The one thing you need to finish your game (Developing 11)

[@GMTK]

You can now add my game to your Steam wishlist! store.steampowered.com/app/2685900/Mind_Over_Magnet/

[@woutervanduin7415]

Done

[@woutervanduin7415]

5GB? Wow that’s a lot for a 2D game

[@glob_au]

Well done! Are the Mac details correct? It says "not compatible with macOS 10.15 Catalina or above" however it also says it'll work on Apple silicon (which requires macOS 11.x+).

[@asddsadsad-b8b]

wishlisted the second i could

[@standowner6979]

Is it available for PC?

[@drumstep9135]

I was not at all prepared for the reality that this project started 2 years ago, it's making me come to terms with how fast time seems to be passing me by. If you had asked me how long its been i probably would have guessed something like 9 months.

[@youtubeuniversity3638]

So the number it had been worked on for.

[@baibekzh970]

That's one of the minor signs that the End of Times is near. The Prophet (peace and blessings of Allah be upon him) said: "The Hour will not begin until time passes quickly, so a year will be like a month, and a month will be like a week, and a week will be like a day, and a day will be like an hour, and an hour will be like the burning of a braid of palm leaves." and he also said “The Hour will not begin until knowledge is taken away, earthquakes increase, time passes quickly, tribulations appear, and there is a lot of haraj, which is killing, killing, and until there will be a lot of wealth among you and it will become abundant”. All of these video games, tv shows and such are modern day tools of the devil, who only wants to distract you from your real purpose in this life.

[@erikkelley412]

same feels like i started my project 4-5 months ago but in reality its been about a year time flies too fast

[@DEWGOFFICIAL]

Life is short.

[@thetechw1z]

@@baibekzh970 any sensible person: "oh time goes by faster as you age because it's smaller proportional to your life" your goofy ass: "THE END IS COMING MODERN MEDIA ARE THE TOOLS OF THE DEVIL"

[@TonyBullard]

It's always funny to see someone realize the power of planning. Like, we all KNOW it's a good thing, but then we convince ourselves we'll be fine just winging it. Then when we finally break down and do some planning, we're always like "Have you guys heard of this planning stuff?! It's amazing!"

[@polendri4812]

Gamedev just intersects with so many other domains. Sure, as a software developer I scoff at gamedevs discovering basic (to me) concepts like project management, version control, or design patterns, but... when they discover sales/marketing/art/design concepts I'm impressed, because I don't have background in those areas so they don't seem so basic to me.

[@omegaminoseer4539]

@@polendri4812 Version... control? Are you okay, mate? I just iterate on the same project with no backups. Surely the new features that I add won't cause endless numbers of bugs and glitches, which completely bricks my progress and ruins everything I've developed! As a Novice Game Dev, truly, I am the PEAK of development.

[@anon_y_mousse]

@@omegaminoseer4539 I'm glad you noted that it's sarcasm because there are people that mean that seriously. I just hope that more artists learn the power of using a VCS even for images. And it wouldn't hurt if more people did vector art which melds even better with a VCS.

[@SolMasterzzz]

I do know the power of planning, but also planning is hard!

[@Ayzklymbr]

Days of coding can save you hours of planning.

[@SocialisedMedicine]

I think there's another detail with "changing the plan" vs "noodling around": Changing the plan requires you to actually pause and _think_ about why you are making the change, and if it's worth making. Instead of getting lost in the infinity of possible choices, it becomes a simpler task of "Is this change going to be better than the current plan, and what will it cost me?" Figuring that out can still be hard, but it's significantly less stressful.

[@butterspread]

100%. Critical reflection of a plan is a key difference to simply not following one. From dissertations to a video game, flexible planning sounds oxymoronic but is a fine balance!

[@Mark_LaCroix]

It's the second half of that, "what will it cost me?", that most people never get to. The art of releasing a video game is often deciding not to make changes that *are* better because the cost in time (and the inevitable compounding changes) is too high. But if you can make those sober calculations, then sometimes you can make even a risky bet on another big change from time to time, but if you are focused only on evaluating individual changes based on what will make the game "better," you'll end up with a worse game that took longer to make.

