88 files a second - running Flappy Bird inside macOS Finder! - Nolen Royalty at !!Con 2024

88 Files a Second - Running Flappy Bird inside MacOS Finder! MacOS’s Finder is designed for browsing files - but it’s powerful enough to run Flappy Bird. Kind of. In this talk I’ll cover how to get Flappy Bird running at 4 frames (and 88 files) a second in Finder - complete with a full game loop, high score tracking, and marquee banner ads. I’ll start with a barely sub-1-frame-a-second prototype and walk you through the hacks I needed to productionize the game, such as: Simulating a “button” inside the filesystem via a Finder-specific “last opened” timestamp Symlinking 44 files to their parent directories Stuffing emojis into filenames Implementing double buffering inside a Finder window via bizarre AppleScript incantations You’ll hopefully leave with a newfound appreciation for the power of Finder and AppleScript and a better understanding of why double buffering is important for a smooth gaming experience. Nolen Royalty loves embedding games in surprising places and building experiences that connect strangers over the internet - you can find his work at https://eieio.games . Presented at !!Con 2024 (pronounced, of course, "bangbangcon"!) in Santa Cruz, CA -- https://bangbangcon.com/ !!Con is a production of the Exclamation Foundation -- https://exclamation.foundation/ Video Production by Confreaks Follow Confreaks 👇 https://confreaks.com https://x.com/confreaks