Hey...
It's been yet another massive gap since my last post on here. I feel guilty for not posting more regularly, when behind the scenes lots of things are happening, but I guess my time is pretty finite given family life, my day job, etc...
Anyway, to get to the point, the biggest change from a technology standpoint is that I have been able to set up a proper "home lab" using a Lenovo M93P Tiny and Ubuntu Server. I installed Docker and have learnt how to setup separate stacks for different projects, and it's changed my whole development landscape!
I now have multiple little projects on the go, ranging from a "home operations" dashboard for me and my family to share to my attempt to build an alternative to Discord.
I'm quite proud of all my projects so far, be them all in a state of incompleteness - remember, "Art is never finished, just abandoned" as my old mate Leo da Vinci once said.
Gor's Tale
So, I have progressed Gor's Tale and am pivoting on a couple of the core mechanics so the game doesn't feel too boring or laborious without a decent payoff, but I have also been focusing on a new game idea called Elemental Fusion.
Elemental Fusion
Element Fusion is essentially a classic "match three" style game like Bejewelled but incorporates the Periodic Table of Elements. It was born from a moment of meshed inspiration- playing the enormously addictive Block Blast (trying to beat my wife's top score) and listening to The Rest Is Science hosted by mathematician Professor Hannah Fry and YouTuber Michael Stevens (Vsauce) - a highly recommended podcast by the way, go watch or listen!
The idea is that you start at the beginning of the Periodic Table and work your way through trying to bond together elements to make new ones, filling up the target meter. All the usual tropes are there- matching three tiles, matching four tiles, making crosses, etc, just with this scientific theme. I'm aiming for it to be reasonably based in reality but keeping the gaming aspect fun.
I'll be publishing the game, which will be compatible with mobile and desktop/table displays, on Itch.io here : https://gwarakgames.itch.io/elemental-fusion
Anyway, despite it being supremely quiet here on this blog (which I hope to change in time with a more regular posting schedule) things back in the "home lab" have been feverously progressing. I hope to share the fruits of my labours with you all soon!
Thanks for sticking with me :)
Matt
