How Shadow Fortress Project Began...

I still have a working original Dark Tower and, over the years, found myself replacing missing or damaged parts. What started as a practical need turned into an excuse to spend time with CAD software and a 3D printer. Before long I was recreating replacement flags, keys, pegs, and other pieces that had become difficult to find.

After sharing some of those files online, other Dark Tower owners started asking for copies. It was interesting to see how many people were still keeping these games alive decades later.

At some point I started thinking less about replacing old parts and more about what could be built today using modern tools. Between software development, graphic design, 3D modeling, and 3D printing, I already had most of the pieces sitting in front of me.

So, I opened Python on my desktop

and started experimenting.

At the time it was just a Python application running on my desktop. The goal was simple: see if the idea actually worked.

Everything that followed came from that initial experiment.

Initial desktop code tests