The best Hacker News stories from Show from the past day
Latest posts:
Show HN: I got laid off from Meta and created a minor hit on Steam
I was at FB/Meta from late 2013 to early 2023, mostly working in the compiler/runtime spaces. I got hit in the spring 2023 layoff wave. I immediately started making games in my newfound free time (a lifelong interest, and I even worked in AA(A?) back ca. ~2000), and in October 2023 I stumbled upon the idea of a roguelike pachinko/plinko game inspired by Luck Be A Landlord. Things snowballed quickly, I started talking to publishers, then worked like crazy through all of 2024, almost the hardest I've ever worked in my career, and launched the game in December 2024. It's sold ~200,000 units in its first 10 weeks on Steam. So it's no Balatro, but I'd still say it did very well :) AMA?<p>(my game is Ballionaire: <a href="https://store.steampowered.com/news/app/2667120/view/526461473225965590" rel="nofollow">https://store.steampowered.com/news/app/2667120/view/5264614...</a>)
Show HN: I got laid off from Meta and created a minor hit on Steam
I was at FB/Meta from late 2013 to early 2023, mostly working in the compiler/runtime spaces. I got hit in the spring 2023 layoff wave. I immediately started making games in my newfound free time (a lifelong interest, and I even worked in AA(A?) back ca. ~2000), and in October 2023 I stumbled upon the idea of a roguelike pachinko/plinko game inspired by Luck Be A Landlord. Things snowballed quickly, I started talking to publishers, then worked like crazy through all of 2024, almost the hardest I've ever worked in my career, and launched the game in December 2024. It's sold ~200,000 units in its first 10 weeks on Steam. So it's no Balatro, but I'd still say it did very well :) AMA?<p>(my game is Ballionaire: <a href="https://store.steampowered.com/news/app/2667120/view/526461473225965590" rel="nofollow">https://store.steampowered.com/news/app/2667120/view/5264614...</a>)
Show HN: I got laid off from Meta and created a minor hit on Steam
I was at FB/Meta from late 2013 to early 2023, mostly working in the compiler/runtime spaces. I got hit in the spring 2023 layoff wave. I immediately started making games in my newfound free time (a lifelong interest, and I even worked in AA(A?) back ca. ~2000), and in October 2023 I stumbled upon the idea of a roguelike pachinko/plinko game inspired by Luck Be A Landlord. Things snowballed quickly, I started talking to publishers, then worked like crazy through all of 2024, almost the hardest I've ever worked in my career, and launched the game in December 2024. It's sold ~200,000 units in its first 10 weeks on Steam. So it's no Balatro, but I'd still say it did very well :) AMA?<p>(my game is Ballionaire: <a href="https://store.steampowered.com/news/app/2667120/view/526461473225965590" rel="nofollow">https://store.steampowered.com/news/app/2667120/view/5264614...</a>)
Show HN: I got laid off from Meta and created a minor hit on Steam
I was at FB/Meta from late 2013 to early 2023, mostly working in the compiler/runtime spaces. I got hit in the spring 2023 layoff wave. I immediately started making games in my newfound free time (a lifelong interest, and I even worked in AA(A?) back ca. ~2000), and in October 2023 I stumbled upon the idea of a roguelike pachinko/plinko game inspired by Luck Be A Landlord. Things snowballed quickly, I started talking to publishers, then worked like crazy through all of 2024, almost the hardest I've ever worked in my career, and launched the game in December 2024. It's sold ~200,000 units in its first 10 weeks on Steam. So it's no Balatro, but I'd still say it did very well :) AMA?<p>(my game is Ballionaire: <a href="https://store.steampowered.com/news/app/2667120/view/526461473225965590" rel="nofollow">https://store.steampowered.com/news/app/2667120/view/5264614...</a>)
