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

The plural of anecdote

[StikyPad]

I'm a programmer, and I play first person shooters. Not everybody likes to solve the same problems on their downtime as they do at work.

Re:The plural of anecdote

[Neurotrace]

Agreed. If I'm in a coding mood, then you'll usually find me coding. Otherwise you'll find me in front of an FPS, RPG, or platformer.

Core Wars or it ain't programming...

[Anonymous Coward]

You cannot mention programming games without bringing up Core Wars. The original programmers game.

Coding "is" a game

[msobkow]

Coding is a game. It's a great big puzzle of interlocking pieces and shifting requirements that make a Rubik's Cube look like the primitive toy it is.

I enjoy what I do. Programming is far more challenging and fun than any artificial gaming environment I've ever encountered (despite many years of FPS gaming.)

That said, I've no interest in actual puzzle games. They have all the frustration of a debug session without the satisfaction of delivery to the users.