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  1. Gamelog

    The Mermaid Mask

    I liked this one more than Tangle Tower. It is a definite evolution of the previous game, and I hope to see more like this one day. In fact, all deduction games should learn from this one.

  2. Article

    I Used Stacked PRs and Liked It

    Stacked pull requests helped me organize and merge a set of dependent changes to this website—and gave me a little faith in GitHub as a platform again.

  3. Gamelog

    Paranormasight: The Mermaid's Curse

    This is the second Paranormasight game, and as such, this is the second one I have played. The formula stays the same for the most part, but I feel like I enjoyed this one a little more.There are quite a few lore dumps focused on a modified version of Japanese history that take some effort to get through, and the writing feels off sometimes, but overall it's a solid experience.

  4. Gamelog

    The Incident at Galley House

    The Incident at Galley House is an investigation game, where the player has to discover the cause of "the incident" using a special machine that can let its user see and hear moments from the past. It is considered to be a remake of the browser-game Type Help from by William Rous, who is also one of the developers credited on this game.

  5. Gamelog

    Final Fantasy IV (Pixel Remaster)

    Final Fantasy IV, or Final Fantasy 2 outside of Japan, was my first RPG. I have beaten this game on almost every platform that has ever released it in English. I was looking a game to chillout to, and this one popped up Game Pass and the rest is history.

  6. Gamelog

    The Ratline

    The Ratline is an investigation game where you play the role of a private investigator with a knack for finding people through records and paperwork. It starts with a murder and a phone call and ends with you finding the whereabouts of Nazis brought into the United States after World War II.

  7. Gamelog

    Mixtape

    Mixtape is a game full of feelings and nostalgia for GenX-ers and aged Aged Millennials like myself from Beethoven & Dinosaur. It's a fun narrative experience that I enjoyed, but won't be going back to anytime soon.

  8. Gamelog

    Kathy Rain 2: Soothsayer

    Kathy Rain 2: Soothsayer is a point-and-click adventure set a few years after the events of the first game. In short, this game feels like it should be better than it is, but it seems to be held back by the writing, or possibly by parts of the narrative that didn't make the final cut before launch.

  9. Dungeonlog

    The Queen Who Refused to Die

    Queens don’t clap. They assess. We walked into Zalkoré’s ruin dressed like entertainers and carrying just enough hope to make it embarrassing.

  10. Gamelog

    TR-49

    TR-49 is a new game from the folks at Inkle, who have created a number of narrative-driven games I've enjoyed. Heaven's Vault, 80 Days, and Overboard to name a few.

  11. Dungeonlog

    Webs, Statues, and a Queen Who Won’t Die

    Gardens are supposed to grow flowers. This one grew zombies. The yellow things pulling their strings didn’t last long. One good swing—lucky swing—and the tentacles stopped twitching. Turns out when you cut the brain out of a problem, the rest of it forgets what it was doing.

  12. Dungeonlog

    A Monkey, a Lie, and a Garden Full of Teeth

    If a monkey dies in the jungle, someone gets blamed. That’s just the math of it. The old woman screamed like the world had cheated her. Maybe it had. Hard to tell with hags—everything sounds like betrayal when it comes out of their mouths.

  13. Dungeonlog

    The Thighs, the Stars, and the Scream

    If I was going to fall, it wouldn’t be quiet. Turns out I wasn’t falling yet. Turns out the cliff still had blood left in it.

  14. Gamelog

    Little Rocket Lab

    Little Rocket Lab takes the formulas for Stardew Valley and replaces the farming gameplay with assembly-line and factory-optimization gameplay from something like Factorio.

  15. Dungeonlog

    A Long Way Down Is Still a Way Out

    The cave didn’t care that we’d figured it out. Didn’t care about truth, betrayal, or names written in prophecy ink that never washes off. It just wanted blood—and it was getting impatient.

  16. Gamelog

    The Séance of Blake Manor

    In Séance of Blake Manor you play as Declan Ward, a detective invited an unknown host to Blake Manor where a séance is scheduled to take place. Your mission: to find a guest who has gone missing. You arrive late into the evening, two days before the séance is scheduled to take place.

