About me

Hi, my name is Patrick Lin, and this is my website.

I’m currently a third year computer science student at the University of California San Diego. Here are a bunch of courses I’ve taken, or am currently enrolled in:

  • Advanced Data Structures
  • Design & Analysis of Algorithms
  • Software Engineering
  • Principles of Computer Operating Systems
  • Introduction to Computer Security
  • Programming Languages: Principles & Paradigms
  • Introduction to Computer Architecture: A Software Perspective

I am also currently a tutor for CSE 120: Operating Systems at UCSD. It has been my first quarter tutoring. I host lab hours every week where I help student either with conceptual questions or assist them with the course project. I also partly grade homework assignments and exams, splitting the work with the 8 other TAs and tutors. I’ve found tutoring to be a great experience; it is especially rewarding to see a student have a eureka moment and just get a difficult concept.

In my free time, I like to play all sorts of games: video games, board games, card games. I’m currently playing a lot of:

  • Project Nisei, a community led revival of Netrunner, a cyberpunk card game
  • Destiny 2, a sci-fi fantasy video game
  • Minecraft, a survival sandbox block game, also cultural phenomenon

About this site

This site is meant to be a small showcase of two projects I have done as an undergraduate, the first is an implementation of chess on Pico-8, and the second is a pomodoro timer website I made for CSE 110: Software Engineering. I have a page dedicated to each project, describing the process of working on the project, from start to end. Also included are either screenshots or demos of work in progress.

Writing about these two projects has also given me an opportunity to reflect on them, thinking about what I did well and what mistakes I made. I’ve been able to think more deeply about how I approach software development. In going back through my previous work and the git commits, slack messages, and code comments I had left, I’ve been able to see how I’ve changed and learned from these experiences. Some of this self-reflection is included in a short retrospective section at the end of each project page.

Also on this site is a critique of Pico Checkmate by Krystalman, which evaluates aspects of its game design. I also draw comparisons between my Pico-8 chess project and Pico Checkmate, hoping to show how my experience affects my opinions.

The final page in this site is a collection of links that I refer to in the other articles. The links are organized based on which project they are relevant to. Each link comes with a brief description of what resource is being linked to, how I used it in my own project, and how it can be useful for someone looking to do projects similar to mine.