FAQ

What’s is Cymon’s Games all about?
Do I have to type in the programs?
Who is Cymon and why are they Cymon’s Games?
Why only C/C++?
Why don’t your programs have sound/good graphics/etc?
Looks great, can I help?
Are there any restrictions on what submitted programs? Do programs have to be a single source file?

What’s is Cymon’s Games all about?

Cymon’s Games was born out of a desire to share the joy of programming with others. Learning to program can be a lot of fun. But everyone who gets into the programs on this website may find their own reasons for returning. Whether an educational pursuit, or purely entertainment it’s up to you to decide.

Do I have to type in the programs?

Short answer, No, you don’t have to type in the programs. Cymon’s Games has been described as following a hacker approach to coding, giving you examples to study and encouraging you to write some yourself. The games may not the quality you’d pay money for. The focus is on providing simple programs you could make yourself.

Who is Cymon and why are they Cymon’s Games?

Cymon is the robot you see illustrating the website and a few of the programs. Cymon is a personification of my own computer. As I drew the character it developed depth, a back story, and a name, Cy-man, which eventually became Cymon. I had the idea at one time of saying the games on the website were to be run on Cymon, hence Cymon’s Games. The name kinda stuck.

Why only C/C++?

Good question with a couple of good answers:

• I know C/C++.
• C and C++ have been around for a long time.
• C and C++ are likely to outlive many other “modern” development environments.
• Professionals often use C/C++ to make those other development environments.
• You can make anything, literally anything, with C/C++.

That said, I am open to argument for evolving Cymon’s Games to include other environments. In fact just as soon as I teach myself Python it’ll probably be next. If you have any suggestions please contact me.

Why don’t your programs have sound/good graphics/etc?

The end result of programs on the site will be print, which means Cymon’s Games are limited by having to work without external data files (like “good graphics” or sounds.)

Looks great, can I help?

I really want Cymon’s Games to be supported by the community that reads it. If you have written a program or programming related editorial, think you can improve the website, or have an idea to make Cymon’s Games better please, please contact me. I’d love to hear from you.

Are there any restrictions on what submitted programs? Do programs have to be a single source file?

The only guideline is that sumbitted programs need to be self contained so as to not rely on external files that would need to be downloaded. That is to say, no bmps or wavs. Only data files that can be typed in. The ultimate goal of the site is to print the code listings and have the printed result be all someone needs.