3: A New Year.
4th January, 2022. 10.00
Well, a new year has arrived and its been a while since I put pen to paper. The reason partly due to the holiday season but also as I was ill for a couple of weeks (not the dreaded C-19) and got out of the habit of writing.
I think this really is something you almost have to force yourself to do to make it stick. I've not historically been someone who writes down their thoughts. I tend to just think them.
So, I will try and write something each day, even if it is very brief, just to get the habit formed.
I will go back and fill in a few more spaces between my last written post, which was on the plane back to the UK in November, but going forward in this physical journal I will mainly focus on development activities for Puzzleboots.
I'm currently sat in the quiet room (it's actually called the Hobbit Hole), with my laptop set up, cup of coffee and this journal, which is the official one supplied by Ben Stokes, the creator of Paper Website.
I'm in Bristol at a co-working office called Desklodge. It's roughly 30 minutes walk from home, so gets me a good bit of exercise each day.
You'll see a picture of the login screen for Puzzlebouts in the image above. That is the first time I've shared anything online in the way of project screen shots.
The login in page was one of the first screens I put together, so I see this a lot as I test things out. I could just land myself at an internal page whilst I'm developing it, but I like logging in. I makes it feel more real.
I've got quite a bit more done than just the login page and I'll show more screens later, but now I'll talk about the idea for the site. If you've read any of the previous entries you will already know that I have always been a keen puzzle solver.
I've played loads of 2-player games online for many years. Chess and Backgammon and some other less well-known board games such as Keryo Pente, which I got pretty good at.
I'm also keen on the single-player paper puzzles such as Sudoku and Killer Sudoku, and sites already exist where you can play these types of games on your own.
But what If you could combine some of the features of these 2 player sites with these single player games?
That thought was the start of Puzzlebouts evolving in my head.
Here is what I wrote on the login page under the title, "What is Puzzle Bouts?"
"Puzzle Bouts is a competitive 'puzzle gaming site' dedicated to traditional single player solo games. As a member you will be able to create 'Puzzle Bouts' of up to 10 rounds, made up from a host of puzzling favorites, such as Sudoku, Killer Sudoku, Futoshiki, Wordsearch and many more. You will then battle it out by challenging other players to take you on in your own bout. Or if you fancy your chances, taking them down in theirs.
Start as a Flyweight and progress up through the classes to Heavyweight and maybe become the Heavyweight Champion of the world."
So that is a high-level bit of hyperbole for the idea. I liked the idea of theming things around a boxing metaphor, with Bouts, and I've named other sections of the site in this way too.
I'll mention The Ring, The Arena, The Booth and The Gym next time, which will hopefully be tomorrow if I'm good to my word.
See you then.