I Quit My Job to be an Indie Game Developer | Dev Diaries 17

Gain Exclusive Access to Early Game Builds on Patreon: / flowstudio
Wishlist Len's Island on Steam: store.steampow...
No, It's not clickbait, I'm about to start working on my indie game Len's Island full-time!
Join Len's Island Development Discord: / discord
Get 2 Months Free from Artlist.io: artlist.io/art...
Instagram : / julianball
Twitter : / julianjball
My Website : julianball.com
Behance : www.behance.net...
Julian Ball / Flow Graphics

[@isto_inc]

Congrats on going full time!! A big step (and a scary one). We're rooting for you

[@dbsirius]

Everyone thinks about doing it, but he actually had the balls to do it.

[@thomaswalls4188]

What if you had little fish swimming through the river and occasionally jump out of the water?

[@rancorjoy5412]

Have some seagulls dive down as well? Sometimes catch the fish Edit: Typo

[@sofiya4902]

crabs walking arnd

[@ninobesin2929]

I think these types of designs should be added after the core of the game is already finished

[@lutinmalin7114]

Maybe some birds flying around should be relaxing, good job can't wait to test it :)

[@Kurapikaxx]

True it would add some life to the scene. Also adding npc here and there would be good.

[@tgsnicholas8817]

The tiles on the roof of each building seem too clean too, maybe add some dirt or cracked tiles ?

[@WeDrawCircles]

I was going to say the same thing! Maybe some leaves as well.

[@colegiesbrecht1793]

or moss?

[@t3hpwninat0r]

i think making some of the tiles slightly discolored would make a huge difference. i see that on some roofs but it's not done enough imo

[@joheb]

The person in the house is a retired Knight that's why his sword and shield are outside. Someone he knows died which could be the reason he retired or joined night hood in the first place. Anyways since he's retired I think he'll help the mc with combat in some way maybe giving him some missions? Only problem with him training him is he has no training ground, maybe he can use the lumberjacks training ground because they know each other.

[@omegalul8291]

i like it! :)

[@minecraftmadlad3593]

Ohhh I thought he meant night, so I went to werewolf right away lol

[@darkmagiciansels5833]

Animals in the town , like dogs in some houses , cats moving around , cheeps farms in the outside with a farmer house close to it ect .. will be cool and make the game alive

[@mysticalbeast5377]

Footprints on the beach and muddy paths would be nice

[@louissuzuki-bevan4062]

I’m with and against that

[@andrevalente93]

Hey! Good luck with this new decision in your life! Some suggestions: - The water looks TOO clean and blue. Maybe the parts closer to the town could be muddier, showing also that it is travelled by boats a lot. It would add more realism to it. - For the fishermen village, here is an idea (that is very common where I am from, so it is definitely realistic as hell xD): You could have a couple of fish workers. The man, a fisher, that goes on and of the village at dawn by boat, right before the sun goes up (perhaps you can have some quest attached to that idea - you need to find him at the right time before he leaves). The wife, a fishmonger. She has like a rustic wooden "car" where she has the fish that she sells. She could walk around a place, like a set path. Both look a little dirty, rough people. The wife shouts once in a while, announcing she is selling fish. Perhaps you have a quest where she teaches you how to prepare fish before cooking. And also, she could give you a really cool knife that you could use to prepare the fish. - You need a "thud" sound for when you hit the dummies in the training ground. - Perhaps you already thought about this, but there should be the hunter / meat seller guy. He would have a small hut, would be the "hunting" figure, and would sell his meat. - The artisan is also a good role for the village. Working with wood, would perhaps teach how to craft a bow, or other decorative stuff. Glass made out of wood, bowl...

[@yamatozhen]

You can add camomile and yarrow patches randomly in the grass, they can add some realism. Also adding them randomly between the paths and the grass and adding little grass sprouts out of rock formations.

[@caesaroftampa1266]

I upvote this comment.

