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Farmhand and the case for open source games

Farmhand and the case for open source games

For as long as I can remember, I've always hide a hobby side project. For a long time I focused on open source animation tools, but more recently I've shifted my focus back to my true passion: Game development.

I've taken what I've learned as an open source web developer and applied it to an idea that I've been interested in for years.


  1. Overview of Farmhand
    • Farmhand is an open source farming game built with web technologies
    • It's been in development for over a year
    • It is being built with almost entirely open source tools
  2. Where the idea came from
    • Inspired by Drug Wars on the TI-83 and Harvest Moon/Stardew Valley
    • I wanted to combine the arbitrage/stock market mechanics of Drug Wars and the agricultural mechanics of HM/SV
  3. Goals of the project
    • To make the game that I want to play in the most accessible format
    • To develop my programming and design skills
    • To empower users to modify the game to their liking and ultimately make an even more fun game
    • To learn how to ship an app to mobile app stores and monetize it
    • To scratch a longtime creative itch
  4. Tech overview and points of interest
  5. Development methodology
    • Optimizing for a mix of efficiency and stability:
  6. Why is open source right for this project?
    • Open source can work just as well for games as it can for "regular" software.
    • Open source !== free
    • Examples of open source games:
    • Empower fans of the game:
      • Open the door for mods and enhancements
      • Enable players to come up with optimal strategies
      • Help players learn to code
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