1 YEAR of Progress on My Indie FPS - Devlog

One year of development on my co-op, round-based zombie FPS... sort of. I took some time off from game dev, but the game has come a loooong way since the last video, at least visually. There is still a lot more to do, but I'm really happy with how things are looking. Hope you enjoyed this devlog!

I am making this game using Unity & HDRP. The game is set in World War I, and the gameplay is inspired by Call of Duty zombies - i.e. a round-based co-op zombie shooter. The visuals are inspired by Battlefield I.

Social media things:

#devlog #gamedev #unity

[woodbyte]

Knowing how hard it is to get back to a project is by far the greatest incentive to never quit working on it to begin with.

[NorwinLabs]

If you get tired of developing, ALWAYS watch other people's dev videos. This one gave me a refresher

[AetherXIV]

great work not giving up. us hobby devs need that energy

[stepgames]

Inspiring asf! I'm also stuck on an fps project needing to finally figure out how to clean it up and finish the mechanics. I really hope I can bring myself back and finish it.

[michaelol]

Pretty cool, I can see you turning this into something pretty great with story lines and back stories for characters if that's where you want to take it. Wish you the best of luck I'll be keeping an eye on this project

[nostalgiagaming]

"The Kaiser's Trenches" is an idea haha. Seriously though good on you man, I wish you all the best with everything.

[desawwww]

the custom blender export and import in unity is quite impressive ngl, great video mate i really enjoyed watching it

[neogamecraft]

"Unforgiving apocalypse" would be a good name!

[Flamsleburger]

THIS IS SUCH AN AWESOME IDEA. Not to mention the amazing execution, I can't wait to play this eventually with my friends. This looks so good!

[ThreeRoundBurstMusic]

I want to see so many more WW1 games. I’ve always been weirdly fascinated by it over WW2. So excited to see how this progresses!

[idontwanttopickone]

Looks great! Love the hat!
It's also great to hear how you overcame a difficult time in this game's development. I have been through a similar situation with burnout on a game and hopefully, the following information will help others from burning out or overcome burnout:
1. Don't be too hard on yourself. If you are feeling overwhelmed with any project (not just games), know that this is very normal and it's ok to worry about it or mess it up. We learn from mistakes, so simply doing it as best as you can or even at all, teaches you loads about how to make it better. Think about all the things you are good at and how you were once terrible at them. Now know that whatever is going wrong in a project can be fixed and will be fixed because you are learning from it. Simply doing something is way better than doing nothing at all as it'll get you moving in the right direction.

2. Take a break. It's important to give yourself time to think and relax. Step away from your computer, step away from work, go for a long walk or a run, get some sun, or see some friends. Switching off and doing some relaxing exercises will help you relax and improve your creativity - that means you'll be better at problem-solving. Make sure you are eating, drinking and sleeping properly - aka don't neglect your health for the sake of a project. Working until the early hours will only make you worse the next day. So, set an end time in the day and stick to it. If you find yourself right in the middle of a creative burst right when you should be stopping, stop work, write down a note that sums up where you were and places it right in the middle of your work area so you can't avoid it - I use post-it's on the bottom of my screen, so I see them before I even turn my PC on. The next day you will read that note and carry on as if you haven't stopped. Looking after yourself will make everything easier.

3. Break it down. Whatever the project or problem involves, breaking it down into smaller and smaller chunks will make it way easier to digest. Think about it like food, you don't pour your whole plate of food into your mouth and swallow it whole - you'd choke to death if you did. No, you cut it up into pieces and put small pieces into your mouth, then you chew it up into even smaller pieces. That way you can actually deal with a whole plate of food. The same must be done with any project you are doing. You know you can't do the whole project all at once. You know you have to break it down into smaller chunks. So start with one part of the project and then cut that up into smaller and smaller parts - maybe it's just one line of code or finding one art asset on a website or writing a list of all the things you would like to write about in an essay. The smaller the chunk, the easier it is to digest.

4. Make plans and don't worry if you don't stick to them. These don't need to be big elaborate spreadsheets or detailed designs of what you hope to do. They can be as simple as a note with a list of things you want to do the next day or a little doodle of what you hope things will look like. Or they can be a big detailed document of all the parts of your project. Do what is right for you. Put your plan somewhere you can find it or be reminded of it when you need it, but out of the way enough so that when you need to switch off you won't be thinking about it all the time. Remember a plan is supposed to help you, so don't be afraid to rip it up if it's holding you back or stressing you out. A plan is there to help you get things going in the right direction and it's ok if that direction changes as you work on your project. Make a plan that is right for you and will help you achieve what you want to do.

