My Newest Little Project

Posted on January 25, 2024 by donespe

Sometimes it is worth stepping back from work related projects and focus on something that you find more fun. Over the last month or so, I started to work on a couple of these fun little projects.

The project I’m going to show here is a sand simulator. There is a short animated gif shown below.

This project came from watching a Youtube video where someone explained creating their own version of a sand simulation. I used many of their ideas, but implemented them in my own ways. What you see above is the current version of what I have been playing with. The app includes 8 different types of particles that interact with each other in different ways. Sand will pile up like sand does. Water attempts to level itself. Snow and ice pile up in their own ways and fire will turn water, ice or snow into steam that will rise off the screen.

There were many interesting techniques used to make this all happen with the main movement based on Cellular Automata theories. Each particles moves by looking at it’s surrounding neighbors and then decided how to move. For the most part, they only care about the 8 locations directly surrounding them. As simple as that sounds, it allows for some interesting and occasionally surprising interactions.

Doing this project let me work through some interesting programming issues, while at the same time giving me something fun to play with. A majority of the code fits in around 400 lines and it does everything you can see above.

So, if you find yourself stuck – step back and find a small project that appeals to you and work on that. It will not only better your programming skills, but it will also allow your brain to reset before you return to your actual work.

Success Is Found By Not Limiting Sources Of Inspiration

Posted on March 10, 2022 by donespe

A lesson that I learned again recently – inspiration can come from anywhere. I have been working on several projects lately and also taking some time to learn new skills and also refresh some old knowledge. During those attempt to refresh old knowledge I fell into a rabbit hole of going through old games that I used to play. When I say old, I mean old. Most of these I had had played on my old Apple II back in the 1980s. Needless to say, many old memories came flooding back. But, also, I was able to see things that were done with games back then that kept my attention and kept me playing. These games were made decades before micro-transactions, and years before the internet would start to shape our lives. They had to focus on the gameplay itself to keep our interest and there is a lot to be learned from that.

In my case, I was reminded how much humor and curiosity for what would come next drew me in. Spare Change on an Apple II emulator was the game that prompted this post.

A screenshot from the Apple II version of the game Spare Change

The goal of Spare Change was simple – collect coins while trying to keep the robots from stealing them. The robots themselves were quite funny. They would perform various silly moves as they stole the coins, including passing between each other, running into each other or kicking the coin into their piggy bank. If they collected too many coins the game would end. Also, of interest were short cut scenes involving these robots and their silly antics. But a feature that kept me wanting to play the most were the various items on the game board that could be used to distract the robots. They loved watching Popcorn popping, or dancing to the music on the jukebox. On some levels you have get them to talk to each other using the pay phones. Now, these distractions would cost a coin, so you had to be careful to not waste too many coins. This became more of an issue as the levels went on. But, it all led to the player wanting to keep playing in order to see what other silliness could happen along the way.

So, what does a 40 year old game have to do with my current efforts? It caused me to rethink my own game that I am currently working on. I have since made an effort to add cutscenes along with items for the player to collect. I should back up and explain the game a little bit – it was essentially a demolition derby game using various geometric shapes to battle.

The images above show a little view of what the game looks like. It also shows a shot from one of the cut scenes that can be found in the game. I am proud of how the game is turning out. The sides on the shapes turn red as they get damaged until the player dies if the damage becomes too great. Once an enemy shield is destroyed, you have the chance to steal their fruit. It is the fruit that is necessary in order to advance to the next level – by making an epic fruit salad to impress your alien overseers.

You can clearly see how playing a close to 40 year old game inspired a new game. If I hadn’t taken the time to play Spare Change, my game would still be the original Geometry Derby game in which you would simply crash into shapes until you finally died. It was somewhat fun even if it did get a little boring over time. The new version is one that can easily hold interest for a far longer time.

So, to bring things back around – don’t be afraid to look for inspiration everywhere. You never know what might contain an idea for a future project.

How To Price Your Crafting Projects To Make The Most Money

Posted on May 31, 2021 by donespe

This is a common question that comes up anytime someone decides they want to sell an item that they crafted. Oddly, the most common things that people take into consideration have the least to do with how to actually price their item. Because of this, many people price their crafts in a way that won’t optimize their money.

The major aspect of pricing that gets ignored is your own costs. Often, people are good at including the cost of the material to make the item, while important, that is just the tip of the pricing iceberg. Many people forget to include the cost of tools and other side materials (glue, paint, shipping, and even electrical expenses) needed to finish the project. The project may only use a small amount of these materials, but they can add up over time. It is also important to include fees and other taxes that might affect the price. If you are selling an item through a service that charges a percent of the revenue, or a simple fee for each item then that needs to be accounted for in your pricing. If you don’t, then you run the risk of losing money with each sale.

But, the largest factor that many beginning crafters ignore is the cost of their own labor. You have to pay yourself something for your time. It is important to figure out how long the item will take to make, and then use that time to multiply by an hourly rate for yourself (often somewhere between $12-$20 an hour, or even more if it involves specific skills). You can then add that to the material costs and the various fees required to sell the item.

The previous steps will give the cost to make that particular item, but we can’t stop there. It isn’t enough to simply break even, we still need to make a profit. So, we need to figure out a profit margin.

Gross Margin = [(Total Revenue – Cost Of Goods) / Total Revenue] X 100

So, using this, if you make $100 on an item and it costs you $50 to make it, your gross margin for would be: 50%. That is often a good starting place to come up with a price.

(100 – 50) / 100 X 100 = (50) / 100 * 100 = 50

Once you come up with this number, there is some value in looking at other similar items for sale and comparing your price to theirs. While you do this, take care to avoid comparing your handmade item to mass produced items. Also, pay attention to the features and additions that you might have added to your project. If you are making fully customized items for each customer, then charging extra is understandable. If your item has a unique style or design then you deserve to make extra for your effort in coming up with that design. But, if the item is identical to an already existing item then a similar price would be warranted, but also take some time to consider changes that you could be making in order to increase the value, or lower your costs. Can you add a unique feature to justify a higher price? If the item is worth your time to make and sell, then you should be able to find a way to make this work. If not, then back to the drawing board it is.

If all this math seems a bit tedious and difficult, then perhaps you should look at my Project Pricing App. It takes all of these factors into consideration and will quickly give you a suggested selling price. It also allows you to adjust any of the numbers in order to see how each number can change your final cost and sales price.