  17. Gamelog

    Dispatch

    Dispatch is a narrative heavy episodic experience, telling the story of a former superhero working for a company that dispatches other super heros to various emergency calls around the city. Between shifts, you get to know the team you have been assigned to: The Z Team, a group of former villians and misfits, along with other heroes.

  18. Dungeonlog

    The Prophecy That Wanted Us Dead

    The room didn’t clap when the last thing fell. It just… listened. Funny thing about that place—every time we solved one of its little riddles, the monsters thanked us. Polite, even. Like we’d done them a favor by proving we were smart enough to die properly. Then we killed them anyway. Gratitude doesn’t stop a blade.

  19. Dungeonlog

    When the Room Let Us Go

    The lights didn’t come back on right away. That room liked to linger. Let the silence sit between your ribs. Let you wonder if it was done with you—or just bored.

  20. Dungeonlog

    The Room That Remembered Us

    I’ve walked into dark rooms before. Alleyways in Cyre, interrogation basements, memories you don’t come back from. But this place? This place was watching us.

  21. Dungeonlog

    Smoke over Fernia

    The air in Rackamar tasted like old iron and bad memories. We came lookin' for goblins, but what we found was fire made flesh-creatures from a place hotter than a forge and twice as mean. They didn't talk much, unless you count the hiss they made when Lori tried peace. Guess hunger's a kind of diplomacy too.

  22. Dungeonlog

    Firefinger

    Firefinger. A tower of stone stabbing the sky like a knife meant for gods. We climbed it. Bled on it. Burned for it. The gnomes had paid us in trinkets and promises, but that was just the opening ante. The real cost was waiting inside. Spiders in the dark, carrion beasts with too many legs, and Stirges that drank hope as fast as blood. I fed them steel and rage. Morthas-my greataxe-sang louder than Bowmore's pipes that night.

  23. Dungeonlog

    The Pachinko Gambit

    The jungle doesn't sleep. It just waits. We were riding high-literally-canopy-surfing above a sea of green nightmares.

  24. Dungeonlog

    Heart of Ubutao

    I woke up with the taste of iron in my mouth and the buzz of fever still clawing at the back of my brain. Sunlight cutting through the trees like a knife reminded me I was still alive. Barely.

  25. Gamelog

    Clair Obscur: Expedition 33

    Clair Obscur is a refreshing take on high-resolution turn-based RPGs. It’s not just the gameplay, or the beautiful aesthetics and sound—the narrative takes some risks in storytelling, with various twists that I haven’t seen in many years.

  26. Gamelog

    Tangle Tower

    Tangle Tower is a child-friendly enough detective-style adventure game where you try and solve a murder. We played it as a family in one sitting, which might have been a bit much, but the experience was positive nonetheless. A nice throwback to the LucasArts style of adventure game.

  27. Gamelog

    Blue Prince

    Blue Prince is a rogue like puzzle game where you explore an ever-changing mansion in order to try and discover its secrets. Based on the feedback of some of my trusted media sources-- this was going to be a game I did not want to miss.

  28. Gamelog

    The Red Strings Club

    The Red Strings Club was a recommendation to me from ChatGPT after finishing [The Roottrees are Dead][1]. It is a game from 2018 that I did not recognize, which surprised me. After taking a look at the trailer, I thought I would give it a go. Albeit a short experience, it was a very rich one and one that I won't forget anytime soon.

  29. Gamelog

    The Roottrees are Dead

    The Roottrees are Dead is the closest game I have played that resembles the deductive gameplay style of Return of the Obra Dinn. It isn't as good as that Lucas Pope epic, but it was worth my time.

  30. Article

    From 11ty to Wordpress and Back Again

    I stepped away from blogging thinking that the problem was that my Eleventy (11ty) setup and continually tinkering with it was keeping me away from blogging. So, to make it "easier" I spent a couple of months worth of my B-time moving my website over to Wordpress site. Once it was done, I had a fancy editor, a bunch of plugins, and all the tooling I could ever want. I didn't write a single post. This is post is my experience (not) blogging with Wordpress and returning to 11ty.

  31. Gamelog

    Return to Grace

    Return from Grace was an unexpected surprise I found on a whim one night while exploring XBox Game Pass looking for a distraction from the week. This bitesized experience was a great alternative to a movie, and I hope to find more surprises like this one.