[@VegetableJuiceFTW]

I am worried. It seems like you are stuck on the asset creation blizz heaven. I have seen so many people start for example modelling all 150+ pokemon before they start to program MMO dream even once. It's easy to feel validated with new props, buildings, and landscapes, seeing how your story comes alive. Yet, the backbone of the game is still at the level of "simple hp bar and weapons damage in 15 min tutorial" level. hope the next iteration is a full vertical MVP, with something from all the features; enemy AI, NPCs, quests. I am new here, definitely a newcomer in game dev, and maybe I just missed "that" video here, so take it how you may. :)

[@VKachan]

sounds like you have seen sooooo much game development.. what a waste of time?

[@matheusperisse5647]

@@VKachan what do u mean with " waste of time? "

[@pm8rsh233]

@@VKachan Coming from someone who's also commenting on a Game development blog....

[@heavenbound2030]

He has another person working on the game with him, the other person helps out with the coding, system design, etc, while he works on level design, etc.

[@bifferspice]

i think a really good idea if you're new, haven't seen much of his stuff, and are a newcomer to game dev is to come in and just tell him he's doing everything wrong. i think i'll try that more.

[@pilhamre9182]

Congrats on going full time and following your dreams with creating a game you and probably alot of people that follows you want to play! A tip, you could try to add a animation for the character (Shaggy) when he standing still and rotates and maybe also when he changes direction while running, like taking a leap or something.

[@silvrey3171]

Hey, just discovered your videos today. Really great and entertaining content! :) How about adding footprints when moving on sand or dirt? I think this would really help with the immersion. Looking forward to upcoming dev diaries and news about Len's Island. :)

[@McYellowBird]

Some suggestions: Footprints in sand, mud, etc. Water splashing when walking in it. Roof tiles look a bit clean so maybe add some dirt or cracks. Where the water touches the walls and on the sand it should look wet. Loving how it's coming along. Good work dude!

[@Siausalas]

Make a house with two roofs with two different colors -- second color is when family grew with more members they built an addition to main house and they hadnt have original shingles left, or main house roof could be already faded from sun

[@Danimita92]

Good luck! I also quit my job this year to go full-on indie. I see a lot of feedback here in the comments. Just wanted to say, a lot of it sounds like polish you'd be adding towards the end of development. I'd focus more on the actual gameplay. The combat animations, for example, seem quite slow and dull. If that's what the player's going to be doing most of the time, I'd try to nail that before spending time adding seashells to the beach. That can always be done when you're getting ready to launch.

[@MMKnight_1]

Len's Island really looks like one of my favourite games from my childhood. King's Bounty - The Legend. I'm looking forward for the release.

[@RpattoYT]

I like what you did with the texturing in the villages, but I think you could do some more in that department. Perhaps by using that same texture a bit more vigorously, emanating/spreading out from the villages sparsely into the more rural areas, to give an impression you've transition from town to the countryside. Also, for rural areas... muddy puddles would not go amiss, and where you have stone bridges, transitional cobbled textures, would make those areas feel a lot more like a well beaten high-way currently in-use, rather than pristine and untouched.

[@maxtitan1529]

Congrats! Also, are you going to add armour. Oh! And maybe a dragon as a boss. Also (ps. Im spilling so many ideas!) maybe add Idle villagers and soldiers. This will add a bit more life for all those houses

[@CorinaVR]

In regards to set dressing, and what you can add to spruce up your town: small grass clumps, and small plants. In clumps around houses, at the base of your lamp posts, etc. Doesn't sound like a big thing, but it makes a HUGE difference.

[@swolabear]

Stumbled across your channel, glad to hear your future aspiriations. Too many people are unhappy working a 9-5 but sadly never build the skill or confidence to do anything about it so I have a lot of respect for people that are willing to put themselves in an uncomfortable position. I see a lot of people commenting things you should add or change to the game, I think some not considering what time input they would require. It looks amazing from what I have seen so far, so I would say that I think you should just focus in on the amount of content. Can never really have too much, but you sure can have too little and people will just blow through it

[@2xXaylaXx2]

this game is so incredibly beautiful. If there is enough to do / explore / collect I'd definitely buy it and it gives me a lot of inspiration to try this out myself once haha. Also interactions with the villagers and establishing actual relationships to finish challenges could give a lot of depth to the game I think. Just thinking out loud :)

[@philippst.8543]

The game looks great. Congrats on following your dream : ) In my opinion the hotbar-UI looks kind of sci-fi/futuristic, it's very clean and readable, but thematically a little off. Something more like the logo would probably be great.

