Fingerjig 1.3 is now available to play and it comes with a new feature that I think will particularly help players who are learning to type. I’ve had to restrict the new feature to Firefox only, so I’ll explain why I had to do that in a moment. For those of you who are using Firefox you’ll now see an on-screen keyboard directly beneath the game:
Fingerjig 1.3's shiny jQuery based on-screen keyboard
(Just to go off on a quick tangent: if you’re like me you might be wondering what “exsanguinating” means. The answer is “to be drained of blood” – how delightful. Now where was I…)
As you type the corresponding keys on the on-screen keyboard will light up, giving you an idea of where your fingers are. It’s a great aid when you’re starting out and trying to get your fingers onto the correct keys, as you shouldn’t have to look down so much. If you’re already a fast typer then you might just enjoy seeing the keys light up as your fingers whiz around the keyboard. I’m sure some players will find it distracting, so simply click the “close” link and it won’t bother you again. Simple.
Just for Firefox
And now to explain why the on-screen keyboard is only available for Firefox users. The reason is that I implemented it using jQuery, which is a great Javascript framework. Taking this approach allowed me to knock the keyboard together relatively quickly and I also found it fun to do. Unfortunately not all web browsers are equal and the performance of Javascript varies too much for this feature to work satisfactorily in other browsers, such as the all important Internet Explorer.
So that’s why I’ve reluctantly had to restrict the new feature to just Firefox. About 40% of visitors to this website use Firefox, which is quite respectable. But obviously I’d like to roll this feature out to the other 60% of visitors, so I’ll have to try and find some time to write a pure Flash version.