5. Talk it over. It doesn't matter what you are stuck on, talking about it will help. Find someone who will be positive about what you are doing and will listen to what you say and give you positive feedback on your thoughts. Sometimes it's not about what their response is, it's simply about vocalising your concerns so that you can get them out of your head and into a digestible form. Avoid people who are extremely negative or will look for flaws in things you do, especially if you are very early in a project or grappling with issues - these people will likely make you quit the project entirely. You want someone who will congratulate you on what you have achieved so far and give you space to explain the issues you are having without the burden of criticism. You can ask for critical people's opinions when you are feeling comfortable with where the project is and when you need a critical eye to really polish it.

6. Do a little each day and congratulate yourself for the little you have done. This isn't always possible to do, life gets in the way. But making a habit of working on a big project, like making a game, a little every day, will make it easier to get back into the project when you need a break. It'll be fresher in your mind and you won't have to spend ages reminding yourself of where you were. Alongside this, it's really important to congratulate yourself on what you achieved today. Don't think about what you haven't got done today. Instead, list off all the things you DID get done today and say to yourself "well done, I did a good day's work today" no matter how short that list is. Even doing one thing is still a step in the right direction and being aware of that is critical to getting a big project completed and avoiding burnout.

7. Create positive associations with your project and overcome difficult challenges. Every time you find a task difficult and you manage to work out how to do it, when you fix it, vocalise it as a positive self-congratulatory cheer. Think about how athletes and sports stars celebrate when they score a point in their game - it's big and over the top. Do the same when you overcome something difficult in your project. If you are making a game and struggling with a bit of code that isn't working, then you fix it. The moment you know it is working, stand up, smile, laugh, pump the air, cheer and whoop out loud, and do a bit over-the-top dance - whatever makes you feel good and silly. Think about what you had to do to get to that happy moment and congratulate yourself on doing all that to get there. Make yourself feel extremely positive about overcoming that hardship, especially if you feel silly doing it (let that silly feeling turn into a positive laugh or giggle). Do that every time you do something positive for your project. Then when you get to a big challenge your mind will start to associate that initial challenge with a future reward of positive feeling hormones flooding your brain, which will improve your focus on that problem and increase your likelihood of putting up with the difficult part to get to the end results. Basically, it'll make you more resident to challenges.

8. ACTION LEADS TO MOTIVATION - write that by where you work. It is the most important lesson you can learn. If you want to get something done, if you want to learn something new, if you want to improve your life in any way, you have to do an action to get the motivation to do the next action. Motivation comes from doing something towards your goal, not the other way around. Why, because doing something towards a goal gives you a little investment into that goal. Doing an action towards your goal becomes an investment in that goal, which is then something you can look at and say "well I did that towards my goal yesterday, so I can build upon that today" which in turn allows you to create more reason to do the work needed to complete the task, aka motivation. It doesn't have to be a big action, especially at first. It can be the smallest baby step. But you need to do it to gain that motivation you need to complete a bigger objective. Getting out of bed is an action that will improve your day and your life. Going for a short walk is an action that can lead to running a marathon. Opening Unity is an action that will lead to making or finishing a game. Writing a list of topics is an action that will get you writing that essay. Slapping some paint on a blank canvas is an action that can lead to a masterpiece. The list is endless. But it all starts with a small action. And it's ok if that is the only action you do towards your goal today. Pat yourself on your back and congratulate yourself on taking the first step. Then keep it going the next day. You will make it. I believe in you!

[JuJu]

Ngl you have some of the funniest edits and timed jokes

[stickguy]

The game is looking great so far. Waiting for more updates

[Therealjimpter]

This game has lots of potential. More guns, maps, and zombies would make this game a bestseller.

[OdestRaven]

i thought this game was going to be not as good because of the first thing you showed us but i think this is going to go very far and from this video i think it has a lot of potential in the coming year . it looks awsome

[virtualplush]

Names: “Zombies at war” “WW1Z-World War 1 Zombies” “Dead Trenches”

[GTObrad]

Dang. Good job so far. I used to think making video games was something unattainable without working for a company. But you're out here doing it... all of it... the way you want it to be. Very inspiring.
1. I know the struggle if not completing projects 😩
2. Call it Zombie Tic Tacs lol

[DuckDQuack]

Looks good! I am excited to see how this project end up.

[nateheney]

man turned his shopping list into folders XD nah but seriously it's looking great

[iwoparzynski]

i think "tictac invasion" would be a nice name