Projects: The one true way.

The only way out is through it. If I keep being terrified of failing I will never make any progress. I've just got to commit and follow through.

I need to put out at least one game project this year. I have one I am working on, right now I am doing research and note taking. I don't want to talk much about it because I might trick my brain into thinking I've done more work on it than I have. All I know is I will start it out with GBC style graphics to keep it simple and use a park near where I grew up to base the map on. If all goes well, I will post about it again when I have all the systems in place and have moved on to just polishing it up. If I have time I will upgrade the graphics to 32x32 tilesets and upgrade the character sprites once I have a complete version of the game.

I also need to get some progress on my client-server infrastructure code and planning. I have what basically amounts to an AIM clone. Remember AIM? It's actually kind of a part of Tamakai but I am building it standalone first. This way I can use it for other things in the future. A community system is kind of useful for many projects, I think. Might release it open source if it's good enough. I need to create a chat room system, friends list, block list, IM, profiles, etc. There needs to be a backend which is sockets and API (Django, possibly with Channels, might just use Twisted.) and a frontend that could be anything but I always wanted to see how Electron worked so I will be creating a JS version first. Possibly using React or Vue just to have something recent on the old portfolio using the most popular frontend libs (though I don't like frontend frameworks, you can see this if you look at anything I make.).

I will also be using these projects as platforms to better my skills and learn new skills. I will have to write a story for this game project so I will do a quick course on creative writing to get those skills upgraded. I obviously need to generate a lot of graphics for the game so I will take the opportunity to do some tutorials and courses on pixel art (I could use a refresher, it's been a year now without doing any solid work...). I need to create music for the game so I got a composition course ready to go for that. I am assuming I will spend 2-3 weeks on each of these, in some cases less, perhaps more. The goal is to keep it under a month.

Aside from this stuff I will continue on with my old friend Mantilogs of course and I have some hardware projects (including a cool new light display) that I will probably be doing as well. So I will take a week here and there to work on those. This week I have been rebuilding the Gecko Rack with new lighting and display systems. The last part is to affix the displays to the tanks, build the front panel of the enrichment area and then there's the new environemnt logging system which I have yet to even start on... though I did write the function that will gather the data, only thing I have to do is write a loop and have it gather the data and fire it off at an endpoint on Mantilogs(which I have started but wanted to get the node coded and built before I finished).

Being stuck inside for so long and getting laid up really took it's toll on my mental health. It's probably going to be rough but It'll get better. I need to start going for walks, maybe playing some MMOs to interact with people again. I've not really spoken to people much in quite some time now. A few years, really. Like... 5 or 6 since the hermit life started? Anyway I need to find me an MMO and hopefully get my vaccines soon so I can go explore this town I moved to at the start of the pandemic. I feel like there's all kinds of inspiration out there and I have been locked in this tube just a short walk from it for a year now...

It'll be nice, I'll take the camera, pick a goal and go gather some images to make into pixel art perhaps? At the very least just get some exercise and air. Back when I lived in the city I had to go walking at least once a week, had to do my grocery shopping with a backpack and whatever my arms could handle. I would fill one of the little carts at Wegmans and then whatever the weight of that was I would have to carry it home. It was a good 4-5 miles away and I would always take the side roads and back streets because it was quieter. Good times. Lots to explore in a city.

Well, I need to get in some guitar practice and get some stuff done around the house so I can focus on my projects. This week has been about getting crap in order so I have less distraction and it's slow going but at least it's going. Also going to rewrite the MMO project's code at some point, just from scratch back to where it was. The hope is that I learned enough from my mistakes that I will do it close enough to right this time. But the focus is the two main projects I mentioned before. Gonna get back to it.

Most important part is to start.

Next up: Make the sprites for the character character and animating the dude. Everything from the ground up here.

Cheers.