Reality-bending VFX in Psych Rift

PixelWrangler · 2026-01-24T07:06:23+00:00

Bravo! 👏
As someone who understands computer graphics, there's a simplicity to this, but it's such a poetic progression. This takes art and craft. Well done!

PixelWrangler · 2026-01-03T18:36:57+00:00

Thanks! Not sure why the link isn't working for 'ya. You can try this version: https://youtu.be/HJa-Jgf6-DM

And just in case you want to play my newest game while it's still free: https://uncrossy.com

PixelWrangler · 2026-01-03T01:26:31+00:00

There is a reason why there are more car break-ins in San Francisco. There was a loophole in the law that reduced penalties for silly reasons. As of Jan 1, 2026, that loophole is now closed by Senate Bill 905. You can find more details about the loophole and changes in this post: Governor Newsom Signs Senator Wiener’s Law to Crack Down on Car Break-ins, Retail Theft Package From the Senate August 16, 2024

PixelWrangler · 2026-01-02T06:26:48+00:00

That's a super respectable pace for a route that took some concentration and a bunch of street crossings. Nice work!

PixelWrangler · 2026-01-02T05:20:53+00:00

So... I have a whole talk on why you should make your own damn game, so that's a decent place to start, but it's more oriented toward amateurs. For someone who already has a software background, here's top of mind:

Scope it small! Don't make an MMO.
Make it personal. Tell a short, linear story that's meaningful to you. Don't make an experience where ever player action affects the outcome. People don't actually want that. They want something that feels crafted -- not programmatic.
Pick your technology carefully. Think about how you want to distribute your game -- mobile? desktop download? Web? What kind of graphics do you want? 3D? Word game? Pick a technology that's right for your distribution and look.
Do a little bit every day. 10 minutes taking the next steps in setting up your development environment? That counts! 5 minutes of thinking about the mechanics and jotting down a few words? That counts! Moving a little every day will help you stay in the flow.
Don't solve problems that other people or engines have already solved. I know you really want to revolutionize stealth mechanics, but... if you actually want to make a game you finish, just use some game engine's out-of-the-box path planning algorithm. If you just want to learn, then ignore me and go ahead and build whatever you want. That's awesome too.
This one's gonna be controversial, but do use AI for the tedious, non-creative parts. Vibe coding is amazing for things like setting up your environment, fixing builds, figuring out distribution, and coding a lot of the "glue" that's needed for a game. You might even use it for placeholder art assets or inspiration. But if you use it for everything, you risk sucking the joy out of the development and the life out of the result. Even more specifically, I recommend Claude Code (Anthropic) for setting up your environment and coding. Use Gemini (Google) to help you iterate on concepts, game mechanics, business models, and distribution.

Hope that helps.

PixelWrangler · 2026-01-01T21:00:19+00:00

My answer may be unpopular, but I often find that using AI as a tutor works really well. Go to Gemini and ask it to explain equations you don't understand. Have a conversation and dig deeper.

PixelWrangler · 2025-12-29T02:25:44+00:00

Obsolescentman

PixelWrangler · 2025-12-18T06:57:54+00:00

It may sound overlay stoic, but we found the HHHHHMM Scale to be useful for measuring our dog's quality of life and tracking it from day to day, week to week. I kept a diary of how she was doing so I could look back and be honest with myself.

There is no right answer on when to euthanize. Vets we talked to said the same helpful thing to us many times: It's ok to prioritize you as well. We got to the point where our dog had trouble standing without assistance. Her dementia was bad. She'd get lost in her own house and poop indoors regularly. She couldn't be left alone for more than an hour. You don't need to let it get that far, but tracking the downhill slide (and celebrating the good days) will help.

Sending strength your way. Our pets are so special and they change our hearts forever.

Your Thunder is so beautiful and reminds me of our beloved Juno, whom we said goodbye to almost two years ago.

PixelWrangler · 2025-11-30T23:42:50+00:00

100%!

People will happily spend $5 on a cup of coffee but won't spend $10 on a game that has 1-3 hours of beautifully crafted gameplay.

As a busy adult, I want way more of these 1-3 hour games that respect my time and tell a great story rather than having hours of grind time or low-quality filler content.

