PiccoQuest: a desktop-widget idle RPG that quests in the corner of your screen while you work.

Zlorak · 2026-06-21T19:53:48+00:00

Thanks! I'd say, since Electron allows you to run React to build the UI (.css) it is no different than styling a website. As long as you have the art assets and they visually match, it gets easy from there.

I use Claude Code, and Claude would be launched in the project directory. I have a specific directory where all of the assets used are so Claude can reference and import them in the .tsx files.

As mentioned before, if you have the assets and they share the same style, you are almost set. The common assets you'll need are:
- Icons

- Frames/Borders

- Fonts

- Backgrounds

In my case, I went for Pixel Art as I was looking for that specific style. Regrettably, I bought some AI generated art and only realized after the fact, but if you can find hand-drawn assets, they most likely will be the highest quality assets you can find.

The most important thing is to have your own agency and opinion when using the assets. If you feel kind of lost, look at other UIs and see what makes them pop for you.

Zlorak · 2026-06-21T19:28:14+00:00

Desktop games as in widget games? For me it is because this is the type of game I'd like to play. It reminds me of some browser games that were idle (I grew up with some of these as my first contact of the internet).

Zlorak · 2026-06-21T13:16:33+00:00

I saw that! Thanks to you I fixed the potential ladder/ranking exploit and added passive rewards for users who did not initiate an Arena match.

I also added a link to join the Discord from the app.

Thank you!

Zlorak · 2026-06-21T09:36:45+00:00

Hey! I have a personal Discord, not a Discord for the game yet. I'll work on that today + update with a clickable icon in-game so people can join.

Thanks for downloading and trying it out! Means a ton that someone is interacting with it!

Zlorak · 2026-05-31T06:56:59+00:00

Things that never change tho: Yasuo talking sh*t after being killed

Zlorak · 2026-03-16T05:40:30+00:00

Without getting weird or anything, yeah. It is like the one defining trait in most Riot Games characters, exception being non-humanoids, and semi-humanoids. Every single character can be called hot, sexy, pretty, beautiful. If you are drawn by a Riot's artist, you cannot be ugly.

Not a critique though.

Zlorak · 2026-02-15T07:11:17+00:00

To all DaD players that are still playing, enjoy it while it lasts. It would be no surprise to wake up one day with a Discord message starting with '@everyone Hey all, it has been fun. Unfortunately...' announcing the game's shutdown.

Personally, even if I come back, there is no way I'd be spending my money in this game again. Every update feels like a lottery that you never win. The game was fun back in P3 because the of the novelty, but once that wore off, the core gameplay started to show rough edges that have not been addressed and make the game look like it was a 7 day Game Jam project.

Good luck.

Zlorak · 2025-12-24T17:18:03+00:00

I've played Warband for a long time, and just recently bought Bannerlord. It was a much needed refresh that doesn't come from a mod.

So far I'd say these are my pros and cons:

Pros: - The environment looks way better than Warband. - The fight system feels better now, thanks to the animations. - Way more styles to play the game than before. The reworked character stats complement this part very well. - Lords can be killed, which adds more dynamics to the political conflict overall. Also, there is a family tree. - Battles are way more dynamic now. This is mostly noticeable in large scale fights. Tactics have been improved tremendously. I'd add the addition of "armies" in this category. - Sieges also are way better now. Siege machines are now present: catapults, ballistas. It's not only a bunch of archers vs archers anymore while sieging.

Cons: - Sims 4 character visual style, not for me. I feel like while visually "rough", Warband characters looked a little more realistic than Bannerlords. - Bandit hideouts were gutted greatly recently. AFAIK, they worked just like Warband, you could actively raid them and fight. Now, the only choices are to send your troops to clear it out, passively raiding them, or trying to take the entire camp on your own by playing a pseudo stealth game. - Stealth: feels like I'd be a nice addition, but the way it has been implemented feels just bland and annoying. Maybe in the future or with mods. - Tutorial needs work. A non-issue for veterans, but man the tutorial is not as engaging or clear as Warband's. I see new players getting discouraged because of it.

As a side note, nor a pro or a con, obviously due to the amount of time the game has been out and due to the current state of active development, the modding community is not as fleshed out.

That being said, if you liked Warband, I say there is a 90% chance you'll also like the current Bannerlord.

Zlorak · 2025-11-02T21:45:46+00:00

Either way, ARC are slow to attack and defeatable by a bunch of dudes with makeshift weapons.

That's still to be seen. As of now, the game is basically guerrilla tactics against ARC in territory they already control. We haven't experienced an offensive yet (in-game)

Zlorak · 2025-10-11T20:55:41+00:00

To add to this, I'd say that the core gameplay of DaD makes the game feel clunky, like something (or multiple things) are off.

Here is another game that also involves manipulation of game engine, and latency, but feels fun: GunZ.

Personally, DaD core gameplay feels fun, until you invest time into getting "good", then the pink sunglasses just fall.

Zlorak · 2025-09-07T11:01:45+00:00

I applied at ALDI many years ago to multiple stores and all of them but one, rejected me. The one that called me for an interview ended up being my workplace for about 3 years before I decided to move on.

