Zeff Dev

While making a game level, I realized how much I was assuming about the player. I thought I had an idea of how players would think. But those are just assumptions until I playtest. The interesting part is that even then, I won't get an answer, just clues.

Once you fix the power source, 'they' somehow notice and rush toward the room. You have to finish the repairs before the barricade breaks. #gamedev

A grid based inventory system could be a key part of my game. I'm thinking about how to simulate repairing broken electrical equipment and this system could work for that. #gamedev

I feel like I keep seeing the same kinds of posts. Wishlist milestones, breakdowns of why a game succeeded, and devlogs. I imagine people get pretty tired of seeing them so I've been wondering how to stand out. I guess making a good game comes first. Honestly that's hard too.

Added noise to prop interactions. So you need to be more careful when collecting items. Otherwise enemies can use that noise to search for you.

Wow… this is not just a trailer, a short movie. So goose bumped in the part, robot vacuum cleaner, I felt this represents AI, cleaning the dirty hand draw painting on the floor

Now you can't stop the enemy from chasing you with just a laundry cart. And you can't escape just by closing a door either. #gamedev

Working on placing blockout props in the rooms and I think I quite like the vibe. #gamedev

Working on level design for the demo using vision, lights, and blockouts. Really happy to see it getting closer to what I had in mind little by little. #gamedev

Level design is really hard. It feels like I'm cooking. I have some systems to cook with, like inventory, enemy, and combat, but the result can be totally different depending on how I combine and balance them.

While the enemy is chasing you, closing a door just buys you a little time. Now they can break down doors if they can hear noise on the other side. #gamedev

A closed door won't always keep you safe. Make enough noise, and creatures can break it down. #gamedev

Notes and messages on the laptop help you understand what's happening here. Reading them can also update your quest journal. #gamedev

The dialogue options in my game aren't fixed. Depending on the choices you make, new questions can appear. #gamedev

I got a bit tired of sharing gamedev updates so I haven't posted in a month or two. But I'm still working on my survival horror game. I did take about two weeks off because I didn't feel like making the game. I thought I might need a break so I let myself have one. After that I worked on something you can't really see in the game yet. The story. It was hard because I'd never written one before but after about two weeks, I finally finished a story bible to use as a reference. Now I'm using it to plan the levels in more detail.

Updated the tutorial in my game with item highlights and step-by-step hints that update as you play. It's much more intuitive now than the old version, which was just text on the walls. #gamedev

After making several icons by myself, I don't need to search for icon packs on the internet anymore. I used to dig around for a long time to find the icons I wanted. And that is really cool! I still need more practice but I'm more confident about making UI for my game now.

Working on the skill tree. Zoom, pan and tooltips are in, with the skill icons I made the other day. #gamedev

What did you do today? Me: Icon work.

My first time making a skill tree! You spend SP to unlock new abilities. Really rough but I think it's a good start. #gamedev