  32. Gamelog

    Sagres

    Sagres is a game that pulls on my nostalgia for Uncharted Waters: New Horizons for the SNES. And although I went though it, I can understand why people without the nostalgic feeling would get through the entire game.

  33. Gamelog

    Indiana Jones and the Great Circle

    This game has some problems, but it is a fantastic Indiana Jones game. The gameplay is fine-- but it's not my kind of gameplay. There is a large focus on stelth, which is not my kind of game. The other elements definitely outweighed that part of the game for me, as I kept going on the game and enjoyed a lot of it with minimal frustration.

  34. Article

    Defining the Problem before the Solution

    Before you create a solution, you need to understand the problem. It sounds obvious enough, yet I see developers (including myself) getting into the code and design phase before they really understand the problem they are trying to fix. These are the steps I take a properly understand a problem I am trying to solve, prior to coding or solution-ing anything.

  35. Article

    Highlight Reel for 2022

    When a new year arrives, it is a great opportunity to take a moment to reflect on where you started at the beginning of the year, and where you ended. When I look back on 2022, I noticed events reflected in my GitHub contribution graph that highlight some common cycles in my own behaviour. I want to take a moment to document this, and hopefully you can use this an example to examine your own progress and behaviour patterns that might be aiding (or impeding) your own personal and professional growth.

  36. Article

    Docker Desktop for Linux is not the same as Docker Engine

    With Docker for Desktop available for Linux (which I like), I managed to get myself confused regarding its role on my Linux-based development machine. This post clarifies a few things I discovered while triaging an issue I had trying to test my GitHub Workflows locally.

  37. Article

    Prairie Dev Con 2022 Takeaways

    The talented speakers that come together for Prairie Dev Con always bring fresh ideas to my mind and give me pause to think about my own efforts and how I can learn from their experience. Although not a complete list, these ideas the ones that stood out the most from Prairie Dev Con 2022.

  38. Article

    Does GDPR Apply to Personal Websites?

    While rebuilding my personal website in 2022, I wanted to know how or if GDPR applied to my little side project. My internet sleuthing did not bring up any clear and cut answers, but I put together some thoughts that might help others answer it for themselves.

  39. Article

    How much is enough documentation?

    Documentation is important, but it takes a lot of time and if you are a solo developer, what documentation to you really need? Still, good docs can provide the context I forget after putting a project on the shelf, or explains how to fix something in older code I use, but haven't touched in a long time. So how much is 'enough' documentation and what types of documentation do I need to invest in give my future self the the best value for the effort I put in?

  40. Article

    How to fork (a repo) like a boss!

    Everyone thinks about forking. It is a natural thing, yet how do get the job done and fork? I used to ask myself the same thing, until I learned these pro-tips and forked like a boss.

  41. Article

    Azure Static Web Apps (SWA) are fine, just not great

    Azure Static Web Apps feel like a good idea, but in practice I struggled with understanding what the product is trying to be. This post documents my experience working with SWAs on a few projects, namely this website, along with the problems and workarounds/solutions I found to those problems.

  42. Article

    Personal and Professional Fulfillment through Cake and Ice Cream

    I made a cake and two kinds of ice cream, from scratch, for my daughter's birthday. The process of making a plan, adapting, executing, delivering, and being validated highlighted how important it is to feel fulfilled, both personally and professionally.

  43. Article

    Advent of Code 2021: Day 1

    My initial thoughts after completing the first day of my first journey into the Advent of Code

  44. Article

    I am NOT trying to be a Game Developer

    It's time for me to come clean about something: I am not trying to become a game developer. BUT...I am still trying to make video games.

  45. Article

    I Can Teach Your Dog Quantum Physics

    It's true! I read a book about it and everything. Let me breakdown the highlights of this book that does a pretty good job of explaining the physics behind quantum computing.

  46. Article

    Should you bother with a Website?

    It's 2021. Websites are sooooooo....2006. With social media dominating the way people consume content these days, what is the point of having a website today? I asked myself this question as I put the effort into reviving my dead website and I stand by the idea that having a website for yourself, project, or business is a need rather than a nice-to-have.

