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Nevin Katz
Nevin Katz

401 Followers

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Published in JavaScript in Plain English

·Pinned

The Anatomy of a Game: Sprites & Objects

In the world around us, we open and close doors all the time, taking for granted that we can only walk through them when they’re open. In a game meant to simulate the exploration of a labyrinth, a door is merely an assortment of pixels. Yet the player can only…

Indie Game

9 min read

The Anatomy of a Game: Sprites & Objects
The Anatomy of a Game: Sprites & Objects
Indie Game

9 min read


Published in About Me Stories

·Pinned

About Me — Nevin Katz

Hi there, and thanks for dropping by. I am a web and app developer and private tutor living in the Boston area. While I grew up in Virginia, I have now spent more of my life in Massachusetts. …

Web Development

7 min read

About Me — Nevin Katz
About Me — Nevin Katz
Web Development

7 min read


Dec 10, 2022

Getting to the Roots of a Problem

Recently I came across a vexing trigonometry problem that uses a number of different concepts, such as unit circles and factoring. I thought it would be helpful to share what I found while it’s fresh in my mind. This one is Problem #4 from AnalyzeMath, a terrific site with free…

Trigonometry

5 min read

Getting to the Roots of the Problem
Getting to the Roots of the Problem
Trigonometry

5 min read


Published in Better Programming

·Nov 17, 2022

Adding Key Placement to a JavaScript Roguelike

Can we write an algorithm that makes all rooms accessible? — In most video games, any level should allow the player to reach the goal. While that may sound obvious, it’s easier said than done in a roguelike, where levels are procedurally generated. While making each level solvable was never a problem in the early stages of building Rogue of Rhondar…

Java Script

8 min read

Adding Key Placement to a JavaScript Roguelike
Adding Key Placement to a JavaScript Roguelike
Java Script

8 min read


Published in Better Programming

·Oct 13, 2022

Building a Better Dungeon Level

How I updated an algorithm to better match the graphics — For the past seven months, I’ve been building a dungeon game in JavaScript and HTML5 Canvas. The game resembles what is known as a Roguelike, as rather than build the levels myself, I use an algorithm — a sequence of instructions that I translate into code. Different algorithms produce different…

Java Script

9 min read

Building a Better Dungeon Level
Building a Better Dungeon Level
Java Script

9 min read


Published in Snipette

·Sep 30, 2022

Midnight Hunt

An aardvark’s night out — and a look into its ancestry. — Four hours after sunset, in a patch of dry savanna in Sub-Saharan Africa, an aardvark emerges from the south entrance of its burrow. It turns and looks back at it with pride. This subterranean network of chambers is its own handiwork. …

Biology

8 min read

Midnight Hunt
Midnight Hunt
Biology

8 min read


Published in Better Programming

·Aug 22, 2022

Improving Item Collection in a JavaScript Game

Let’s make our collision detection pixel-accurate. — Over the past few months, I have been gradually building a JavaScript dungeon crawler that features a player moves through an auto-generated maze of caverns. While contending with enemies, the player can collect health potions and weapons — and with danger afoot, the player must grab them fast. Helping the…

Programming

8 min read

Improving Item Collection in a JavaScript Game
Improving Item Collection in a JavaScript Game
Programming

8 min read


Published in Better Programming

·Aug 15, 2022

Creating a Game Loop in JavaScript

Let’s smooth out player movement with a recurring process. — Over the past several months I have been building a JavaScript game where a player wanders through procedurally-generated caverns.

Programming

6 min read

Creating a Game Loop in JavaScript
Creating a Game Loop in JavaScript
Programming

6 min read


Published in Better Programming

·Aug 10, 2022

My Git Analogy Moment

A better reference for modern times with a quick list of commands we covered. — I just had a terrific experience teaching Git while tutoring a middle schooler in programming. While my student has been coding in Python for several years and has a Github account, he has not yet started using Git. After introducing the general purpose of version control, I shared my screen…

Git

2 min read

My Git Analogy Moment
My Git Analogy Moment
Git

2 min read


Published in JavaScript in Plain English

·Jul 14, 2022

How to Add Swipe Control to a JavaScript Game

The roguelike, a type of adventure game with auto-generated levels, has been capturing the imagination of players since the 1980s. After building many roguelike demos with keyboard controls, I recently made one with swipe controls that works on smartphones. In this tutorial, we will start with a demo containing just…

Java Script

10 min read

How to Add Swipe Control to a JavaScript Game
How to Add Swipe Control to a JavaScript Game
Java Script

10 min read

Nevin Katz

Nevin Katz

401 Followers

Developer at EDC. I write about web development and biology. Subscribe at https://buttondown.email/nevkatz for article roundups.

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