Dev Diary #10

Sometimes game dev is 2 steps forward and 1 step backward.

Last week I tweaked my art style a bit. It's basically the same, but some of the details are different.

This means, though, that some of the art work I had done in previous weeks no longer 'fit' the newest art. And I had to redo those older images.

Redoing work always feels bad, is often avoidable, but sometimes inevitable. (At least in game dev).

Making a game takes a long time, and you are repeatedly using the same skills while making the game. So, it's natural that your skill will increase and you will get better. This is true regardless of the task (programmer, art, music, whatever). Therefore, you are pretty much guaranteed that the thing you made at the start of the journey is not as good as the thing you made when you are done with the game. And, when that happens, you will probably think to yourself "Crap, I need to redo that earlier work. It's so bad compared to everything else now!"

This is the trap.

Sometimes the answer is "Yes, redo it", and sometimes it's actually not important enough to justify the lost time. Sometimes the amount of work to redo is so small; you might as well. Other times it will be something that *should* be redone, but it would require sooo much work that you just cannot justify doing so.

It's hard to make the right call, too. We are often protectionists, and we want to put out the absolute best. But, if we keep falling for this trap, then we will never end up releasing anything.

So, last week, I hit this trap with my art style that I have been developing. This time around, it was so early into the process, that the amount of re-do was relatively small, and the returns will be worth it (I hope).

I guess you never really know until it's finally done. So, we shall see

Catch you next week