions in This Cool Liquid Glass UI
3D Artist Guulu created a mesmerizing liquid glass UI effect using Unity, showcasing realistic reflections and refractions with variations including glossy and frosted glass surfaces. The prototype demonstrates high-quality visual effects with different blur levels and captivating light interactions, though it's not tied to any specific game project.
Awesome Go·34wMaking a game with Pion
Explores building cross-platform multiplayer games using WebRTC datachannels with Pion (a Go WebRTC library) and Ebitengine. Covers the advantages of WebRTC over WebSockets for real-time gaming, discusses various WebRTC implementations, and presents a practical example of peer-to-peer game networking without dedicated servers or port forwarding.
The Cherno·31wLayers - C++ Application Architecture Mini-Series
Explores the layer system pattern in C++ application architecture, demonstrating how to organize different application states (like menus and gameplay) into separate, manageable layers. Covers layer lifecycle management, the layer stack concept, and practical implementation using vectors and unique pointers. Shows how layers can transition between states and coexist simultaneously, with examples of menu overlays and game state management.
iO tech_hub·35wCreative Coding With Perlin Noise
Perlin noise transforms harsh randomness into smooth, natural-looking patterns for creative coding projects. Unlike Math.random(), it generates gradual transitions between values, making it perfect for creating organic movement in particles, terrain generation, and visual effects. The technique involves calculating noise values based on position coordinates and applying them to properties like movement, color, or opacity. Examples include recreating the Joy Division album cover, simulating flying insects with individual movement paths, creating fire spark effects with decay and depth, and building flow fields where particles follow calculated directional forces across a grid.
JetBrains·32wRider Roadmap: What to Expect From the Upcoming Updates and Releases
JetBrains outlines the roadmap for Rider 2025.3, featuring same-day .NET 10 support, significant performance improvements including 2-3x faster Roslyn analyzer execution, and the new Islands UI theme. Major updates include enhanced game development support for Unity and Unreal Engine mobile development, CMake support for C++ projects, OpenTelemetry integration improvements, Azure DevOps repository cloning, and a redesigned NuGet Package Manager with console support.
