[cableshaft]

I made a Flash game way back in 2004 called Proximity[1] that was fairly popular. Whenever I want to learn a new language/platform, I tend to port a new version of that game to that language.

I don't always release it publicly, but it's a 'solved' program that I don't have to spend time reworking how the core of it works (needs a hex grid with number tiles, mouse or keyboard input, a menu system, computer opponents, etc), although I might rework some things or add new features to it.

I've done this to learn C# (and XNA), Java (and J2ME), Objective-C (and OpenGL ES), Swift (and SpriteKit), and LUA (with Pico-8).

I've also made versions in Python (text console), for Kindle, and the original was in Flash, but I knew the tech ahead of time.

I recommend it. Can be anything relatively simple. Make a blackjack game, a version of tetris, a Todo app, a Sudoku solver, a web service, whatever seems interesting to you.

[1]: https://www.newgrounds.com/portal/view/183428

[jventura]

Hey, cool game! It's rare for me to like new games (new for me, of course), but I like your's and been playing it for the last couple of hours..

[cableshaft]

Thanks! I made a sequel and released it on Xbox 360 and iPhone a long time ago, but let the code atrophy for a while. I finally resurrected it and started cleaning it up and improving it a couple of years ago, but at one point decided to do the 2D->3D conversion and ended up rebuilding it again.

Trying to figure out a way so potentially hundreds of viewers on Twitch can play along with a Twitch streamer, essentially joining a team and voting for where to place their tile, or just play like normal. Had to take a break working on it recently (job hunting), but I hope to jump back into it after I get settled at a new job.

I need to do a newer update video (you can play a full game now, more focused on adding menus and streamer support right now), but you can see kind of what I'm doing with the third game here, if you're curious. There's videos of Proximity 2 in action on my channel as well:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0IAx9fsBuus