😸v1 [Completed!]
Proof of concept and minimum viable product
v1.0 Complete! 🎉 Year 1 summary
October 13, 2023 | Webplayer 1.0
ScratchGO passed a couple important milestones recently which makes me think this is a good time to summarize and cap off v1 development so far.
v1.0 Milestones:
ScratchGO recently surpassed 1000 total games played on the platform!
One year into development and still going strong!
We've got users from all over the world and people are sending in such insightful feedback!
User base is steady and growing!
Another reason this is a good time to reflect and recharge is because v1 was built on shaky foundations. When I started this project a year ago, I had ZERO experience making websites, much less web apps that need to handle tons of interactions and requests! Thus development on ScratchGO has always been rather haphazard but strangely persistent.
As the project grows, I've been doing some growing too! Now I have more ideas and resources that I would like to implement but unfortunately, the shaky foundations of v1 just cannot be pushed further (trust, I've tried).
So, the solution now is to conclude development on v1 and get ready to develop a new version from the ground up with better technologies and foundations! I will be using React this time and be much more thorough with my future-proofing so as to make sure v2 will make it all the way to landscape mode and PWAs!
v2 planned features*:
Everything that v1 does
Isolated TurboWarp package for better performance
Landscape mode support
FULL controller customization support
Better PWA support and offline functionality
*All planned features subject to change (I cannot stop reality from vibe checking my wild imaginations lolol)
Lastly, and this is REALLY out there, even for me...
I'm thinking for v3 we could port ScratchGO to handheld consoles like the Retroid Pocket 3+ or the Steam Deck! I know this is possible I just don't know how I'm gonna get there yet!!
As always, I have good faith! Here's to another year of ScratchGO development! 🔥
v0.7.8 Backend server optimization part 2 + bugfix on favorites system
September 16, 2023 | Webplayer 0.7.8
Lily managed to catch a bug while she was working on optimizing the backend. I'm only just updating this now because we've been working on some other features recently and honestly I just forgot to update the most recent patch when she completed it lol. But it's live now! The favorites system should work better now and actually display the games you've favorited properly!
v0.7.7 Backend server optimization part 1
August 9, 2023 | Webplayer 0.7.7
Firstly, a warm welcome to the two new members on the team developing ScratchGO with me! Lily and Eric are friends of mine that also study computer science in uni right now. Lily was responsible for the optimizations in this update and she's managed to fix an issue with backend data management that has long been plaguing the site! Now each refresh requires much less data form the backend and saves us from the increasingly frequent backend crashes! Let's go Lily!!!
v0.7.6 Control settings are stored locally and on accounts!
March 20, 2023 | Webplayer 0.7.6
The controller mappings finally have some better support! There are 3 new additions to ScratchGO regarding controller mapping.
Controller mapping features:
Official controller setups can be defined by the project authors by pasting the following bit of text in this format to their project's instruction or description on Scratch. See this demo project for an example.
Players can also individually map their keys for any game, and this setting will override the default provided by the author.
If the player is logged in, the settings will be automatically stored in thier account. If they're not, the settings will be stored locally.
v0.7.5 Favorites list!
March 17, 2023 | Webplayer 0.7.5
Finally got the favorite list working! You can now favorite a game by click on the heart button next to its project title and it will be added to your list of favorited games! This list is associated with your account when it saves to Firebase so you can access this same list across all your logged in devices! There are still some rouge bugs here and there but I've already accepted the fact that this project is still in beta development and I do not really have time to worry about building things properly from the ground up. The goal for this beta is for all the features to be developed as soon as possible and so y'all will have to get cozy with those bugs for now lol.
v0.7.4 Users can log in now!
March 12, 2023 | Webplayer 0.7.4
Accounts panel finished for now. Users can log in with their google accounts or email. If the log in was successful, the UI will populate with the user's data. Logging out also works for now.
v0.7.3 Loading screen finally implemented!
March 9, 2023 | Webplayer 0.7.3
There is finally a good loading screen for ScratchGO to smooth out all the messy loading of the various components on the beefy webplayer! Trying to make the first impression smoother though the load time can still be improved on a lot lol. That's future me's problems.
v0.7.2 See all function!
March 8, 2023 | Webplayer 0.7.2
Finally added a neat see all function for the games section. There is now a nice little toggle triangle that will flip when the games load in. The solution ended up being more simple than I thought and I managed to implement a long awaited feature in much less time that I anticipated. It's nice to have something in development take less time than expected for once lol.
v0.7 Search functionality!
