Dan Herbert
@danherbert.bsky.social
Little bit of gamedev today - started work on the `DynamicSong` system.
Each "Song" has 1+ loops defined for levels of tension, + transition loops between the tension levels.
Tension increases as players progress the waves.
Feed Me is placeholder only- I'll do all the music :)
Each "Song" has 1+ loops defined for levels of tension, + transition loops between the tension levels.
Tension increases as players progress the waves.
Feed Me is placeholder only- I'll do all the music :)
November 25, 2025 at 10:38 AM
Little bit of gamedev today - started work on the `DynamicSong` system.
Each "Song" has 1+ loops defined for levels of tension, + transition loops between the tension levels.
Tension increases as players progress the waves.
Feed Me is placeholder only- I'll do all the music :)
Each "Song" has 1+ loops defined for levels of tension, + transition loops between the tension levels.
Tension increases as players progress the waves.
Feed Me is placeholder only- I'll do all the music :)
PHP 8.5 is out!
Elide's tests are all passing, but that MySQL deprecation (coming from the framework) is triggering some minor OCD feelings.
Good to know there are no changes required for the package though!
Elide's tests are all passing, but that MySQL deprecation (coming from the framework) is triggering some minor OCD feelings.
Good to know there are no changes required for the package though!
November 21, 2025 at 9:02 AM
PHP 8.5 is out!
Elide's tests are all passing, but that MySQL deprecation (coming from the framework) is triggering some minor OCD feelings.
Good to know there are no changes required for the package though!
Elide's tests are all passing, but that MySQL deprecation (coming from the framework) is triggering some minor OCD feelings.
Good to know there are no changes required for the package though!
PHP enums are great for consolidating state related behaviour/comparisons you might use many times throughout a project.
Simplifies inclusion of new states into existing behaviour too.
Simplifies inclusion of new states into existing behaviour too.
November 19, 2025 at 10:43 PM
PHP enums are great for consolidating state related behaviour/comparisons you might use many times throughout a project.
Simplifies inclusion of new states into existing behaviour too.
Simplifies inclusion of new states into existing behaviour too.
Another day, another Elide release: github.com/danherbert-i...
Includes new functionality to help remove unnecessary content from HTMX responses - handy to help squash and manage OOB "no target" errors.
Includes new functionality to help remove unnecessary content from HTMX responses - handy to help squash and manage OOB "no target" errors.
Release v1.1.0 · danherbert-io/elide-for-laravel
Responses can now omit partials which have been rendered within other partials via the omitRenderedChildPartials() method.
Check documentation for the details.
github.com
November 18, 2025 at 11:54 PM
Another day, another Elide release: github.com/danherbert-i...
Includes new functionality to help remove unnecessary content from HTMX responses - handy to help squash and manage OOB "no target" errors.
Includes new functionality to help remove unnecessary content from HTMX responses - handy to help squash and manage OOB "no target" errors.
I stopped waiting for HL3 years ago, though their HL games do seem to usually coincide with hardware/software advancements...
If it ever made sense for Valve to ship a new main entry to the Half Life series, it'd be soon after announcing/releasing 3 new hardware devices of their own.
If it ever made sense for Valve to ship a new main entry to the Half Life series, it'd be soon after announcing/releasing 3 new hardware devices of their own.
November 18, 2025 at 8:57 PM
I stopped waiting for HL3 years ago, though their HL games do seem to usually coincide with hardware/software advancements...
If it ever made sense for Valve to ship a new main entry to the Half Life series, it'd be soon after announcing/releasing 3 new hardware devices of their own.
If it ever made sense for Valve to ship a new main entry to the Half Life series, it'd be soon after announcing/releasing 3 new hardware devices of their own.
Also pushed up a small maintenance update for Elide (Laravel+HTMX) today: github.com/danherbert-i...
GitHub - danherbert-io/elide-for-laravel: A package for Laravel and HTMX - streamline your Laravel+HTMX project with intuitive handling of Blade components for HTMX responses.
A package for Laravel and HTMX - streamline your Laravel+HTMX project with intuitive handling of Blade components for HTMX responses. - danherbert-io/elide-for-laravel
github.com
November 18, 2025 at 3:02 AM
Also pushed up a small maintenance update for Elide (Laravel+HTMX) today: github.com/danherbert-i...
Recently moved to Linux (Kubuntu) - wrote a quick post about the motivation, installation, and impressions: danherbert.io/blog/2025111...
Dan Herbert
Development and production relating to: web, games, and music
danherbert.io
November 18, 2025 at 2:55 AM
Recently moved to Linux (Kubuntu) - wrote a quick post about the motivation, installation, and impressions: danherbert.io/blog/2025111...
This (always) sparks joy.
November 17, 2025 at 11:26 PM
This (always) sparks joy.
Working on a dynamic music system for this little game. There are different "layers" of music which play based on a current "tension" level.
The idea is that each stage is a series of waves, and as you progress through the waves the tension increases.