  47. Article

    My Secret Addiction to Likes

    I decided to take a month off of contributing to social media. More specifically Twitter and YouTube, but Facebook and Instagram as well. That single month has turned into just over three months now, and I learned a few things about myself and how I think my return to some social media will be a good thing.

  48. Article

    Lucky Number v7

    I fixed up my blog-website-thingy again. I'm calling this v7, although I'm pretty sure there are a few incarnations of the site that were lost early on in my years, but v7 seems about right for the content I'm sharing here. In any case-- I thought I'd share the "why" around the new website revamp and how I think a project like this is just what I need.

  49. Article

    From Travis CI to GitHub Actions (and GitHub Pages)

    We recently migrated the continuous integration and deployment workflow for the Western Devs website from Travis CI to GitHub Actions. These are the steps I followed to get it done.

  50. Article

    A Solo Gamejam Experience | A Ludum Dare 47 Story

    I submitted a game to Ludum Dare 47 I call Out the Door (Play Now in your Browser) as a solo, amateur game developer with a non-gamedev day job, family responsibilities, and household to maintain.

  51. Article

    Game Portfolio Self Evaluation (in prep for Ludum Dare 47)

    Ludum Dare 47, a weekend long global gamejam, is coming up in a few weeks. In order to prep for the event, I decided to take the time for review and reflect on my game portfolio to see what I learning objective and goals I can set for myself.

  52. Article

    I Miss Blogging

    I miss blogging. I do a lot of game development these days, and I enjoy doing the YouTube videos, but there is something about tech and writing an blog post.

  53. Article

    Jan 2020 Devlog

    A vlog post where I review the progress I've made on the game Car Scientist.

  54. Article

    Where to Find Your Gamedev Community

    Four places to find your new game development and/or design and/or technology community and figure out if it's even good!

  55. Article

    Gamejam Pro Tips and Lessons Learned

    Sharing my lessons learned from my GameOff game jam experience and how they will be applied to my game development practice moving forward!

  56. Article

    GitHub Game Off 2019 Game Jam featuring DW

    For the past month I have been participating in the GameOff 2019 Gamejam hosted by GitHub over on Itch.io and I've been devlogging about it over on my YouTube channel.

  57. Article

    F12 Chooser is a Dev Tool Thing

    The F12 Chooser is a development tool thing that I like and you should know about if you want your web application or web extension to support Microsoft Edge.

  58. Article

    Picking between TypeScript and JavaScript

    Which one should you pick: TypeScript or JavaScript? They are both great languages, people always ask me when you should use one or the other. This post puts that to rest.

  59. Article

    Crowdsourcing Documentation is Cool

    The idea of these large enterprises crowdsourcing their technical documentation is pretty cool. More cool than I had originally realized, and I want to take a moment to explain why I like it and why you should get involved yourself.

  60. Article

    Sonar, the Linter I Never Knew I Wanted

    Meet Nellie the Narwhal, the official mascot for Sonar, the linting tool for the web. Nellie represents a tool that is long-overdue. It provides any web application the ability to verify they are meeting a high level of quality when it comes to their web applications, and not miss any common mistakes.

  61. Article

    Service Workers and PWAs are Super Cool

    One of the core items highlighted by the Microsoft Edge team, along with many others who were just web professionals, was the importance of Progressive Web Apps (PWAs). I started out thinking they were something that could be interesting one day, but left the conference convinced that this will change the way we think of the web.

  62. Article

    No Cost Game Design Toolbox

    In 2020, I have been focusing my energy into game design. In this video, I share my game design toolbox and process and how it literally costs nothing to use the tools themselves.

  63. Article

    IstanbulJS Code Coverage Reports in VSTS

    Here's another dev thing I use: IstanbulJS in Visual Studio Team Services (VSTS) builds and display the test reports as part of the build reports.

  64. Article

    Mocha Test Reports in VSTS

    Here's another dev thing I do: Display my MochaJS test report in the Visual Studio Team Services (VSTS) build report.

  65. Article

    Conquest April 2017 Devblog

    This is the April 2017 update for my video game project I call "Conquest". This month, I have continued to make progress on my game project. The unexpected thing that happened was the fact that I decided to take a step back and do some research and development before continuing forward with the game idea I have in mind.

