Dev Log: Goon Game Sprint 9 (6/3/24)

This entry shouldn’t be long as not much happened in the previous week. That is by design, by the way. Progress, as always, marches onward, but I have reached the point where we need to see measurable feedback on how the game plays to structure future developments. So, to not bog down that necessary development, this sprint has been leaner, focused entirely on preparing, organizing, and committing to outsider testing. On that front, we have a set date for this upcoming Saturday, and we plan to continue these tests at least bi-weekly after that. While those testing sessions will no doubt yield beneficial data to improve and evolve the game overall, I fear that I am reaching the limit of what I can do physically.

From the start, I have always intended this project to be a video game. All the documentation is structured with that in mind, and whenever I talk about the game, I make it a point to remind people that the currently playable version will transition to a digital format by the end. But now that we are getting to the point where the game is not in constant flux and a foundation is beginning to form, I must now consider the real reality that for this to go any further, I will have to start building a digital prototype. This has always loomed over this project from the beginning, something that I have been quick to push aside or try to forget about due to my lack of expertise on the subject.

It has been recommended that I perhaps use AI to help build the game’s foundation. While I am not opposed to allowing an AI to do most of the leg work, my concern comes from my lack of understanding. So even if I take that shortcut, I’m still left with a prototype that I don’t know how to edit or add to, and depending on the limitations of the language model I used, I might not be able to get it to understand everything I am trying to do. Then again, I could break the problem up into smaller chunks: a combat chunk, a base interaction chunk, and a resource tracking chunk, and then glue them together myself. That way, all I have to do is set new parameters to get each chunk to talk with one another during the same project.

This sprint is the calm before the storm: one to focus on what needs to be done in the immediate before preparing for the larger challenges yet to come.