Previously, we’ve talked about the game design, art, and writing process of My Lovely Wife. How about the end process, where all the elements of the game are being combined together? In this devlog, I, Lasheli, am having the two programmers of My Lovely Wife: Kristopher (Kris) & Roderick (Rod) talk about their experience in working on the game!
1. For Kris & Rod, tell us about your experience as a game programmer!
Kris:
As a game programmer, this is my first time working on a big project with an established team. Before, I only worked on some small projects at my uni, with none of it having ever been released to the public.
Before joining GameChanger Studio, I was a mobile app developer. So, when I get to work on My Lovely Wife as a game programmer, I realize that programming for mobile apps and games is different, from the design process to execution.
It’s quite a big challenge for me since I have to quickly adapt to a new work and environment in an indie game studio. Moreover, unlike my previous job as a mobile app developer — in which I only need to fulfill the clients’ requests — as a game developer, I’m encouraged to have discussions with the team about UI/UX, balancing, and others.
Rod:
As for myself, I started my career in game development in 2016, right after I graduated from uni and got hired as a junior programmer by GameChanger Studio. By the time I joined, they were working on the Ascender project. What I did for that project was implement stage puzzles and quests made by the game designer and also some small features until the game was released in 2017.
In mid-late 2016, GameChanger Studio arranged two internal game jams, and we signed all the games we created up to the Steam Greenlight (RIP). On the first game jam, the game made by my team didn’t pass the qualification, so it got scrapped 😭. However, in the second game jam, our game, which is known today as My Lovely Daughter passed the qualification 😀.
(Town/building management simulation — before polishing)
(Town/building management simulation — after polishing)
2. For Kris, how do you feel being appointed as My Lovely Wife’s main programmer, despite this being your first time handling a rather big project?
Kris:
I feel challenged, of course. At first, I didn’t expect that I have to handle the project alone from the very beginning. I thought that I’d work alongside Roderick (although we do have to work together in the end). As I was adapting to C# and Unity, I often ask him for advice. After that, I tried to solve some problems by myself. It was exciting. I’d go to forums, look for tutorials on YouTube, and all.
3. As Kris told us above, he often asks you (Roderick) for advice. What kind of directions did you give him at that time?
Rod:
In the beginning, what I did was explain how the code works in My Lovely Wife’s prototype build and what kind of tools that I usually use. Aside from that, in the middle of the development, I taught him how to solve bugs, refactor codes, and file documentation.
(The town — Without ambiance animations)
(The town — With ambiance animations)
4. What are some of the difficulties you encountered when working on My Lovely Wife, and how did you overcome them?
Kris:
First thing first, it takes a long time for me to understand the code flow of a game, compared to that of mobile apps. Even today, I still have difficulties. Save system is also one of the hurdles I encountered. During my time as a mobile dev app, I only work on the front end (UI). Processing data is not my forte. However, I have to learn how to do it, eventually.
Rod:
In the initial stage of development, we were still experimenting on My Lovely Wife’s gameplay. Looking back on My Lovely Daughter, many things still need to be improved, especially on the management-simulation part. However, extensive improvements require extensive changes in codes as well.
Plus, My Lovely Wife’s content is enormous — compared to the previous game. To overcome those problems, I tried to design a versatile backbone for the code so that it can support all the changes that would be made. Using varied online tools and learning to make some also helps a lot.
5. Is there anything interesting that you found when you’re working on this project?
Kris:
Creating new features and adding new mechanisms so that the players can enjoy the game more, such as allowing them to min-max. There are many unique features from Unity itself that are totally new to me — which I found very interesting to work on.
Importing assets is also one of the things that I like to do because what I did wasn’t merely import data. I also get to discuss the dialogues and also UI-UX with the team while doing so. Lots of discussions lead to lots of improvements in the game.
Rod:
Game development itself is always interesting for me. There’s always something new to try and experiment with. Some of the things in My Lovely Wife that I found intriguing to explore are the animation and dialogue systems. Also, as a programmer, being the first person to see all the things being put together and work well is very satisfying (after dealing with all the d*mnded bugs). But for a lazy person like me, the most satisfying part is when the new automation system that I worked on can run smoothly 😀.
(Succubus-killing window — before polishing)
(Succubus-killing window — after polishing)
6. The game is entering its final development stage! How do you feel about it, and do you have anything to say to the future players?
Kris:
For me, it’s a dream come true. Since elementary school, I’ve dreamt of making games, though not limited to programming. You can say that it’s one of my major achievements in life, so that sums up my feeling about working on My Lovely Wife. I don’t think I’ll stop making games after this, too.
For future players, I hope they can enjoy the game in many aspects, from gameplay, balancing, story, having fun with their succubus gf (lol), to the music and art style which were showcased during live streams on events.
PS. Shyasta is my waifu. Don’t claim her!
Rod:
It’s kinda hard to believe that the wild idea that we half-jokingly proposed for a game jam 4 years ago is about to have its ‘sequel’. Working on My Lovely Wife is a very great experience for me, as I get the chance to address intriguing topics and overcome obstacles, until finally able to deliver them into a game.
We learn a lot of things from this project, and of course, it won’t stop here. There are still lots of things to explore that we hopefully can bring to our next projects (maybe the third “My Lovely” game?).
Of course, I hope that people can enjoy the game, but most importantly, thank you for playing the game!
It’s fascinating to see that game programming is actually more than just working on codes! I myself can’t wait for the future players to enjoy the game with their lovely succubus waifu~
My Lovely Wife is planned to be released in early 2022 on Steam, Nintendo Switch, PS4, and Xbox.
Follow us on Twitter for more development trivia: @MLWthegame
Thank you for reading, and see you on the next devlog!