All in your head game – Solo Game Development Journey
It has been more than a year since I have posted anything in the blog & I’d like to take this chance to give an update and reflect on the unexpected setbacks I have faced.
My journey towards solo game development began just over a year ago, when I decided to take the plunge into the world of game development. It has been an exciting, yet difficult journey filled with many challenges and obstacles. In this post, I want to acknowledge all of you who have taken out the time to either follow me on this website or on the mailing list and update you on the progress of All In Your Head Horror Game.
Setbacks
The biggest setback I have faced on my journey towards solo game development is an unexpected personal incident in 2022. It was one of those things that can crush you, take you by surprise and leave you helpless. Completely out of my control, I had to go to my country for about 3 months, completely takin a break from my solo game development for about 5-6 months.
Additionally, solo development has challenges of its own. Wearing so many different hats can have its toll on you. This has meant dealing with all aspects of the game development process, from coding to design, which can be overwhelming at times.
Progress
To help overcome these unexpected setbacks, I have had to refocus on my motivations and prioritize tasks in order to stay productive. Of course I’m doing all this while having a 9-5 during the day.
One thing that really boosted my motivation was the fact that opening the project after 6 months, I could see that it had hit 300+ wish lists. So even when away, people kept subscribing to the game which feels great. You too can wish list it here: All in your head Steam Page.
I have learned many lessons along the way, such as the importance of planning and creating a roadmap for the game’s development journey. This has helped to keep me on track and ensure that I am making steady progress towards my goals.
Of course when enough time had passed and responsibilities fulfilled, it was time to open my project again. I did so by late 2022 and thought about writing a blog immediately. However, I didn’t want to write without having updates about the game itself. Therefore, I write this now with some great new features to share with you.
HDRP
All in your head is now using the High-Definition Render Pipeline. Which means its going for high-fidelity graphics and is going to support a lot more visual effects than before!
Controller Support
Yes that’s right! Maybe this is a future-proofing kind of thing but even on PC, now you’ll be able to play All In Your Head using your preferred controller!
Storyline
Remember how I mentioned that the main storyline was 20% done before? Well now it’s much more than that. Thankfully I’ve had the pleasure of having very creative friends who have been helping refine the story line and making it more consistent!
More Voice Acting and Writing
Being a solo developer, I will try my best to have good graphics, good frames per second etc, but my skills will limit to how good it will be in the end. One thing I WILL NOT compromise on is characters and story-telling. And that’s why I pay people to do professional voice acting for the characters in the game. We have our 2nd character’s voice acting done! happy dance
Twitch – Live Game Development Stream
I’ve been starting to do a live game development stream on Sundays. I go live, people join and give suggestions, and we make improvements to the game together. Join me next time, simply follow me on twitch, I’d look forward to your advice! Follow at twitch.tv/usamakzafar
Next Steps
We’re back on track working on visuals, audio and the story development. As always I’m always encouraging you to follow me on twitter for more frequent updates. I am now looking forward to continuing my journey and focusing on the future of my game development.
Needless to say, the release date had to be pushed to 2023 as opposed to late 2022. Rest assured, the game is turning out to be much better than it was before.
Thanks again to all my followers who have supported me over this past year!
p.s. If you’d like to support me in this journey, please share the steam link or my twitter with your gaming friends!
Thanks!
Usama
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