It’s hard to believe a whole month has gone by already. Well, almost a whole month. My first post was on the 8th of February, so it’s more like a three-week review. But a lot has happened, so lets delve right on into it.
I’m in a hurry!
February was about getting back into the game, exploring early concepts, learning basic skills around 3D modelling and an early, humbling lesson on humility when it comes to re-entering the industry after so long away.
What does it all look like now?
Untitled Fish Swimming Narrative
Practically abandoned for now. It requires skills I don’t currently possess, but I may revisit the idea in the future.
Conveyor Puzzle/Sim Game
Going well so far. I have an interesting mechanic and want to explore how this will fit into a game. It’s not certain that it will survive prototyping, but looks promising so far.
What did I actually do last month?
- Set up note keeping (which has proven to be invaluable already!)
- Jumped right in on the idea bandwagon, listing every game idea I could come up with
- Started learning how to create models in Blender
- Started (and abandoned) my first idea for a game
- Started my first and second prototype for my next game
What have I learned?
- The humbling experience of returning to a field as an amateur (not saying I was great before, but at least I could move on from blank scene)
- How to create some basic models in blender, and apply simple colour materials to them
- Prototyping is a pretty quick method of ruling in or out concepts, without spending loads of time going the wrong way.
What’s in the way?
Well it goes without saying that my ideas outmatch my skills by a long shot. It’s hardly a surprise going in though. Even my toned down expectations are stretching my limited abilities.
If I were honest with myself, I think my perfectionism is the main thing stopping me progressing quicker. I like the code to be in neat little bundles, and while I try to resist refactoring code that works, I have spent at least a handful of days in the last month making things cleaner, tidier, shorter, etc.
I wonder if this is a method of procrastinating working on the next part, especially when it’s something that I don’t quite know how to tackle yet. It’s hard to tell, especially in the moment, because on the surface, a part of the code can genuinely be in need of being redone, or it could just be a distraction. If I recognise this going forward, I’ll try to put a bigger effort into putting the brakes on to figure out the reason.
What’s the next month looking like?
More of the same, I think. I’m still fumbling about a bit, but I’ll be doing some prototyping, learning modelling and developing those basics a little further.
I’m approaching the final stages of the second prototype, and my path will become much clearer once I reach that. I expect that I’ll need to start thinking about how my game will actually look before too much longer, as grey boxes and a bad UI will only do so much here.
I have a lot to learn, and not a lot of time to learn it in, so I’m hoping to find some high quality resources to help me on this journey.
Anything to shout about?
Nothing much to be showing off yet – but I’m sure it’ll come! I’m pleased with my progress in general – particularly that I explored a few different concepts before switching out for another one, but most of all I’m thrilled that I have a fun little list of ideas, many of which still interest or excite me when I read over a few weeks later (and maybe one or two that make me cringe a little)
Anything to frown about?
Like I mentioned earlier, I’m not fussed about not having the skills needed. That’s what I’m here to develop. Come back in a year, and I’ll still be a shoddy artist, but I bet I’ll be miles above now, if I stay the course.
What does bother me is that I don’t know how to find out what I don’t know. Not knowing how to ask a question, such that I can actually find the answer. I can say 3D modelling, and I can focus it to game design and get close. But I can’t articulate an art style I’m imagining. And if I don’t know how to say what’s in my head, what chance would anyone else have? It’s not a problem I have a definitive answer to. Hopefully I’ll figure it out.
Any useful resources?
| Link | Description |
|---|---|
| Grant Abbitt | A very approachable YouTube channel for teaching Blender. I followed through a starter series, which gave me enough confidence to purchase one of their courses from gamedev.tv which has also helped enormously. |
| Game Maker’s Toolkit | A channel covering game design analysis and insights into development. He even made his own game, and shared his insights into various aspects. All round a good source of inspiration and thinking when it comes to game mechanics and design concepts. |