Dev Log: October 16, 2024
For the first time since the game entered a story-complete state, I have done a full playthrough. This was mainly to test for values in the code that, when left unchecked, will crash the game.
earbuds in the storm
Adventure Game Studio is a finicky engine, whose saved games will break if serious changes are made to the script, so I needed to do this in a single run between daily game dev. I started yesterday evening and finished this morning.
Observation #1: I’ve gotten so much better at programming! There were not nearly as many problems in a full playthrough as I encountered in PT1. I mostly credit this to a deeper understanding of functions, local variables, and general code hygiene practices I’ve picked up over the years.
Observation #2: Oh my god, this game is long. I knew I was dealing with something bigger than PT1. I occasionally stopped to read when I thought a scene needed my attention, and I needed to stop a few times to fix bugs. But even if I’d skipped everything and played cleanly, this would’ve taken hours. (For reference, I was able to do a clean playthrough of PT1 in 30-40 minutes.)
I’ve discussed this a bit with editor Matt (who, in hindsight, I could never manage such a beast without), and we agree the game will be best enjoyed in chapters, each one averaging around 60-90 minutes when the player is engaged. This is a game I envision the player living with for a few weeks.
That said, it’ll be out of my control when it’s released, and I’ll be delighted by how thoroughly I’m wrong. Looking forward to people’s multi-day insomniac streams, speedruns where Mara clips straight through to the credits, microdoses of 1 chapter per month, and the one guy who skips every word to chase Pure Gameplay.
What I Got Into - October 13, 2024
I’ll have to think of a better thing to call these posts, although I like how it conjures images of me rooting through trash cans like a raccoon. Nothing to report in games this week since I’m pretty much playing the same stuff.
Websites
Hey, it’s a new category! Believe it or not, I’m still finding these - maybe more now than I have in years.
Toy Theater
I’ve been slowly rolling out kid-safe web privileges for my son, and this one came up through Kiddle. I’m blown away at the quality of this website, hosting dozens of educational games made by a team of artists and designers. Apart from an ad on the side there is absolutely nothing tech-predatory about this website. If you’re a parent (or just an adult using the internet in 2024) you will recognize how rare a website like this is.
KidsMenu
Not a new find, but a good pairing with the link above. You may notice I’m not very trusting of what tech has in store for kids. This is a Windows shell replacement that starts a user account with only the software you want your kids to use. Again, you would not believe how hard it is to find a tool like this online. This was released in 2011 by a dad who’s just as grouchy as me. The developer no longer offers support, but I found it incredibly simple to set up, and my son loves having the freedom to tinker.
Movies
Bodies Bodies Bodies (Reijn, 2022)
Very fun horror comedy that I missed when it came out. It’s probably best I saw it now, when everything sounds truly old (as opposed to dated in its time). Stylistically it owes much to the GOAT Spring Breakers, but it’s doing its own thing too. Each character archetype plays beautifully off one another, like a balanced RPG system. For the most part restraint is shown in the sneering parade of Gen-Z therapyspeak, although one long and overly indulgent scene almost toppled it for me. Overall it’s a great screenplay with spot-on casting.
Books
I stopped by PCX in Philly on Saturday - the first I’ve been able to attend - and was blown away by the presence. Between limited time and wrangling my son, it was a little overwhelming to see everything on offer, so I had to skip a lot. I made a bunch of hasty purchases and shared a few brief, fevered chats with other creators, the kind that tend to energize me for comics the rest of the year. Wish I could’ve stayed longer, but it’s fantastic knowing this kind of thing exists in my back yard.
Hypermutt (Alex Hoffman, 2022)
I’ve only begun reading through my pile of PCX books, but this one is a standout. It’s rare that I’m blown away by the freshness and technical craft of someone’s cartooning while also loving what they have to say. I hear this will be published by D&Q soon, but the collected minicomic is a real treasure in my hands.