Should be good for juice.
The idea is that each stage is a series of waves, and as you progress through the waves the tension increases.
Should be good for juice.
November 14, 2025 at 5:39 AM
Working on a dynamic music system for this little game. There are different "layers" of music which play based on a current "tension" level.
The idea is that each stage is a series of waves, and as you progress through the waves the tension increases.
Should be good for juice.
The idea is that each stage is a series of waves, and as you progress through the waves the tension increases.
Should be good for juice.
Extremely rough #gamedev clip.
Doesn't look like much, but it's nice to see systems coming together.
All movement (player+enemy speed/accel/decel), weapon firing+spread+cool down, and enemy sequencing is driven by a "power allocation" system. Most things will be based on this.
Doesn't look like much, but it's nice to see systems coming together.
All movement (player+enemy speed/accel/decel), weapon firing+spread+cool down, and enemy sequencing is driven by a "power allocation" system. Most things will be based on this.
November 12, 2025 at 6:23 AM
Extremely rough #gamedev clip.
Doesn't look like much, but it's nice to see systems coming together.
All movement (player+enemy speed/accel/decel), weapon firing+spread+cool down, and enemy sequencing is driven by a "power allocation" system. Most things will be based on this.
Doesn't look like much, but it's nice to see systems coming together.
All movement (player+enemy speed/accel/decel), weapon firing+spread+cool down, and enemy sequencing is driven by a "power allocation" system. Most things will be based on this.
I really like my MacBook and Apple's M chips, but holey moley this PC running Kubuntu is _fast_. All my dev tools and software, and games, seem so much faster and feel "just ready to go let's go let's go".
Might become my daily driver for working/playing at home at this rate.
Might become my daily driver for working/playing at home at this rate.
November 11, 2025 at 9:24 AM
I really like my MacBook and Apple's M chips, but holey moley this PC running Kubuntu is _fast_. All my dev tools and software, and games, seem so much faster and feel "just ready to go let's go let's go".
Might become my daily driver for working/playing at home at this rate.
Might become my daily driver for working/playing at home at this rate.
Squeezing in an SSD today. GPU is about as big as everything else combined. A bit tricky for a case this size... 🤦♂️
November 9, 2025 at 5:10 AM
Squeezing in an SSD today. GPU is about as big as everything else combined. A bit tricky for a case this size... 🤦♂️
Trying Linux as an alternative to Win11 for gaming and gamedev, running off a USB drive for now.
Only had 1 USB drive so installing required a bit of legwork, but amazed at how well it worked.
Kubuntu live ISO VirtualBox > install onto USB drive plugged into host > reboot host off of USB drive.
Only had 1 USB drive so installing required a bit of legwork, but amazed at how well it worked.
Kubuntu live ISO VirtualBox > install onto USB drive plugged into host > reboot host off of USB drive.
November 8, 2025 at 8:37 AM
Trying Linux as an alternative to Win11 for gaming and gamedev, running off a USB drive for now.
Only had 1 USB drive so installing required a bit of legwork, but amazed at how well it worked.
Kubuntu live ISO VirtualBox > install onto USB drive plugged into host > reboot host off of USB drive.
Only had 1 USB drive so installing required a bit of legwork, but amazed at how well it worked.
Kubuntu live ISO VirtualBox > install onto USB drive plugged into host > reboot host off of USB drive.
Today I worked on a "spec sequencer".
The game will proc gen a set of specifications for the player/enemies, some of which are sequenced & timed. This determines movement, difficulty, weapons & attack timings.
The sequencer enacts/processes the specs.
Cool to see mechanics start to come together.
The game will proc gen a set of specifications for the player/enemies, some of which are sequenced & timed. This determines movement, difficulty, weapons & attack timings.
The sequencer enacts/processes the specs.
Cool to see mechanics start to come together.
November 7, 2025 at 8:43 AM
Today I worked on a "spec sequencer".
The game will proc gen a set of specifications for the player/enemies, some of which are sequenced & timed. This determines movement, difficulty, weapons & attack timings.
The sequencer enacts/processes the specs.
Cool to see mechanics start to come together.
The game will proc gen a set of specifications for the player/enemies, some of which are sequenced & timed. This determines movement, difficulty, weapons & attack timings.
The sequencer enacts/processes the specs.
Cool to see mechanics start to come together.
A small selection of photos from Brazil...
November 5, 2025 at 8:27 PM
A small selection of photos from Brazil...
Back in Aus after 3 weeks in Brazil. 48 hours commute + ~17 hour time zone jump got me feeling like the melting emoji
Gamedev/SaaS itch is super high, really happy to get back on it.
Gamedev/SaaS itch is super high, really happy to get back on it.
November 5, 2025 at 8:00 PM
Back in Aus after 3 weeks in Brazil. 48 hours commute + ~17 hour time zone jump got me feeling like the melting emoji
Gamedev/SaaS itch is super high, really happy to get back on it.
