Games for programmers

    I have to admit that I'm a bad programmer. I do not like to configure Maven and write configurations for Spring Framework. I don’t know in detail how the JVM works (and, in general terms, I imagine it quite vaguely). I don’t understand the design patterns, and any new technology disheartens me. Nevertheless, I like to program.

    Especially for people like me (or maybe for some others), there is a small class of games that are the quintessence of programming. They do not need to cross the hedgehog with the snake and worry about the versions of the libraries. Only crystal clear algorithmic programming wrapped in a nice interface is my little happiness.

    Wait a moment.

    I will not talk about Robot Battle and the like. Here I will not and that's it. I may be a strange person, but I don’t like to deal with something that even remotely resembles real physics. Those interested can read about this game here , and the article is a little about the other.


    Spacechem


    A true gem of the genre, a combination of a great idea with a great implementation. Your lyrical hero is a nanotechnology engineer who designs reactors for assembling and disassembling molecules.



    The gameplay resembles programming in the Befunge language : across the playing field ... sorry, two manipulators are moving around the reactor, guided by pre-arranged arrows and following instructions scattered across the field. Manipulators grab the molecules entering the reactor, move, rotate, split and assemble again, then send the result to the output. "Why all this?" - you ask. Well, just for you in the game there is a good sci-fi plot, and even (sic!) Action elements.

    The Codex of Alchemical Engineering


    An earlier game from the same developer immortalized in flash. Here, two Waldo circles are replaced by numerous mechanical claws a la Bender Rodriguez, and atoms and molecules are replaced by alchemical ingredients.



    In addition to complexity, the game boasts an unusual save-up system for flash games: for the solution you created, a certain text is generated that can be copied inappropriately, so that later (for example, on another machine) you can perform the inverse transformation and restore the solution from the text. She also has a sequel (or rather a level pack) - the Magnum Opus Challenge, with even more severe levels for those who thought the creation of the philosopher's stone seemed an easy warm-up.

    LightBot 1 & 2


    Two parts of a flash game about a small robot on a checkered field. Obeying our instructions, the robot walks, turns, jumps and literally lights up , bringing light and good to the most remote corners of the level.



    Educational games of such a plan at one time were very popular in school computer science. With the rejection of the ideology of “programming is the second literacy”, they, unfortunately, were supplanted by Word and Excel - however, this is a completely different story. So, LightBot differs from those games by a strict limit on the number of teams: 16 in the main program, another 8 in two subprograms. This prevents the spinal cord from programming and forces the brain to be connected.



    In the second part, in addition to the improved interface, useful features such as branching and recursion appeared.

    Pragmatica


    Another robot control. The action of this frivolous game takes place in a gloomy future, full of cars and ... cars.



    Unlike the games listed above, the event approach is implemented here: it is not the robot’s overall behavior that is programmed, but its reaction to certain stimuli. In addition, a unique feature is that several robots manage the same program at once . However, for my taste, the game is boring, so I put it at the very end of the article.

    PS


    The list is not complete and does not claim to be complete. For example, only today I was advised something online called "RoboZZle Game". At first glance, this is something I like, but so far I can’t write anything specific and, especially, recommend it to someone. But you can try at your own peril and risk. Then I take my leave.

    Links (at the request of workers)


    SpaceChem (paid game, make money)
    The Codex of Alchemical Engineering
    The Codex of Alchemical Engineering: Magnum Opus Challenge
    LightBot
    LightBot 2.0
    Pragmatica

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