One Week of Indie Game Development

In this week of indie game dev, I continue making progress on our fantasy/steampunk war machine building game! I add new buildings, research labs, gold nuggets and begin brainstorming on boss character concepts!
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GAME DEV COURSES:

[jackfrederiksen]

I think instead of having a health variable for your entire machine, each individual part could have it's own independent health. When a part's health drops to zero, then only that part would be destroyed. I think that this would help to further make your machine feel like something truly modular, and not a singular mass.

[wickedblade]

I am working on getting into game development myself but I am currently pursuing business as my full time job and have started several online businesses, and I think I have a few tips that could apply here. 1st I eliminated all unnecessary distractions from my work room, the only thing in there was my computer and a chair. I got rid of/tweaked my social media to make it a tool instead of a time black hole, eliminated/restricted notifications so they only came through at a certain time or not at all. I also devoted a time frame to my work where I would stay in that room and work from say 1 to 5 o'clock. Lastly my phone was turned off and in another room unless I was using it as a tool. I know that social media is definitely more important to what you do but it can still be turned into something used only as a tool such as devoting time each day where you read comments or interact with your community/working on your next video.

[infamousXsniper]

My main productivity advice is to understand what distracts you and train yourself to not be pulled around so easily by whatever distractions come about.

A good first step is to give yourself time to do nothing. We're usually trying to do something all the time and never give ourselves a break. Getting away from work to play a video game, watch videos or TV shows, or browsing social media is still work. Take some time to walk, read, write, draw, exercise, or literally just lay on the floor or stare at a wall. Finding time to not be distracted by external stimuli, especially that which comes from a screen, will really help with thinking through issues, figuring out solutions, and not being so easily distracted. It's also quite relaxing.

It's okay to stop working, just don't get pulled into an activity which will suck you in and drain your energy and motivation further. I usually find that exercise, going on a walk, or just laying on the floor doing nothing usually helps me recharge my energy and motivation.

By making a conscious effort to do nothing we train ourselves to resist impulses. It's liberating to not constantly be following whatever impulse comes your way and be able to focus on tasks which are more fulfilling.

[silverspuppet]

How I personally don‘t geht distracted is by setting generous Time frames for working or enjoying myself and making little goals, so I can give myself sense of achievment if that makes sense

[bodilliam]

The game is looking really great! I actually like the idea of the "energy" being named petrol, as it fits more in the aesthetic, and energy feels like an overused word in games.

[lvdb]

This game already looks so amazing in my opinion. Maybe you can try and make some of your buildings unlockable by finding them in the world I think that would encourage the player to explore the world.

Also to keep motivation up: try to take breaks every 30 minutes or something and then take a short break of 5 minutes. It always help me stay motivated

[kaogaroo]

I think the little critters on your machines should play a role. Maybe an attack? Or part of the lore. Also, you can add body types at the start like "Speedy" or "Bulky".

[mcjoface]

LOVE how this game is taking shape. Love all the ideas too. Good stuff.

[freaks]

Welp here goes:
- in between stages after bosses to use resources without threat.
- research to increase efficacy of parts, depending on how long runs are meant to last.
- individual parts can be damaged, fixed, scrapped
- modules floating around that can be attached, this may have broken parts that can be fixed/scrapped. Either from broken/enemy ships, or your own old ship from previous attemps.
-the capture thing can be a cage chomp that captures the closest enemy to it and later acts as an auto turret or uses skills depending on the enemy captured.

[chonkgames]

The game is looking incredible, loving the art style!

As for avoiding distractions, I don’t really have any tips. Whenever my mind starts to wander I put on a good jazz record in the background, it just really helps me focus.

Good luck!

[UnitDev]

Looks super fun already👍👍. also I think floating islands or other friendly ships with npcs are definitely a must, makes the game world feel alive and not empty.

[roobdoo]

I love your art style and it fits so well with the steampunk theme your going for!

Setting clear goals is always helpful for me and physically writing them down so at the end of the day you can check off what you've done giving you that dopamine reward feeling :)

[hagaar]

The name Behemoth (take away the "The" in front of it) really struck me. That's definitely the best name for the game if you ask me :D.

[axelyoung]

Game looks great, love the art style as always!

For productivity, I'd recommend looking into the pomodoro technique if you haven't tried it already! Allocating frequent, short breaks I think can really help keep your overall productivity and focus higher.

[eddiejuarez]

I find that listening to the same type of wordless music (like jazz, for example) during development sessions helps with transitioning into a productive mood

[BuckMan]

It would be cool that when your ship runs out of power you have to click a button several times to “jumpstart it” for slightly more energy. But each time it takes more clicks to jumpstart

[sasquatchbgames]

To improve focus, personally, I would turn your phone off when working, or better yet leave it in another room. You may need to tell friends and family that you won't be very reachable during your working hours, but until it becomes a habit sometimes it's just easier to get rid of the temptations altogether.

I actually also find that a morning or evening meditation practice will help improve your focus drastically. Forcing yourself for 10-20 minutes to just sit with your eyes closed and focus on your breath is PAINFUL, but once you get over that hump it's like your brain has "leveled up"

by the way, this game idea looks freaking amazing, can't wait to try it out!!

[cryptorcd]

I haven't watched your channel in a while and wondered what you are up to these days and wow this feels like it has a lot of potential to be a fun game!

[jeanmakesgames]

It'll be great to have some sort of portals of different color randomly appearing that moves the ship in different room making it able to catch either petrol, health, energy, or unlocking different optionnal abilities that could spice up the game! :)

[memile]

This is so exciting! You guys are going to make this an amazing game I'm sure!