[@Avaku333]

This is very good for the game, the progress will be a lot faster hopefully. I also have some suggestions for the game. 1. Add crabs on the beach that occasionally appear (maybe able interact with them) 2. Add starfish on the beach as well 3. How about multiplayer, coop, 2 player would be pretty good 4. Pets (Dogs that help fight enemies for example) 5. Maybe make the pirate that runs the tavern give you missions to steal from people

[@666mrdio]

Been watching devlogs from many game developers but I have to say you are the first that I subscribe instantly. Your indie game looks so well done and calm. Congrats!

[@ridhwanofficial7953]

I get the idea of moving the market but I think it always makes sense for markets to be in the busy part of town. People wouldn’t really walk to a farm to pick up some stuff, its usually the merchants travelling into the town to sell... this game is looking awesome btw! Really excited to see the dungeon stuff too because of how sick you’ve made the weapons

[@JakobDutch]

In the fisherman-town, you have a red house with a roof filled with plants, maybe add a staircase or ladder, because there is no way they could’ve placed the plants there. :)

[@raulcpinheiro]

What an amazing story and tips with feets on the ground! I would say that not only indie game dev but anything people are looking for and eager to achieve as personal/professional goal has its risks. As a great friend of mine always says "each choice is a renounce" as each path we take get us away from another. There is no perfect situation and set proper expectations is the best every new/willing to be Game Dev should do. Great game indeed! I'm following your job and hoping to see it ready! Congrats! 😉🎉💪

[@Fliqa]

Loving where the project is heading, Best of luck with the transition! only idea I think would be helpful would be a little more gritty ness to some of the assets/buildings even more so when they are closer to the water due to how salt water acts to bricks and wood (: and perhaps some moss around the bridge poles going into the water ? Keep up the awesome work!

[@MagicisHerba]

Congrats man, super excited for your full-time indie adventure and good luck!

[@SebastianGraves]

You said night, the occupant of the home is indeed a vampire. Good luck on going full time with your game pal! It's going to be great once you've finished.

[@Zuzelo]

That's a brave decision! I wish you best of luck with that.

[@MattiaConti]

I'm new at your channel, but i'm impressed by what you are able to do! I will support you in future man! P.s. it will be great to have a guard tower

[@JorgeOliveira-ww8ry]

I clicked on the video thinking that the game was ready. I was super excited to play it just based on the thumbnails, I loke this kind of games. Can't wait to play it. Keep it up

[@haunteddiary15]

HAHA, that windmill, if you stare at it and let your focus drift, the tower part starts to look like it's twisting and bending lol

[@Soyo.Kaze.]

I've never seen such a interesting style of game, but it's extremely eye catching AMAZING job! The only thing that I could see that's needed in the near future is a mini map so the player doesn't get lost and maybe a character selection unless you want to keep it unique to lens?

[@wickyman1237]

Add some drift wood in the ocean and when you walk through the grass you trample it.

[@RugbugRedfern]

Wow, thats a big step! Good luck :)

[@MrMetal4Ever123]

I suggest giving all houses chimneys. Dirt huts from 10.000 years ago had holes in the roof to let out smoke, I feel like every house gets built with this in mind.

[@gizmobrooch8577]

I think the water looks great, at least on this island. It uplifts the town as well, and the vibe of this island. maybe for different islands that are more drab you could make it so the water starts getting darker to match the vibe of the island.

[@RsnCheered]

This game looks gorgeous man! I subscribed from your composition video and have just seen this series, best of luck to you man i'm going to be watching along the way and playing when it's released!

[@marcustinkler]

Love the style of your assets!!!!

[@marcustinkler]

Fresh water wells dont look like that. They have to be deep then they can use a bucket to get the water

[@justinhicks6816]

yeah i was gona say the same thing.

