Starting the Game Journey

I finally decided to follow one of my oldest dreams: making a game. I thought it would be easier these days with advances in AI, and all the tools available that help with creating sprites, writing code, and planning stories. It seemed like everything was ready for me.

But wow... I didn’t imagine it would be so tough.

This devlog marks the beginning of my journey. It’s not just about the game, but about everything that led me to this point how it started, what I’ve learned so far, and what I’m still figuring out.

Let's dive in.

How It All Began

As some of you know, I'm a software developer now but that wasn’t always the plan.

I learned coding because I wanted to make a game. That was my main goal. I've shared this story before in a post called How I Became a Developer but in short, I didn’t set out to become a web developer. My aim was to build a game.

Back then, I tried learning things like C# and Unity. But life took me on a different route. I moved into web development, then branched out into broader software work. It was practical, and honestly, I began to enjoy it.

But then something unexpected happened.

I stumbled upon my old notes. Really old the kind I scribbled down when I was about 12 or 13. Looking at them now feels a bit embarrassing, but also kind of amazing. That young version of me had big dreams. One of those dreams was this game.

And I thought why not try to make it now?

It would be a fun project, and it could be a nice addition to my portfolio. More importantly, it's about doing something for the kid who believed anything was possible.

First Challenges

When I began working on this project, I was sure things would be easier because AI is everywhere nowadays. It's in coding, art, and design I assumed I could input some prompts and let AI handle the difficult parts.

The first major decision was whether to use a game engine or build everything on my own.

Eager to take on a challenge, I initially chose to build without a game engine. I thought, "Let's go with Rust. It's clean, fast, and hardcore."

This turned out to be a big mistake.

After writing around 8,000 lines of code, it became clear how wrong my decision was. There was no physics engine, no rendering shortcuts just me grappling with Rust.

So, I changed course. I opted to use a game engine, choosing GODOT. Although it was challenging to learn at first, the supportive community and extensive guides made it much easier than creating everything from scratch.

Challenges with Sprites

Next came the issue of sprites.

I believed AI could manage this too. I simply requested it to "generate character sprite sheet." That should have been straightforward, right? But it wasn't.

Each try resulted in a mess. Nothing lined up correctly, and the sheets wouldn't animate as they should. I tried multiple tools but faced the same disappointing results.

Ultimately, I had to do what I wanted to avoid: learn pixel art.

This was tough for me. I'm not naturally skilled at drawing, especially small pixel characters. But I found a solution I used AI to create character concepts and then pixelated them myself, frame by frame.

Progress was slow, and I'm still not an expert, but the game feels like my own creation now, not just a mix of tools I couldn't fully grasp.

Completing the first character took nearly two weeks of daily effort. I spent hours trying to make the walking animation appear natural. It was frustrating, but when I finally succeeded seeing my character move in the world I created the feeling was amazing.

Building a World

After tackling the character sprites, I plunged into pixel art. I even thought about creating my own font.

The font has a blocky, pixel-like style, inspired by Minecraft, a game I hold dear. If I was crafting my own world, it seemed fitting to design the text too. It's not flawless, but it's mine, adding a sense of authenticity.

Once the character sprites looked decent after much trial and error, I focused on the terrain.

Reviewing my old notes, I recalled the game modes I had imagined:

• A story mode with a set path, storytelling, or challenges.
• An explorer mode that is open and allows players to roam freely.
• A third mode I had forgotten: a procedurally generated world, akin to a solo Minecraft survival experience.

The last idea particularly struck me. It’s what I want to explore first a vast world you can wander about without any specific goal, purely for the experience and discovery.

For world design, I've been experimenting with different landscapes and environmental storytelling. I want players to discover old ruins or enigmatic monuments and wonder about their past small mysteries that don’t require extensive explanations but make the world feel lived-in and ancient.

Building the Lore

Initially, I wanted to jump into explorer mode, but I wasn't quite ready for it. So, I started with story mode, which meant focusing on the lore first.

