January 2024 #
Happy Black History Month friends!
It’s the start of February, which means it’s time to reflect on January. This was supposed to be my first month of a one-year game development project; so, how did it go?
Unfortunately, in terms of game development, I got very little done. I spent one Saturday morning with my Twitch community brainstorming ideas for a tower-defense game, but beyond our imaginations, nothing was started. That said, I have the design documents saved in Obsidian for me to revisit whenever I pick it back up!
Projects I worked on #
I spent some of my free time working on a commission for a friend! She wants to start streaming again soon and wanted a custom Pomodoro timer overlay for her stream that looked nice. I worked on that for the first half of January and was very excited with how the overlay turned out.
I spent the rest of the month working on a project for Devolver. For those of you who may not know, I am contracted by Devolver Digital part-time to work on some Discord bots for them! These bots keep players engaged with the IP of the game, even when they aren’t playing. Unfortunately, I can’t talk specifics about my current project for now, so more information about that will be shared later.
Finally, I committed to an extra stream each week on Saturdays. These streams were intended to be focused on co-working; a chance for me to set aside some time to be productive while spending time with my Twitch community and providing a comfortable space for other people to be productive as well! Unfortunately, I had to cancel two of the four streams due to weekend plans arising. I think it is likely that we’ll need to hold those streams somewhat loosely as my schedule and plans shift from week to week.
Reflecting on the past month #
When I was thinking about what I liked and disliked about the way I spent my time this past month, I realized that I enjoy making tools that connect people. The Pomodoro overlay allows a Twitch chatter to interact with the Twitch stream. And Discord bots, in a way, connect the developers of video games with their communities, by furthering the play experience into more than just the time they spend with the game open.
As I think about my commitment to a one-year project, I want to open myself to the idea that what I make this year doesn’t have to be a video game. If I enjoy building tools so much, then I should be open to that being the goal I pursue for this year!
That leaves me, for now, not knowing what larger project I’ll pursue this year, but I suppose that’s what February is for!
Some commitments I do have for this year:
- FletchFest 2024 (March)
- Pursuing Pixels’ James Jam Game Gam (May probably)
- Game dev collab with lookitsducky (summer-ish)
- Streaming 2-3 times a week on my Twitch channel
Establishing boundaries with myself #
Another thing that has been affecting the amount of time I give to game development is a lack of energy. I have a family, work a full-time job, part-time for Devolver, and try to fit in streaming and other side projects on top. I’m starting to realize that I can’t do it all, and when my insomnia flares up (like it has this past month), less important things just start taking a backseat.
I want to re-evaluate my relationship with work, play, and rest. I spend a lot of time working on various things (some for income, some for fun). I’m also pretty good at finding ways to play, either by playing video games, by going on dates with my wife, or by hanging out with friends. Rest, however, is often quite elusive for me. Emotionally, mentally, and physically; I am naturally restless and I much prefer to be in motion over slowing down to breathe.
All that to say, I don’t want to have a feast-or-famine relationship with rest. I want to be intentional about having healthy boundaries with work so that I’m not always bouncing between creative burnout and creative mania. If you have a favorite way that you like to rest, please feel free to leave a comment or message me privately! It’s something I need help and practice with.
Recap #
To summarize quickly:
- I did a little brainstorming for a game, but I’m not entirely committed to it yet
- I am considering pivoting away from a game dev project, and towards some sort of tool that would enable other creative folks to work better
- I want to re-evaluate what it looks like to work, play, and rest in a healthy way
- Streaming on Twitch continues to be life-giving and one of the things I look forward to the most in a week!
I’m looking forward to seeing what February has in store for us! I’ll be back in a month with another update!
