Affluenza

 After the relative success of S(k)in Condition and 20+ listens, the next message to get the song conversion was Affluenza; a reflection on Amos 6 and the warning that affluence can be a distraction.

It was another good 5 hours with the refinement of the lyrics, working on each stanza to tighten up the pacing, the theology, and a lot more leonine rhymes to get a flow going through the lyrics. Once again it felt like time well spent not only touching back with the sermon message, but a creative experience playing around with the writing style and imagining the sung version. The first few versions produced by Suno were Ok, but it also gives a 1-minute snippet of what the latest and greatest model can do as a tempter to pay instead of relying on the free tier. It worked. Hopefully I can build out another dozen sermons in the month to make it a personalized play list for ~$17 (and yes, ironic that I just splashed money for such a self-centred project that discusses how our affluence can detract from the real goal. I'm a sinner too).

Lyrics to Affluenza: 

[Intro]
Let’s play a game...
Where do you think we are?

[Verse 1]
A whole generation that hasn't seen war,
With natural riches from mountain to shore.
We’re selling our surplus for all that is new,
With plenty for many and more for the few.
You'd bet on a city where modern winds blow,
But it’s near Samaria, a long time ago.

[Chorus]
A sickness of affluence, blinded by gold,
It’s Affluenza, the greed taking hold.
We’re building our kingdom on shifting white sand,
When gifts of salvation slip out of our hand.

[Verse 2]
Old Amos is standing in Jeroboam’s gate,
To warn of the cracks in the walls of the state.
We’re counting the silver and piling it deep,
While the promises made are the ones we don't keep.
We’re feasting on lambs and ignoring the stain,
While the heart of the country is down in the drain.

[Chorus]
A sickness of affluence, blinded by gold,
It’s Affluenza, the greed taking hold.
We’re building our kingdom on shifting white sand,
When gifts of salvation slip out of our hand.

[Instrumental]

[Verse 3]
Now we’ve got the house and the big-screen display,
Watching the world as it's falling away.
We’re boasting of status and hoarding the gold,
While buying the story that we’ve already sold.
Our soul in a fever that’s burning for more,
Forgetting the King who is right at the door.

[Bridge]
You’re playing with baubles and toys in the sand,
Ignoring the Kingdom that’s right here at hand.
Why gain the whole world just to lose your own soul?
Let the light of His mercy return you to whole.

So take this condition, the greed and the stain,
And mould me to love with Your heart once again.

[Final Chorus]
A sickness of affluence, blinded by gold,
It’s Affluenza, the greed taking hold.
We’re building our kingdom on shifting white sand,
When gifts of salvation slip out of our hand.

[Outro]
Change my heart oh God …
Make it ever true …
Change my heart oh God …
May I be like You.

S(k)in Condition

Recently I've been thinking about songs and memory. I admit my memory has always been poor, but recently it seems to be getting worse. That is, apart from songs. I can hear a song from the 90's and sing along just fine! Within a few listens of a new song for church I can sing it off by heart. 

I have looked into this phenomenon before, and it's even been part of the Lutheran tradition that the liturgy is sung to aid in memorization. What I want to do is unlock the power of memory by putting some of my old sermons to verse and run it through AI songmakers such as Suno so that I can sing along and remember the message. 

The first in the experiment is S(k)in Condition, a reflection on the healing of 10 lepers from Luke 17:11-19. I took the original message and converted to lyrics, then plugged into Suno to see what was possible. Pretty impressed right off the bat, and there was enough credits to try a few different song styles and variations. Eventually came back to female voice in lo-fi EDM format to suit the song and listening style I wanted.  The next step was to really go through the lyrics in detail, making them more rhythmic, more theologically appropriate and less clunky. This probably took about 5 hours and ~50 variations, but the journey was worth it and felt invigorated digging into the content and meaning of the song again. 

