Devlog Update #1
It’s been almost two months since I committed to launching my first video game within a year. I’ll be honest — I don’t have much in the way of a playable prototype yet (scroll to the bottom to see a clip of what I do have complete). At first, that felt a little discouraging. But when I thought about it more, it actually made a lot of sense.
There was A LOT I was doing right after kickoff that didn’t directly look like “game progress,” but was critical for building a foundation that will help my project succeed long-term. Here’s a rundown of what I’ve been working on:
Despite being behind on prototyping, here’s what I’ve accomplished in the last two months:
1. AI Tools:
I spent time learning how to use AI to boost my research, project management, and productivity.
2. Gamedev Work Roadmap with Notion:
I learned how to use Notion as a full project management tool, building out a timeline and task lists to help me stay organized and launch on schedule.
3. Daily Art Practice:
I committed nearly an hour a day to drawing in Procreate to sharpen my art skills. Below is a sketchpad of a few of my 3-minute gesture drawings to help practice my shape language and learn the proportions of the human body.
4. Launching ethanmarcello.com
This was a big milestone for me — I’ve dabbled in web development before, but this is the first time I’ve launched a site that I’m proud of.
5. Engaging with the Community
I’ve been more active on Reddit, learning from what other devs are working on and how they share their projects.
6. Joining a Game Dev Accountability Group:
I joined a Discord group with about 18 other designers and devs. It’s been great to see everyone’s progress and keep each other motivated.
7. Agile Workflows in Notion:
Although not working as well as I would like, I do have an automated page generator for my daily scrums that helps keep me focused day-to-day on smaller tasks that help build the big picture.
8. Market Research
I practiced identifying target audiences and documented my findings for several of my early game ideas using Google Sheets.
9. Brainstormed 25+ Game Ideas — Picked One:
I explored over 25 ideas, started a few rough design docs, and finally narrowed it down to the one I’m going to build.
10. Idea Capture System
I built a quick process inside GoodNotes for capturing new ideas as they come to me.
Different Than Expected, But Vibes Have Been Good
In these first two months, I’ve felt more like a project manager than a game developer. That wasn’t what I expected at first, but past experience has shown me that putting the pedal to the metal on game dev right out of the gate is a recipe for disaster. Some careful thought and planning in the early stages of a project can go a long way to create a stronger vision and more long-term focus and self-accountability for my work.
At the end of the day, this means that the few times I have sat down to build so far have felt focused, productive, and fun! Stay tuned to see if things stay this way — as I swing into the saddle and ride full-speed into prototyping and development.
Combat Prototype Started
I did finally start putting together an early combat prototype! Basic movement, hitboxes, some knockback, and I’m on my way to programing enemy movement as well.
There’s a lot more to come, and I’m excited to keep building.
Stay tuned for the next update!
BUILD ON EVERY DAY
-Ethan