#IndieDevLife

[zeatheninteractive]

New Project

Polishing up the 'Noughts and Crosses' script for closed testing! 🛠️🎮 Made some adjustments to the restart button visibility, added extra player prompts, and improved the overall flow—everything's set for some friendly competition! Excited to see how it performs in the upcoming testing phase. Testing phase here we come.

[nareshkumartech]

Game Dev Burnout: How to Stay Creative Without Crashing

Game development is an exciting and rewarding field, but it can also be incredibly demanding. Long hours, tight deadlines, and constant problem-solving can lead to burnout—a state of physical and emotional exhaustion that stifles creativity and productivity. If you’re working in game development, learning how to prevent burnout is crucial to sustaining your passion and success.

Recognizing the Signs of Burnout

Burnout often sneaks up on developers, but common symptoms include:

Chronic fatigue and lack of motivation

Difficulty concentrating or making decisions

Increased irritability or frustration

Loss of passion for your projects

Physical symptoms like headaches or insomnia

Acknowledging these signs early can help you take action before burnout takes full hold.

Strategies to Maintain Creativity and Well-Being

Set Realistic Goals Break your work into manageable chunks. Celebrate small wins rather than overwhelming yourself with huge milestones.

Take Regular Breaks Follow the Pomodoro technique or simply step away every hour to refresh your mind.

Create Boundaries Define work hours and stick to them. Avoid the temptation to work late nights or weekends constantly.

Stay Connected Share your challenges and successes with peers, mentors, or communities. You’re not alone in facing tough moments.

Incorporate Play and Learning Take time to explore new tools, play games, or experiment with side projects unrelated to your main work.

Prioritize Physical Health Exercise, sleep well, and eat nutritiously. Your brain performs best when your body is cared for.

How Smart Game Development Processes Help

Adopting smart workflows and tools in game development can reduce stress and increase efficiency:

Use version control to prevent losing work

Automate repetitive tasks

Plan sprints with flexible timelines

Delegate or collaborate when possible

Sustainable Creativity is Key

Burnout doesn’t have to be part of your game development journey. By balancing dedication with self-care and smart planning, you can keep your creativity flowing without crashing. Remember, a healthy developer makes the best games.

[spmwn]

Goodbye SPM Hello Unreal Engine

After a few days of solid thought, I decided to completely shelve SPM for now. It really breaks my heart, but I’ve gone over my contract with a fine-tooth comb and there is most likely no way to break it since I’m in the US and they are in China. I signed my rights away. Thank goodness I didn’t do that with Aden’s Adventure. The thing with Zoe’s is it’s actually pretty generic. Unless my editor, who has mysteriously vanished like a side quest NPC, can talk me into continuing, I’m done with SPM.

Update: I talked to my editor and decided that I’m going to finish the current storyline, then shift into the endgame—when I’m back in the mood for writing again. So, SPM will update once more, but I’ll wrap it up with a thrilling, full-stakes, all-or-nothing, multi-team battle royal. Think Hunger Games meets Mario Kart chaos.

In the meantime, I’ve moved on to a new project: Zanden’s Unreal Engine Clothing System.

Below, I've included images of the development of the bare-bones clothing system. At the top is the UE 5.5 mannequin wearing the nightshirt and wig I whipped up in Blender. It only took me about two hours from start to completion, but then it took another half hour or so to get it into Unreal. Updating the 4.27 blueprint to 5.5 took an additional two hours. Below that, on the left, is the clothing in the third-person blueprint. The right-hand image shows the clothing in-game. I could have made a camera boom or adjustment to zoom it in, but I want to keep the initial state of the template as much as possible so future users can buy and study it.

Since an old friend never replied, I’m assuming he either vanished into the void or got swallowed by a wormhole. It’s been pre-Covid since I heard from him, so I think it’s been long enough to officially claim rights to the clothing system we worked on together. With ChatGPT’s help, I’ve updated it to version 5.5. Now, it just needs a polish pass, a shiny interface, and a fail-safe to prevent people from doing silly things—like adding multiple hairstyles at once. (Because we all know someone would try.)

After browsing the marketplace, I couldn’t find a quality clothing system. That’s my cue. I’m thinking of offering two versions: a basic version for the casual devs and a pro version for the hardcore creators. Who knows? Maybe this is my ticket to finally making something worthwhile—and profitable.

Keep an eye on my BlueSky for updates at insanexade.bsky.social, and if you’d like to be part of the testing or just want to drop by and say hi, you can catch me on my Discord server at discord.gg/JKKQENM. I’d love to hear from you!

