Nerdkill for BeOS, C#, Java, Android, and Web

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Description

Summary A blast-all-these-nerds game. Get rid of these annoying nerds. Shoot them, gun them, electrify them, explode them! No one must escape! The game was originally developed for the Amiga (see History below) and I freely adapted it to the BeOS, as a short coding joke for Paris' Be GeekFest, Feb'97 with the much needed help of Pulco and SpH. Now rewritten entirely from scratch for Windows .Net 1.1 and Managed DirectX, it includes the same cute little graphics as the BeOS version and the same vocal sound effects to provide countless hours of fun. In May 2004, I also ported the game to Pocket PC. More information on the Pocket PC section below. In March 2007, I also ported the game to Java 1.4 and Java 5. More information on the Java section below. In November 2015, I also ported the game to Android, starting with Android 1.5 (a.k.a "Cupcake"). More information on the Android section below. In December 2023, I also ported the game to web, experimenting with both the Defold game engine as well as the Godot 4 game engine. More information on the web section below.

(click on picture for enlarged view)

What is Nerdkill?

Nerdkill is a simple game whose main purpose is to help you remove stress and enjoy life better.
The game displays a bunch of little annoying moving nerds and a diverse collection of weapons. Select a weapon and aim at one of those little nerds and enjoy -- that's all it takes :-)

Sure, it doesn't take much to amuse me -- what about you?

The game is implemented using C#,Windows .Net 1.1 and Managed DirectX.
Sources are included in the binary package. The whole thing uses an Open Source license.

At this point, I need to clarify that Nerdkill's core purpose is not really about the game -- the gameplay is actually fairly inexistent and has never evolved since the first BeOS version.
Instead, Nerdkill has evolved in my go-to project to experiment with different platforms.
Whenever I need to learn a new programming environment or SDK, Nerdkill is my go-to project, purposely because the "game" itself is so simple.
It's fun yet doesn't get in the way of learning the platform.
The versions listed here are only the ones that have been finished and polished enough to be publicly listed.
On top of the official BeOS, C#, Java, Android, and web versions, I've also experimented with other versions; for example at some point I had an implementation written in Vanilla JS and another in Unity.

Notes

Notes for the Windows desktop version (for Pocket PC, see below):

• You must install .Net 1.1 and DirectX 9 first. Use Microsoft Windows Update (Start > All Programs > Windows Update) to install the latest versions.
• Install DirectX 9 Managed extension
• A Windows Installer (MSI) is provided in the download section that takes care of checking for .Net 1.1 and providing some DirectX 9 DLLs.
• No installer is actually needed if you have all the DLLs.

Politically correctness statement & warning:

• If you find the content of the game objectionable, please do not use it and do not let your children use it.
• The game is not intended to promote antagonism, violence or hate against any kind of people, religion, race or class, especially nerds.
• The lack of any score is actually a philosophical statement.
• All characters used in the game are fictitious.

Usage:

• Turn on the speakers -- but not too loud :-)
• Start the game.
• Select a weapon (by default the gun is selected).
• Click on one of the moving little nerds and watch.
• Try different weapons.

Goals & strategies:

• There is no goal. The game quits when all the nerds are eliminated.
• There is no score. On purpose. Just relax :-)
• One strategy is to aim at every single nerd using a precision weapon.
• A reverse strategy is to use a wider scope weapon, such as the dynamite.
• I particularly enjoy the chain reaction of mines.
• Although it is technically possible to finish the game using solely the bulldozer or the coke can, it can be really tedious. Try it.

Compatibility issues:

• Sound is optional. DirectDraw is not.
• A mouse is required too (a trackpad works ;-)).
• Should run correctly on any recent hardware with 2D support. No fancy 3D required :)
• On an older ATI Mach64 w/ Win98, sprites may have a black contour instead of being transparent. I guess the card doesn't do source overlay.

History

Nerdkill 1.0.0 BeOS was released around 1997/1998.
I first saw Nerdkill on a roommate's Amiga 4000 back in '93 or '94 at the university. The game was developed by Adam Girvin.

