Most people who come to this site would be under the impression that it is abandoned. That’s partially true. But just because there is little activity here, that doesn’t mean I’ve been doing nothing. The truth is that a lot has been accomplished, followed by burnout, followed by a crossroads that I’m now at.

Health indicators are found in almost every game. As Chris pointed out, they come in a variety of shapes and sizes. When it became time to think about them in my game, I wanted to add something that was functional, but also unique or interesting in some way.

Finding an artist has been my biggest fear since this competition started. There are so many things that could go wrong when you have to depend on someone you don’t know to contribute a third or more to your project. The style may not be a match, they could leave half way through the project, the budget estimations may be way off — the list goes on and on. I must say though, I’ve gained confidence in art contractors in the two weeks I’ve been speaking with them. I thought I would share some of my notes.

It’s hard to believe that we’re already 3 months into the competition. My first quarter of game development consisted of many highs and lows, but most importantly I still consider it among the most rewarding things I’ve done. From a purely stats perspective, I think my productivity can be summed up as a strong start, medium middle, and lacking end. I thought it would be fun to look at some concrete numbers, so here is what I came up with.

Forget the big ports like X-Com or Final Fantasy Tactics and you’re left with mediocre stories in most mobile games. Hits like Angry Birds and Fruit Ninja excel in gameplay, not story. Even standout indie games like Hunters and Battleheart fall short. I expect almost every mobile game I buy to be light on gameplay and even lighter on story. I thought the same would be true for my game, but The Adventures of Princess and Mr. Whiffle by Patrick Rothfuss changes everything.

I was going to sit down this morning and write a post on why I’m choosing Sprite Kit, but instead I feel the need to express how fun game development has been so far. It will be interesting to track my mood over time because I do see the tedious nature of the craft lurking around the corner, but for now I’m loving life.

April has been in my sights for some time now. After a move, some traveling, a bit of relaxation, building out an office space and designing this site, I’m finally ready to start working on games. Actually, this dream is a lifetime in the making.

Whether it be video games, web development or mobile software, coding is coding. And launching something is hard. Every developer knows that. One of the main difficulties comes from design. Or, more specifically, polish. Anytime I can exercise my design muscles, I’ll be better prepared the next time around.

One of the interesting parts of documenting a journey is seeing how wrong (or right) you can be in the beginning. Whether it be budget, timing, quality, success, enjoyment or one of the many other measurements — something will not go as planned. I thought it would be fun to try to write out some concrete guesses about the future so that they can be revisited.