Thanks to AI, I managed to write an incredible amount of lore in just a week over 250 pages! The AI helped me brainstorm and flesh out ideas. I created full story arcs, detailed factions, rich history, world mechanics, and interesting characters.

Everything just clicked, and for the first time, I could really see the story come to life. I developed three main factions, each with its own unique philosophy and style. These factions have their own histories, key figures, and conflicts with one another. The world features a unique technological evolution, a mix of advanced technology and simple tools, each developed for specific reasons within the lore.

I even crafted a basic language for the oldest civilization in the game, with symbols that players can find etched into ancient ruins.

Current Progress

Currently, the story mode is completely written, all laid out on paper. I've begun integrating it into the game, with around four missions built so far. There's still a lot to do more missions, more items, and integrating all the systems but the foundation is solid, and it's playable.

In terms of explorer mode, I haven’t yet worked on Naut and Todd. They belong to that mode and not the main story. I'll get to their parts later once the story mode is fully established. These characters are meant to guide players, each offering a different approach to exploration.

The first creatures in the game were inspired by Minecraft. It's my little tribute, a nod to where it all began for me.

The lore I've created is layered but straightforward. I want it to be enjoyable and not overwhelming. The world is expansive yet accessible.

I've implemented a journal system where players can discover the story at their own pace. They aren’t forced through cutscenes or lengthy dialogues. Finding an artifact unlocks a piece of lore. Conversations with certain characters reveal their perspectives. It's all optional, ready for those who choose to dive deeper.

Unexpected Challenges

You can play the story mode right now, but it's not running smoothly. The main systems are there, but they need a lot of work. There are bugs, things aren't aligned, and the performance needs improvement. This will be fixed soon.

The hardest part so far?

Sprites and animations.

Not so much the coding or building levels or designing mechanics.

It's about making characters move.

This has eaten up the most time.

Just creating one character sprite sheet can take up to six hours.

And that's not counting the bosses they have unique attacks, movement styles, item drops, and special effects.

It’s extremely time-consuming. Honestly, it's been one of the most difficult parts of the whole process.

I've made a few NPCs already, and some basics are in place. But the workload? It's tough. I underestimated how much art is needed for even a pixel game.

Then there's other stuff like bikes. Yes, bikes are in the game. You’ll find out why later. But animating a character riding a bike in pixel art was almost too much. All those moving parts, the pedaling animation, and making it look smooth across different terrains it’s been very challenging.

Learning Everything From Scratch

This project has been a huge task.

I’ve put in more time than I expected.

I had to learn GDScript from scratch. I wanted to use Rust at first and in truth, I still do but setting Rust up inside Godot was too difficult for now. So I used GDScript because it’s simpler and easier to make changes with.

Then there’s pixel art. I had to learn that too.

And animation.

And character design.

And font design.

I never thought I’d learn all these things, but I am.

I've gone through many tutorials, joined Discord groups for pixel artists, and even started a small notebook to sketch ideas before trying them on the computer. The learning curve has been steep, but my skills have improved a lot from when I started. My first sprite looks really bad compared to what I can do now.

The Sound Frontier

But the one thing I’ve been avoiding?

The one thing still not done?

Sound.

There isn’t a single sound in the game right now. No footsteps, no ambient noise, no UI feedback. Nothing.

And I hate that.

I've always found sound in games hard. I don’t really know why it just never made sense to me. It feels like a big hassle. Importing, converting, syncing sounds with actions… and mixing or managing volumes is difficult.

I tried using AI to create music, looking for something with a nostalgic, Minecraft-style piano vibe.

I experimented with some tools but it didn’t work out. It was too robotic. No soul.

So, I’m here again realizing I need to:

• Learn music creation myself.
• Find the right tool or person to work with.
• Or find free sound assets and make them fit my game.

Whatever I decide, one thing is clear: sound is my next big challenge.