Tiny Brutalism
placeholders.itch.ioHey hackers, dev here!
So happy to see you found Tiny Brutalism! But can someone explain to me what this place actually is? Haha, I’m new here
Hi Mati, welcome! Hacker News is a website for software developers to share links to topics that interest them. It has a lot of people in the software startup scene, founders, product people, and so forth. I don't know why your project specifically was shared, but it's probably because the submitter thought it was cool!
When people see a submission they like, they can upvote it, like Reddit. Right now, your project is on the front page, which means a lot of people liked it. Cheers!
You can think of it as Reddit for nerds basically. Started by investment fund Y Combinator, so most of the talk is latest tech shit and startup talk, with posts like this mixed in.
"Latest tech shit with the occasional gem" (like this post) is a deeply accurate, if not slightly depressing, description of HN.
Hacker News (news.ycombinator.com) started as a link aggregator/message board for the startup incubator Y Combinator [0]. Essentially a place to share projects, share tech news and other internet sites that appeal to the tech startup community of San Fransisco, though the appeal is much broader (I'm in upstate NY).
I guess it's a bit hard to explain, but there's a cluster of points of interest that appeal to the stereotypical user on hacker news, of which generative art (and potentially a "wave function collapse"-like algorithm that you may or may not be using), architecture, brutalism and indie gamedev are part of that list.
I suspected your project resonates with a lot of people's interest who frequent the site, which is why I submitted it here (anyone can submit, I just happened to be the one that did it first).
Is this related at all to Tiny Glade? Seems like a very similar concept, but shifted to a gritter, darker aesthetic (which is very cool)...the name must at least be a nod to it?
Yes! That was exactly my initial thought - take Tiny Glade (or any cozy sandbox builder) and turn it into brutalist inspired architecture. I really liked the idea of taking a familiar aesthetic in this game genre and flipping it into something completely opposite.
Reminds me of the UC Davis Death Star [1][2]
[1] https://localwiki.org/davis/Social_Sciences_and_Humanities_B...
That place was covered in Nerf darts last time I visited
perfect place for it
Ha yeah it does.
So close I bet you could replicate it in the game.
what a cool building! It definitely looks like it would be fun for nerf wars.
Reminds me about tiny glade in steam. https://store.steampowered.com/app/2198150/Tiny_Glade/
Really great job from the developer. They captured the aesthetic well. Brutalism does create a sublime beauty (especially when those buildings have good upkeep), but I'm glad we no longer make buildings like that anymore.
And some historical background for medieval cultures out there: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ornament_and_Crime
I wonder kind of GPU is needed to play this reasonably
From the comments section [0]:
"""
specs:
Windows 10 / macOS 12+ / Ubuntu 22.04+ Any GPU from the last ~8 years, integrated is fine, M1 Macs are plenty 4 GB RAM ~250 MB disk
It's a small game, no dedicated graphics card needed.
"""
[0] https://placeholders.itch.io/tiny-brutalism#post-17475584
To me this looks like it would also run on a phone.
"Control" in a box.
Looks interesting, would be great to have it on steam, I'd buy it.
Why not buy it on Itch.io?
I think it's code for "hey developer, if you're reading this, please upload to steam! Some people [maybe them] have deeply ingrained habits, and so would prefer to buy from a familiar market"
Which is totally fair. I have my own deeply ingrained habits :)
Steam has some helpful features for game buyers. I can buy the game without installing it, steam keeps my save data and allows it to easily move between computers, steam allows me to keep a library of games without having to manage them on disk, and I only have to share payment info with one processor. I think these features are some of the main reasons people use app stores.
steam does take 30%, vs the 0% of itch.io (as of now - they will eventually charge a commission).
The whole esthetics, the lighting, the plants - it's incredible.
cozy dystopia, the new niche market!
Here's my theory about modern architectural design. Let's say you've got two students that have to do a final design: (a) chooses a rococo or neoVictorian (humanist design); and, (b) chooses a spare modern design. Both of them are required to draft facades, elevations, etc. The modern design is literally easier to draft — literally less time. That means any school of architecture that both rewards "good grades" and "project completion under pressure" will naturally select for students who like "modern" (brutalist?). Those students then become professors, and the whole system reinforces.
Regression to the mean, then? It’s not that those other architectural styles aren’t appreciated, but when it comes down to a project being completed on time + on budget, unless one is building for a king with time and money to spare, it seems like of course you’d inevitably end up with the sparer more utilitarian approach. I guess that could be a bit bleak of an outlook. We definitely shouldn’t need rich patrons funding personal passion / vanity projects in order to continue to explore neovictorianism or whatever.
Less "regression to the mean", and more evolutionary architecture. Selection of the fittest applied to schools of architecture, with grades being the selection pressure.
Or they do what they don't like, under the pressure of the moment, in order to pass, and keep their sense of taste in a separate place from passing that one class.
Yes time, simply think of how much time it cost to build a cathedral, generations of the same family worked on them. but also consider materials, all the modern styles are thanks to reemegence of concrete, largescale glass panes and cheaper steel.
It's also that it's really difficult to find anybody who could build rococo or neoVictorian buildings. And if you do, it's a lot more expensive. So the designs are not built, making it impossible for young people to gain experience building it.
That's exactly it. Modern buildings are cheaper, so they get built. Cash rules everything in construction, and nobody wants to build expensive unless they have an idealist client.
If this were true we would be living in huts (and adobe constructions schools of architecture would rule supreme)
Functional design is not brutalist and is modern, and more humanist than rococo, there is nothing more humanist about rococo and schools dont choose the projects grades based on what is easier.
A plausible but very wrong explanation imo
Looks like a RUST base :D