February 28, 2023 | Webplayer 0.7
From now on this version of ScratchGO will be referred to as the beta version because I have plans to properly learn full stack web development over the summer and remake the entire prototype (everythign till now) properly. That one will be the alpha version of the ScratchGO software. In other news, I got the search functionality working today!! It's just a crude implementation of the Scratch API but it adds so much more convenience and accessability to the app. As a testimony to that statement, I've already found 2 more cool games to play on ScratchGO using the search! Check them out! Tetris [Remake] by Tech-Coder and Space Invaders by codergeek.
v0.6.1 Account system and general project update
February 20, 2023 | Webplayer 0.6.1
It's been a while since this devlog has been updated! Here are some general updates about the current state of the project.
General project update:
Account system will be implemented soon to set up foundation for more features to come.
There are ideas of making ScratchGO compatible with hardware like raspberry pi so that people can make their own physical consoles.
I will be working implementing a recommendation algorithm on ScratchGO with some of my uni classmates as part of a group project - excited to see how this goes.
Many more project ideas are hatching! Stay tuned!
Aside from all the planning and daydreaming I've been doing, I just recently started working on the github repository for ScratchGO (because now I'm going to be working with my groupmates lol) but I'm relatively new to this whole git thing so I hope I can learn the ropes before hopefully making the project opensource and more accessible to everyone. That's all I have for now, excited to finally get my head out of the clouds of project planning and to start working on the nitty gritty details of the product again!
v0.5.3 Better desktop support
January 18, 2023 | Webplayer 0.5.3
Fixed the scaling problem of the game tab on large screens like desktops. Just limited the max width that the games tab could go to. Also added a notification that should pop up when it detects a large screen - this will help remind players that due to the way the control buttons are programmed, they unfortunately do not work on the desktop version of the site.
v0.5.2 Locally-stored player history
January 15, 2023 | Webplayer 0.5.2
The third and final category of the recommendation system has been implemented! The "Dive back in" section is a collection of all the most recent games you've played. This information is stored locally via local storage so it won't be synced for different devices (i think). I will implement accounts in the future so that ScratchGO information can be synced across all platforms.
v0.5.1 Recommended games section has been implemented!
January 14, 2023 | Webplayer 0.5.1
The first version of the recommendation system is here!!! I only have a very basic understanding of firebase and the whole backend shtick so I expect many revisions and overhauls in the following devlogs lol. Let's see how long it manages to stay working. Fingers crossed!
v0.4.1(2) Minor update that took too long lol
January 11, 2023 | Webplayer 0.4.1(2)
After implementing the previously mentioned navbar, I noticed that the div container I was using to hold it was somehow blocking all the layers underneath it, causing the entire rest of the interface not work lol. I fixed it by making the container adjust as the nav bar slid in and out, but this was kinda tricky because the nav bar has a slight transition, so the container needed to delay its transition from one direction and snap in the other. The second tiny bug that took too long to fix was the small arrow thing that rotates around as the navbar slides in and out. This was a font thing and somehow I had alot of trouble getting it to not get covered by the annoying Apple homebar when the navbar was down. It's fixed now tho and I'm very hungry lol.
v0.4.1 New navbar prototype implemented!
January 11, 2023 | Webplayer 0.4.1
A new navbar has been implemented at the bottom of the webplayer! This will serve as the main navigation device for users when I add recommended games and accounts to this platform. Currently it is just a dummy prototype that doesn't really do anything other than transitioning from hidden to visible, a feature I implemented to free up more screen space if users are playing on a device with a "short" kinda aspect ratio. Other than that I'm pretty pleased that I was able to make it all work in an afternoon!
v0.3.1 Searchbar optimization
January 4, 2023 | Webplayer 0.3.1
The searchbar is easier to use now because I programmed it to also recognize game IDs directly or even the ScratchGO link (as opposed to the Scratch link). The tutorial project was also updated to match the new UI from the last update.
v0.3 First experiment with PWA!
January 3, 2023 | Webplayer 0.3
The base webplayer is now a fully functional PWA, meaning you can add the webplayer to your homescreen and have it show up with an icon and name, just like a native app. When it opens from the homescreen, it also opens like an app - there will no longer be those pesky search bars or browser UI taking up precious screen space. In the future, I will eventually make it so that individual apps could be "downloaded" as PWAs to homescreens, effectively making those Scratch games downloadable games for mobile devices!
v0.2 First devlog of 2023! Made some improvements to the search bar
January 1, 2023 | Webplayer 0.2
After a bit of testing with some kids I was teaching, I noticed that they instinctively clicked on the right of the search bar when they're done entering the URL of the project they're trying to load. In the original design, the right of the search bar is where link button was located. This led to them unintentionally copying the link to the whole game when they were only trying to enter their game. This was an easy fix, I just added a search button where the link button used to be and moved the link button to the left of the search bar. Also I fixed a bug where the old contents of the URL search would still remain after a search was completed, causing the kids to enter a long line of broken links that won't load.
v0.1.1 Added short but functional tutorial project
November 3, 2022 | Webplayer 0.1.1
Added a proper short tutorial as the default load game instead of Football Fever as the original game couldn't even be fully played on ScratchGO due to its 2 player design. This will not be the final tutorial project tho as I think tutorials can be disguised as a part of the experience better to the point where players won't even notice they're learning about the controls. I will work on a better one that will be more like a short game once I'm done with my finals lol. Also fixed a small bug where the button controls are initiated differently from the actual mapping.
v0.1 First fully functional MVP!!!
