I Built a Retro JavaScript Game About Pair Programming With a Brilliant Asshole

📰 Dev.to · John Munn

Learn how a developer built a retro JavaScript game about pair programming with a difficult coworker, revealing systems design lessons

intermediate Published 31 Mar 2026
Action Steps
  1. Build a simple game using JavaScript to simulate pair programming scenarios
  2. Design a pixel-art UI to represent the game environment
  3. Implement hidden tests and interruption logic to mimic real-world distractions
  4. Apply systems design principles to create a engaging and challenging game
  5. Test and refine the game to ensure a smooth user experience
Who Needs to Know This

Developers and designers can benefit from this article to understand the importance of social dynamics in engineering decisions and how to design systems that account for human factors

Key Insight

💡 Bad engineering decisions are often social before they are technical

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🚀 Build a retro JS game about pair programming with a difficult coworker & learn systems design lessons 🤖

Full Article

I built a retro JavaScript browser game about fixing tickets while surviving Chuck, a brilliant but socially corrosive coworker. Under the pixel-art UI, it became a systems design exercise in hidden tests, interruption logic, and the truth that bad engineering decisions are often social before they are technical.
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