Steam Match Maker tool (getting started on your portfolio).

Having projects in your portfolio to show at interviews is always important.
But what if you don't have much to show?
Then you need to create something, even if it might not be anything special.

That is why I thought I would share the simple tool I whipped together in an evening a couple of days ago. This will be on my portfolio at https://www.codeslasher.com/ as well.

I was bored one evening and I got the idea of trying out the Steam web API, since I am going to be using that for another larger project.
I then started researching the API and a couple of hours later I had created this tool: https://matchmaker.codeslasher.com/

I used the Laravel framework written in PHP, along with Bootstrap, which of course sped up the process quite a bit.

The site allows you to enter Steam user vanity urls names and/or SteamId64's.
The tool then uses the API to gather a list of all games attached to the accounts, and compares them to create a list of shared games across all the accounts.
It then picks a random one to suggest the user, and lists the other matching games on the right.
It also has a simple switch to only search for shared multiplayer games.

I am most likely going to redo parts of it, in order to make it feel a bit more responsive to the user, since it currently hangs for a second or two when searching.
I am also going to fix a few minor issues on mobile.

UPDATE: I fixed the things mentioned above. When creating portfolio items, even if just as filler material, you should still always update them and keep them bug free.

Let me know what you think, and if you have suggestions or questions.

Till next time!

-Martin.