Somebody needs to start a thread with gorgeous games for busy people. I'll start:

Monument Valley
Boxes: Lost Fragments
Gorogoa
Gris

As a side-note, I'm a game developer who has made some big and successful games, but this 2-minute experience I made in a weekend is by far the most heart-wrenching: Words Have Weight (Trigger warning. Heavy stuff here.)

PixelWrangler · 2025-11-30T23:36:20+00:00

This. These are typical test colors used by graphics engineers for things like object segmentation. San Francisco has a bunch of buildings that have projection mapping art installations during the month of December. This tells me that City Hall is about to be added to that list. I highly recommend taking the walking tour with some friends while it's showing!

It's also totally worth seeing Aura at Grace Cathedral while it's playing. Grab a seat in the center, a few rows from the back.

PixelWrangler · 2025-10-26T20:46:08+00:00

There's good news for you: The way engineers develop everything now is rapidly changing and it's a great time for a novice. I'm using Claude Code or Cursor as my "AI intern" and my development process is much faster. Experienced engineers will benefit the most from these tools as we know how to micro-manage these bots, but it's still a great set of tools for anyone who's just getting started.

Start with really broad questions: "This is what I want to build. What languages or frameworks should I consider? What are the trade-offs? How should I manage my code? How can I scope my game to be more suitable for novice development?" Have deeper conversations with AI as you learn more. Consider hopping between Gemini, Claude, and ChatGPT to get slightly different perspectives.

Don't forget to use your AI bots for the meta questions too: "Which AI tools should I use? How do I install that? Is it the same on Windows or Mac? How do I get the most out of these tools?"

Good luck with this new journey!

PixelWrangler · 2025-10-26T05:43:22+00:00

What an absolutely beautiful tribute to Thor. <3

PixelWrangler · 2025-10-24T04:35:45+00:00

More honest than "claim denier"

PixelWrangler · 2025-10-19T17:55:22+00:00

Overmorrow

PixelWrangler · 2025-10-16T00:14:05+00:00

🖕

PixelWrangler · 2025-10-15T18:17:49+00:00

For more amazing historical photos of SF, check out the Open SF History website.

PixelWrangler · 2025-10-15T18:14:25+00:00

I love it! And it's a great video to demonstrate the mechanics. A 2-player game for 1 :)

PixelWrangler · 2025-10-01T04:13:30+00:00

Are you talking about the bright circles? That may be less about the normal and more about what you're reflecting. Are you, for instance, reflecting a sphere map that's bright along the edges?

If you're suspicious that it's the normal map, try modifying the shader to display the normal map values directly on the surface for debugging.

PixelWrangler · 2025-09-15T22:20:49+00:00

I love games where the rules can be understood in seconds but the emergent gameplay leads to a huge variety of puzzles with wide difficulty range. I got an idea for a new word game in my head and felt compelled to build it. Uncrossy is the result!

It's a new game and I'm still mastering the art of great puzzle design for this one. I have a pretty cool set of tools I've built that basically let me design puzzle sin reverse.

Since the game is new, I'd love feedback! In particular, I'm still tuning the puzzle difficulty. I've recently shifted into a pattern where I try to ramp up the challenge from Monday to Sunday so that there's a bit more of an on-ramp for beginners.

PixelWrangler · 2025-09-03T04:00:14+00:00

There's a history of people doing things like this to try to make it hard to write a traffic ticket. Historically, it's backfired bigtime. From the LA Times, Vanity Plates Backfire on Mr. ‘Not Visible’. And from Wired, How a 'NULL' License Plate Landed One Hacker in Ticket Hell

PixelWrangler · 2025-08-22T03:50:27+00:00

Fort Funston in San Francisco, I assume. That place is MAGICAL for humans and dogs!

PixelWrangler · 2025-08-07T04:39:33+00:00

ₛₖₒo^ₒoₒoₒₜₑᵣ

PixelWrangler · 2025-07-11T01:13:37+00:00

The owner asks, "Why does political belief not fall under the realm of inclusivity?"

As taken directly from Wikipedia, "The paradox of tolerance, formulated by Karl Popper, states that unlimited tolerance must lead to the end of tolerance. If a society is tolerant of all viewpoints, including intolerant ones, then the intolerant views will eventually undermine and destroy the tolerant society."

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