Summary

The undefined website provides an overview of various games designed to help users learn and master Vim/Neovim commands through interactive and fun gameplay.

Abstract

The undefined website delves into the concept of learning Vim/Neovim, text editors known for their steep learning curve, through a series of engaging games. It introduces the Neovim 101 series, which includes a repository with Neovim configuration files to assist learners. The article emphasizes the value of gamified learning, suggesting that it can be more enjoyable than traditional methods. It categorizes the games into Console Games, Plugins, and Online Games, each offering unique ways to practice Vim commands. Console games like PacVim and VimMan are highlighted for their educational value, while plugins such as vim-be-good and train.nvim provide structured practice within the Vim environment. Online games such as Vim Genius, Vim Adventures, Vim Snake, and OpenVim offer diverse approaches to reinforce Vim skills. The article also references other resources and encourages readers to support the author's work by becoming Medium members.

Opinions

The author believes that a game-based approach to learning Vim/Neovim can make the process more enjoyable and effective.
The use of Vim tutor is acknowledged as a good introduction, but the article advocates for interactive games as a superior method for learning.
The article suggests that "grokking" Vim or Emacs is worth the time investment due to their productivity benefits.
The author provides a subjective assessment of the games, highlighting their effectiveness in teaching different aspects of Vim, such as basic movements, text editing, and advanced commands.
The article implies that the learning curve for Vim/Neovim can be mitigated by these game-based learning tools.
By presenting a variety of games and plugins, the author indirectly suggests that there is no one-size-fits-all solution and that users should explore multiple options to find what works best for them.
The author encourages readers to engage with the content and consider a Medium membership to access more articles and support the creator.

Neovim 101 - Games

Learning Vim/Neovim while playing games.

For Vim beginners, the initial learning curve could be relatively steep. A game-based approach to learning Vim is a good start. This article explores different types of games that could help.

This article is part of the Neovim 101 series.

The Neovim configuration files are available in this repository.

Getting Started

This diagram shows the classical learning curves for several common editors. 2 editors that stand out are Vi and Emacs. Though not easy to learn, they have been popular for several decades. Grokking one of them is definitely worth the time spent.

The built-in Vim tutor (:Tutor) provides a good introduction to learning Vim quickly. However, an interactive and game-based approach is more fun.

This article explores different games to help us master Vim.

Console Games

PacVim

PacVim is a game that teaches Vim commands. We need to move Pacman (the green cursor) to highlight each word on the gameboard while avoiding the ghosts (in red).

PacVim has two special obstacles:

We cannot move into the walls (yellow color). We must use Vim motions to jump over them.
If we step on a tilde character (cyan ~), we lose!

We are given three lives, gaining a life each time we beat levels 0, 3, 6, 9, etc. There are 10 levels, 0 through 9. After beating the 9th level, the game is reset to the 0th level, but the ghosts move faster.

Winning conditions — Use Vim commands to move the cursor over the letters and highlight them. After every letter is highlighted, we win and proceed to the next level.

Losing conditions — If we touch a ghost (indicated by a red G) or a tilde character, we lose a life. If we have 0 life, we lose the entire game.

VimMan

VimMan is a terminal program developed in Golang. It is a semi-editor and a semi-game. The purpose of VimMan is to teach people how to use Vim and have fun!

VimMan has 4 levels

Level 1 — Basic movement in Normal mode
Level 2 — How to exit Vim
Level 3 — Basic text editing
Level 4 — Vimberman!

Plugins

Here are several plugins to train us to use Vim commands.

vim-be-good

vim-be-good is a plugin designed to make us better at Vim by creating a game to practice basic Vim motions.

In the screenshot below, we start the game using the :VimBeGood command. We choose the type of motion and difficulty level we want to practice.

Using this plugin, we can train for word motions, up-down motions, motions and operators, left-right motions, and other movements.

For Vim motions, check out this article!

Neovim 101 — Motion

Explore motion plugins to improve the development workflow.

alpha2phi.medium.com

train.nvim

train.nvim is a plugin to train ourselves with Vim motions.

Using this plugin, we can

Train for up and down motions (:TrainUpDown)
Train for word motions (:TrainWord)
Train for text object motions (:TrainTextObj)

Online Games

Here are several interesting online games to master Vim.

Vim Genius

Vim Genius is a timed flashcard-style game designed to make us faster in Vim. There are tutorials for beginners and experienced users. For experienced users, we can learn Vim arglist, motion, macro, copy and paste, and other interesting topics.

Vim Adventures

Vim Adventures is an online game based on Vim’s keyboard shortcuts (commands, motions, and operators).

It is a puzzle game for practicing and memorizing Vim commands. It is an easy way to learn Vim without a steep learning curve.

We start the game with only the ability to move up, down, left, and right. As we progress, we talk to people and collect items and keyboard buttons. Each keyboard button adds to the set of commands we can give to the cursor until we master Vim.

Vim Snake

Vim Snake mainly trains us to use the direction keys (h, j, k, l).

OpenVim

OpenVim provides an interactive Vim tutorial. It is a good alternative to the built-in Vim tutor. It provides tutorials to learn most of the Vim basics.

Check out the article Learn Neovim The Practical Way for all the Vim/Neovim articles!

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