October 30, 2022 | Webplayer 0.1
Completed the first fully functional minimal viable product today!! This is beyond exciting for me! :)))
Here are the features that ScratchGO Webplayer v0.1 has:
Plays ANY (public) Scratch game.
Full keyboard remapping support.
Displays descriptions and notes and credits.
Links, mentions and hashtags in descriptions work as you would expect.
Share your game to be played on ScratchGO by simply copying the URL or by tapping the link button.
Pausing and muting.
The left 4 buttons behave like a dpad so you don't have to lift your thumb for each individual button press.
I will probably take a short break from development now because I have finals coming up soon and some other college stuff to do lol.
Oh also the first beta will be shared to some people to get feedback. GarboMuffin if you see this you are a legend and the community is so lucky to have developers like you. <3
Goodnight!
v0.0.6 Importing descriptions and muting audio!
October 27, 2022 | Webplayer 0.0.6
New features for description box:
Loads up the respective descriptions and instructions for each project.
Recognizes links.
Recognizes @ mentions.
Recognizes # tags.
A new button was also added to let players mute the game because I noticed that browsers like safari and chrome sometimes play audio from tabs that aren't even active.
v0.0.5 Links for sharing!
October 20, 2022 | Webplayer 0.0.5
Good morning! I implemented two features this morning and I'm feeling super productive and pumped lesgoo~
The first one has to do with building and reducing the size of the version of turbowarp that the site is using. After enabling production mode and removing unnecessary files from the turbowarp on this site, the webplayer loads much faster.
Second, I added support for linking projects by including the project id after the hash in the webplayer url. Now when you want to share your game to be played on ScratchGO, the site can simply export a link in the format: https://scratchgo.app/webplayer.html#[projectID] This would be pretty useful for people to share just one simple link and be able to share the full mobile experience of their game!
v0.0.4 Got basic button functionality implemented
October 18, 2022 | Webplayer 0.0.4
I wrestled with pointer events for a good half of today and still couldn't get it to work on mobile ¯\_(ツ)_/¯ The problem is really simple: when players play with a "d-pad like" control setup you expect the controls to behave like a d-pad in the way that you can simply slide your thumb around without lifting it to change directions. This was really simple to implement on the unity version as the support for pointer events on mobile devices was complete. HOWEVER, on the web app I did not have such luck. I searched all day and couldn't find a good way to implement the same thing. Pointer events for js simply aren't complete for mobile users so I ended up coding a sketchy thingy with touch events that sort of works but is kinda rough around the edges and pretty messy but it's honestly difficult to notice it just bothers me that the controls sometimes don't fire if you tap the button quick enough...(On second thought maybe its my budget implementation of TurboWarp) Sorry for the rant I'm just very frustrated at the lack of support for developing web apps for mobile devices. hmmph
ps I somehow managed to break the scrolling for the whole website so now they all don't scroll on mobile like wut. I will fix this another day tho I'm so done for today.
v0.0.3 Started working on buttons
October 18, 2022 | Webplayer 0.0.3
Got buttons working on a grid. Still learning about css grids and thinking about how to best implement the buttons. Also enabled dragging on and off buttons to trigger button presses, good for when you are playing on mobile and don't lift your finger between different button presses.
v0.0.2 Search bar implemented to webplayer
October 16, 2022 | Webplayer 0.0.2
The feature itself is not a very groundbreaking innovation, but it is significant because it has allowed me to become familliar with taking measurements from the iframe and matching the other UI with the UI of the contents inside the iframe. Next step is including buttons and figuring a way around the browser zooming in and out from double tapping...
v0.0.1 Began development of the webplayer!
October 14, 2022 | Webplayer v0.0.1
New features for webplayer:
Load up and play any shared Scratch project with just the project link.
Scrolling and hilighting text is disabled on the webplayer to prevent players from accidentally selecting or scrolling when they drag their fingers across the screen.
Fullscreen button is disabled to prevent players from going into fullscreen and not having access to the button controls.
Buttons finally work now that I managed to solve the same origin limitation.
Continuing yesterday's progress, I made a major breakthrough today by finally figuring out a way to get across the same origin policy that most browsers have that was stopping me from passing js functions into the iframe and accessing data from inside the iframe. Currently the web version has all the main essnetial features working.
The webplayer is still far from being polished enough for release but it serves as a great proof of concept and I am very very happy with the progress made so far. Big thanks to my friend Bronson for answering all my questions because this is actually my first ever web development project and I don't think I would know where to begin looking for information if I didn't have his help. :)
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