[@StoryGameArtist]

The switchable magnets "Maggie" and "Meg" could maybe have names to do with their North and South polarities? (for better player readability)

[@Vee_Sheep]

"Nora" and "Sophie" are the first that came to mind reading this

[@chaook]

​@@Vee_SheepNorie and Sofa!

[@AiraDelasse]

@@chaook Maybe Sofia instead? Sofa usually is a term people use for a furniture that we sit on

[@TheZetaKai]

Also, the etymologies for those names work really well for PC allies. Nora means "honor", and Sophia means "wisdom".

[@chaook]

@@AiraDelasse oh i am intentionally using nonsense logic to name them :))

[@Sawwit]

Giraffe DLC confirmed! Definately wishlisting it! Good luck on the further development.

[@FixTheWi-Fi]

Giraffe could be a fun throwable object, perhaps for some platforming.

[@runekongstadlarsen7569]

lets make this a thing lol

[@riesvanwijngaarden3417]

Secret giraffe level?

[@Boyanspookclaw]

tbh I would really like giraffes

[@runekongstadlarsen7569]

this has more likes the GMTKs pined comment lol. no way this can go unseen now muhahahaha

[@ShiftyTheDev]

My favorite thing about this series is how genuine you are with the amount of work it takes to create a game. You've really mastered the balance between "holy shit this is hard I want to take a 6 month break" and "here's productive advice for actually developing". Excellent content as always

[@quantumbyte-studios]

Agreed, this makes me feel better about my timelines..

[@adaline704]

Just the first minute of this video really hit home for me. I've been developing a game since 2017 and idk if I will ever finish it. I get motivated for a few months before I drop off and don't touch it again for even longer. In this time I have moved dozens of times, battled depression, transitioned and struggled to find a job where I make enough to live and have enough left in the tank at the end of the day. I hope to one day finish it because its the one thing in my life that brings me happiness even if it does seem like nobody cares.

[@Ertenta72]

Would be really glad to try it out !

[@adaline704]

@@Ertenta72 I appreciate the sentiment but I don't mean to advertise here

[@cellaneza]

Keep at it, you got this! I wish you the best, yo! :)

[@milo4885]

Dang you seem like you have it really hard, I wish you the best of luck!!

[@zellleonheart7355]

Best of luck mate !

[@Ashtarte3D]

A lot of this can carry over to more disciplines than just game making. I started to learn how to animate in Blender in early 2021 after surviving a cancer scare and I went full guns blazing for like 6 months. Then I dropped off for 9 months to keep paying the bills and such. I have a similar problem to what you're describing with the game. I often feel like I'm not making any progress cause I get wild ideas I wanna go try and never actually finish any of my projects. PS: You should totally sneak in an easter egg with a giraffe now.

[@ary9344]

True! i have the same problem in music making and without a plan, 3 years just go by with dozen of unfinished songs

[@forest-goddess]

that is SUCH a good logo, i'm honestly so much more hype about this game seeing all the visual design work going into it! i love watching these videos for tips about my TTRPG system i've been working on, it's not the same thing but a lot of game design tips are kinda universal, but this video is what made me go from "hey i think i might play this game" to "i really want to play this game," haha!

[@Otoshis]

Now we need a secret room in this game with a giraffe easter egg.

[@ItzOrangeyYT]

YES do it

[@thomasredmane]

Agreed

[@chey_games]

Thanks for the transparency! It's always nice to see a game dev show that making games isn't always sunshine and rainbows. That being said, congrats on the Steam page! It's been awesome to watch your progress on this game.

[@maynardburger]

What do you mean 'not always sunshine and rainbows'? lol It's like, almost never sunshine and rainbows. It's mainly just a many years-long exercise in problem solving and tediousness. You may get some neat milestone lifts at times, but most of the time you're really just grinding away at shit that will not actually pay off til the very end.

[@IAmUnderscore]

@@maynardburgerI mean ideally making a game is fun 💀 there’s obviously parts that suck but if you don’t enjoy it in *general* then what’s the point

[@pedroscoponi4905]

I love how much of this series has been "In becoming a game designer I inadvertently also had to become my own producer"

[@WangleLine]

Mind Over Magnet is a really lovely name, I'm glad you went with that one

[@Pontypants]

Great work Mark! Having a plan is indeed the difference between a finished game and "dream game". Perhaps consider trying the logo you made in pixel art style since that would match the game better? Everything is looking great, very excited for this game! Wishlisted!