Show HN: I got laid off from Meta and created a minor hit on Steam
I was at FB/Meta from late 2013 to early 2023, mostly working in the compiler/runtime spaces. I got hit in the spring 2023 layoff wave. I immediately started making games in my newfound free time (a lifelong interest, and I even worked in AA(A?) back ca. ~2000), and in October 2023 I stumbled upon the idea of a roguelike pachinko/plinko game inspired by Luck Be A Landlord. Things snowballed quickly, I started talking to publishers, then worked like crazy through all of 2024, almost the hardest I've ever worked in my career, and launched the game in December 2024. It's sold ~200,000 units in its first 10 weeks on Steam. So it's no Balatro, but I'd still say it did very well :) AMA?<p>(my game is Ballionaire: <a href="https://store.steampowered.com/news/app/2667120/view/526461473225965590" rel="nofollow">https://store.steampowered.com/news/app/2667120/view/5264614...</a>)
Show HN: Breakout with a roguelite/vampire survivor twist
Hi HN ! This is an open source project I've been working on for a while. It's actually the third breakout-like game I've built. I really like the simplicity of the concept, having just one input (the puck horizontal position) and a simple gameplay that gives a low skill floor.<p>My girlfriend and I played a lot of the excellent LBreakoutHD, an open source breakout game that follows the traditional formula of having multiple lives, scoring points by breaking bricks and catching the good upgrades that spawn randomly and fall down, while avoiding bad upgrades.<p>She liked this game because it is non-violent, and doesn't make her sick like the first person 3D games. There are some issues though, it gets boring to break the last bricks, it's a bit unfair or slow sometimes, and the run length is too long with 30 something levels to clear for a high score.<p>I wanted to make a clone that would be fix those issues. I first tried to introduce more strategy by making the upgrades visible from the start, instead of them appearing randomly. You'd then strategize what to break first to earn more points. That first version is playable (<a href="https://breakout-v1.lecaro.me/" rel="nofollow">https://breakout-v1.lecaro.me/</a>) but a bit too complex.<p>I then wanted to simplify the gameplay, but make the game multiplayer in split screen (<a href="https://breakout-v2.lecaro.me/" rel="nofollow">https://breakout-v2.lecaro.me/</a>). Instead of bonus and malus, each brick drops some coins, and you need to catch them with the puck. This worked pretty well. You can play with the keyboard (A/D and LEFT/RIGHT keys) or mouse or both. The bomb explosions will blow coins around, including the coins of other players, and if you lose your ball, then a gap opens between your screen and the guy next to you, to give him a chance to lend you his ball. You can play using your phone as a controller by scanning the QR code, but make sure everyone is on the same Wi-Fi and that the the firewalls are down.<p>For my last version (<a href="https://breakout.lecaro.me/" rel="nofollow">https://breakout.lecaro.me/</a>) is focused on the game feel and juice. It is about breaking bricks and catching coins, like the v2, but you can now pick upgrades at the end of each level. Your score unlocks more upgrades and levels that are added to the pool for the next runs. There are currently 31 upgrades and 91 levels to unlock.<p>Please have a try and tell me what you think. The game should run well on Firefox, safari and chrome on mobile and pc. It is available in F-Droid and on the play store, The source code is on GitLab. All links are in the game menu.
