The release of Godot 4.3 marks a significant milestone in the world of open-source game development. Comparable to industry giants like Unity or Unreal, Godot offers a unique proposition for developers seeking a community-driven and flexible game engine.

In a compelling talk titled “Godot as an Open Ecosystem,” Juan Linietsky draws parallels between the ascent of Godot and the rise of Linux in the 1990s. As a middle aged web developer who witnessed the Linux revolution firsthand, I wholeheartedly embrace this comparison and hope to find some way of being a part of this emerging trend.

My enthusiasm is shared by my daughter, who has a keen interest in gaming. I plan to involve her in the development process, where she can contribute to building asset packs and shaping the creative direction of our projects. Hopefully even program.

As for a business plan? There isn’t one. Hence the inspiration for the name of this website. And perhaps, that’s the most authentic testament to my ’90s roots?

Back then, we thrived on the DIY spirit. The people I admired organized affordable, all-ages punk shows so young people with limited funds could still enjoy live music. This ethos was about maintaining creative control and staying true to ‘no sell out’ values, much like the rise of Linux and Free and Open Source Software (FOSS) in the tech world. Developers collaborated openly, sharing code and ideas freely, celebrating raw talent and genuine passion over polished, market-driven products. They were militant about prioritizing collaboration over commercial gain. Don’t even get me started on BBSes and the Demoscene! Yup, I guess this is my “Old Man Yells at Cloud” moment.

My Godot training so far has been as follows:

Download Pong Demo:
When you start the engine, you’ll see two tabs in the Project Manager: “Projects” and “Asset Library.” Click on “Asset Library” to download hundreds of projects, like Pong.

Set Up Git Plugin:
With Pong open, use its Asset Library tab to download and set up the Godot Git Plugin. This is useful for tracking the changes I make to the project as I learn, helping me remember what I did versus what I inherited.

Enable Static Typing and Set Up CLI Linter:
I enabled static typing and set up a CLI linter written in Python to convert this project to use strongly typed GDScript. This process helped me understand the UI and its relationship to the code files.

Added Score Feature To Pong:
I added a score feature to the Pong game.

Completed Instancing Starter Tutorial:
I did the instancing starter tutorial (the docs provide a ZIP file to download).

Reading and Star Gazing:
Anonymous lurking forums, reading the documentation a few hours a week, and staring projects on GitHub.

Exploring Other Demo Projects:
I’ve been exploring other demo projects available in the Project Manager’s Asset Library. I’m particularly impressed with the Third Person Shooter (TPS) Demo. The Isometric Game Demo also caught my attention as it seems more within my realm of possibility.

Of course, balancing this with a full-time job means I can’t dedicate myself entirely to this. So, if anyone’s looking to force me into early retirement so I can focus on Godot full-time, just a thought! Until then, I’ll keep scratching that itch in my spare time and posting updates here.