  66. Article

    Initial Thoughts on Using Phaser

    As a side project, I started making another JavaScript-based video game and decided to go with Phaser as my framework of choice. Here are my initial thoughts about Phaser after using it on my project for the past two months.

  67. Article

    How to Blog with VSTS (Part 4)

    I wanted to understand how to use Visual Studio Team Services (VSTS) for a "real" project. Being a noob, I decided to move my blog to VSTS to understand how _any_ project can benefit from ALM practices using VSTS. In part 4 of 5, we setup a _Build_ script.

  68. Article

    How to Blog with VSTS (Part 3)

    I wanted to understand how to use Visual Studio Team Services (VSTS) for a "real" project. Being a noob, I decided to move my blog to VSTS to understand how _any_ project can benefit from ALM practices using VSTS. In part 3 of 5, we start to make plans and _Work_ on our blog.

  69. Article

    How to Blog with VSTS (Part 2)

    I wanted to understand how to use Visual Studio Team Services (VSTS) for a "real" project. Being a noob, I decided to move my blog to VSTS to understand how _any_ project can benefit from ALM practices using VSTS. In part 2 of 5, we get our blog into source control.

  70. Article

    How to Blog with VSTS (Part 1)

    I wanted to understand how to use Visual Studio Team Services (VSTS) for a "real" project. Being a noob, I decided to move my blog to VSTS to understand how _any_ project can benefit from ALM practices using VSTS. In part 1 of 5, we get things setup.

  71. Article

    How to Use Global NPM Packages on a VSTS Self-Hosted Build Agent

    I setup a self-hosted build agent in Visual Studio Team Services. My build installed global NPM packages, but the tasks that used them later on in the script would fail because they were unable to use them. This post describes what I did to get them working.

  72. Article

    Windows Not Required - The New Microsoft Development Story (Video)

    I delivered a presentation at the Winnipeg .NET User Group last week, where I recorded it and posted it on YouTube. I go over a number of Microsoft development tools and technologies that don't require Windows and deliver the demos on my Linux machine.

  73. Article

    How to Fix node-gyp Error on Windows

    Whenever I get a new machine, I pull down a new project using the `npm install command and get an error related to python and node-gyp. This post will remember the fix for this problem that I always forget.

  74. Article

    How to Build ReactJS with Gulp

    I started to tinker with React last week and needed to do some digging on how to transpile the React JSX files using Gulp. In this post, we walkthrough my newly updated Gulp task that transpiles JSX and JavaScript files.

  75. Article

    How to Use Highlight.Js with Bower and Gulp

    One of the best libraries I've seen for syntax highlighting on the web is highlight.js, IMHO. The catch to using the library is that it takes a bit more effort to setup than just adding a script tag and being done with it. In this post, I'll walk you through the steps I took to get this up and running with Bower and Gulp.

  76. Article

    Mobile First Design Tips

    When redesigning my personal website and blog, I started from scratch and attempted to apply a mobile-first design approach. Here are a few tips that I picked up along the way while creating and implementing my new design that might prevent some mistakes on your own sites.

  77. Article

    Keeping Your Edge on an Extended Break

    A few quick tips on how I kept up-to-date in the professional world while taking a four month hiatus for parental leave _without_ giving up time with my daughter.

  78. Article

    Measuring in CSS is Cool

    I've been on this CSS kick for the past while, and I had forgotten how much CSS can do now. More specifically how things have changed when it comes to measuring height and width.

  79. Article

    Using text-overflow:ellipsis with Inline Flex

    Two out of three Dave's hit this obscure CSS problem that turned out to be expected behaviour. David Wesst walks us through the reason why and how to fix it.

  80. Article

    Why ChakraCore OSS is Important

    It's pretty cool that Microsoft has released the source code of their JavaScript engine Chakra. But, why it is important and how do developers actually benefit from this?

  81. Article

    Highlight Reel for 2015

    David Wesst takes a moment to look back at his personal and professional development throughout 2015.

  82. Article

    Looking Forward into 2016

    DW documents and shares his planning session for 2016 based on what he's learned from 2015.

  83. Article

    Code - The Visual Studio for Everybody

    Last week I delivered three presentations: one at the Winnipeg .NET User Group and the other two at Winnipeg Code Camp. Being as awesome as we are, the user group presentation was recorded and has been published on the YouTube page.