[@abylaiashken2611]

How is Punch a Bunch doing?

[@bogonelle]

@@abylaiashken2611he finished punch a bunch forever ago

[@AbruptAvalanche]

I was starting to get worried that you would just stick with "Untitled Magnet Game", so I'm glad you gave it a real name. It's a great name too!

[@Ramaxx95]

Congrats Mark! That is a HUGE step forward in your game developing journey! I'm gonna go and wishlist it right now.

[@dustinbruce]

Honestly, thank you for this video. It’s nice to know that I’m not the only one who ignores their game for months and months. I started my game about a year before you started yours, and I’ve followed you since basically the beginning of your channel. I remember the magnet name announcement, and 2 years later you are much further along then me, but facing the same issues and that makes me very happy. After 2 engine changes, about 10 ‘from scratch’ implementations, and many many hours of feeling hopeless and lost, I’m happy to know I’m not alone.

[@darksora763]

7:15 I'm eagerly awaiting the hidden giraffe Easter egg.

[@OandCoGames]

"We're all just praying at the alters of robots" - I feel that. 😅 It's exciting to see this game getting closer to the finish line! You've been a huge inspiration to our little dev team.

[@flitey]

100% gonna be a giraffe easteregg in the game.

[@kkiruk_yoon]

Even though I am also a solo game developer, making a game is a whole different level of difficult compared to critiquing one. Moreover, doing it alone is extremely hard. I think it's really amazing that you're trying to complete it to the end. Your game is really of high quality. I hope you keep up the good work till the end.

[@supersmily5811]

This is one of the reasons story can be important to a game. Having even a super basic one can help guide your progress to being "finished."

[@ChaosPootato]

Showing Silksong while talking about early storepages is both cheeky and torture at the same time

[@damonlam9145]

It's an honor following you on this journey and I can't wait for your next journey once this one is over.

[@EMan753]

I love this series so much! I'm not even a game designer, but just as a creative person, it's really nice and honest to see each part of the process. The pitfalls and "aha" moments are all parts of the creative process, even if we only ever see the final product. It's really inspiring to see you figure it all out and make new progress.

[@JoshRobertsonArt]

Way to go Mark on getting the plan set in and making such amazing milestones set.

[@ty_sylicus]

Yes, Mark! I've been looking forward to you reaching the finish line and it sounds like you are really going to make it there soon!

[@musicmikemn]

Mark learning the difference between pre-production and production phases :) When he comes back to making videos it will be interesting to see if he has any interviews with Producers lined up.

[@LostRelicGames]

You touched on some pertinent points here. I've been dealing with many of these issues myself over the past year. It wasn't until I created some strict, unbreakable design rules, that true progress started being made. And then the cycle of technical debt begins again! Well done on your progress mate, steam page looks great!

[@LEMONYURI]

I've seen a lot of people compare your game to Portal, but to me, it reminds me a lot of the two Klonoa games on GBA, especially on the subject of level design. I'm really digging these new backgrounds your making, it's good to introduce new aesthetic elements regularly, or the player might get bored after a while. Good work!

[@ruolbu]

"The Plan" to me sounds like the design document you would get at the end of pre-production. What I'm referencing here is the talk Mark Cerny held at the 2002 D.I.C.E. Summit 2002 in which he describes how the first part of game development should be a mostly open ended and free exploration process and the second part should be a highly structured production phase in which levels and content is produced. The bridge between the two is a relatively short document, a plan if you will, how the stuff you found in part one should be fully realised in part two. As an arm chair dev I'm talking out of my ass here but I like finding these kinda consistent little details while watching different people develop games.

[@JamesOfToya]

GMTK has taught me so much over the past years. But this time, I could've easily told Mark he needed a plan for this game. For once, i had the knowledge. I HAD THE POWA.

[@PlebNC]

I had a similar plan when making a game as a hobby as I had a part time job at the time that often left me too exhausted to work on the game leading week long stretches of no progress. I didn't have a plan, I had a to-do list. This was a list of tasks I needed to do listed in priority and whether I was working on it last time, listing what I did and where to go next. This meant when I came back to work on it I could quickly get back up to speed or if I didn't want to work on the big thing I could choose a different, more preferable task for how I felt after work like bug fixing or asset creation or researching if someone already did the thing I'm trying in the engine to see if I can adapt their implementation to my purposes. In a way I did have a plan, it just more a pile of things that needed doing and working what felt practical at the time.

