^ Nate, the protagonist of this game :3
Hi gaymers and gamers,
Soo I thought it'd be nice to do a little devlog of sorts, in case anybody actually reads these on Steam. If not, then I'm just talking into a void, which is okay too I guess? I'm no stranger to talking to myself LOL.
So yeah, here's a couple of cool things happening recently:
6 Month Development Sprint
I just finished a 6 month long sprint where I worked on my game any chance I could get. It felt great, and I made so much progress. A ton of systems got done or nearly done, like the tennis matches themselves, boss battles, dialogue, and some RPG mechanics. I posted a lot of this over on the Tiktok and Twitter, so if you're curious you can check it out! It's definitely felt more and more like a real GAME and it feels really cool to make it come to life.
I'll talk more about the progress in a Youtube video I'm making (see next section), but I actually went so hard on the game these 6 months that I need a little break! I'll talk about that more in a bit.
Youtube 2-Year Devlog Coming Soon
I've never seriously edited a Youtube video before, but I want to make a 20-30min video covering my development journey with The Tennis Academy so far the past 2 years I've been working on it. I think it would be fun and a nice time capsule to look at later, and other solo developers might be curious about my process. I've already recorded footage, so I've just been editing the 10,000 "umm"s and "like"s out lol. It's going to have a really detailed look at everything I've worked on for the game so far, with gameplay footage and art, so if you're curious to see more of the game it'll be a good opportunity! :)
Side Project: Horror RPG
So I mentioned needing a tiny little break from my game. After going really hard for 6 months, I started to notice signs of burnout, which is a No-Good!!! I want to enjoy working on my game, so I decided I need to stop forcing myself to work on it for a little bit so I can come back refreshed. The break was great, and it helped me come up with an idea that had perfect timing: the next feature I wanted to work on for Tennis Academy was the levelling system for the RPG, and there's a local Halloween Indie Game Showcase coming up in October. So, I decided I would build the levelling system into a short horror game over these next couple of months. That way, I could feel satisfied finishing a small game, and the progress would still go towards Tennis Academy! The idea has given me a lot of motivation to keep going, so whether this little horror game is good or not, I don't regret making it! :) Wish me luck on finishing by October!!
That's all I have for now! If people enjoy these, I can start making more regular development updates, or I can make overviews for different characters/environments/mechanics. Lmk!
Thanks so much for all your support, I really appreciate it! It gives me fuel to keep going!! Later gamers :)