While functional programming is making huge inroads in areas like web development and distributed computing, there is one kind of software where its use is still rare: games. The vast majority of games today, from the small indie variety up to triple-A titles, are written in a mostly standard way, filled with mutable variables and large object hierarchies.
Zach walks you through writing games in a functional programming language that features:
- easier debugging
- game recording
- rewinding
- live-reloading
- making changes while playing
All in ClojureScript, a functional language that runs in web browsers, and play-cljs, a game library written for it.
This event was generously hosted by the College of Charleston's Computer Science Department.
- Oakes biography
- meetup details (Meetup)
Presentation Slides (as a game)
Source Code
Zach Oakes
Zach teaches Java and Clojure at The Iron Yard in Charleston, SC. He maintains a variety of Clojure and ClojureScript projects on Github, usually focusing on developer tools and games.
Projects:
- play-cljs - A ClojureScript game development framework
- Nightcode - A simple featurefilled IDE for Clojure and ClojureScript
- more projects on github
Presentations:
- Functional Game Development
- Making Games at Runtime with Clojure 2014 Clojure Conj Presentation with slides
- Introduction to Clojure 2014 Code & Supply Presentation with slides
Writings:
