Starting my Indie Game Dev Experience with a Postmortem

Hello World!
I have been working in Technical Services, whether it be the voice on the other end of the phone trying to bring calm and reason to your technical emergency, managing a startup tech company's service team, or implementing software, I have been providing technical services for... oh boy... about 10+ years.

It's time to search for change in my life. Though I wish I could just quit and leap into some form of indie development, it's jus not possible with the cost of living, so I have to build up some kind of support structure to produce this.

So this post mortem is not just to look at my latest project of spending 1 week of my 'spare' time on this idea/desire, and to follow through and completing it, but it's also to highlight additional skill sets I haven't really used, about looking at my previous gigs, and what I can do to better myself.  So let's begin this reflection!

Building a Base

So far I have created 2x Game Jams (1 winner + 1 middle of the road), 2x Fiverr gigs, this spur of the moment game, and a more fleshed out android game in the backlog. Godot has been a really lovely scripting language to be able to produce complex + fast code to produce visible results. It's been also useful to be a bit more skilled in a smaller platform like Godot to help me shine in the crowd, with mostly individuals and small teams reaching out to work with me on their projects, as their research has led them to Godot being an easier entry point vs. Unreal Engine or Unity.

Pairing this with my ability to communicate with my clients on where I am, any issues I foresee in the project, and routine check-ins have been all met with great appreciation. Now my sample size is only 2 people/teams, but I don't see myself stopping this practice. It's very useful working on a project with Project Management principles, highlighting Milestone markers, and showcasing when the Milestones have been hit, and provide chances of communication and tweaks to occur during the process reduces the stereotypical feature creep and 'not in scope' I have seen in my time in service.

With that in mind, there is something critical I am missing. 

• First: A polished entry point with clear mechanics.
• Second: Social Media, Social Media, Social Media.

First is pretty easy. I did that in my first Game Jam, even a little in the second, but the 2 Fiverr gigs have been a little less in that. It's surely a better experience for everyone to get a start screen, some instructions, and a starting point to begin versus just being dropped in a gameplay loop. There is just something about getting a Title Screen or Start screen that gives someone a feeling that what they are playing is a complete game. 

No Title Vs. Title

Second is going to be hard for me. That's utilizing Social Media. I don't like Twitter. I really don't like Facebook. It's time though to put that aside. I need to find a community where I can post thoughts and articles like this, a place to grow with others, and find an audience for the stuff I want to produce. It was in kindergarten, almost 30 years ago, in which I had dreams of making videogames, making mazes on paper that included keys and weapons. for others to solve, it's time to push through and make it happen.

So, it's time to dust off the YouTube channel, it's time to start searching for some Twitter communities, to start setting Google Alerts for reminders to post routinely.

It's time to get serious.

Next Steps:

So I never like to leave a report or retrospective without Next Steps, unless the project is 100% complete, which we have barely scratched the surface.

So what are the next steps? 

I have 2 really easy next steps, followed by 2 hard ones. 

Firstly, I want to create a YouTube video highlighting my experience developing this very quick game. and some of the shortcuts made for my sanity's sake.

Secondly, Tweet out this post and game, and Tweet out the YouTube video. Any recommendations for communities or locations to post is always appreciated! Please don't hesitate to follow me @Connor_BS.

Thirdly, what's my direction? Are there genre's I see myself focusing on? I really love rouge-likes, and random generations, so maybe I will have a bit of focus on that, but is that what I want to focus on honing? I know I sound wishy-washy right now, but it's a really important step, as it will both help me find an audience/customers, as well as make marketing myself a bit easier.

And finally, the really hard one... keep doing it. Going forward, I will be requesting any Fiverr gig the ability to devlog my experiences working on their project (with varying levels of detail) and pushing forwards with doing small fun projects to help expand my skill set.

That said, I am getting married mid May, and on my honeymoon till mid June, so there will be a quiet moment from me then, but I will continue to produce, and strive for a better and more fulfilling life for myself and my loved ones.

With that in mind, if you enjoyed this article, let me know!

Wishing you and yours all the best,
ConnorBS