Some games have hacking or programming mini-games, and there are a couple of ones where programming is the game. But Screeps is the first game I’ve seen that requires knowledge and even expertise of JavaScript.
Launched last May, Screeps is a real-time strategy game where you grow a military colony using JavaScript (or a programming language that can be compiled to JavaScript). You start in one of the game’s rooms – a 50×50 cell connected to other rooms via one or more exits. You then spawn worker units called creeps, mine resources and eventually create more complex units. The game world procedurally generates more rooms as the player base increases.
The kicker here is that your units will continue to work even if you’re not logged in, so you’re encouraged to come up with efficient and sustainable instructions for your troops. But the same goes for all the other players’ units, which means you might be attacked while you’re away.
Here’s a match between two Screeps players:
Yeah I have zero understanding of what happened there. But if you did and you think this is your jam, head to Screeps to try out a live demo. When you’re ready to dive in, you can subscribe to the game on a monthly, quarterly or bi-annual basis starting at $9 (USD) per month. You might also want to check out Screeps scripts on GitHub so you know what you’re up against. I wonder if it’s possible to write the perfect program that will handle a colony from the beginning until it dominates the whole game.
[via Reddit]