Show HN: Breakout with a roguelite/vampire survivor twist
Hi HN ! This is an open source project I've been working on for a while. It's actually the third breakout-like game I've built. I really like the simplicity of the concept, having just one input (the puck horizontal position) and a simple gameplay that gives a low skill floor.<p>My girlfriend and I played a lot of the excellent LBreakoutHD, an open source breakout game that follows the traditional formula of having multiple lives, scoring points by breaking bricks and catching the good upgrades that spawn randomly and fall down, while avoiding bad upgrades.<p>She liked this game because it is non-violent, and doesn't make her sick like the first person 3D games. There are some issues though, it gets boring to break the last bricks, it's a bit unfair or slow sometimes, and the run length is too long with 30 something levels to clear for a high score.<p>I wanted to make a clone that would be fix those issues. I first tried to introduce more strategy by making the upgrades visible from the start, instead of them appearing randomly. You'd then strategize what to break first to earn more points. That first version is playable (<a href="https://breakout-v1.lecaro.me/" rel="nofollow">https://breakout-v1.lecaro.me/</a>) but a bit too complex.<p>I then wanted to simplify the gameplay, but make the game multiplayer in split screen (<a href="https://breakout-v2.lecaro.me/" rel="nofollow">https://breakout-v2.lecaro.me/</a>). Instead of bonus and malus, each brick drops some coins, and you need to catch them with the puck. This worked pretty well. You can play with the keyboard (A/D and LEFT/RIGHT keys) or mouse or both. The bomb explosions will blow coins around, including the coins of other players, and if you lose your ball, then a gap opens between your screen and the guy next to you, to give him a chance to lend you his ball. You can play using your phone as a controller by scanning the QR code, but make sure everyone is on the same Wi-Fi and that the the firewalls are down.<p>For my last version (<a href="https://breakout.lecaro.me/" rel="nofollow">https://breakout.lecaro.me/</a>) is focused on the game feel and juice. It is about breaking bricks and catching coins, like the v2, but you can now pick upgrades at the end of each level. Your score unlocks more upgrades and levels that are added to the pool for the next runs. There are currently 31 upgrades and 91 levels to unlock.<p>Please have a try and tell me what you think. The game should run well on Firefox, safari and chrome on mobile and pc. It is available in F-Droid and on the play store, The source code is on GitLab. All links are in the game menu.
Show HN: GoatDB – A lightweight, offline-first, realtime NoDB for Deno and React
Hey HN,<p>We've been experimenting with a real-time, version-controlled NoDB for Deno & React called GoatDB. The idea is to remove backend complexity while keeping apps fast, offline-resilient, and easy to self-host.<p>Runs on the client – No backend required, incremental queries keep things efficient.
Self-hosted & lightweight – Deploy a single executable, no server stack needed.
Offline-first & resilient – Clients work independently & can restore state after server outages.
Edge-native & fast – Real-time sync happens locally with minimal overhead.<p>Why We Built It:
We needed something that’s simpler than Firebase, lighter than SQLite, and easier to self-host. GoatDB is great for realtime collaboration, offline, prototyping, single-tenant apps, or ultra-low-cost multi-tenant setups—without backend hassles.<p>Would love feedback from HN:<p>* Are there specific features or improvements that would make it more useful?<p>* How do you handle similar problems today, and what’s missing in existing solutions?<p>If you're interested in experimenting or contributing, the repo is here:
GitHub Repo: <a href="https://github.com/goatplatform/todo">https://github.com/goatplatform/todo</a><p>Looking forward to your thoughts!
Show HN: MyCoder, an open source Claude-Code alternative
Show HN: My new wiki for Silicon Graphics stuff
I also run IRIXNet. I'm here to share my newest SGI-related project.
Show HN: While the world builds AI Agents, I'm just building calculators
I figured I needed to work on my coding skills before building the next groundbreaking AI app, so I started working on this free tool site. Its basically just an aggregation of various commonly used calculators and unit convertors.<p>Link: <a href="https://www.calcverse.live" rel="nofollow">https://www.calcverse.live</a><p>Tech Stack: Next, React, Typescript, shadcn UI, Tailwind CSS<p>Would greatly appreciate your feedback on the UI/UX and accessibilty. I struggled the most with navigation. I've added a search box, a sidebar, breadcrumbs and pages with grids of cards leading to the respective calculator or unit convertor, but not sure if this is good enough.
Show HN: While the world builds AI Agents, I'm just building calculators
I figured I needed to work on my coding skills before building the next groundbreaking AI app, so I started working on this free tool site. Its basically just an aggregation of various commonly used calculators and unit convertors.<p>Link: <a href="https://www.calcverse.live" rel="nofollow">https://www.calcverse.live</a><p>Tech Stack: Next, React, Typescript, shadcn UI, Tailwind CSS<p>Would greatly appreciate your feedback on the UI/UX and accessibilty. I struggled the most with navigation. I've added a search box, a sidebar, breadcrumbs and pages with grids of cards leading to the respective calculator or unit convertor, but not sure if this is good enough.
