DrDimension

This is an experience report on the design and usage of the Nu Game Engine, a purely-functional 2D game engine written in F# -

http://goo.gl/PRHqOp

Original link here -

https://github.com/bryanedds/FPWorks/blob/master/Nu/Documentation/Iterative%20Functional%20Reactive%20Programming%20with%20the%20Nu%20Game%20Engine.pdf?raw=true

Synopsis

The Nu Game Engine certainly qualifies as 'functional reactive' in that - 1) it is reactive in that it uses user-defined events to derive successive simulation states. 2) it is functional in that is uses pure functions everywhere, even in the event system.

However, I cannot describe it as the typical first-order or higher-order FRP system since it uses neither continuous nor discrete functions explicitly parameterized with time. Instead it uses a classically-iterative approach to advancing game states that is akin to the imperative tick-based style, but implemented with pure functions.

Thus, I gave it the name of 'Iterative FRP'. It's a purely-functional half-step between classic imperative game programming and first / higher-order FRP systems. This document discusses the major plusses and minuses to using this 'iterative' FRP style.

Game development incubators exist, but last I looked, they're all filled and accepting no new applicants. This would be for obvious reasons - everyone wants to be incubated, but few individuals have the resources to incubate.

So what the hell are the rest of us supposed to do?

I'll tell you what I think the rest of us might do.

Instead of hoping for some established individual to come along and provide a sanctuary for our game development dream, let's see if we can pool our resources and make our own incubator. It can't be impossible, can it?

For example, me, personally, I don't have much in the way of money, but I have a house in my family that is available for use as an incubation facility. So that covers rent for everyone once everyone busses in there to live. Maybe someone else out there has a bit of savings that could cover our food. And maybe someone else out there has a car we can do collective transportation with.

You see where I'm going? Maybe this is less of an incubator than a commune, but I mean shit, if we don't do this ourselves, who's going to do it?

I know the idea sounds crazy, but it's so incredibly frustrating to me that game development requires so few resources (a place to crash and some food) that there's gotta be a solution when we pool our resources.

Am I crazy? Or is this something that should be tried? Otherwise, I don't see how we won't all eventually get sucked back into a 9-5, our dreams out of our reach.