[@Luigiman-rc9fi]

Early on in the video I was actually wondering "we still don't know the name of the game yet, do we?" and lo and behold it comes up. I think it's a brilliant name, by the way, the logo looks really cool and fits with the aesthetic of the game, I'm very excited about this now.

[@calcite_dragon]

Thank you so much!!!! I followed along with the planning phase (as just a roadmap to my demo) and seeing it all for the first time made me so happy. I can see this "little" project of mine getting done now.

[@cyborghuey]

Awesome progress Mark! You've inspired me to finally make a Plan for my board games that I've been working on for....(checks notes)...far too long. And while I can't afford to join the pateron as much as would like to, I can at least make an offering to our algorithm overlords by wish-listing, commenting, liking, and sharing this video. Keep up the great work!

Congrats Mark! Almost there! Thank you for letting us ride along your journey.

[@makebreakrepeat]

Starting to hit the that lag spike towards the end of my first game. It's so hard to keep momentum. Thanks for making this video, it's just what I needed.

[@kainaris]

youre my favorite developer/tutorial guy/youtuber, every time someone tells me "i wanna make a game but idk how" i always recommend your channel it's so good it's the best

[@Grimmtombobulus]

Really appreciate you sharing this journey with us and the ups and downs you've been facing. I relate to a lot of this trying to finish my own game and your tips and warnings have been a huge help and inspiration!

[@jacobbrowning3804]

Seeing this update has been reassuring. I’ve spent the last year and a half trying to learn programming while also working and juggling life issues, and despite a basic portfolio, I don’t have a plan besides “apply to junior roles, grind at portfolio projects, and try not to burn out”. I don’t know what I can do beyond that, though.

[@RKIOrbMage]

The best info I got from this video is to make a A PLAN after the prototyping phase to encourage creativity, which is something I will definitely do. This has been said before, but I stilll can't believe you're the first person that though about making a puzzle game with magnets, it's such a clever idea!

[@superbro6413]

11:30 GamingBrit mentioned 🥳 One of the og youtube goats We love to see it

[@Chodor101]

Can't wait for the release of M.O.M.!

[@rmt3589]

I feel way better about myself. I was beating myself up for weeks I've made no progress. But I have a system, and work on it regularly-ish. Maybe I do have hope in succeeding, if someone as big as you can with so many missed months. Game looks amazing btw! Thank you so much for the video!

[@mariacargille1396]

It's such a relief to find someone talking openly about getting stuck in the "just noodling around" creative phase, and struggling to even remember that making a plan is an option. That's a place I've ended up SO OFTEN in creative projects of all kinds, and it makes me feel so much better to hear that it's not just me, and that there are ways out of and around it. Thank you for that encouragement, and best wishes for the rest of your game! :)

[@jhfourgreen]

I have always appreciated how self-reflective and transparent you are in your videos. I want to also add that, as a high school math teacher, these videos almost always make me think about teaching problem solving. Your description of a time to be creative and a time to plan reminds me of the need for divergent and convergent thinking, respectively. The metacognition required to make, revise, and carry out a plan is such a useful life skill that I try to teach my students. Best of luck with the end of this journey!

[@ibrahimabdullahi6301]

You guys should do a video on how to biuld a map , because as insignificant as it sounds , I find that to be a challenge being a solo dev, I swear I've done some amazing mechanics before but ended up getting completely beaten on how to go about with the map. Please, I've been commenting this any chance I get so please consider, thanks mark.

[@gabilegameur]

you're basically asking "can you do a video on level design please" 💀

[@madd29076]

​@@gabilegameuryou're basically admitting to having zero reading comprehension. He is asking how to make a world map outlining the level. The kind you see when you enter the pause menu or hit 'm' on the keyboard

[@gabilegameur]

@@madd29076 this reply is comically vague but if I understood what you're talking about correctly, this has nothing to do with game design????

[@madd29076]

​@@gabilegameurcreating an overworld map for your game has nothing to do with game design...?