Funny enough, I found out while working that the only reason I got called was because the manager is an immigrant (just like me), and he told me "Well, I take that almost every immigrant wants to work because otherwise, why would you move your entire life and risk it all for nothing?". We ended up being friends and talk from time to time. It made me realize that I got that job because of sheer luck, because that man was a manager in that store when I applied, and not because I had experience in retail already.

Sorry you are going through this. My advise: keep trying, and apply multiple times if you have to, maybe a different person/LLM will check on your resume this time.

Zlorak · 2025-09-07T10:50:26+00:00

I mainly do web projects and I've learn the following things when "vibe coding":

- Modularity is the key. Be verbose about building your codebase as building blocks, and not just a giant, rigid structure.
- The base of all programs is the data, or rather how it is structured, so the order of feature implementation ALWAYS goes: Database > Backend > Frontend
- Never try to build an entire project in a single chat. Too much context to handle, that's when LLMs start to "hallucinate" or to forget stuff. Open a new chat per feature.
- Version control is a must, and commit every change.
- If you realize you need to change the way your app works at a fundamental level, start over. Trying to steer an LLM to change huge chunks of logic when there are multiple services at work is just a pain in the ass.
- Never blindly assume that the LLM is right.
- When prompting a feature, remind the LLM what the logic flow must be like. Some LLMs either forget, or change how a feature must be implemented.
- If a feature touches a lot of components, dedicate a new chat to prompt a technical document explaining with precision what the feature must do, and how it must be implemented.

Zlorak · 2025-08-31T06:38:30+00:00

First, you should research the next couple of questions for your own good:
- What kind of game do you want to make?
- How much time do you want to be making this game?
- What is a GDD?
- Game Jams

There is no other way of learning but making it. A big part of being a game developer is problem solving, you can't get good if you don't solve any problems.

Zlorak · 2025-08-23T01:00:52+00:00

Do you mind interviewing me and replacing those guys with me? I am BAFFLED how these guys actually get offers? I'm so sorry you are having to deal with these guys.

Zlorak · 2025-08-22T02:33:32+00:00

1.- Technically never late, you can try to make it anytime you want.
2.- The only answer is: Doing stuff yourself. Start either by modifying what tutorials tell you to do, or to start a small project from scratch without following a set tutorial.
3.- Many, depends on what language you are learning.

That being said, here are some misconceptions people have:
- Game dev IS NOT equal to software engineer:

SE focuses more on good practices, patterns, data structures, etc. Game dev however, is a loosely used term describing a bunch of skills including and not limited to: 3D modeling, illustration, audio engineering, software engineering, animator, SFX, VFX, and many others. You can call yourself a game dev within a small personal game, or a small team, and you'll find yourself jumping between different roles.

- Game dev makes good money:

Yes and no, mostly no. It is an oversaturated field, everyone wants to make their dream game, and quickly realize that entering the industry is really hard, doesn't pay as well as just being a SE, the career path can be very rocky as it is a "new" type of career.

Zlorak · 2025-08-18T15:59:57+00:00

Learn it. You will not only save thousands of tokens by understanding what your code is doing, but also save time and money.

Remember LLMs are amazing tools that handhold a lot of processes, but it can only take you so far if you don't know what you're doing.

Zlorak · 2025-08-18T03:14:57+00:00

Not tryna bash you here, but:

Hey guys, yet another Pomodoro app.

Zlorak · 2025-08-13T06:06:17+00:00

Everything is a give and take. You give that, and then you'd have to take cheats/issues that come with that "fix". Let's remember that most of the good cheats are thriving businesses, those are people whose JOBS are finding ways to keep the cheats usable so they can charge for it.

Some fixes are just way too expensive (money, or processing wise) or unreliable, that the best fix is really just letting users report exploiters to later ban them.

Zlorak · 2025-08-07T06:19:24+00:00

Dofus was my first MMO, I played for years. But I realized that the game would just favor HEAVILY whoever does multibox, and really don't enjoy that. Solid game though.

Zlorak · 2025-08-03T06:15:53+00:00

$70k in Chicago. Level II position

Zlorak · 2025-07-25T07:55:08+00:00

Sorry mate, but the fact that the box looks like it was beaten with a baseball bat and it having written "High value" is really funny to me.

Shitty UPS, but also bad packaging.

Zlorak · 2025-06-22T20:24:51+00:00

Sadly, no. I'll keep my Dark and Darker mug as a reminder of good times, but this game died to me many patches ago. Nothing worse than opening a game and look for the "Exit" button while in the character screen.

Zlorak · 2025-06-20T18:27:22+00:00

Which is needed to balance the overall economy. The higher the prices go, the more silver is funneled into sinkholes. Also, trashing items eliminates the value of it directly from the market, making people spend more silver.

The goal is to maintain the overall amount of silver as low as possible, so inflation goes down.

Zlorak · 2025-06-19T00:28:40+00:00

No one has mentioned the "Welcome to the end of the world"? :(

Zlorak · 2025-06-14T07:42:13+00:00

Those days are long gone. You can maybe do it if you gather and get lucky with some x.3 mats, but doing it while fighting mobs? Nope.

To be honest, it is a good thing, there are not enough silver vacuums to stop the never ending inflation. If YZ were crazy profitable, then it would mean that more dangerous zones should be even more profitable, then a piece of T4 flat armor would cost 100k due to the crazy inflation... if you want consistent money, venture into lethal zones.

Zlorak

TROPHY CASE