Newsletter #5 – NVDA Adventures, Some A11y Stuff & Zombies in RPG Maker 🧟♂️🧑💻
Hola, friends!
Back in your inbox with some fresh blog posts, pixel-powered game dev news, and a sprinkle of accessibility goodness! Let’s dive into the latest.
Learning NVDA – For Real This Time. I’ve been taking NVDA testing more seriously lately. In the past I only used it on a surface level, but now I’m setting aside regular time to truly understand its feedback and improve my accessibility testing process. If you haven’t explored NVDA deeply, I highly recommend doing so!
RPG Maker Game Jam – DEAD CITY Is Out! 🎮 Partnered with a pixel artist from Canada and released a zombie-themed RPG Maker game called Dead City! My friend composed the music, and players have loved it so far. Check it out and tell me if we deserve a category prize: 👉 Play Dead City
CSS Day Amsterdam 🇳🇱 I’ll be attending CSS Day in Amsterdam next month and even submitted an idea for the lightning talks on CSS + A11Y. Fingers crossed! If you're around, let’s meet up and chat code and coffee.
Viking Game Update ⚔️ Procrastination, meet accountability. I hired a super talented illustrator I found randomly through YouTube to help with the Viking RPG project. She just graduated and wanted her first gig. I’m hyped. Also, paying someone = guilt-driven productivity boost. It’s a long-term dream, and having someone on board keeps the flame alive. See the progress of the Viking Game
Liveblocks + Next.js = Real-Time Magic ✨ I started integrating Liveblocks in my Next.js app to create multiplayer interactions. It was a bit tricky to connect it with Clerk, but after a few hours we had avatars and cursors syncing across users in the same room. Can’t wait to launch this in production soon!
New Blog Posts You Might Have Missed:
- Jevons Paradox in Web Hosting: Why Cheaper Isn't Always Better – Learn why trying to save money on hosting might actually cost you more in the long run.
- From Underpaid to Unstoppable: A Story-Driven Guide to Pricing Your Services – A practical and honest approach to pricing your freelance/agency work.
- Why <s>, <del>, and <ins> Don't Speak: Accessible Alternatives for Text-Level Semantics – Understand how these elements work (or don’t work) with screen readers and how to offer better accessible alternatives.
That’s it for this edition! Thanks as always for reading, sharing, and building cool things with me.
Stay awesome,
Manuel