Tactical Breach Wizards Dev Log: the fuzzy zone

Here's a video in which I have covid but don't know I have covid yet! That's not relevant to the content and I'm mostly recovered already.

[@bamb00zld]

I want to thank you for all the game engine tutorials and dev logs you've made. I've never been able to stay motivated and finish my games, but it's good to know that your tutorials will always be there when I feel inspired.

[@tbmatuka]

I played the game in the May playtest and while I would love to play the rest of the story as soon as possible, I don't mind at all waiting for the game to be properly finished. These dev logs might slightly annoy some people by reminding that that the game is still not out, but I think we all prefer to know that things are going well rather than not know anything. A 5-10 minute dev log every once in a while would cover that :) As for the length, 8 hours sounds perfectly fine, especially with workshop levels, challenges and achievement hunting. Gunpoint is one of the very few games where I really had fun doing all the things for achievements, especially the boss fight options. My first Gunpoint playthrough did fly by, but it felt like making it longer would require adding filler and wouldn't make the story any better, so I didn't mind the length.

[@NiksSofa]

1) No, not sick of hearing about it. 2) it probably is advantageous to make regular videos due to youtube and algorithms etc. 3) You should watch your work life balance. most of the time, one day off makes me more productive for a couple days, and makes more than up for "lost" time (which is of course not lost anyway) Maybe do the Factorio thing? FridayFact(forgot the last F)?

[@jamesgaming7198]

it's factorio friday facts, so you forgot the first f not the last f

[@NiksSofa]

@@jamesgaming7198 alright then. Tactical Tuesday talk?

[@DarkAndromeda31]

@@jamesgaming7198 and of course alt f4: Alternate Factorio Friday Fun Facts

[@AWOLBones]

So excited for TBW! I’m going to put together a cosplay of one of them when it comes out.

[@teecee1827]

I really like seeing you pop up every so often. On top of being interesting, I'm still as amped for TBW as I was on the first day I heard of it. Also logs like these help with my perception of time.

[@JackFoz454]

No pressure, Tom Francis, but if you ever stop making videos, I will cease to perceive time.

[@alastairvanmaren5243]

For me personally (although I'm sure I speak for many), I could listen to you talk about game design for HOURS. Never gonna get burned out on that or anything! And yeah, I'm excited for the game to come out, but, like, it's fine if it takes longer. I got plenty to play. :)

[@AlastairGames]

you have a really nice name

[@alastairvanmaren5243]

@@AlastairGames I've missed you at the biweekly meetings, A-Jack. Where you been? 😁

[@EstrangedEstranged]

It looks like you've fallen down the rabbit hole of perfectionism; then again, a lot of other devs have done so as well, and that's why games take longer and longer to make even when they're indie projects with self-imposed limitations. In any case, good luck! I loved the builds so far; I hope you won't stress too much over making it "perfect" for everyone (an impossible task).

[@AidinZolghadr]

Missed your videos soooooooooooooooooooooooo much!

[@ragintombo]

Eight hours sounds like a good length as I do prefer quality over quantity, but some players don't have that mindset. I was thinking recently that I should make my next game quicker, and this talk reminded me that may not be the case if it's something new. Thank you as always, and hope your next "cheat day" is sooner!

[@AzureLazuline]

Everyone always says games are too short, it just means they liked it! I spent 7 years on one which ended up being 30+ hours and I still got those comments, it's just unavoidable. 😅 Love how these videos end with absolutely no buildup btw, you just finish a regular sentence and shut the camera off!

[@donovanteale6502]

just want to say, that people who walk around with an entire in development games code in their head are just wild. what an amazing layer of simulated complexity to add to your life. I dont think you can 100% exist in real life while sharing your mind with that. Thank you for you service. rona needs to just give up btw, humanity won, get over it already lol

[@wittyadrian]

I really love getting a glimpse into your development process every now and then! You're a big inspiration for me as a hobby indie dev who hopes of making it onto Steam some day. Keep doing what you're doing, I can't wait to get my hands on the game with it's finished!

[@IKTeam]

I am feeling excited about TBW 😄

[@WillColton0]

I had the exact opposite feeling about Thronebreaker! I thought the gameplay was way too easy for the normal Gwent games so they were boring, but the puzzle levels were excellent and really what I played for.

[@jabberw0k812]

Haha, I guess it's a lot harder to devlog about this game than it was Heat Sig, for obvious reasons. Still interesting, though.

[@Notorietypulp]

This vlog is great! I always love to hear your design thoughts, and this has me very excited for the eventual release of TBW. Imho a complaint like "too short" is more reflective of pacing and expectation than volume, and it sounds like you've been happy to adjust the narrative to facilitate pacing so far, so I cant imagine I'll have a problem like that. Hopefully the rest of your audience agrees :P

[@donovanteale6502]

lol my kid just walked past and was like "Hey its Tom!". She may have heard you just a little while I battled through my first gamemaker game :) Rock and roll dude!

[@peezieforestem5078]

Tom, please add mod support! I am ready for any length as long as I can add and share content.

[@benhickson6149]

Mate, I always love your design chats, I've watched your GDC chats multiple times over. I feel better that you say that each game is different and unique to make, I'm trying to make 1 & I feel like I'm always doing it the right way but sounds like you also have that issue. More of these are always welcomed!

[@Quasardian]

I so want to try out that maybe impossible boss. If there is a way I'll find it (hopefully) ;)

[@MattGiuca]

"It comes from a good place where the designer is trying to make you have fun. The reason you can't do it not because the designer can't support it, like we can make that work, it's easier to have it work, but you'd have less fun because the fight would be over." I love Inscryption but I wish this principle was applied on a certain boss encounter.

[@jjkunzler]

Whizzin!

[@scrattue]

If you want to just play gwent, I legitimately recommend marvel snap!

[@eelyy212]

When will the next playtest open?

[@iamarugin]

Great talk. It would be great if you will talk a bit slower, it is hard to understand you as a non-native speaker.

[@MaxRenke]

beta please