Here's the final lyrics for S(k)in Condition:

[Verse 1]
High school queen with a confident stride,
With nothing to fear and nothing to hide.
But the bathroom mirror starts a brand new war,
A glowing red blemish never seen before.
It’s a skin condition, a neon display,
The only thing people will notice all day.

[Chorus]
Wash it away, let the spirit come in,
More than the skin, it’s the condition of sin.
Beyond every blemish that wants to be seen,
The touch of the Master is making us clean.

[Verse 2]
With a skin condition from a sickness within,
Ten lepers wait where the outskirts begin.
"Unclean" they cry as the Master goes by,
Begging for pity from a world gone dry.
Healing was given, but nine wouldn't turn,
Missing the truth that a heart needs to learn.

[Chorus]
Wash it away, let the spirit come in,
More than the skin, it’s the condition of sin.
Beyond every blemish that wants to be seen,
The touch of the Master is making us clean.

[Verse 3]
It’s more than a blemish, it’s a deep-seated stain,
A world full of people down the spiritual drain.
From vanity posts and arrogant boasts,
It’s the pride deep inside, keeping hearts from their hosts.
It’s a sin condition, at the root of the soul,
Losing our reflection, and our heavenly goal.

[Bridge]
He took on the blemish, He took on the scar,
To reach every soul, no matter how far.
Not for the righteous, but the broken and low,
His mercy washes white as snow.

[Final Chorus]
Wash it away, let the spirit come in,
More than the skin, it’s the condition of sin.
Beyond every blemish that wants to be seen,
The touch of the Master is making us clean.

[Outro]
One came back...
Praising the Lord …
For more than his skin.

Thanks to Pr Heath Pukullus for the original sermon and LCA for prepping it for lay reading.

Where'd the posts go?

 As we close to the end of another year, I'm surprised that I haven't posted much here as the AI journey continues on.  Through AI.nstein I made some progress in mapping out AI possibilities and building a consulting arm, but didn't really take off. Shalom needed a new IT Manager, and it felt like I was the ideal candidate for the task at hand (to migrate almost all services over to a centralized system instituted by the Diocese). Fast-forward a year-and-a-half and here we are, reflecting on good 2025. 

I'm surprised how little I use AI at work, less than 10%. There's still a mighty shift coming, but the day-to-day minutiae and processes aren't really amenable to AI just yet, although I did manager to build out an entire app to handle power pack loans. 

Where AI has flourished is at home building out small little projects that have tickled the back of my mind or had previous prototypes done. With the help of predominantly Firebase Studio, I have built out enhanced prototypes of:

• Factor Friends: Quick prototype of a known game, built in under 2 hours.
• Adaptive Grids: A few attempts at getting the random terrain generation working using Temporal ROAM and adaptive grids. I'll definitely come back to this one.
• SudoCraft: A Sudoku puzzle maker. Allows "unsolving" and validating partial puzzles. Working enough for a proof of concept but needs fleshing out. 
• Dueling Coasters Sim: a non-web-app simulation of my Dueling Coasters boardgame (should do a full post on that later).
• First the worst: Quick web variant. Didn't work as good as hoped, so made a TTS Mod of First the Worst instead
• Drover's Run: A boardgame on droving cattle in the queensland outback destined for the TGDA aussie-made award. After a single paper prototype, it was easier to build out a complete web app rather than attempting to get the fiddly bits into Tabletop Simulator. 
• Dwarven Abbey: a game/concept where you get to explore the world through wiki-like articles, then choose to expand the world by choosing between 2 generated texts. Another needing a full rundown. 
• TournamentCompare: I'm using the previous work on TounamentCompare to build a series of YouTube videos about creating web apps with Firebase Studio. Hopefully want it to build a GUI to help visualize and snap together matches and rounds to create varying tournament formats to compare. More to come ...
• SimpleQuorum: A quick app to test the viability of building production-level voting for small non-profit orgs.
• Tidal Sweep: a simple minesweeper logic puzzle about fishing. When you're close to a fish you get "nibbles", the bigger the fish, the bigger the nibble. Got to click right on the mouth to catch. I designed it on the way up to Mackay and built out the first prototype in Excel (it was open on my work laptop and didn't have internet while driving).  Prototype 2 was in Firebase studio and is currently releasing now (just waiting for google TXT records to verify). Game is logically complete but will need a few more UI passes before going mainstream. 

