Still here. Still chugging away on Nebula. Progress has been a lot slower lately, mostly because my goal hasn't been as clear.
Playtesting
I'm still firmly committed to get Nebula out there as a published game, it's the route to get there that I'm questioning. My plan was, once I got the core mechanics of the game solidified (which I have done), that I would host a large playtest, the purpose of which would be to help flush out any balance issues in the game. (I'm fairly certain there must be some, as the game has a large amount of variables within and between the various layouts; I severely doubt I got everything perfectly right the first try.)
However, I've been informed (by designers more experienced than me) that this may not be the best route, that the data from a large playtest would be better directed towards graphical and playability concerns. This is rather disappointing, as I wanted to button up as much as possible mechanically before I start forking out money for art and graphic design, but it doesn't seem like I'm going to get my wish.
I have started addressing visual concerns, at least what I can do on my own. I'm attempting to make the game look a little more like what I hope the final product will be, addressing visual elements and giving the game more table presence. I'm also still trying to nail down the game balance, searching for corner cases that might 'break' the game or make it not fun.
Still, it feels like I've lost my way a little bit. I'm still doing playtesting, still fixing problems, still making progress. Just seems like there's a little less wind in my sails right now.
Streaming
In other news, I've started experimenting with streaming! I frequent a lot of Twitch channels, for both gaming and music, and I've had a couple of people recommend that I start a stream myself. Now, I'm not really sure what I could stream that would be interesting for other people, but just on a whim I tried doing a stream of me playing Manaforge solo. It worked... reasonably well? I didn't have my camera or mic set up, and I didn't advertise or anything, so I wasn't really expecting any sort of turnout. Still, I had a couple of people drop in, and even chatted with one person for a bit. So... success? Definitely went better than I thought it would.
So, not sure if I'm going to make a regular thing out of it. I know audiences like consistent schedules. Perhaps next time I'll hook up my mic. Not sure if I want to be on camera or not... the way I figure it, nobody really wants to look at me. Maybe I'll try doing the vtuber thing...
And that's where I'm at right now. I know it's not much for not having posted in a couple of months, but I am still here chugging away. Hopefully I'll have more to report on the streaming front, as it seems like there could possibly be some interest in 'preview' streams of me playing through the prototype versions of Nebula. Or maybe I'll make a thing about streaming plays of other (indie?) games on TTS. Ideas are welcome, of course... check the About tab of this site if you'd like to suggest something.
Playtesting
I'm still firmly committed to get Nebula out there as a published game, it's the route to get there that I'm questioning. My plan was, once I got the core mechanics of the game solidified (which I have done), that I would host a large playtest, the purpose of which would be to help flush out any balance issues in the game. (I'm fairly certain there must be some, as the game has a large amount of variables within and between the various layouts; I severely doubt I got everything perfectly right the first try.)
However, I've been informed (by designers more experienced than me) that this may not be the best route, that the data from a large playtest would be better directed towards graphical and playability concerns. This is rather disappointing, as I wanted to button up as much as possible mechanically before I start forking out money for art and graphic design, but it doesn't seem like I'm going to get my wish.
I have started addressing visual concerns, at least what I can do on my own. I'm attempting to make the game look a little more like what I hope the final product will be, addressing visual elements and giving the game more table presence. I'm also still trying to nail down the game balance, searching for corner cases that might 'break' the game or make it not fun.
Still, it feels like I've lost my way a little bit. I'm still doing playtesting, still fixing problems, still making progress. Just seems like there's a little less wind in my sails right now.
Streaming
In other news, I've started experimenting with streaming! I frequent a lot of Twitch channels, for both gaming and music, and I've had a couple of people recommend that I start a stream myself. Now, I'm not really sure what I could stream that would be interesting for other people, but just on a whim I tried doing a stream of me playing Manaforge solo. It worked... reasonably well? I didn't have my camera or mic set up, and I didn't advertise or anything, so I wasn't really expecting any sort of turnout. Still, I had a couple of people drop in, and even chatted with one person for a bit. So... success? Definitely went better than I thought it would.
So, not sure if I'm going to make a regular thing out of it. I know audiences like consistent schedules. Perhaps next time I'll hook up my mic. Not sure if I want to be on camera or not... the way I figure it, nobody really wants to look at me. Maybe I'll try doing the vtuber thing...
And that's where I'm at right now. I know it's not much for not having posted in a couple of months, but I am still here chugging away. Hopefully I'll have more to report on the streaming front, as it seems like there could possibly be some interest in 'preview' streams of me playing through the prototype versions of Nebula. Or maybe I'll make a thing about streaming plays of other (indie?) games on TTS. Ideas are welcome, of course... check the About tab of this site if you'd like to suggest something.
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