As an early BeOS adopter, I wanted something fun to do and so I started writing a clone several years later using whatever I had in mind that I saw back on the Amiga. The first version was coded in little more than a night or two, right before the
Paris' Be GeekFest, Feb'97. Two friends, Pulco and SpH helped with the graphics and the sound "effects". At the time I was able to run an original Nerdkill.lha on an Amiga emulator, but for no more than a few seconds. We added a couple of improvements on the original version and never tried to write a perfect clone -- just something fun to watch and play. Later, we had some ideas about a 3D version and some improvements but we never followed through -- also I believe it would have removed the simplicity of the original version.

Several years later on another continent, I was in need of some C# coding practice. Once again Nerdkill was the ideal candidate. The game is simplistic enough in that it doesn't interfere with the coding practice and it's fun enough to allow completion of the project before my mind flies somewhere else ;-).

What is the Nerdkill License?

You can consult the extract terms of the license here: Nerdkill License.
The Nerdkill is licensed under the GNU General Public License, an Open Source approved license.

I am not a lawyer and I find the complete text of the license generally obscure to read, so what it all means is:

• Nerdkill is free software, it can be used at absolutely no cost.
• It comes "as-is". No guarantee, support, maintenance or installation help is implied.
• You are free to add any feature that you think is missing, or change the source code or the look to match your own needs. I'm interested in learning about any feature you add, yet I make no promise I'll actually reuse your code. If you redistribute your own version, please use the same license and make it easy to differentiate your sources from mine.
• I love positive feedback and positive criticism. An extended to-do list of things I'd like to see in the software at some point is included in the source archive. Of course there is no written schedule for this, it all depends on my free time and my creativity. If you need something that is not on this list, please ask gently.
• Your respect will earn you mine.

Pocket PC

In early 2004, Code Project ran a coding contest which goal was to write "something interesting" using the .Net Compact Framework. That motivated me to do something I though was interesting: explore the capabilities of .Net Compact Framework 1.1 to host a 100% managed game; Nerdkill C# was the perfect choice.

Nerdkill C# had mostly been started as a way to explore the Direct X Managed API. I also experimented with a modular platform that would be easy to adapt to other games or other host implementations. Both these goals were met successfully.

Nerdkill Pocket was thus started with these two goals in mind: first examine how portable the modular platform was and what work it would involve to "port" it to the Pocket PC and second examine how capable .Net Compact Framework 1.1 really is. Could a 2D Sprite-based game really be written in 100% managed code?

The short answers are yes and almost yes.
If you're a developer, you may be interested in the detailed results as described in the Code Project Nerdkill Pocket article (mirror available here.)

In June 2004, Nerdkill Pocket was awarded the "Best Use of Technology" by Code Project :-)

Download links are available in the Code Project Nerdkill Pocket article as well as in the download section below.

Java

In March 2007, I ported the game to Java. This took only a handful of days, since the engine was initally designed to be easily portable. Converting C# to Java is also a mostly straighforward operation.

Download links are available in below. The best way to play Nerdkill Java is to simply use the Webstart link. This is an on-line installer that will seamlessly install Nerdkill Java on your computer and run it. This works out of the box on Windows and MacOS.

For Linux, if you have Java installed, you can download the JAR file and execute it from the command line.

Note that I may adapt the game to phone later using J2ME.

Android

An Android version has been available since 2015 for Android 1.5 ("Cupcake") and above, and regularly updated as needed.

The Android implementation used the Java desktop version as a base.
I reimplemented the core game engine to be more efficient on Android.
That game engine was then reused later as the base for Asqare.

The latest Android version of Nerdkill can be found in the Google Play store for free:

Web

I have implemented a number of version of Nerdkill for the web.

In 2016, I implemented a version in Vanilla JS yet never published it.
Based on that experience, I decided the best way to write a game for the web was to use one of the many game engines available.

In 2017, I rewrote the game using the Unity game engine.
I wasn't fully satisfied with Unity for a variety of technical reasons; that lead me to discover the Godot game engine.

In 2022 I rewrote it using Godot, which turned to be much more superior in many ways.

In 2023, I rewrote it again using the Defold game engine, as well as the latest Godot 4.2 game engine.