Cometbus #59: Post-Mortem (Aaron Cometbus, 2020)
Picked this up at The Beguiling in Toronto last month. Cometbus is like a warm bath for me, and this latest is really hitting, as a look back on the punk institutions that survived or (mostly) died, and the optimism Aaron stubbornly mines from their remains. With each year of web rot, my own optimistic scene years continue to disappear without even a physical trace. This book gives me a sense of what I will soon be mourning and struggling to preserve.
Music
What riches in Philly this weekend - I was able to catch some of the RoxYunk Porchfest on Saturday. This event is better every year (though I might be biased because I can walk to it). Blocks are made car-free, everyone throws out their chairs, coolers and bounce houses into the road, and the neighborhood lights up with music played live from porches and van trunks. I didn’t catch the names of these bands - I was kid-wrangling once again, and none of the acts were really my style. But I’m pretty sure that wasn’t the point. The fact that, like PCX, it was completely free to wander in and out from, just stresses the joy and handmade community feel of Philly life.
Forever (Charly Bliss, 2024) My darlings are back, but I got around to this one kind of late. I only recently learned that lead guitarist Spencer Fox was a child actor who voiced Dash in The Incredibles, and it’s got me thinking (as clearly the band is doing) about age and a long career in art and the possibility of hitting people more than once at various times in your/their lives. Age inevitably becomes part of what your art is about if you’re being honest, and I love that CB continues to lean into that with full hearts.
Food
If the long weekend wasn’t enough, Mike and I were still craving a fancy night in. We made up a charcuterie board from all the tastiest things in the fridge, while excitedly discussing possibilities for our 10th anniversary next year.
we’re freakin’ married ova heah
Mike’s not vegan, but he’s spent this decade cooking beautiful things for me, and we have a lot of fun optimizing the vegan ingredients in our house. We both agree Bored Cow milk is a game-changer. They ferment the whey in a lab, no cows involved, and it really does taste better than anything so far. (Muscle Mer Says: Decent macros, too!) I found a single serving in a grocery store fridge, and was excited to discover it’s also sold in shelf-stable cartons. According to Mike it whips up into buttermilk very easily. As of typing this I’m digesting the very best pancakes.
Dev Log: October 9, 2024
I’ve been waking up hours before dawn more than I’d like. Having trouble finding stillness in the dark, thinking about ways to improve Smart functionality in my home, inventing situations where everything I cherish goes wrong… I’m gonna go ahead and blame those Liquid Death cans with the “microdose” of caffeine, yeah okay.
the author, moments before relieving the babysitter
In my restless hours I end up at my desk, picking at the neglected corners of my work. I finally took a deep breath in Sourcetree and merged my current work’s branch with the main source, which I haven’t touched in a month. I’m embarrassed to admit how much this simple act frightened me. Source control can’t be as safe as it seems, can it? (Before this, for years, I was syncing Dropboxes across devices. What do I know about safety?)
I’ve had no desire to write this week. That’s fine for now - there’s plenty of other things to do. Yesterday I jammed through a dozen art assets that, while not the most urgent, will (I think) help the game to tell its story during the testing process. It’s hard to feel the full effect of the writing when you’re looking at stick drawings, placeholder portraits, or characters who can only face front while walking. Since I’m working near the end of the game, this is my first time really appreciating Soren’s winter backgrounds as more than just files in my folder. They are enchanting, and deserve my best treatment.
But I do need to write soon. Everything at this point in the game feels cathartic or like some kind of goodbye. A lot of it is still a first draft and needs my attention. It’s possible I’m spinning my wheels, not wanting my connection to this world to end. Or I’m just circling slowly around the madness that facilitates writing, a process I really can’t predict or control.
Either way, I’m waiting to feel a way about something that needs to get done soon. I trust the process - urgency has always been a great motivator. Any time I’ve ever luxuriated in the Time it takes to Write, I’ve let good ideas go rancid. Better to feel that heat on my back, the tinge of desperation that makes love and creation and other risky endeavors feel like living.