  84. Article

    Code - The Visual Studio for Everybody

    Last week I delivered three presentations: one at the Winnipeg .NET User Group and the other two at Winnipeg Code Camp . Being as awesome as we are, the user group presentation was recorded and has been published on the YouTube page.

  85. Article

    Inspiration From MVP Summit 2015

    I'm back from the summit and have had a week to digest everything I saw. And now I will share with the top three topics that really stuck with me.

  86. Article

    My Favourite Online Dev Tools

    I'm talking about online or web-based tools, not toolboxes. So entire development suites like Cloud9 or Visual Studio Online are off the table because they are full tool suites. These tools are simple, but continually help me out in a pinch.

  87. Article

    Custom Tasks for Java in Visual Studio Code

    Now that I'm a Java Developer, I no longer worry about the bloating feeling I get when I need to open up the original Visual Studio. Now I worry about opening another instance of Eclipse. Don't get me wrong, Visual Studio and Eclipse are both great tools, but there are plenty of times where I don't need to bring a forklift just to move a single box.

  88. Article

    Capture HTTPS Traffic in Java with Eclipse, and Fiddler

    I've been struggling with a JSON parsing error where my application is using the Spring to send and receive messages from a RESTful Web Service. It's pretty straight forward: I've annotated my object properties to match up with the appropriate JSON keys, Spring takes my POJO and turns it into a JSON string sends the request along with the JSON as the body to the HTTPS endpoint, et voilà!

  89. Article

    Downgrading Windows Phone 10 Technical Preview - The Lowlights

    Archived image unavailable: windows-10-device-screen.jpg. I have to say that I really did like the Windows Phone 10 technical preview. I think that the new phone OS is heading the right direction, and that if you have a secondary device or want to be "hardcore" , you should install it and check it out.

  90. Article

    Western Devs (and MVP) Found My Spirit Animal

    What you're looking at is a lobster, in a ditch, drinking scotch, whose mouth is on fire. That is my spirit animal that was created on the Twitter-verse through the power of the Western Devs , which I would not be a part of had I not become an Microsoft Edge MVP with Microsoft.

  91. Article

    Docker on Windows 10 Problems

    Another Western Dev that goes by the name of Dave White found a solution and I confirmed that it works. The solution entails using a test build of the new Docker tool suite, so use at your own risk, but it does work!

  92. Article

    Running Tomcat Apps on Docker through Eclipse

    If you didn't already know, Docker is pretty cool. Not sure what it is? My fellow Western Dev Kyle Baley explains it really well and provides some great cases about why Docker is fantastic.

  93. Article

    Considerations When Migrating Your Blog

    I'm talking about small-scale, personal blogs or projects. The word "enterprise" isn't used once to describe any part of the project, yet there are plenty of things I had to consider (or decide along the way) before I completed the migration. Eventually, I ended moving my Ghost blog to a Hexo -based static blog, that is hosted on Github Pages under a new subdomain.

  94. Article

    Why Networking is Critical

    With my new gig as an Application Developer, I started back into technology podcasts. I'm not sure how I came across MSDevShow, but I did notice that Lori Lalonde, the wizard of mobile development in Microsoft-land, was in an episode and decided: Why not?.

  95. Article

    Conference recap extravaganza!

    I've been head down preparing and delivering presentations all over the place for the past few weeks, and wanted to share the latest happenings, along with where you can get your hands on the material if you weren't able to attend.

  96. Article

    MSDevShow...A Dev Podcast Review

    I like podcasts. Especially the technical kind, but I find it's challenging to find quality dev podcasts in the sea of options out there. MSDevShow is one that a discovered, and it did not disappoint.

  97. Article

    Zany Video Game Quotes - Live and in the Cloud

    I've been working on a side project for roughly 5 years now, and this past week I managed to finally launch it. Zany Video Game Quotes, is a site worked on acquired by a very close friend of mine. He worked on the content and enlisted me as the lead developer.

  98. Article

    Traf-O-Data and Windows NT on LGR Tech Tales

    In recent days, a specific YouTube channel has my caught my attention. It's called Lazy Game Reviews, and last night I came across a great playlist of only four episoded called: LGR Tech Tales where LGR, the host, goes through a specific event in computer history.

