Exploring Usera in Madrid

Prelude to the workday

I’d like to explore an area of the city which I haven’t explored before. I’ve chosen Usera. It has a pool, two study halls and a library. Looks perfect for three work sessions. I’d like to dedicate the day to the Bézier game, with minor intrusions into other projects.

Work session 1 (2 hours)

In the end I stayed home during the morning, I begun working spontaneously mostly on exploratory work regarding the keyboard bindings of the Bézier Game, though I was left a little disheartened by what I saw. Due to small differences in implementation, it is not a matter of just remapping keys, but changes in implementation.

Work session 2 (2 hours)

I came to the “José Hierro” Library in Usera. It’s well stocked and it was a pleasure to work here. It took me a long while to figure out exactly where and how each app applies it’s conventions. Since I can’t install many of these apps I have to figure out how they work exactly by following video tutorials.

I modified the tutorials so they would display the appropriate key and pressing mechanics (mode vs quasimode). Quasimode is a term coned by Jeff Raskin to refer to the temporary mode one enters while pressing a key, in the Bézier Game this happens when you press the alt key while dragging.

Many people get stuck here because it’s an unfamiliar convention, I’ll see what I can do to ameliorate this problem. Now I’ll go to the pool for lunch.

Work session 3 (2 hours)

Came to a Study Hall in Usera for a last work session. It’s almost 20:00 but I feel willing to go for another session after a break. This study hall is on the smaller side, it’s quite unremarkable but I can’t discern why I like it. I enjoyed the neighborhood, I’ll be back soon.

I unexpectedly finished implementing most of the keyboard differences between vector drawing apps. It’s done on the technical side, but I won’t implement the UI until it is clear how I want to extend the game.

Afterword