The rate of app development is getting way quicker now, and we're living in a golden age where good ideas can be converted into apps without much effort. As an example Tidal Sweep, the most recent app, is only sitting at ~2 hours of dev time from project spec to first playable prototype (1.5 hours of that was on the project spec, which is definitely worth getting solid first up), then another 5 hours enhancing as we all played it over the weekend. The last hour was really just fiddling around with minor UI fixes to get ready for a more widespread release. I'd expect I'd have to spend 60-90 hours to get the 6,200 lines of code done. 

... And there's still more apps to come. 

The Evolution of Alphabattle: A Journey Through Strategic Game Development

In the fascinating world of game development, the creation of a new game often involves a blend of strategic thinking, coding expertise, and a dash of creativity. Recently, I embarked on an intriguing journey to develop a game called "Alphabattle," a text-based strategy game where players compete using armies represented by sequences of letters. This blog post chronicles my experience from the initial concept to the implementation of an evolutionary tournament system.

The Birth of Alphabattle

Alphabattle's concept is simple yet captivating. Each player's army consists of 10 units, each represented by a letter. These units, like Infantry (I), Archers (A), Horsemen (H), and others, have specific strengths and weaknesses. The challenge was to design a game that is easy to understand but rich in strategic depth.

Key Features:

Simple Interface: The game features a straightforward interface, making it accessible to a wide range of players.

Unique Units: Each unit type, symbolized by a letter, has distinct abilities and counters.

Strategic Depth: Players must carefully arrange their units to outmaneuver their opponents.

Rapid Game Development and Platform Selection

Given the game's simplicity, I chose a web-based platform for its development, utilizing HTML, CSS, and JavaScript. This choice allowed for rapid development and easy access for players across different devices.

Implementing a Challenge Leaderboard

To add a competitive edge, I integrated a challenge leaderboard into Alphabattle. This feature incentivizes players to compete and improve their strategic skills, creating an engaging and dynamic gaming experience.

Evolving the Game: Tournament Play and Team Progression

The most significant development in Alphabattle was the introduction of tournament play and the progression of top teams. After each tournament, the top 50 teams advance, ensuring that successful strategies are carried forward and pitted against new challengers.

Genetic Mutations and Custom Teams:

Mutations: To maintain diversity, I introduced genetic mutations to the game, where top-performing teams are modified in various ways (like rotation, swapping, or merging) for subsequent tournaments.

Custom Team Addition: Players can now add their custom-designed teams to the tournament, further enriching the strategic diversity of the game.

Technical Challenges and Innovations

Throughout the development process, I encountered and overcame various challenges:

Ensuring Valid Team Compositions: A crucial aspect was to ensure that each team adhered to the game's rules (like having one King and one Guard). This required careful coding and validation.

Debugging and Evolution: Debugging played a significant role, especially when implementing the mutations. It was fascinating to see how small changes could significantly impact the game's dynamics.

Conclusion

Developing Alphabattle has been a journey of innovation, challenge, and creativity. From its humble beginnings as a simple text-based game to its evolution into a strategically complex tournament with evolving teams, Alphabattle stands as a testament to the joys and challenges of game development. As players engage in this ever-evolving battle of wits, Alphabattle continues to grow, adapt, and surprise, offering a unique experience to strategy enthusiasts.

ChatGPT session summary

Enhancing Visual Clarity in Card Chess: Today's Development Focus

In today's development session for Card Chess, we focused on enhancing the visual representation of card stacks and differentiating terrain cards for a clearer and more intuitive gameplay experience. By implementing a slight offset in the rendering of card stacks, players can now easily discern multiple cards in a stack. Additionally, we muted the terrain cards to make is clearer what is playable, while remaining close to the original look and feel of using proper playing cards. These improvements aim to balance aesthetic appeal with functional clarity, elevating both the game's visual quality and playability.

