VVVVVV + X

There is a certain amount of... I guess, existential angst which comes from knowing that an excellent game like VVVVVV is powered by a switch statement with case 4099.

In his decennial musings on VVVVVV, Terry Cavanagh observes:

"I've gained better habits over the past decade, and I'm definitely a better programmer now -- but it does seem to take me longer to do things."

And having been a professional programmer over that same time period, I can relate. In software engineering, or maybe in any profession, drawing the rest of the owl necessarily means working more steadily and more slowly; which is at odds with a common game industry objective of being first to market, damn the consequences.

And, it's not necessarily safe to assume that those consequences will be profoundly negative. VVVVVV is still fun today, after ten years' worth of indie platformers competing in its wake. VVVVVV's straightforward, almost puritanical design is as engaging and exhilirating now as it was ten years ago.

The killer soundtrack helps. Ten years ago, it was in my local music library; now, I'm adding it to my streaming favorites.

Progress: Rescued the crew; 12 trinkets, 991 deaths.