  99. Article

    Highlight Reel for 2014

    This past year has been a rough one for me personally, but professionally, not so bad.

  100. Article

    Can ASP.NET Become the Next Node.JS?

    I realize how crazy that sounds, but after yesterday's keynote from Microsoft at the VS Connect event in New York, I'm wondering if my goal to find a true cross-platform technology is sitting back at base camp just...leveling up.

  101. Article

    Installing Games JavaScript Style

    I bought the Humble Mozilla Bundle earlier this week and I wanted to take a moment to show people what it looks like to install a JavaScript game in the browser.

  102. Article

    What is Bower?

    I mentioned Bower last time when talking about npm.

  103. Article

    Always Use Node (Even on Non-Node Projects)

    That's right. I said it: Always use Node, no matter what! Even if your server isn't going to be a Node server, just have it installed because you'll use it.

  104. Article

    Why do you RequireJS?

    Get it? RequireJS is a dependency management framework I use in JavaScript to manage...well my dependencies. But, the title is a play on words cause...of course you require JS...cause...JavaScript is required to...

  105. Article

    Why do you CoffeeScript your JavaScript?

    I was asked this the other day: Why don't you just write your code in JavaScript directly? As in, why would you use a langugage that abstracts JavaScript, which doesn't require compiliation?

  106. Article

    Why do I JavaScript?

    The answer is simple: I don't want to limit about my platform options on day one.

  107. Article

    The MVP Network is Awesome

    Over the weekend I hit a Windows Azure issue in my side project that totally blocked me. Yesterday, I reached out on Twitter, and the Canadian MVP network picked it up and helped me solve it in 30 minutes.

  108. Article

    Whatcha doin' DW?

    Lot's of stuff really, but here's the big ones at 50,000 feet.

  109. Article

    Hypertext Gaming - Starting June 29th on Twitch

    Starting Sunday, June 29th I will be hosting a livestream on Twitch I call Hypertext Gaming . The stream is my efforts to combine my two favourite things: HTML5 and Video Games into one conversation.

  110. Article

    Back to Basics: The Text Editor

    To use a minimalist toolset to build and manage an HTML and JavaScript/NodeJS project from the ground up. Simple: no Visual Studio or other IDE. This would allow me to do development on any device, in the literal sense.

  111. Article

    End of Support for Windows XP FAQ

    If you are still holding on to Windows XP even though Microsoft has officially ended support for it as of yesterday read this .

  112. Article

    Microsoft IE MVP - Year Four

    That's right everyone, I've been awarded the the Microsoft MVP award in the area of Internet Explorer again for 2014.

  113. Article

    BUILD 2014 Cool Stuff - Day 1

    I haven't been to BUILD, but I always follow it as Microsoft makes a bunch of really cool announcements throughout that pump me up.

  114. Article

    DW on Tour

    That's right, I'm heading out on a small tour out west in November and December to do some talking about HTML and JavaScript. I suggest you find your way to DevTeach in Vancouver or Saskatoon in November to learn some awesome tricks.

  115. Article

    Hover! A Next-Gen HTML Experience

    The remake of Hover! ( http://hover.ie ) was released today to the web from the Internet Explorer. I want to highlight the importance of this game coming out to the web.

  116. Article

    HTML Gaming for Core Gamers

    This is part of a blog series discussing my afterthought on attending PAX Dev and Prime 2013 in Seattle.

  117. Article

    Instant Eyedropper: The Colour Picker Tool I've Been Missing

    I came across this today, and I wanted to share it as this is the first time I've found a simple, minimalistic eyedropper tool that allows me to get the HEX value (or another variety of colur value) of any colour that is on my screen.

  118. Article

    Excited about WebGL because of Grandia II

    Last week, I was asking my partner for some advice on what game I should play. This is a regular occurrence for both of us, as we are both video game lovers and tend to lean towards single player games, and only have one television to share between us. Ultimately, we enjoy watching each other play through video games, but want to make sure that the non-player is at least going to enjoy themselves to a certain degree as we go through some kind of virtual adventure over the next few days.

  119. Article

    Time for a Real Change

    I know I seem to change my blog once a year saying 'this time it's different'. The message this time around isn't different than that, except the change is leading to a completely different direction.