WINONO: A Nonogram Game for Windows 3.1 and Up
Good evening,
I created a Win32 nonogram game that runs on all versions of Windows from Windows 3.1 (with Win32s) up to Windows 11. As far as I could tell, there were no prior nonogram games for Windows 3.1 (unless you happen to know one?)
The game is optimised enough to run okay on the slowest 32-bit x86 processor: an i386SX/16. It's not brilliant, but just about playable.
You can find more info and a download on the game's itch.io page.
The source code is available on GitLab.
I hope this game brings you some enjoyment on Windows 3.1, and that you find it interesting. I may record some videos about its development if time allows (and if anyone cares whatsoever). If you have any questions, feel free to ask!
I did use ChatGPT during development, but not a single line of source code was generated by it. Instead, I used the AI like a natural language search engine, or a forum post with instant responses (and endless patience for silly beginner questions). The AI usage encompassed the following:
Overall, the takeaways are what you would expect: It was helpful for basics of Win32 programming that apply to this day (and that are in its training data). When confronted with old Windows quirks, on one occasion it did find an old workaround on the internet (emulating WM_MOUSELEAVE). However, in most cases, it tended to fail and just take wild guesses whenever it was confronted with the quirks of old Windows verisons, especially when it came to Win32s. So I still tumbled down my fair share of rabbit holes, don't you worry about that ;-)
I certainly feel confident in Win32 programming now, especially as I had ample opportunity to put this to the test when writing helper applications for development.
Good night!
I created a Win32 nonogram game that runs on all versions of Windows from Windows 3.1 (with Win32s) up to Windows 11. As far as I could tell, there were no prior nonogram games for Windows 3.1 (unless you happen to know one?)
The game is optimised enough to run okay on the slowest 32-bit x86 processor: an i386SX/16. It's not brilliant, but just about playable.
You can find more info and a download on the game's itch.io page.
The source code is available on GitLab.
I hope this game brings you some enjoyment on Windows 3.1, and that you find it interesting. I may record some videos about its development if time allows (and if anyone cares whatsoever). If you have any questions, feel free to ask!
Okay, but did you write this or did ChatGPT?
All assets (the smiley, the icon, cursor and digit font), simplistic as they are, are entirely man-made.I did use ChatGPT during development, but not a single line of source code was generated by it. Instead, I used the AI like a natural language search engine, or a forum post with instant responses (and endless patience for silly beginner questions). The AI usage encompassed the following:
- Asking whether a library function for something I wanted to do (e.g., writing to an INI file) already existed.
- Asking for general examples on how to use certain functions when I didn't understand the reference documentation.
- Describing my own algorithmic intentions and asking if the AI had any objections or suggestions for improvement, to avoid spending time building a square wheel when a round one was already invented.
Overall, the takeaways are what you would expect: It was helpful for basics of Win32 programming that apply to this day (and that are in its training data). When confronted with old Windows quirks, on one occasion it did find an old workaround on the internet (emulating WM_MOUSELEAVE). However, in most cases, it tended to fail and just take wild guesses whenever it was confronted with the quirks of old Windows verisons, especially when it came to Win32s. So I still tumbled down my fair share of rabbit holes, don't you worry about that ;-)
I certainly feel confident in Win32 programming now, especially as I had ample opportunity to put this to the test when writing helper applications for development.
Good night!