[thenickbarnett]

🚀 Today, let's dive into the balancing act that is personal game development while holding down a full-time job. The journey is a rollercoaster of balancing any free time you have, with needing to take a break after working for 9 hours. 🌙💻

The challenge lies not just in overcoming technical hurdles but in navigating the exhaustion that accompanies multiple responsibilities. There's a constant negotiation between the demands of a full-time job, burning passion to create and and spending time with your friends and family. Sometimes when people want to make games, and spend all their free time towards that goal, they forget they also need to keep up with the other aspects of life. 🕹️✨

Because of this, Small victories become monumental—a few lines of code, a completed character model, or a successfully implemented game mechanic. Each step forward is a testament to the commitment of creating a game. 💼➡️🎮

But let's be real—it's not always easy. There are moments of creative burnout, and evenings and weekends where you just want to sit on the couch and not touch your game. And you know what, thats ok. Its ok to take a break, to let yourself recharge. Because creating a game isnt easy. 💡💪

Good games are made by people who sketch ideas during lunch breaks, and who find inspiration in the midst of deadlines. Your journey is unique, your challenges are real, but so is your drive. Keep pushing those pixels and code snippets, for every line is a step closer to your game dev dream. 🚀🌟

[signal-failure]

Packing up review copies and vender resupplies to send out tomorrow! (I am DELIGHTED by the interest in Takeout, seriously, but I didn’t realize quite how much time I’d spend on non-design work.) #indiegames #indiedev #indiegamedevelopers #cardgames #smallmonstersgames #gamedev #takeoutthecardgame #takeout #takeoutgame #gamedevlife #behindthescenes #indiegamelife #indiedevlife #smallbusinesslife #smallbizlife #games https://www.instagram.com/p/CEDMnY-FT-S/?igshid=j883eln8phpe

[bblakeyyy]

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A post shared by Working on Vindefiant, a story of revenge😈 (@blakey.games)

BALANCE THE BLADE CAN NOW BE DOWNLOADED FOR FREE ON WINDOWS AND MAC❤️ Link in bio people! Show me what high score you can get❤️🙏🏻 - - - - - - #indiegame #indiegamedev #indiegames #indiedevlife #indielife #gamedevlife #gamedevelopment #gamedev #madewithgms #mdewithunity #indiegaming #gamedevelopers #indiegamedevelopper #unity2d #indiedev #platformer #indieplatform #indieplatformer #videogamemaker #indiegamestudio #indiestudio #indiegamer #indiegameart #indiegamelover #indiedevlife #indielove #videogamedevs #indiegamedevelopers #gamedevs #indie (at London, United Kingdom) https://www.instagram.com/p/CAX4h9DHD3t/?igshid=1xrlv237jg38r

[karaokulta]

Continuamos con el #KoGameJam y en su segundo día los avances llegan por parte de los participantes. Muéstranos también tu progreso!!! #gamedev #indiedev #karaokulta #games #gamestudio #videogame #indiedeveloper #gamejam #indiedevs #indiedevlife #amedios #gamedesign #gamemovil https://www.instagram.com/p/B-lb6-CDcXo/?igshid=1lcb495en6qei

[itsnerdaboutfashion]

Some wild friends while I'm jogging after work, I live in a wonderful place! #workout #workinghard #indiedevlife #indiegame #gamedevlife #acquiterme #green #nature #piemonte #monferrato #goodtime #deer (presso Acqui Terme)

[devsinco-blog]

First screenshot of the playable alpha! at last! #indiedev #indiegame #indie #indiegamedev #videogames #pixelart #videogame #pixelgame #pixelartist #arcade #actionrpg #gamedev #retro #screenshotsaturday #retrogaming #gamedeveloper #games #game #gameart #design #gamedevelopment #gamedev #gamedesign #unity3d #indiegamedev #indiegame #unitytips #mobilegamedev #game #developer #indiedevlife

[balladofsong]

Prepping for GDC

Now that we are past GGJ, I am getting ready for GDC at the end of this month. I purchased more business cards, packing my suitcase, and most importantly finding things to show off during the show. My one big problem is to stop being shy. I get very nervous trying to meet new people and to me in this industry everything is about who you know. ....I have about 3 weeks to become sociable. I have already accepted invites for parties and meetups. Next, at said meetups I have to stop living in my bubble. 

[nonagonthree-blog]

On a scale of 1-10 how bad is it that during a recent late evening conference call about the upcoming press release, my sole contribution for a good 15 minutes was the sound of snoring... ? #nonagon3 #theUGM #indiedev #indiedevlife #nosleeptillrelease

[exordiumgames-blog1]

Be wise and have a nice weekend!

[jameschappfillmore]

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A post shared by James Chapp Fillmore (@4lg1z)

"The score table" Animation https://jameschappfillmore.itch.io/zx-death-row-revolt-v007 #gamedev #indiedev #indiegame #indiegamedev #indieworldorder #indiedevhour #gamedevelopment #gaming #games #gameidea #earlyaccess #gamemaker #madewithgamemaker #gamemakerstudio2 #gamedesign #coding #programing #bug #pixelart #cyan #pinkcat #red #tv #score #xp #characterdesign #characterillustration #aliens #indiedevlife https://www.instagram.com/p/B-NpO4wHNQO/?igshid=1hpjqrobyuu6e

[someguynamedrob]

I think, secretly, we all worry that this is us.

[sukmadirafiuddin]

DreadOut dlc file, it's getting bloated with 3d environment art and audio files

[signal-failure]

Takeout’s on the way to some more game cafes. I packed these last night, and then went to the post office between my first school and my night class. I do it my own self! If you have a friend with a game cafe / board game club / gaming blog / etc, let me know! 
https://www.instagram.com/p/B5Er0Y6lr76/?igshid=1lo186ohgx0vf