Dev Log #1: v0.1.0

When making this game, I’ve been struggling with creating assets, and in the process I completely forgot to add certain things. But that’s fine—this is just a prototype for now. The purpose of this version is simply to show what the initial gameplay might look like (subject to change).

Re-learning the fundamentals of game development and design has been a pain, but it’s also been fun. I stopped developing my other game, REDO, but that doesn’t mean it isn’t worth pursuing. That project helped me learn more about asset creation and design, and I still have many ideas for it. I’ll share more updates about REDO on its own page later. For now, let’s focus on how I built this first prototype.

I’ve always been passionate about making things—whether at work or in my free time. At work, I enjoy understanding complex problems. With game development, my passion is to reach people through games: telling stories in non-linear ways, while also sharing my own struggles in life.

The base game began as a simple typing game (with more improvements and bug fixes to come). It’s inspired by my own experience back in senior high, when I played typing games to improve my speed. Over time, I realized it wasn’t just about typing—it was about what came with it: struggling with emotions and balancing school work. I wanted to encapsulate that feeling in this game. If you’ve played it, you’ll notice I enjoy adding hidden details. That sense of secrecy is intentional, but it’s not about being selfless—it’s about expressing my story in a way that players might stumble upon. I’m not aiming to make players understand me, but rather to share my piece. This game is my way of coping, of communicating feelings I can’t always express directly.

The most difficult part so far has been implementing the typing mechanic itself. I had to create a word list for enemies to draw from, and for the player to type against. I’m still working on a more scalable solution for handling words in future updates. Right now, I’m also focused on building a map inspired by my college campus—not a full recreation, but pieces of it as I remember.

That’s it for now. I’m aiming to drop the next update in 1–2 months. Thanks for following along, and see you in the next dev log.