opyate

Thanks for this.

Not as advanced as your script (with dithering, etc), but I've always just used this script, which accepts the input video, and a custom dimension (optional):

#!/usr/bin/env bash

# https://superuser.com/a/1049820/19800

IN=$1

W=$(ffprobe -v quiet -print_format json -show_format -show_streams $IN | jq '.streams[0].width')

H=$(ffprobe -v quiet -print_format json -show_format -show_streams $IN | jq '.streams[0].height')

WH="${W}x${H}"

DIM=${2:-$WH}

echo "video resolution is $DIM"

PAL="$IN.palette.png"

if [[ -f "$PAL" ]]; then

        echo "skipping palette"

else

        ffmpeg -y -i "$IN" -vf palettegen "$PAL"

fi

ffmpeg -y -i "$IN" -i "$PAL" -filter_complex paletteuse -r 15 -s $DIM "$IN.gif"

# TODO https://cassidy.codes/blog/2017/04/25/ffmpeg-frames-to-gif-o...

TLC;DR

Too low contrast; didn't read

Yeah, I remember a time when it was easier/cheaper to drive somewhere to pick up a burned CD/DVD than to download it :)

A mate cycled 15km to my house back in 1995 with a stack of floppies a foot high, saying "dude, you need to install this right now. And when it asks for mount point, just put a /, that's the only tricky part".

It was Slackware. I've used all sorts since: redhat, Gentoo, yellow dog, Debian, arch. Never looked back.

A job I had once required windows, and I tried WSL, but it felt ... so limited.

Yup, cue the imminent enshittification. E.g. your Pi6 will require sign-in and come with ads.

> UK MPs do not dare criticize the country's policies anymore

We have to remember that the UK is not a real country. It does not have a real government. It's all Potemkinised. It's all for show. It's not real. It's not run by serious people. It's run for oligarchs and money launderers.

Besides, the 2018 killing of Saudi journalist Jamal Khashoggi is now a massive 6 years in the past, so no-one is tweeting about it or shaming any Saudi-friendly folks publicly about it any more, so the startup CEOs can come and busk on the Riyadh street corners without fear of retribution.

> You're missing the insight that games featuring procedural generation are still designed.

Best example of this is Spelunky, and this book goes into good detail: https://bossfightbooks.com/products/spelunky-by-derek-yu

Gist is that Derek designed these playable mini rooms which were ultimately randomly stitched together.

(thought explosion below from a person who doesn't know very much at all)

Yes, I'm very keen on this idea. I mention worker collectives a few times in my blog as something I want to explore:

https://juanuys.com/blog/2022/11/21/masters-retrospective.ht...

https://juanuys.com/blog/2023/03/07/thoughts-on-ai-and-games...

https://juanuys.com/blog/2021/07/23/week-9-industry-insight-...

https://juanuys.com/blog/2021/08/03/week-10-more-industry-in...

I know a few people involved in co-ops, so I have an opportunity to ask them more about the nitty gritty of running one:

- a network I'm a part of (EE): https://www.equalexperts.com/blog/whats-new/employeebuyout-e...

- I know some folks who work at Outlandish: https://outlandish.com

In fact, I have links to some of the Outlandish documentation:

- member benefits: https://docs.google.com/document/d/1wd0zv-xCh7lM3ttu3eiNaVYO...

- regular contributor benefits: https://docs.google.com/document/d/1j4jPla6PUOijlGX0RN6f01Y0...

- competency framework: https://docs.google.com/spreadsheets/d/1kwmU2i3UuqHIyvVie8hX...

> I somewhat wonder about trying to release those games on FOSS licenses (still with asking for “paying” for them to support the creators), that would be “purer” from anarchist perspective than using proprietary license but this is not something I have thought about that much. The pro would be it being impossible to get the license stolen how almost happened to Disco Elysium creators.

This is absolutely the model I want to follow.

Pros:

- More people will try your game if it's free. Especially useful if a studio isn't known yet

- You can slap on a GPL3 license to force derivatives to also be FOSS

Cons:

- someone can easily take your FOSS game, build it, and sell it. Some might even go through the trouble of rebranding your game ever so slightly before re-selling it (even if you had the GPL3 license on there, but who cares, right? Lawyers are expensive, etc)

- There might be a bit of a stigma attached to free games, as something which might not really be worth your time, or perhaps comes with trackers/ads/malware/etc so I'm really sure if folks would pay much attention. Personal experience: even if I get an itch.io alert that someone I followed released a new free game, I rarely even have a look (and TBH, a lot of thumbnails + descriptions are quite boring, and looks like more of the same I see everywhere)

- if you follow the sales funnel (I use dummy numbers as an example): number of people who see/discover your game (10,000) -> number of people who claim it or add it to their account (1,000) -> number of people who install it (100) -> number of people who actually run the game (10) -> number of people who actually play it for a significant amount of time (1) -> the number of people who think it's worth something and actually saw the call-to-action that says "if you like this game, please support us by donating or buying our premium DLC or X" -> now we're getting into the vanishingly small numbers. Even if your call-to-action was super clear and can't be missed, no real significant number of people will actually send money your way.

