On October 1st I started my current project, an attempt to build and release a game within 100 days. If it happens to fall behind I can always continue from where it winds up, but the first 10 days have been amazing! I am extremely happy with progress so far and you can use my stream as a coworking zone.

The first 3 days I tackled core-loops, being able to collect scraps, purchase upgrades and run some very simple drag races. I ignored any polishing, and left things hard-coded or without "player facing feedback" with the single priority to get the loops connected and flowing in some manner. I did choose to go with my custom engine, and that will have both pros and cons, but I was so happy with the parallax backdrop.

It took less than 10 minutes to create silly clipart and a parallax backdrop in my engine.

This was such a nicety and for all the things that might seem painful, the good stuff like this gets swept away without reward and it shouldn't. I tackled parallax backdrops since another developer joined the project and will tackle art and other misc. assistance.

The First Challenge

Day 4 to 8 was preparing for first community playtest and the first real challenge presented itself. I wanted scrapping cars to work a certain way but couldn't figure out how the tech/skill tree could be large enough while also having each upgrade feel impactful. It was easy to make a small tree with each purchase remaining meaningful, but who wants a tiny skill tree? This had me brainstorming of different approaches and I actually remade the scavenging scene 4 different ways before finally working through all my problems.

In the midst of those days I felt the pressure of the clock especially since rewriting the scenes, while still quite quick, took extra time. It was necessary and by end of day 8 I was quite happy with the direction. All the pieces finally started falling into place.

MONSTER DAY

Day 9, yesterday, was crazy productive. I believe this stems from the project not being 100 consecutive days. I specifically chose to do 100 "days of work" in order to avoid crunch. I'm still pressured, sure, but my schedule on the project is 4 days a week, Tues-Fri. I am aiming for at least 4 hours on those days but have also had a few 10 hour days. If I'm feeling productivity fall, or mental capacity drain, then I take the break. Day 9 though was ... huge.

• Added stubs for localization lookups
• Every string in code runs through stub
• Created a Developer Console tool
  • Added commands; view unlocks, unlock key, give resources
• Refactored skill/tech tree upgrades
  • To help reduce maintenance mistakes
  • To cover saving/loading issues when that comes
  • To keep code from being repeated
• Created an entire skill-tree editor
  • No more manual csv modifications
  • Easier moving/balancing of upgrades
  • Visual editing of placement for speed

I was hesitant about diving into the upgrade editor, every hour spent on this 100 day project matters. And that is actually the point of the 100 day limitation. Pay attention to what gets focus and not get lost where it doesn't matter. For every hour spent building the upgrade tree I need to save an hour in editing the tech tree by hand, or at least gain an hour of work from the quality of life upgrades not being mentally draining. Considering how quickly I can now reorder the tech tree, I will say it was worthwhile.

Take a Step, Gain Momentum

Dive into your project and make progress. Set a goal count and a challenging number of days. It doesn't need to be "release a game in 100 days", maybe it's "create an awesome credits scene in 4 days" or "prepare a demo build in 30". Try to leverage the challenge to increase efficiency, but realize that there will still be good and bad days; loses and wins.

Join my stream for chill vibes and background noise as a virtual coworking place to hangout. Share your journey, challenges and progress!