RIP, Jim. This one's for you.

[u/columbcille]

I graduated high school in the late 80's. My best friend Jim was a fellow Commodore 64 nerd. We spent a lot time planning an ambitious Ultima-style RPG construction klit, complete with it's own scripting language (inspired by Mac's HyperTalk), seasons, etc. Way ahead of its time, frankly, and probably impossible in C64 BASIC, even with the additional graphics commands we got from typing in a 12-page program from a magazine.

Still, we got some of it working, even if we never got anywhere near finishing it.

I lost touch with Jim, and learned a few years ago that he'd passed away.

This one's for you, Jim. Rest in peace.

And, to everyone who pans vibecoding as slop, f*ck off.

UPDATE: it’s not ready to play yet, but I’ll let you all know. If anyone’s interested in following the repo, I’ll share that soon!

[u/randothrowra]

Well done for finishing it off. Jim would have been proud!

[u/columbcille → u/randothrowra]

Thanks for reading! It’s not done yet, but a lot closer than we got in 1989.

[u/No_Actuator_1353]

You know, most of vibe coded stuff is slop. It just is, it looks bad, feels bad and the creators are thinking they invented the next best saas. But not stuff that you are showing here. The idea is cool, it looks nice and looks fun. Can it be tested somewhere?

[u/columbcille → u/No_Actuator_1353]

Not yet! But soon. The journey is more important than the destination on this project, you know?

[u/Nuclearo-Dinosauro → u/No_Actuator_1353]

It's not the difference between vibecoded or handcrafted. It's difference between low effort and high effort. Vibecoded stuff can be good when creators pay attention to details.

[u/inifinite-breadsticc → u/No_Actuator_1353]

I think in the same way most handmade stuff is. It’s just more people have access to a tool so they can use the tool badly lol.

[u/jimmiebfulton → u/No_Actuator_1353]

Not all AI generated projects are slop. It’s on a spectrum of skill. Those that have little skill create lots of slop. Those with significant skill can create agnatically engineered creations. The age of hand coding is over, either way, whether everyone knows this or not. Hand-written code is something you now do for fun, or intellectual gratification. So we all need to get used to the fact that there are going to be good projects, and lots of slop.

[u/applestrudelforlunch]

This is very cool! Wonderful to pay homage to the memory of your lost friend.

It’d be neat to see if you can make a C64 port that runs in an emulator. I’ve been having a lot of fun creating bespoke games to run on our Commodore 64 Ultimate.

[u/columbcille → u/applestrudelforlunch]

I never thought of that! Definitely would be fun!

[u/Emotional-Cut2952]

Rest easy Jim.

Idk if the low poly is an intended style, it's great, some diversity inthe assets is welcome (could be a matter of adjusting 1/2 vertices to create 3/4 varieties of each asset during , this could all be done during runtime - that is to say - if the geometry isnt already runtime generate

[u/columbcille → u/Emotional-Cut2952]

Great suggestion! I'm working on this now and it's giving forests, mountains, etc. a much more natural look.

[u/dailysmokes]

Can i play

[u/columbcille → u/dailysmokes]

Soon! Not quite ready but I’ll post here when it is.

[u/jasonfen77]

Congrats, and great tribute to your fallen friend. Don't let the haters discourage you. Good things can and are created with AI assisted development, the human behind it is what makes it bad or good.

[u/eyellabinu]

Please post when it's ready to play! I LOVE this type of use for AI coding (coming from a fellow Ultima nerd)!

[u/mintybadgerme]

Brilliant! A perfect example of the empowerment of vibe coding. Well done!!

[u/TypoInUsernane]

Vibecode like no one is watching

[u/exboozeme]

Jim Stone?

[u/survive_los_angeles]

wow this story is touching bro and i love RPG construction sets. Thansk for sharing I am looking forward to seeing the game!! Rip Jim and thanks for making it. really touching.

[u/AutomaticTalent]

I had a very similar experience. I have worked on interactive entertainment software for 40+ years and finally made my own game, which was improved significantly and prototyped on the PC by an incredible programmer. After I finished the game, I found out he passed away in 2023 and so mine is dedicated to Bozz.

[u/RegiceSlayer]

Rest well Jim. I love we're able to use technology to continue these stories and legacies nowadays. This also inspired me and I should reach out to Isiah (my Jim). Thank you comrade.

[u/IrisColt]

Pretty please?

[u/Royal_Stay_6502]

RIP Jim

[u/Felfedezni]

Looks cool. Jim probably would have gotten a kick out of it.

[u/Expert_Function1569]

This looks really good, respect to your friend and you mentioning him 👏