> Game dev is very susceptible to exploitation from capitalists

OMG, the layoffs are heart-breaking. And the recent spate of Bethesda studio closures by M$, considering that these studios actually made successful games, is just disgusting.

(mad rant: From the "7 deadly sins", (capitalist) greed is definitely deadly. It's causing people stress, bad health, lack of funds to pay for doctors, etc. Maybe not so deadly for those at the top, but then I guess swimming in a sea of fire and brimstone forever more while Papa Satan sings his sweet tunes (apparently he was the leader of music in heaven before his fall, haha) is worse than death.)

> I already tried creating such a project but due to internal disagreements it didn’t pan out

I think the reason that something like sokpop works so well for now is because those 4 guys are roughly (exactly?) the same age and culture, and have roughly the same life goals and immediate needs, so it's like taking yourself and multiplying by four.

In the real world, some people have kids (might not be always available), some people are 10 years from retirement (maybe want to be more conservative with their income), some people only want to do it in their spare time (won't be in the "office" the same time as you), some people's productivity are measured differently (is a 3 minute song the same as a new level in a 2-bit single-screen platformer?), etc. It's just very difficult to get alignment on an entire founding team in a co-op. Perhaps it takes a certain kind of individual to function in a co-op.

Anyway, dude, this is a good idea. More people should pursue co-ops. There's definitely place for a kinder alternative to capitalism as we currently know it. I haven't really dug into the nitty gritty in-depth, but a lot of folks are doing it, so the resources are out there to learn more.

Feel free to reach out. Contact deets on my website.

Disclaimer (apart from being a ranting mad man who doesn't know much): I'm currently just a gamedev hobbyist, and don't have any big dreams of being successful (for whatever definition of successful), but I am having fun when I do spend my few minutes a week making games, and I'm not beating myself up when something doesn't get finished. (I think this was the nail in the coffin for me w.r.t "gamedev as a career": https://www.mimimi.games/our-final-game/ I mean, if THEY can't survive, who am I to survive, lol)

I used to be quite good at FPSs around 20 years ago, and played Counter Strike often. I tried again recently, and got shouted at, called a cheater, etc. No thanks.

I also love a good open world over Xmas holidays, but man - can I be bothered to struggle with a game's "launcher"? (Steam/Linux/Deck player here). No thanks.

Just last night, I tried playing a game for the first time in a month. Wasteland 3, because I loved the original Fallout and the first Wasteland games. I just got a mess of pixels and what sounded like random SFX playing. Not even using Proton. Could I be bothered to search the web for a why/what/how/etc? No thanks.

There's been one little shining light recently. I've always been a fan of "Honey, I shrunk the kids", and saw this game a few months ago called "It takes Two", which is purely co-op. I bought it on sale. I've got two kids (8 and 11), and I got an extra controller and hooked the Deck up to the TV, and boy - that game is awesome. I can watch them play while I cook dinner, and would dip in every now and then when they get stuck (not often, mind). I had a closer look, and it's EA, and I was pleasantly surprised that it wasn't crap and had a launcher, etc. Such varied game mechanics, and beautiful too.

Oh, and then there are the other little shining lights - indie games. No launchers, no crap. Just start playing. Good 30 minutes of fun, then you can crack on with your life. And usually when you come back after an absence, you're not lost. (Looking at you, Witcher 3.) I support these guys whenever I can. In fact, I'm trying to be one. But, bills, kids, house, etc, haha - it just doesn't pay. It will stay a hobby to me forever more.

OMG, the name "Watcom" just opened a flood of nineties memories of the demo scene for me. Thanks for mentioning.

Title ought to have been "Endless growth is a mind cancer".

When your profits aren't up 20% for the tenth year in a row, you cut costs somewhere, and it's always the workforce that suffers most, due to layoffs. Other things suffer too, like product quality (maybe using cheaper materials maybe built-in obsolescence).

I'll re-post my comment here:

> We don’t get sentimental about the traffic cop obsolesced by the traffic light

But the traffic cop did something very mechanical meant to save lives and prevent accidents: pointing traffic batons this way and that. Of COURSE we're happy with this part of life being automated. The traffic cop didn't make art. But we also didn't like when the traffic cop made mistakes.

I know the violinist only moves their bow "this way and that" to make music, but they're making art.

OTOH, if my AI composes me a beautiful violin piece, and I'm moved by it, should I or the violinist be any angrier that it wasn't composed/performed by a human? Maybe not. But should all violinists get a royalty if an AI somewhere makes a piece of violin music because it was trained on all violin music? Maybe YES!?

It's hard to enforce this, which is why I'd like to see some of the profits and dividends from the AI companies go towards a basic universal income for all artists.

It's a 2020 model, but I bought second-hand from an authorised dealer, and it was actually owned by the sales person. I'll ask about a warranty, thanks!

