Vintage PC Notes
These are some scattered notes about vintage PC configuration and maintenance, mostly related to a Dell OptiPlex GX1 (Pentium III CPU) that I adopted from work. Subject to change, no warranty, etc, etc. Windows 98SE:…
ZZT
ZZT is a sort of action-puzzle-adventure mashup for MS-DOS, the debut title from Tim Sweeney’s Epic MegaGames in 1991. Technically obsolete before it was even released, it uses Code Page 437 for graphics, the PC speaker for…
VirtualBox Administration Notes
(Note: This post probably won’t be touched again due to my switching to KVM.) This is a placeholder for some notes about command-line installation and administration of VirtualBox, Oracle’s free virtualization suite. Most tasks can be handled…
Notepad++
Notepad++ is a free and open-source text editor for Windows, and a great substitute for the standard text editor that ships with Windows. It’s packed with features, and supports 3rd party plugins — the following are some…
Input Sharing Software
These programs that allow you to share keyboard and mouse input across multiple computers over the LAN, without requiring any additional hardware. Input sharing fills a certain niche that might not be covered entirely by a…
AutoHotKey
AutoHotKey is a free and open-source macro utility for Windows. It can help greatly with automating repetitive, one-off tasks, especially with GUI programs that don’t have built-in CLI automation or batch scripting. Your mileage may vary,…
GraphicsGale
GraphicsGale is a lightweight pixel art and animation program for Windows. Originally split between a paid and freeware version, the program is now 100% freeware. One of the best features of GraphicGale is that it…
Sound Effect generators: sfxr and its forks
Here are some free and easy-to-use tools for constructing non-realistic sound effects in games. For now, this is mainly about DrPetter’s sfxr and some forks of the program. sfxr sfxr by DrPetter is a free and open-source tool…
WikidPad 2.2 Administration Notes
WikidPad is an open-source Desktop Wiki that I’ve used to consolidate personal notes. This post describes some adjustments to WikidPad’s default settings that I prefer, and some quick housecleaning and formatting reminders. I’m using WikidPad version 2.2 for Windows. (Note: As…
Platformer Project: Plans vs Reality
I’ve been fleshing out an idea for an action-platformer over the past couple of months. I may have made a mistake in planning too much before I even have a working engine prototype. My ideas seem…