I wrapped up the fifth module of Learn 2D Gamedev From Zero, which despite its name (“Loot It All”) was focused on collisions, some rudimentary physics interactions (collision layers and masking), and tweening.

I’ve never been diagnosed with any type of ADHD, but I definitely get inspired and feel pulled when doing tutorials, and sometimes that will drag my progress out. Task lists keep me on track, and I like that there’s a very specific progression in this course.

I’ve been making my way through the 2D GDQuest Module 5, which is involving collisions and physics. Neat! So that got me thinking, what about dragging cards? Turns out there’s a lot of ways to do this. I went down a YouTube rabbithole comparing many techniques, and I wasn’t finding a lot of consensus.

I happened upon Drag and Drop Systems in Godot by Snoeyz, which compares three different techniques: native drag and drop, button-based drag and drop, and mouse event-based drag and drop. The author preferred their mouse event-based solution over native, but that may also be biased. The true takeaway:

Yesterday, I restarted working my way through the GDQuest Learn 2D Gamedev from Zero with Godot 4.

One of the lessons talked about approaching this with a learning mindset, and included suggestions like a learning plan and a Pomodoro timer.

I interpreted the learning plan as the need to document my journey; this was something I had been planning on doing anyway, but this was an explicit push.

I had originally called this a blog; that’s from muscle memory, reflecting my emerging experiences on the Internet. More accurately, this is a dev diary, and I’ve named it as such. Names are important; they set clear expectations.

Hi there, my name is Jon Peck. I’m a software engineer, author, educator, and musician. I also love video games.

I’m formally starting my journey into game development, and I’ll reflect, share, and discuss my progress. By publishing this in public, I’m holding myself accountable, and I hope my experiences can help others.

This first entry is a bit long, but I’m looking to give context.

Over the past couple of decades, my professional career has been focused on custom software development. I worked my way up from IT and customer success positions through college, into coding as my primary responsibility.