Thanks for the advice!

Those are the same kind of folks who put "I want a Facebook clone" on Upwork for £300.

There's no damage. At least you're not leaving a gap in your CV for when you look for a new job after a failed business. It's something you gained experience from, learnt from, and can talk about in interviews. In fact, if you acquired a specialist skill whilst doing the startup, then it can get you head-hunted for certain roles.

Make your own engine, open source it, get plenty of traction, then make money off it as its premier consultant, or have a team who specialises in porting, etc.

The first bit will take time. Or you might have a "hook" which speeds up the traction part a bit (like Bevy being made with Rust, I guess).

I want to look into leasing.

We bought an EV with cash, and the range have almost halved since we bought it. With lease, I guess I get a fresh car (and battery) every few years. And insurance is included.

What kind of hustle can I expect with leasing? (I'll do some research when the time comes for the next car, as we're currently a 4-person 1-car family.)

Yes, sorry - I was in a flippant mood and generalised a bit :)

> add-ons such as the $2000 rustproofing

I've only ever bought cars in UK and South Africa, and never once heard of a rust-proofing option.

Must be hard work living in a country where you're always the victim of someone's hustle.

I've been a contractor since 2014 (and started work in 2002) so have to apply for new jobs every 3 to 6 months. A trend I've spotted is that companies sometimes start hiring in the new financial year, so I'm crossing fingers that you'll see some movement in April.

I saw this earlier this week: https://www.linkedin.com/feed/update/urn:li:activity:7174198... The sad state of affairs is that folks are now taking a shotgun approach using scripts, and completely overwhelming recruiters and hiring managers. Sure, they have ATSs in place that does the filtering, but once a job is posted, they almost instantaneously get 50+ CVs and chances are they find a good few matches they can bubble up the chain, then forget about the rest (i.e. you and me, who lovingly hand-craft cover letters, and then become applicant number 404) I mean, how often have you heard "sorry, this role's been filled now", when they do bother to reply.

During the quiet times, I continue working on my side projects. Search the web for "indie hackers". I'm slowly but surely working on a few things which will generate enough MRR to sustain me. There's nothing worse (as you now know) than walking into the desert, and your only flask of water is slowly depleting. I used to have a desktop wallpaper showing a digital nomad working on the beach, as an aspiration to what to work towards (kids and family life has since happened), but a more powerful motivation is avoiding poverty and being in control of your time. Contracting only earns when you work. Product can earn while you sleep.

(Another thing I saw earlier this week was a video on YT about this school teacher who now makes £50 PER DAY in dividend income, after starting investing into dividend-yielding stocks since 2009. Similar vibe, I guess. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=g2m5x-vGqcE)

So, those are the 3 take-aways:

- April might be better

- maybe start using tools for your job search

- during the good times, maybe look into working on a product in your spare time

Best of luck!

Getting WASD and Space instructions on mobile too...

Got VROOM and "sweeps clean", then wrote BROOM, but nothing happened?

Nice!

BTW, small bug: I solved my first gram in NaN:NaN time.

Please implement Ctrl-Z!

Sure, there are these macro-economic factors, and Sony is not a charity, but it still sickens me that CEOs get millions in comp (and others in C-suite, and exec bonuses), board members get hundreds of thousands for sitting in on a few meetings a year, yet the little guy suffers.

I'm a big believer in co-operatives and shared ownership, but then I should probably also face the reality that if you make it too comfortable for some people, they would just grow fat/lazy and not work at all, so perhaps all this "fire under your arse" and competition is good for us all.

A calculation Nathan Brown (Hit Points newsletter) made a year ago when Microsoft laid off 10% of its workforce:

> According to the salary-tracking website Comparably, the median Microsoft salary is $162,818 per year. Blowing the dust off the trusty Hit Points calculator, it appears that if Microsoft pulled out of the Activision deal and put that $68.7bn towards employee salaries instead, it could keep the 10,000 staff it is laying off today on the books for over 41 years.

(substack seems to be croaking, so no direct link, sorry)

Again, Microsoft is not a charity, but it does make you think: they'd rather be a monopoly than show some loyalty to their workers.

> Is there anything out there talking about gaming also doing a big hiring push during covid?

Check out GameDiscoverCo on substack - Simon's mentioned it a few times. Unfortunately, substack seems to be having technical difficulties, so I can't link anything.

And then these guys mention it a couple of times in their podcast: https://gamecraftpod.com/

> How did the world get to the way it is now?

How is the world now, in your view?

Of course they're still profitable.

But instead of making a gazillion-and-one dollars, like they "forecasted", they only made a gazillion dollars.

So, in the interest of "maximising shareholder value" and maintaining "growth", the board has now concluded that heads must roll for this.

It's never that easy. You'd be surprised the number of homeless folks being in that situation because of things like addiction, mental health issues, etc. Just giving them the money is mostly not helpful.

This fictional documentary title just popped into my head:

"Cloudy with a Chance of Metaballs: A history of 3D modelling in animated film."