[@gabilegameur]

@@madd29076 oh, so NOT the thing you would get on the pause menu or by hitting 'm' on the keyboard. Then I guess that can be an interesting video. It's just that "map" is the most vague word usage I've seen in my LIFE

[@LeVraiPoio]

I'd argue (from personnal experience) that a plan can also be hurtful especially if you're a solo dev looking for new ways to blame yourself. It can be daunting, disheartening and make everything look like it takes forever ... But then again, noodling around too. To me the real game changer (haha) was to get involved with other devs in their projects. I can't do long tedious work for myself, I'm broken that way. I lose faith fast. When someone else believes in doing the stuff, I am much more forgiving to the little flaws the game will have to carry till the end. That's another huge point, avoid struggling for better everytime you can, accept flaws. Good is good enough. Finishing an imperfect game is better than giving up a perfect one. Also don't forget your mental health check, and take care of yourselves.

[@hamzahgamedev]

Devlogs + Game Dev is too much to take on and sometimes I feel like giving up on my open world farming game. This video is something to which I will be coming back again and again for inspiration. Thanks!

[@beardalaxy]

The crazy thing is just a few weeks before you posted this I started working on my NPCs, of which there are 99 non-quest related ones I had to make, I made a graph of checkboxes for each NPC I make with incentives for every 5 NPCs. I can't have any substantial free time before I complete each row, and once that free time has expired I need to work on the next row. Planning, organization, and incentive have helped skyrocket my production and I'm still finding time to do other things like playing video games. In fact, I'd say that since I started actually putting my mind to working on my game I've had *more* meaningful free time, which I think is just the result of no longer waffling about and trying to decide what I want to do instead of having time that I value. In your case, I'd think that "complete x amount of levels before working on a KZbin video" could be a good incentive, since it would push you to create so you could go back to your job and thus help further fund the game.

[@tedbendixson]

Wishlisted your game. I'm in a similar boat, finishing up my moose Sokoban puzzler, Mooselutions. Like you, I decided to stop at 50 puzzles. That's totally reasonable, especially if it's your first game. I'm a little mixed on story elements. Some people say you need them, but again for your first game it's kind of a lot to put on your plate. I mostly focused on player feedback, addressing all of the problems they ran into. It's nice to get to a point where you've got a finished game already on Steam, and you just keep updating it up to your announced launch date. It removes a lot of the stress. It's gonna release on the date, how polished it's going to be on that date is the variable. Best wishes. The game looks really fun 🙂

[@roguebrainstudios]

It's so great seeing your progress over these 2 years. It's amazing how closely it's mirrored my own game's development, with us starting about 20 months ago and only recently having a steam page up and ready. We also use Trello and I can't overstate how important it has been for planning and execution. I'm embarrassed to admit I also even had about a 9 month long break somewhere in the middle, but now things are the smoothest they've been, and I'm even looking forward to attending the upcoming GDC to show off our game there!

[@datnastysalad5616]

Your approach to puzzle design is so interesting and motivating! I know that this would be a huge task, but I wonder if adding a level editor could be fun. That way, players can do some of the work for you, creating a new aspect of infinite replayability.

[@primeirrational]

Great idea

[@thrownstair]

"There's no giraffes in this game." Well, that's your DLC plans right there. Add giraffes.

[@L4Vo5]

Not sure what the plan is for the "final world", but it'd be good if there was a (bonus?) section with just, the most dastardly difficult puzzles you can come up with, combining more mechanics than usual in weird ways, not caring if most playtesters can't figure them out

[@yalieyal4362]

Thank you so much for this video, i often have trouble finishing and this has been a long time comming

[@Secret_Takodachi]

Protip fellas: next time you need to last longer in bed, just think about what you need to do to finish the game you're working on. 😂 60% of the time it works all the time! 👍

[@volodyadykun6490]

Exactly, that's one loaded text on the thumbnail

[@AeriykTheRed]

True. Also, giggity.

[@End-phoenix]

60% of the time it works all the time? 🤔

[@KevinJDildonik]

I know funny but also that's a super toxic cultural artifact of avoiding talking about sex. Do kegels, and learn to switch things up to give yourself a break. Done. All this "think about your grandma" stuff like BRUH. Bruh. Seriously. If your plan fails you're going to end up with some really awkward conversations with your therapist.