[@opinci4343]

I'd love to see some brushes and flowers added amongst the grass. Right now it seems too perfectly grown. Theres no 'wildernes' or 'nature' feel to the ground. Some contrasting colors among the wide thick green of the grass would really make it pop.

[@MaximumSpice]

I intend to leave my job as a teacher to become an indie dev too. I'm still learning, been doing unity/game dev for 2 years atm getting to the point of feeling like I can fully design a game then I'll be going down your path! So good luck man!

[@hermansjoholm3494]

I think you should add tracks from a wagon of some sort so it looks like stuff is moving around. And later on horses and other animals (maybe not for use but for ambiens and yeah just so it feels alive)

[@edwincampuzano1260]

You could add more variety on the ground floor, dandelions or shrubs, different height grass.

[@Jettski]

I'm loving these vids!

[@omegaPhix]

I think that grass and trees have to sway a little in the wind. And could you place the windmill in a corn field? C:

[@jean-pierregygax3415]

Trees yes, grass no. Having grass sway like it was a 10m tree is a long-standing annoyance with Unity.

[@sharky3188]

You should add some signs that 'direct' the towns folk around, eg a picture of beer mugs to take you to the pub, or a fish to take you to the fish market etc

[@FiveVoltGames]

I'm so glad I found your channel. I recently took up game development as a serious hobby (after years of on-off experience and practice with programming), and things are really starting to move forward in regard to my skill level with Unity and scripting with C#. You're videos are definitely inspiring me to keep moving forward and do my best with each project I do. Keep up the good work, I can't wait to play Len's Island one day!

[@FlowStudio]

Thanks mate! Glad you like the videos :)

[@marceli-wac]

Decent progress! Congrats on making the big step and shifting more of your focus towards the game. Feedback-wise, I'd suggest adding some dampening on the camera so that it's not so stiff. Watching you run around the map got a bit nauseating at some points. What I mean by dampening is making the camera feel a little bit more like it's on a spring attached to the player (after you stop it keeps going for a split second then bounces back to the player).

[@thomaswalls4188]

Good luck with your decision, also I joined the discord!

[@PinnysVids]

Heya, I've watched about 10 of your dev diaries, and I it just hit me that I dont know what the gameplay loop will look like. It looks like there will be combat, house building and some kind of story, but that could still be anything from Zelda BOTW to Minecraft to World of Warcraft. Feel free to direct me to a video if you've previously explained it

[@pandarenBrewmaster62]

Found your channel a few days ago. I watched a few dev diaries and subbed :) Have a scenery suggestion for you: Since it is a fishing village, I'd love to see a big fish, like a shark or tuna, being hanged from the tail in a wooden crane thingie, like on the fishing island on the wooden bridge at about 6:26 (or in the pirate island for that matter :) ) also maybe some wooden planks layed on the ground like a walkway in pirate island or fishing island (or both). Seeing as it is close to the sea, and lots of people living in a small place on the dirt (especially the pirate island) it would get muddy fast, and people would lay down the wooden planks to walk on :) I think it would add abit more character (on the pirate island it could be layed out not perfectly, and maybe old pieces of wood, like driftwood (oh and driftwood and other scrap from the sea could be an additon to the beaches as well as the sea shells :) ) Sorry for wall of text, I'm happy and excited for you! Best of luck to you!

[@FlowStudio]

Some great ideas, thanks!

[@kiwifrogg]

With all the stone houses and stonework you might need a quarry, plus a clay pit, also a pottery factory with a large kiln for all those tiles on the roofs. Plus you need something to cap the apex of the roof most pointy ones had wood popping through.

[@FlowStudio]

There's actually a stone mason/small quarry area already on the far right edge of town. It definitely needs a bit more work. But i did have that on my mind 😉

[@swessdev9561]

Congrats! Best of luck by jumping fulltime! Keep us updated!

[@diswouter428]

Edit:I thought he said night not knight lmao but anyways, take the paragraph as a suggestion. The guy living in the shack/ someone in the pirate island does something shady at night? Like thieving, or going into his/her basement, lair or behind a secret door to do some shady stuff? And those tiles on the roofs look too perfect. Just thoughts.

