A timeline of my Game Dev journey.
Nov 2023 : Decided to Make a Game
Downloaded GameMaker & began learning. Started making a 2D space Turn-Based strategy game.
Dec 14, 2023 : My first refactor
Found my first big memory leak. Exactly what I was always afraid of. Fixed it. My first Big Victory.
Jan 6, 2024 : My first full do-over
Learned enough at this point to realize how awful I had done, so when I faced my second memory leak I knew I had to just fix the base code.
April 22, 2024 : Moved to Godot
Downloaded the Godot game engine & a Godot course bundle from gamedev.tv - abandoned 2D gamedev & started right away with 3D.
May 18th, 2024 : Drunk with Power!
Completed a one-level FPS game as part of one of the Godot courses. Light years more progress in a month than five with GameMaker.
June 3rd, 2024 : My first game jam
Submitted a game for my first solo game jam. A 3D game called “Drone Defense”
June 24, 2024 : The start of an idea
Testing begins for a 3D game that I think is doable, but beyond my current capabilities.
July 19th, 2024 : Prototyping Begins
Took the learnings from all of the test builds and started prototyping in ernest.
Sept 11, 2024 : GameDev for work?!
Built a game for professional skills development that we use at work. It was presented to a cross-company conference to good reception.
Sept 14, 2024 : Proj. Milestone #1
MVP testing for player movement completed. I now believe I can accomplish all the player mechanics I have planned.
Oct 12, 2024 : Proj. Milestone #2
Player cosmetic swapping works & is based on the PlayerMgr settings.
Oct 31, 2024 : Proj. Milestone #3
Registered Escape Element, LLC with State & Federal agencies. ESCAPE ELEMENT is REAL!
Nov 9th, 2024 : The car is Good.
The player vehicle can do all the things I need in the MVP. Now to bring the buildings to life!
Nov 15th, 2024 : Day-Night cycle is working.
There's no moon, but it's the city. I may not need one.
Nov 30th, 2024 : Ready for Level Build.
Textures, shaders, everything's running and lighting up at night.
Dec 9th, 2024 : Dear god what have I done...
With the level looking better I started fixing outstanding bugs with the car... I broke the car. I am now rebuilding the car from scratch. FML.
Dec 31st, 2024 : I managed to UnFuck things.
Rebuilt the car from the ground up. Much Improved. Added some cool features. Back to level design.
Jam 5th, 2025 : limited scope play test.
Sent a playtest build to a handful of developers and got some valuable feedback!
Now : Current Focus
Considering play test feedback, and continuing level design work.