The latest versions can be found here:

• Defold version: Nerdkill Defold
• Godot version: Nerdkill Godot

The experience was quite conclusive.
Defold was surprisingly lightweight and delightful to learn. Without knowing anything of the game engine, I got the game ported in less than a week. Defold seems very well tailored for lightweight 2D games, from sprite sheet creation to adding sound support, from Lua scripting to game objects and message passing, everything is fairly clear, with simple tutorials to learn it on the go.
Godot was as easy to go back to it as when I last used it. Although the latest version 4 changes some APIs, the concepts remain the same and are easy to adjust accordingly. Godot basically provides everything one may need; the documentation is excellent, GDScript is a pleasure to use, and there are lots of tutorials and help out there.
If I had to chose, I'd likely select Defold again for simple lightweight one-time projects, and Godot for longer term projects. It's worth noting that both game engines have very similar structures and it's thus easy to transition from one to the other.

News

Downloads

Nerdkill C# (Desktop) | Nerdkill Pocket (Pocket PC) | Nerdkill Java (Desktop) | Nerdkill Android | Nerdkill Web

Note: most download links have been removed due to spam bot abuse.

Nerdill C# (desktop version)
Nerdkill C#  v1.1 May 22, 2004	Nerdkill C# Version 1.1 is the most recent stable & only revision. Available here and as well as on !
	Kind: Web based installer for Internet Explorer Content: Executable & sources File: NerdkillWebSetup_v110.Exe	[notes]	[130 kB]
	Kind: Zip with Microsoft Installer Windows package Content: Executable & sources File: NerdkillCs_v110.zip	[notes]	[2.5 MB]
	Kind: Zip archive Content: Sources File: NerdkillCsSources_v110.zip	[notes]	[1 MB]
	Important: .Net Framework 1.1 and DirectX 9 Managed are required to run this program! If you do not have .Net Framework 1.1 nor the DirectX 9 End-User Runtime, download the latest version from the Microsoft Windows Update. If you have DirectX 9, you must install DX9 Managed before running Nerdkill. The installer (.msi) package can be found in the complete DX9 download; it is included here for your convenience (this version may be obsolete):
	mdxredist (DX9 Managed).msi	[notes]	[1 MB]
Nerdkill C#  v1.0 Nov 7, 2004	Nerdkill C# Version 1.0 is the previous version. It is no longer available. Please use version 1.1 instead.
Nerdkill Pocket (Pocket PC version)
Nerdkill Pocket  v1.0 June 27, 2004	Nerdkill Pocket Version 1.0 is the most recent stable & only revision. Available on Code Project as well as here.
	Kind: CAB Installer for Pocket PC / ARM Content: Executable for .Net CF 1.1 File: NerdkillPocket_v100_ARM.zip	[notes]	[406 kB]
	Kind: CAB Installer for Pocket PC / MIPS Content: Executable for .Net CF 1.1 File: NerdkillPocket_v100_MIPS.zip	[notes]	[406 kB]
	Kind: CAB Installer for Pocket PC / x86 Content: Executable for .Net CF 1.1 File: NerdkillPocket_v100_x86.zip	[notes]	[406 kB]
	Kind: Zip archive Content: Sources File: NerdkillPocket_Src_v100.zip	[notes]	[462 kB]
	Important: .Net Compact Framework 1.1 is required to run this program!
	Instructions for CAB files: unzip the archive, copy the CAB file to your Pocket PC using ActiveSync and then execute it using the File Explorer. This will install .Net Compact Framework 1.1 as needed as well as the Nerdkill Pocket executable. Use the File Explorer to start Nerdkill (you can add a link to the Start Menu or the Program files if you want.)
Nerdkill Java
Nerdkill Java  v1.0 March 11, 2007	Nerdkill Java 1.0 is the most recent stable & only revision.
	Kind: Java archive (JAR) Content: Executable for all Java 1.4 platorms File: NerdkillJava001.jar	[notes]	[907 kB]
	Kind: Webstart File (online installer) Link: NerdkillJava.jnlp	[notes]	[406 kB]
	Kind: Source Code Link: http://code.google.com/p/nerdkill/source	[notes]	[406 kB]
	If you want to run the game using a command line, download the JAR file then type the following command in a terminal: java -jar NerdkillJava001.jar
Nerdkill Android
Nerdkill Android	The latest Android version of Nerdkill can be found in the Google Play store for free:
Nerdkill Web
	Nerdkill Defold
	Nerdkill Godot

Contact

Nerdkill is developed and maintained by Le R'alf'