Project review #1: Metal Yoshi

The first project I want to talk about is my Discord bot, called Metal Yoshi.

Metal Yoshi started back in late 2017 as a single script bot, with only a handful of commands. no databases, and everything stored in simple .json files. It was running on my first ever server (which was essentially a Dell computer crammed with hard drives), and it was only ever in my testing Discord server. The above screenshot you see is the earliest I can find from it, but I can still remember the excitement of finally getting the bot to respond to commands in a controlled manner, and later the thrill of embeds working just perfectly.

Metal Yoshi was a project I worked on with a couple of friends, and it was my first ever time working with Javascript and Node.JS, and while I did have prior knowledge with other programming languages, this was my first major coding project. I started it with the expectation of only being able to get basic commands working, and nothing else. I knew nothing about databases, file management or anything; it was a total shot in the dark whether I would even continue development.

Fast forward 2 years later, and this bot has become a major project for me. I've poured several days of coding, trial and error into it, and I've come out with something that I consider impressive. I know more about Javascript now than I ever have, and the knowledge has helped me to learn other languages as well, like C# and C++. Metal Yoshi has a full SQLite database integrated in, many people use it every day, and it is able to run on it's own without needing intervention or restarts. I've even dedicated a small VPS to it, to make responses snappy. I've learned embeds properly, and ditched multiple libraries I used to think I needed. The bot now has 80+ separate commands, including music playback via Discord voice channels, a currency system, and even virtual marriage to other Discord users.

Metal Yoshi has been forked so many times, off into many separate projects. For instance, I have a version that is used by one of my best friends to mirror her stream chat into her Discord server, and visa versa. Shoutouts if you're reading this! Aside from that, I've created versions of the bot for specific Discord servers and purposes, and Metal Yoshi has been, and still is the biggest project I've ever worked on. It's always a work in progress, but I'm hoping to share some of that progress with all of you in the future!