Gamedev/SaaS itch is super high, really happy to get back on it.
11 pages of game dev notes/design on this holiday so far.
Avoided this and work thinking at first, until the brain got too itchy (aka bored).
Pretty set to get cracking as soon as I get back home.
Avoided this and work thinking at first, until the brain got too itchy (aka bored).
Pretty set to get cracking as soon as I get back home.
October 31, 2025 at 8:39 PM
11 pages of game dev notes/design on this holiday so far.
Avoided this and work thinking at first, until the brain got too itchy (aka bored).
Pretty set to get cracking as soon as I get back home.
Avoided this and work thinking at first, until the brain got too itchy (aka bored).
Pretty set to get cracking as soon as I get back home.
Game design doc and sketches after a few days stewing on an idea. Gotta have juice!
October 29, 2025 at 6:21 PM
Game design doc and sketches after a few days stewing on an idea. Gotta have juice!
Wk 3 in Brazil- similar to my previous trip to EU, websites with heavy frontends are a major pain to use with slow/spotty internet.
The bar of "minimum reasonable user experience" is pretty low, yet it gets missed so often.
Good UI signals and fewer dependencies go a long way!
The bar of "minimum reasonable user experience" is pretty low, yet it gets missed so often.
Good UI signals and fewer dependencies go a long way!
October 27, 2025 at 11:41 PM
Wk 3 in Brazil- similar to my previous trip to EU, websites with heavy frontends are a major pain to use with slow/spotty internet.
The bar of "minimum reasonable user experience" is pretty low, yet it gets missed so often.
Good UI signals and fewer dependencies go a long way!
The bar of "minimum reasonable user experience" is pretty low, yet it gets missed so often.
Good UI signals and fewer dependencies go a long way!
Gutted to be missing Laracon AU this year. Looking to be great!
October 21, 2025 at 8:10 PM
Gutted to be missing Laracon AU this year. Looking to be great!
On Sundays, Avenida Paulista in São Paulo is closed to traffic - food/craft stalls fill the streets, bands play music, and McDonald's has a street facing DJ booth pumping out the beats while people dance in the street.
October 19, 2025 at 9:49 PM
On Sundays, Avenida Paulista in São Paulo is closed to traffic - food/craft stalls fill the streets, bands play music, and McDonald's has a street facing DJ booth pumping out the beats while people dance in the street.
Been brainstorming a set of virtual/digital themed resources which might be (loosely) comparable to resources from a game like Settlers. Eg, instead of "mine for gold ore" it might be "generate cycles" or "compress data".
Challenging to come up with options which don't sound cliche or crappy 😂
Challenging to come up with options which don't sound cliche or crappy 😂
October 18, 2025 at 9:50 PM
Been brainstorming a set of virtual/digital themed resources which might be (loosely) comparable to resources from a game like Settlers. Eg, instead of "mine for gold ore" it might be "generate cycles" or "compress data".
Challenging to come up with options which don't sound cliche or crappy 😂
Challenging to come up with options which don't sound cliche or crappy 😂
Couldn't live without my notebooks+nice pen... Never go anywhere without it, esp when away from home.
Time to kill & can't stop thinking about gamedev? Doodles/notes/planning.
Wake up with a solve to a bug? Get it off brain and back to sleep.
New SaaS feature? Noted.
Journal/pondering? Done.
Time to kill & can't stop thinking about gamedev? Doodles/notes/planning.
Wake up with a solve to a bug? Get it off brain and back to sleep.
New SaaS feature? Noted.
Journal/pondering? Done.
October 18, 2025 at 9:43 PM
Couldn't live without my notebooks+nice pen... Never go anywhere without it, esp when away from home.
Time to kill & can't stop thinking about gamedev? Doodles/notes/planning.
Wake up with a solve to a bug? Get it off brain and back to sleep.
New SaaS feature? Noted.
Journal/pondering? Done.
Time to kill & can't stop thinking about gamedev? Doodles/notes/planning.
Wake up with a solve to a bug? Get it off brain and back to sleep.
New SaaS feature? Noted.
Journal/pondering? Done.
On holiday in my partner's home country (Brazil), trying very hard to disconnect from game/SaaS dev.
Brain just won't let go - I think I've finally honed in on a core game loop that might be fun. Lots of notes and sketches to iterate on when back home.
Send help 😂
Brain just won't let go - I think I've finally honed in on a core game loop that might be fun. Lots of notes and sketches to iterate on when back home.
Send help 😂
October 14, 2025 at 1:52 PM
On holiday in my partner's home country (Brazil), trying very hard to disconnect from game/SaaS dev.
Brain just won't let go - I think I've finally honed in on a core game loop that might be fun. Lots of notes and sketches to iterate on when back home.
Send help 😂
Brain just won't let go - I think I've finally honed in on a core game loop that might be fun. Lots of notes and sketches to iterate on when back home.
Send help 😂