Code Knight

The dawn of Custom GPTs

 As OpenAI's app store approaches, it's time to take stock of the Custom GPTs written in the past few months:

Luther 1521

I am writing as Martin Luther on this day in 1521. Check in daily and journey through the year the reformation was born and the most intense year of Luther's life.

One of the first CustomGPTs I created and one I consistently come back to. Now that the year has reset it feels like it's worth recording each day somewhere as the Diet of Worms approaches. It's not only been an interesting read, but has made me dig more into the history and times of the reformation. 

Rating: Moderate.

  Churchill 1940

I write as Winston Churchill on this day in 1940. Check in daily for a journey through a critical part of World War II, England as a nation, and Winston's challenge for Prime Minister.

Another year-in-the-life-of GPT made after enjoying Luther so much. 1940 is a really interesting year for the war, for Britain and for Churchill himself. The bleakness of the Blitz jars against common sentiment of the war living on the other side and on the winning team. Now that the year has reset, it's  going to be interesting going through the Battle of Britain, Churchill's sudden charge at Prime Minister and the day-to-day throes of war.   

Rating: Moderate-high

Solution Sage

Hints without the spoilers

I have been contemplating doing a hintbook style YouTube series where the watcher is encouraged to pause the clip after each hint so that they have the joy of figuring out most of the puzzle. This GPT is in the same vein, but has morphed a little into a sage-like response. Still feels like it needs a few more tweaks to make it even less spoilery.

Rating: Moderate

AInstein

Hi, I'm personality upload of Albert Einstein. Relatively speaking...

I've liked the name AInstein for a while, and a CustomGPT was a good way of using it. This AI is lke running into Albert on campus and discussing the day's events. There's a whole heap of other famous scientists uploaded to the Virtual University, so hearing stories of their interactions is quite interesting. It hasn't gotten as much use as the others after a few days

Rating: Low

Talkie Toaster

Howdy Doodly Doo!

Ahh so you're a waffle man! One weekend we had waffles, which led to regaling the exploits of Talkie Toaster from Red Dwarf to the kids. This one is surprisingly good at mixing in the puns. Longer legs than most of the others and keeps coming up in conversation. 

Rating: Moderate

Code Knight

Card Chess coding companion.

This has been my coding companion since the Custom GPTs came out. It's much easier to upload the entire game as it's small enough to fit into memory. Struggled earlier on to get it to have all the code ready to go rather than analysing it (which it still does sometimes), but the hallucination outside of the coding standards used have dropped dramatically and it's been quite effective. In use far more than any other Custom GPT, but only as a personal assistant and likely never to be release publically.

Jobber

Personalized, professional job application support.

This is a new Custom GPT to help me apply for jobs. I place a lot of emphasis on the cover letter to bring out the varied experiences I've had and how they would apply to a specific job (far more than the resume' would), so this one helps by analysing previous cover letters to see if a posted job is something I'm likely to be a strong candidate for. It also helps review cover letters for potential weaknesses so that additional effort can be made to shore up those parts of the application. As with most interactions with ChatGPT on a new subject, I like to get it look for weaknesses in the concept first as it tends to be a bit of a yes-man. It's actually pretty good at providing unbiased feedback when requested.

Card Chess Game Development: Expanding Strategic Horizons with Terrain Variety

In the fascinating world of game development, each day brings new opportunities to enhance player experience and add layers of strategic depth. Since our last update, we've taken significant strides in the development of the Card Chess game, particularly focusing on the implementation of diverse terrain types. Here's a glimpse into the progress we've made:

Introducing Terrain Diversity

Our primary objective was to enrich the strategic gameplay of Card Chess by incorporating various terrain types. This not only adds visual appeal but also introduces new tactical considerations for players. We implemented three distinct terrain types: Random, Chequerboard, and Balanced Random.

