I’ve implemented working Outposts, where you can buy and sell things, repair your ship, and more. It’s been in various stages of working for almost two weeks. However, I haven’t shared it yet because “it’s not ready.”

At an Outpost, you can:

  • Repair your hull
  • Buy Schematics, which are permanent cross-run upgrades that allow you to craft devices
  • Craft Devices from a Schematic (For a cost)
  • Sell Devices (at a loss)
  • Buy Devices
  • Chat with the Outpost AI
  • Attack the Outpost, although this is a bad idea
  • Just leave

I had to make several new data types, build user interfaces, implement state machines, and write some music (my eldest daughter asked for something like Digital Circus). There’s even a little display screen in the lower-left that shows contextual text about each action. It’s not a mockup, it all works. So, why didn’t I show it off?

I have a calendar entry for Monday mornings reminding me to write a blog entry. It’s in my business plan. On Wednesday, RocGameDev has a share your progress Discord thread. And yet, I would just think, I’ll just fix a few more things, then hours, and days would go by, and the window passed.

If a tree falls in a forest and nobody is there to hear it, does it make a sound?

I’m saying this not as some sort of self-flagellation, but a reminder to celebrate the work that I’m doing, to recognize the progress that I’m making. I looked at the archive of videos that I’ve taken over the past few months, and a lot has changed.

Both in preparation for a conversation with an industry professional and in response afterwards, I revisited my GDD. I’ve been referring to it and executing against it, but I haven’t reconciled the current state of the game and the document. I’ve identified several ideas that I’m cutting for scope, time, and focus. Some things were just too big. Others, I’m going to pivot and reuse the work elsewhere (a companion mechanic is instead going to give backstory to NPCs who will span multiple encounters).

Like looking at the videos, I can see that I’ve done a lot. Of course, it’s not done; there’s no persistence yet (outside of configuration), no concept of a “run,” the game isn’t balanced yet, there’s tons of placeholders, I haven’t even touched localization, and none of the world-building lore is in place.

Last week, I picked up and completed an incremental game; a few hours of fun. I need to remember to leave a review. It was fun and had just enough story to keep things moving. Part of the takeaway is that I don’t need a hundred thousand words in order to tell a story; sometimes, all it takes is a few key sentences at the right points.

I also read into how FTL’s encounters were built and scripted; it’s helped refine the scope and expectations of how encounters. It’s a great practical example of the storylet narrative concept and the role of salience when presenting choices and scenarios. I like Yarn Spinner’s article on the Storylets and Saliency, which is good because I’m using it and I’m sponsoring its open-source development.

There’s a very good reason why the answer to, “how do I make a good game,” always includes, “play games.” You learn and adapt from your experiences, then build and grow your own unique take.

The game is taking shape. I just need to remember to celebrate its progress to bring others along for the ride.