Show HN: Electro – A hyper-fast Windows image viewer with a built-in terminal
This is my first major OSS release! I was always so frustrated by how slow image viewers were on Windows so I built one from the ground up with Rust & Tauri v2.0!<p>Electro also has a very unique feature: a built-in terminal. I was always mesmerised by merging CLI tools with GUI based systems and this is my first go at it!<p>I have big plans on expanding the terminal functionality with built-in image editing commands, command chaining, file handling etc.
Show HN: Bracket City – A daily, exploded (?) crossword puzzle
Hi hn - I co-own a diner where I co-host a puzzle night that is kind of like a diner-themed escape room. At the last one, I made a puzzle that was crossword-like clues nested in brackets. People at the diner seemed to like it, so I resolved to make it a real game and Bracket City was born: <a href="https://bracket.city" rel="nofollow">https://bracket.city</a>.<p>I love crosswords, so it's been fun to write crossword-like clues:<p><pre><code> [it contains MSG]
</code></pre>
as well as clues that would not make it into a crossword:<p><pre><code> [___ <=== you ===> hard place]
</code></pre>
I write all the puzzles and post a new one at midnight ET every day of the week.<p>Still working on a lot of features/fixes. I'm aware that scoring based on keystrokes is pretty unfair, especially given not-ideal custom keyboard on mobile! Still thinking through the best solution there.<p>Also fun fact: if you sign up for the email list, you get a special "Word of the Day" email written by James Somers (of <a href="https://jsomers.net" rel="nofollow">https://jsomers.net</a>). The only way to sign up for the email list is to finish a puzzle!<p>**<p>(answer key: NYC, ROCK)
Show HN: Bracket City – A daily, exploded (?) crossword puzzle
Hi hn - I co-own a diner where I co-host a puzzle night that is kind of like a diner-themed escape room. At the last one, I made a puzzle that was crossword-like clues nested in brackets. People at the diner seemed to like it, so I resolved to make it a real game and Bracket City was born: <a href="https://bracket.city" rel="nofollow">https://bracket.city</a>.<p>I love crosswords, so it's been fun to write crossword-like clues:<p><pre><code> [it contains MSG]
</code></pre>
as well as clues that would not make it into a crossword:<p><pre><code> [___ <=== you ===> hard place]
</code></pre>
I write all the puzzles and post a new one at midnight ET every day of the week.<p>Still working on a lot of features/fixes. I'm aware that scoring based on keystrokes is pretty unfair, especially given not-ideal custom keyboard on mobile! Still thinking through the best solution there.<p>Also fun fact: if you sign up for the email list, you get a special "Word of the Day" email written by James Somers (of <a href="https://jsomers.net" rel="nofollow">https://jsomers.net</a>). The only way to sign up for the email list is to finish a puzzle!<p>**<p>(answer key: NYC, ROCK)
Show HN: I scrape Steam data every month and it's yours to download for free
Yeah, there's AI, but I added it because I found it easier to find answers I'm looking for. For the data scientists, you can download the CSV and go crazy. Would love to know what discoveries or learnings can be found from it.<p>To download the raw scraped data you need to become a paid member but you don't really need it unless you're wanting to finesse a table of data for a particular need. The cost is mostly just an incentive to help me pay the bills for running the website.<p>The bunch of available CSV files contain large amounts of data which has everything from tags, genres, pricing, wishlists, estimated revenue, etc. It's what the AI is reading from.<p>Hope you find it useful :-)
Show HN: I scrape Steam data every month and it's yours to download for free
Yeah, there's AI, but I added it because I found it easier to find answers I'm looking for. For the data scientists, you can download the CSV and go crazy. Would love to know what discoveries or learnings can be found from it.<p>To download the raw scraped data you need to become a paid member but you don't really need it unless you're wanting to finesse a table of data for a particular need. The cost is mostly just an incentive to help me pay the bills for running the website.<p>The bunch of available CSV files contain large amounts of data which has everything from tags, genres, pricing, wishlists, estimated revenue, etc. It's what the AI is reading from.<p>Hope you find it useful :-)
Show HN: I made a site to tell the time in corporate
Show HN: I made a site to tell the time in corporate
Show HN: I made a site to tell the time in corporate