Random Terrain: In this setup, terrain cards (2s, 3s, and 5s) are randomly distributed across the designated terrain area, introducing an element of unpredictability to each game.

Chequerboard Terrain: We created a method to arrange the terrain cards in a chequerboard pattern, alternating between red and black suits. This layout offers a visually pleasing and strategically challenging terrain.

Balanced Random Terrain: A unique approach where each set of ranks (2s, 3s, and 5s) is shuffled independently and placed in a predefined 235532 pattern. This maintains a balance in rank distribution while still incorporating randomness.

UI Enhancements for Terrain Selection

To complement these new terrain types, we updated the game’s user interface. A dropdown menu was added to the opening screen, allowing players to select their preferred terrain type before starting a game. This feature not only improves the game's usability but also empowers players with more control over their game setup.

Code Refinement and Testing

A significant portion of our work involved refining the code to support these new features. We utilized constants for terrain rows to enhance code readability and maintainability. Thorough testing was conducted for each terrain type to ensure correct implementation and integration with the game’s existing rules and mechanics.

Looking Ahead

As we continue to develop Card Chess, our focus remains on creating an engaging and strategically rich experience for players. The introduction of diverse terrain types marks a significant milestone in this journey, opening up new tactical possibilities and game dynamics.

Stay tuned for more updates as we continue to evolve and enhance the Card Chess game!

Code Knight

Card Chess - Code Knight daily review

In the dynamic world of game development, creating an immersive and enjoyable user experience is paramount. Today's focus was a deep dive into enhancing a game known as Card Chess - a strategy game combining elements of chess with the randomness of cards. Our journey through various aspects of game development using C# and Myra, a UI library for MonoGame, offered insightful glimpses into the intricacies of building a captivating game.

Elevating the Endgame: The Win/Lose Screen

A crucial part of any game is its conclusion - the moment of triumph or defeat. We embarked on creating a win/lose screen that not only announces the game's outcome but does so while showcasing the final state of the board. The challenge was to overlay this information elegantly. By employing a semi-transparent screen, we managed to display the game's result while allowing players to view the endgame board state, enhancing the player's connection to the game's conclusion.

State of Play: Refining Game States

Next, we delved into the game's heartbeat - its state management. The GameState enum in CardChessGame.cs was fine-tuned to include specific states reflecting various game outcomes. This addition paved the way for more nuanced control over the game's flow, allowing for a more refined gaming experience.

User Interface: A Touch of Finesse

A significant portion of the day was spent enhancing the game's user interface. We replicated the CreateOpeningMenu method to craft a results menu, complete with a "Play Again" button - a feature allowing players to jump right back into action. To ensure clarity in communication, we added a label displaying the game's outcome, making use of the EndGameState. Attention to detail was key as we meticulously adjusted the positioning and padding of UI elements for optimal layout and readability.

Terrain Choices: Enhancing Strategic Depth

In a strategic twist, we introduced a terrain selection feature in the opening menu. A dropdown list, or ComboBox, was implemented, offering players the choice between different terrain types like "None", "Random", and "Chequerboard". This feature not only added a layer of depth to the game's strategy but also showcased how UI elements could be dynamically populated using enums for a streamlined codebase.

Behind the Scenes: Game and Board Logic

A significant discussion point was where to store the terrainType variable - in the game class or the board class. This decision hinged on the architectural and functional implications within the game. We also refactored the ResetGame() method to incorporate terrain type, illustrating the importance of adaptable and maintainable code.

Localization: Crossing Language Barriers

Finally, we touched upon the topic of localization. Using enums to populate UI elements like a ComboBox poses a unique challenge in a multilingual setting. We explored the use of resource files for localized strings, ensuring that the game remains accessible and enjoyable to a diverse audience.

Conclusion

Today's journey through game development highlighted the delicate balance between technical prowess and creative vision. Each line of code, each UI adjustment, and each gameplay tweak brought us closer to a game that not only challenges the mind but also delights the senses. As we wrapped up the day, it was clear that the art of game development is a continuous pursuit of perfection, where every detail contributes to an unforgettable player experience.