[@sean6269]

you could even tie that idea into the pirates

[@phillipmoxey2133]

It's such a good feeling! knowing that theirs people like myself that are pushing towards there goals, i'm currently in the process of setting myself up for success in the Gaming Industry, videos like this! and projects like you're's! really inspire me to push harder!! Thx for the vid bro and Keep up the great work!!

[@judahavery6375]

So awesome that you can now go full time with the game! I'm also really loving the music recently created for the game, I listened to the sound cloud bit from the discord and I can imagine it making such a crazy difference in gameplay.

[@peaneye]

Good luck mate. Hope you can leave your job and finish your game ASAP..... its what I hope to do one day also

[@ItHappenedLikeThis]

For the new npc, I noticed there was a grave in his yard, so maybe he/she only comes out at night and kinda keeps to him/herself now and distances from other people. Then if the player needs to interact with that npc you'd have an interesting game mechanic where you'd only be able to at night

[@gamerboi1113]

Good job man looking forward to the rest of the series

[@cococo...]

Maybe at the dock you can scatter some of those orange and white life saver rings if people fall into the water, you could also add buoys to the water

[@IonKattTMCE]

It’s looking like a wonderful game so far. Can’t wait for more videos and the final product Also an idea would be to make the smoke of the chimneys appear at night at random. So maybe sometimes there’s no smoke and other times there’s more smoke than the last time.

[@oliviastewart1591]

I wish you the best in this new stage of your career.

[@LH-zm6in]

You should also add some straw bales with some old wood tires in the side of them or i dont know how exactly they are but i think you also might have seen something like this in movies or somewhere else , they would really fit with your design.👍🏼

[@dariel312]

Maybe changing the ambient light color to a slightly blue-ish color will give the appearance of a clear sky. The game light looks really bright white and hot and I think changing the color a tad might make it look softer and cooler

[@dylmatYT]

Ofc probably more of a finishing touch. But, adding some text somewhere on HUD that says which part of the island you're on. Or an animate graphic on the screen when you first discover a new area. Could help new players learn the island quickly.

[@FlowStudio]

Yeah I agree, I always thought of having a cool intro animation for each level when you enter them :)

[@dylmatYT]

@@FlowStudio Awesome! Good luck with everything btw! Been rooting for you since 2017!

[@Siminfrance]

I am not an indie dev, (just a dev with no big ideas), but I still think it is great advise to keep people grounded. Thanks for the videos

[@louissuzuki-bevan4062]

You should add NPCs that move around the town and mourn at a graveyard or go shopping or go to church or something

[@louissuzuki-bevan4062]

And monsters

[@aeronamics]

I think your game looks really cool! Small thing I noticed is the hp and mana(?) bar are just a little bit longer than the skill/weapon slots. I think it would look better if they are aligned or if you decide they are not aligned, make the difference bigger, so it doesn't look like it is by accident :) PS: I like the blueish water, reminds me of Zelda Windwaker :)

[@tomeryud]

the music at the start of the video is amazing!

[@bondi_69]

I think it makes more sense a market in the city centre because it's the most concurrent zone, just like irl In medieval times, for example, markets, taverns, churchs, etc. were in the city centre

[@lucasmercier5813]

Good luck mate

[@nicket4472]

Nice job, i like the Idea. It would be nice to see more Details on the character, Like armor, showing all weapons that are equiped on the character

[@daniellosonczi3720]

I really enjoyed the bird song while you were playing/speaking (I really like bird song :D) and it made me think where the birds live. This is how bird nests came to my mind... So I would recommend placing some nests on trees or even on buildings...

[@JemmC89]

@2:21 The man living in the house is a retired Knight who was able to hang up his cloak after a long career of service to the Crown. He unfortunately had to bury his wife, whom lived a long and happy life with man who saved her life from certain death. You can notice the sword and shield out the front of the house indicating him to be a warrior, or Knight, of some description! He's going to be your Level Bazillion Master Swords Trainer or something I bet!

