Game Development: Build 0

Embarking on the journey of game development is an arduous road and every attempt is destined to gain momentum.

Game development is a dynamic and multifaceted field. It's not uncommon for projects to face stagnation or slow progress. Each endeavor, regardless of its outcome, contributes to the developer's growth. The realization that not every attempt needs to be an instant success is a crucial mindset shift that allows for resilience and perseverance. I am not dissuaded by my own setbacks. Going back to basics and shoring up the foundations of my skills is just a reality I'll experience over and over again.

The daunting nature of a project tends to trigger my need to postpone. Ironically its not the individual hurdles that lead me astray but getting underway everyday. I've been cultivating some techniques to get into a better daily workflow. We'll see how that works out.

Other mistakes was biting off more than I could chew right from the onset. I picked an overly ambitious project and tried to use my knowledge of Unity before I had properly cultivated it, failing to follow my own advise. I moved right off of simple tutorials and introductory level courses for the engine and tried my hand at a full project solving issues piecemeal. The wall I hit first; in hindsight, was the first clue that I wasn't on the right path. The patchwork nature of my first prototype made I would need to start from scratch to accommodate features I wanted and reach even a modicum of polish. It's through these errors that I'm now refining my craft and developing a deeper understanding of the intricacies of the Unity engine. The game development journey is a continuous learning process. I don't want to sound like I'm knocking how informative failures are. Reflection and analyzing one's mistakes is an invaluable skill that propels growth.

There was a great deal of turmoil for Unity this year. Besides the outright revolt by Unity users upon the announcement of the new payment scheme, most of the new features where all for ultra high-end 3D graphics. Raytracing, DLSS, Augmented Reality, and graphics pipelines were all things a lil' ol' 2D developer like me can't do much with...yet. All that turbulence had me thinking; like many others, about switching to another engine. Godot was the one to beat in case you were interested. At the end of the day nothing I plan to produce yet would be unduly effected by Unity's shenanigans.

What does the future hold? Well it back to the grindstone. I want to play the games in my head, that's not likely to happen unless I actually make them. My passion to make them isn't hampered by setbacks.