Code Knight

CardChess V006

 ChatGPT Summary

Over the past week, our discussions have mainly revolved around the implementation and debugging of a game simulation involving cards, players, and boards. Here's a quick summary

Game Implementation & Cloning

We explored designing classes like Card, Player, and Board and implemented cloning mechanisms to create deep copies of these objects, ensuring the original game state remains unchanged during simulations.

Minimax Algorithm & Simulating Moves

We implemented a version of the Minimax algorithm for determining the best move for a computer player in the game.
We introduced SimGameState to simulate game states for exploring possible future moves without affecting the actual game state.
Developed methods like ApplyMove and ApplySimMove to allow a move to be made in the simulated game state.
Introduced SimMove to handle moves within SimGameState, and methods to convert back and forth between Move and SimMove.

Scoring and Move Evaluation

Explored the logic of scoring and evaluating moves and developed methods like RankMoveForBoard and GetPlayerScore to estimate the value of a move or a board state within the Minimax algorithm.
Iterated on RankMoveForBoard and GetPlayerScore to consider various game scenarios and card states (like covered cards or cards covering an opponent's card).

Debugging and Refining Logic

Throughout our discussions, we worked through various logic and implementation challenges, ensuring that cloned and original objects are managed properly, and that moves in simulated game states are accurately represented and do not affect the actual game state.
Addressed specific issues like making sure that moves are valid, players' states are updated appropriately, and that the Minimax algorithm explores possible moves in a logical and efficient manner.

Future Steps

Potential next steps might involve further refining move evaluation logic, optimizing the Minimax algorithm, addressing any remaining bugs or logical inconsistencies, and potentially exploring additional features or variations of the game.

CardChess v0.05

Soo... I've been quietly developing CardChess as an experiment in using ChatGPT and AI-powered coding techniques. So far there has definitely been an improvement over doing it myself (mainly due to my lack of knowledge with MonoGame and the finer details of C#). It's also much more fun and collaborative using it more as a pair programmer experience. 

I've recently also cleaned up the opening menu with the Leonardo.ai generated art to the left (Stable diffusion skinned system)

Below is ChatGPT's summary of the project so far..

 ChatGPT Summary: 

As of your last update, the CardChess project is in the process of implementing computer-controlled players. The game can be played between two human players, and the basic structure and rules of the game have been implemented. Here are some of the key aspects that have been worked on:

• Game Concept: The game concept, including the rules, the board setup, the movement of the cards, and the win conditions, has been defined.
• Board Setup: The board is set up with a 6x6 grid, and the initial positions of the cards for both players have been implemented.
• Card Movement: The movement of the cards, including the rules for valid moves and attacking, have been implemented. The Move class has been created to handle the movement of the cards, and the PlayableCard class has StartMove and FinishMove methods to handle the start and finish of a move.
• Win Conditions: The win condition, which is covering both kings of the opponent, has been implemented.
• Game States: Different game states, such as the opening menu, human turn, computer turn, and game over, have been implemented.
• UI: The opening menu has been implemented, including the play button and the background. The game state is also being exported to a JSON file for future analysis and AI learning.
• Computer Player: The framework for a computer opponent has been started, including the GetMove method to get a move from the computer player, and the ExecuteMove method to execute the move. The Player class has a GetMove method that can be overridden by the ComputerPlayer class. Currently the computer opponent only uses random moves.
• Animation: Implemented the animation for the movement of the cards.

Pending tasks include:

• Computer AI: Developing multiple AI opponents.
• Testing and Debugging: Thorough testing and debugging of the game to ensure that it runs smoothly and without errors.
• UI Enhancement: Enhancing the user interface, including the opening menu with opponent selection, clean up the game board, and the game over screen.
• Game Analysis and AI Learning: Implementing the game analysis and AI learning features using the exported game state.