[@alex-qn5xp]

​@@KevinJDildonikI see what you mean but most people would rather have weird thoughts than last a couple minutes in bed, as it can be pretty embarrassing especially if you haven't known the other person for long.

[@Skeffles]

Great to see you've got that extra motivation now! I've had a similar situation with my game and I'm fleshing out my roadmap for motivation. Stick in there and keep up the fantastic work.

[@alexstudyvin4920]

you should name the game "your mind over magnet", "your m.o.m." in short

[@maenlorn]

Really like the honesty in your videos. There is no "I'm the best, I did that" but more "I did that and damn it was stupid let me explain how you can do better"

[@ignosis89]

Never feel bad for taking time off on some projects. Your mental health is important, and super important not to burn yourself out. We're here whenever the regular KZbin content starts rolling in bro.

[@Surfboarder4]

I've played some of the demos and I'm Really excited for the finished game! This series has been really inspiring! Thank you Mark and I can't wait to play!

[@Amirisphere]

I decided to make a 2D platformer. This is the perfect motivation I need to put 4 years into this.

[@mansurbm_]

Its always gonna take at least 2x the amount you forecast

[@volcangames]

I've experienced the same problem of not working on the game for months at a time! I'll have to make my own trello board with every missing task to do so I can actually balance my daywork with the game work. Appreciate you sharing your journey

[@Tahmis_Googboi]

Please put a secret giraffe somewhere in your game, after that whole giraffe/draft bit, like Kirby’s secret HAL rooms. That would be just lovely.

[@Mushrooms683]

You should put a giraffe in the game. A magnetic giraffe. It'd be the final boss. I kid, but you can't deny that that would be SWEET.

[@FugiA522]

this game looks great! i'm a little weirded out that the magnet characters seem to reproduce the male-as-default trope we see a lot in games (max/magnus just look like magnets, but the sisters have bows to denote them as female). it might be nice to change up those assumptions somehow.

[@UndeadMonkey7]

"There are no giraffes in this game" Well that's a mistake. Now you gotta add a giraffe easter egg! In all seriousness, I just wish listed the game and I can't wait to play it!

[@tonicooreidonorte7871]

Keep it up Mark! Planning a roadmap is something extremely powerful to push development forward, I'm glad to see you're pushing through. Remember to stick to the scope and deliver the game, we'll waiting your comeback until then!

[@Subcide]

This is exactly the video I needed. I've also been not-working on my first game for the last 6 months (not because of a lack of a plan, but because of a fundamental programming thing I can't seem to solve), but hopefully the time off has given me fresh eyes that may be able to get over that hurdle, or at least work around it :) Thanks Mark.

[@raquelfernandez5533]

I am the "plan maker" (product manager) in software development and your point about not mak8ng the plan too early is what we call the double diamond. First you open up to ideas, then you decide what to do and define the scope narrower and narrower.

[@testhekid]

project scoping and scope creeping are terrifying things to control, its good to see you finally sticking with a plan that's send you to the right direction. can't wait for the finished product

[@gloriousseapancake]

7:16 "There's no giraffes in this game." That's what someone who is hiding a giraffe in their game would say.

[@HMK-nh4ft]

Just promoting the video in the Algorithm. I have 18, and I really want to go to college to study game design and your channel has helped me get a good start on the process. I wish I had a pc to play mind over magnet

[@andygeers]

I'm so pleased to see this project moving forwards, it looks really cool and has been great to follow your story. I can definitely relate!

[@novaix3974]

this is profoundly heartwarming to see and came at the right time to finally motivate me to start on my own endeavours really excited for the making-game-pretty episodes!

[@MadMax-mi5st]

This comment is to support you, my man. You have given me countless pieces of advice on game Dev. Thank You!

[@dortuff]

The letter 'A' in Mind Over Magnet looks like an amongus. I like these videos, they help motivate me when working on my own game! good video.

[@EvelynWn]

I think this is good advice for anyone doing any kind of long term project actually. Writing a book, making a game, building something. Anything that takes a long time to finish it really helps to have a plan. I have the problem of trying to make the plan too early and either killing my enthusiasm for the project or intimidating myself with what all needs done. Thanks for the video it was encouraging and helpful. Can't wait to play your game.