[@Justice397]

As someone who is more into the art side of game dev, i noticed some inconsistencies one the style of the assets of your game. Some things have way more color values and hues than others, for example you might want to check the grass. Ive been watching your diaries for a while and loving it, keep it up

[@Peaceinmanypieces]

have the windmill on high ground where the wind blows faster or near the shore

[@AlHyckGaemsTAD]

The house is home to a former Priest of Night. An ancient and respectable cult of days gone. These priests could conjure the bright powers of the moon and stars to beat back threats that came during the wan hours of dawn and the dying moments of twilight. As they're now retired they likely can't call upon much of these powers if at all, however they serve as a sort of teacher in the town and it's widely known that the town adores them. Despite all this they keep a heartbreaking - possibly betraying - secret.

[@RenderGT]

Congrats man! One thing you could do to make the ground in the village more realistic is to add gravel/sand on sides where it would accumulate. You could use decals or maybe like vertex painting.

[@WilliamGreco]

I think the knight took an arrow to the knee.

[@goshen8783]

Hiii I really loved your rambling 😂 You gave some really useful advice. Thank you.

[@GamesInHouse]

It looks beautiful. I specially love the animations, very smooth!

[@EpicByteStudios]

Amazing Devlog! Maybe turn the tree stomp next to the Water melons into a big tree? :)

[@niuage]

Damn, that's a big step :) Super exciting. ps: did you ever talk about how the large rocks are made? Are they texture painted or...?

[@FlowStudio]

I actually textured them using Substance painter, I can do a video on them and the trees down the line :)

[@niuage]

@@FlowStudio That'd be much appreciated. That wouldnt fit the game im working on now, but I do really like this style, so that'd be nice! I've only started game dev a few months ago, so I'm exploring styles a lot.

[@SoulGameStudio]

Speaking of making a believable space, I don't think you can have a well of fresh water above sea... LIke, if you dig, you'll get, sea water... right? Love your work and videos btw.

[@FlowStudio]

I guess is more of a big stone water bucket rather than a typical bored well 😁

[@ijidau]

Strangely enough there are many places where the inland water table flows into the sea. I'm not a hydrologist, but I recently learnt about it in a documentary. In some places you can dig in the sand high up on a beach and your hole will fill with fresh water.

[@CornRecords972]

So this is a bit of an immersive detail. I notice the island has a lot of pine trees. I grew up in the pacific north-west and I can promise you, grass _refuses_ to grow under pine trees. They drop tons of needles year round that inundate the ground and make it impossible for grass to grow. Usually in a five to ten foot circle depending on the tree. That could break up the repetitiveness of the environment and provide a more realistic natural detail that people who've lived around pine trees could appreciate.

[@JamKing3]

You could add statues to the towns. Maybe religious ones if towns have different religious beliefs. Also a bit of wear on the ground where people are more likely to walk, like a desire trail.

[@arnoclaude317]

In general, I would like if everything wasn’t so perfect. Make broken tiles on the roof, mud, bird’s nests, mud in the water, lily pads, maybe a broken door that is always slightly opened. Also, birds flying around, fish swimming in the river, crabs walking around on the beach, mole hills all around the fields, slightly broken food baskets with some vegetables falling out, seagulls around the sea. Everything to make the game more vivid. Loud wave noises that get louder the closer you get the the shore, maybe dolphins or shark fins further away in the ocean

[@soup_6963]

Your game looks great!!! Add some dirt or make the roof more dirty I feel it’s too perfect, but really beautiful

[@nicholastanzola488]

Good luck dude hope all works out

[@sofiya4902]

Collapsed bridge/broken wood decks? Fishing rods if you haven’t :) Cant wait for the release!

[@Dazrow]

Looks cozy! Can't wait for you to populate this world with other humans/creatures

[@nati7728]

Looking forward to your release!

[@hikeandcode]

New to watching this looks great. You could add small attention to detail via changing the color of the stone near the water line to be discolored from algae or moss.

[@merwinatticus]

Why no mini map and an indicator arrow or mark at where ever you click?

[@tiago706]

You could add some flowers to the game to give it even more colors 😋

[@bengreen2532]

It’s right that you left because you are a slave at work, and when you are free, you are a creator!

[@Andrey-vx1tn]

This might be a bit much, but incorporating seasons into the game would be really cool!!!