The Games Programmers Play

An anonymous reader writes "Cort Stratton, a developer who has worked on graphics code for many first-party PS3 games, wrote an article about the kinds of games that appeal to programmers. He covers coding-friendly games of varying depth, mentioning basics like RoboRally, RoboSport and Frozen Synapse before moving on to more complex options. Quoting: 'On the surface, SpaceChem has nothing to do with programming; it's merely a futuristic puzzle game in which you build factories that convert one or more input molecules into one or more output molecules. Each factory contains a pair of independent molecule manipulators (the game calls them "waldos") which follow a fixed path through the work area. Waldos can grab, drop, and rotate molecules, make and break chemical bonds between atoms, request new input molecules and submit output molecules. ... Don't be fooled! This isn't a game about chemistry; it's actually the closest thing I've ever seen to a low-level SPU programming simulator! Each factory is an SPU running a single task. The two waldos are the SPU's dual execution pipelines. Moving and editing molecules is analogous to reading, writing and operating on data in local store.'"

Comments

Everyone is different

[Windwraith]

I am a game programmer and I generally prefer console games, as hammy as possible (if things explode gratuitously, bonus points)..more like arcade genres, such as shmups, beat'em-ups, platformers and fighting. Although I play roguelikes as well, if that counts as programmer games (do they?). And I don't care if it's kiddy stuff, I indulge in pokemon when I get the time. I used to like console puzzles like Tetris, Puyopuyo or Panel de Pon, but I don't see anything new on the field since that Puzzle Quest thingy.

Then again, the type of games I make are either roguelike-ish or arcade-ish, and things do explode gratuitously, so maybe there's a relation there.

Hello, OP here

[Anonymous Coward]

Thanks for reading! A few clarifications:

My goal for this article was simply to draw some attention to a handful of games that distill some of the art of programming into an enjoyable gameplay mechanic. I never meant to imply that these are the only games programmers should ever play, and that if you don't love them you don't deserve to call yourself a REAL programmer. Believe me, I regularly play a pile of not-even-remotely-programming-related games; I've clocked more time into WoW and LoL than I care to admit. If you'd rather spend your downtime with an FPS, or an RPG, or maybe even IRL, great!

Nor was the list meant to be exhaustive. Don't get upset if I forgot your favorite programming game; instead, post a link! I've already been introduced to at least a dozen new games since the article was first posted.

Nethack

[Plugh]

Nethack or GTFO!

Other (free!) geeky games from the same developer

[Alsee]

The guy who made SpaceChem released several other free games, mostly flash games. He calls the series "games for engineers". Very geeky cool.

The codex of alchemical engineering where you program robotic arms to assemble molecules.

The sequel: The codex of alchemical engineering magnum opus challenge

Bureau of steam engineering where you use steam valves and pipes to build control logic for steampunk battle robots.

A downloadable EXE game Ruckingenur II (requires Microsoft's DotNET 2.0 to be installed). The idea is that you use logic probes and stuff to hack electronic circuits. It's kinda cool and it's pretty realistic, but your options are fairly limited. It's more of a puzzle game than a simulator.

And then there's my favorite:
Kohctpyktop engineer of the people.
This one is definitely the geekiest and most intellectually sophisticated of them all. The idea of the game is that you have to build transistor circuits. You are given a blank playfield to draw circuitry, and the game does a full electric/logic simulation of your circuit. If the game board were arbitrarily large you could literally build an entire working CPU in there! If you manage complete the game you will have a very deep understanding of how computers work at the transistor level.

Unfortunately Kohctpyktop has almost no instructions, the help tab is a link to a tutorial video that is only marginally helpful, and it has a seriously steep learning curve. If anyone wants to give it a try be sure to use pause during the help video, it goes by really fast. You also need to know that you need to hold shift to switch from red to yellow silicon, and in delete mode hold shift to delete metal. For further help look for me in the Echo Hall chatroom on Kongregate. If I'm not there you can try asking for Kohctpyktop help in general chat - there are several Echo Hall regulars who know the game.

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