[@secretscarlet8249]

This actually helps. Got a story in the back burner and the habit of not working on it only to work for a rush reminded me of my awful procrastination skills 😅

[@TheFerdi265]

Your experience with gamedev, especially the on-and-off development, the many months not spent progressing, and the small changes without a plan, hoping to get things done at some point, sounds a lot similar to how I felt while writing my Bachelor's thesis. I spent two years writing it on-and-off, with not a lot of plan, juggling the thesis and coursework, sometimes not working on it for 4 months, and returning to it became very daunting. For me, what helped the most was getting a plan, especially the part where I list what is absolutely needed for it to be somehow finishable, polish can come later once the thesis feels more or less complete. The second thing that helped was setting a deadline. I knew it was a self-imposed deadline and not final, but it helped a lot with getting things to progress. I finally finished my thesis in September, and it was a wonderful feeling, and I wish you all the best in finishing your game as well. You're great!

[@Forrsch]

Commenting to stay on the algo, wishing you luck on the game! Its been a long ride!

[@thetra00]

Dear Mister GMTK - Mark - You do great job with your game, time after Time you worked on it, get new impressions on it, changed it - it works very well. I hope you do amazing! You are amazing! Thanks for sharing your work!

[@_sofie]

It’s interesting how you can disregard a piece of advice a thousand times and then you hear it phrased in a specific way and it finally clicks. So thank you.

[@The_Real_Flump]

Suggestion for a small addition to the look of the title. When you first arrive on the title screen, have the other letters of the word "MAGNET" uniform at first, then the magnet "A" turns on, and THEN they all slam together, attracted to the magney. I think it would add a great touch of personality to it. I'm loving to see this project becoming more and more complete. Good luck, and I look forward to playing the full release something day!

[@rednaxela7875]

I've been waiting for this video for so long! This is definitely my favourite game dev series

[@chris.richard]

I love the sly announcement of the giraffe DLC.

[@damonlam9145]

A bit off topic but it would be a cool idea to have a “cut content” world where it could be a mix between a history behind this game and probably an excuse to put the draft puzzles that you scrap for good reasons.

[@muddasheep]

A roadmap is essential for getting projects like this done. It should list exactly what the game would need to be sold on Steam. 50 levels, Options menu, Splash Screen, Achievements, etc. With this overview, you can then go into detail of each item on your roadmap to make separate lists somewhere else. But you can always look back on your roadmap to get back on track, should you ever steer away too far. Edit: Ha, you actually said 50 levels too :D

[@DrewVanCamp]

Huge congrats! What a great milestone moment for you and your project. Wishlisted. (:

[@glassisland]

Congrats on getting on Steam, Mark! Your page looks great - I love the logo. Added to my Wishlist!

[@RicoTV666]

Good to see you make some serious progress in this month - well done on the PLAN!

[@avocadospud8665]

The way the first 3 minutes of this video basically summed up my game dev experience was such a jumpscare. I felt so called out.

[@manuRGamedev]

Good luck Mark! And thanks for sharing GMTK knowledge!

[@tjspeirs75]

started your game then didn't work on it for six months? NOW you're a game developer

[@Foxtrot6624]

I’ve been a hobbyist game developer for 12 years now. I started when I was 12 years old, in scratch, I learned c# and Unity when I was 14. I’ve graduated from college with a degree in game development. I’ve still not finished one single game ever, for precisely the reason you’ve mentioned in the first 3 minutes. I cannot for the life of me ever figure out what exactly I need to do to move a game past a fun prototype into an actual game, eventually grow frustrated with the lack of progress, realise the prototype could never be actually be a full game or grow the hate the game I’m making and start again, with a whole new game idea, and the cycle begins again. This video was very inspiring to me, to see another person struggle with the same problem, because this is genuinely the first time in over a decade I’ve seen anyone else talk about struggling with the same thing, and has slightly helped the major imposter syndrome my inability to finish anything has given me.

[@srb2er]

ive watched all these devlogs that are out so far and ive been enjoying this. I probably am never gonna make a game as complex as this, but these are still nice, and could guide others into a right direction in their own 'game deving' cant wait for the next one :)

[@asddsadsad-b8b]

great video as always! And this plan looks great.... I've gotta try it.