A Day as an Indie Game Developer

[@Malkin8]

Can't get home because all the roads have been destroyed? No problem, just go to the pub! I love this game

[@BeAManPodkast]

Yeah that poor guy - can't get home because the stupid city manager decides to commence road construction right in the middle of his commute home!

[@Malkin8]

@@BeAManPodkast His poor children are gonna starve to death while he hangs out in the pub! :(

[@hugius1269]

@@Malkin8 or his children will go with him to the pub XD

[@Malkin8]

@@hugius1269 By the time he gets back home his children will be old enough to order their own drinks lol

[@KyranFindlater]

It's also very British

[@GoldenEvolution]

It's always good to see the more 'boring' side of game development as well so people don't get the impression that it's always just adding content and more features, which is usually the more fun part. Great devlog as always and good to see you making KZbin content more frequently again! 😄

[@MassimoRough]

yeah, in fact it's about 1/3 of the "gamedev" time you create fun content and mechanics, another 1/3 is when you fix it. Where is the last 1/3 you may ask? This is where real fun begins - dealing with 3rd party SDKs.

[@etruiaz]

I come from web's world, and we have the same issues about users (players in your case). Users think softwares can have more and more features without fixing issues. Its really satifying to see our community wanting more thanks to their great experience with us, but often, softwares (or major functionalities) are sold too early without a totally fully tested version because we also have to recoup our expenses and because we would like to finish to a special request which is sometimes time-consuming. We would all would like to develop the more "fun" part of a projet but we do some concession for our livelihood.

[@kiki-drawer2669]

I agree! So many devlogs skip over it and sometimes hat is just as interesting as adding new things! In fact, I think it makes adding or upgrading new objects is like an accomplishment for coding for so long

[@fixiple2722]

yep that's true

[@Pedro5antos_]

Indeed! There's the great and fun ideia brainstorming, but there's also a lot of bugs solving and boring stuff

[@stas4112]

love how you took away the guy's roads and he just went, "welp, pub it is"

[@christopherjc54]

😂

[@txe1nd]

yep

[@tcgames2769]

Roads destroyed? Let's go to the pub until this all blows over.

[@FMontanari709]

I always liked how your devlogs were so chill, not because they had a lot of progress, but also because you shared your lifestyle behind that progress... I think it's great to show the life-work balance that you have

[@nkdibai]

Yes! I love these videos!

[@peterbelanger4094]

Life-work balance becomes more important over time. As we age, our bodies require more care. Just sitting in front of a computer can cause problems in the long term. It is very important to take breaks, and go do something else, move your body in different ways, and eat healthy food. If not, if you just spend 25 years sitting in front of a screen a vast majority of the time, your body will hurt. Your health will suffer. At 51, I CAN'T use the computer as much as I used to or want to, the keyboard has given me carpal, the mouse has killed my shoulder, sitting in a desk chair has ruined my back, 'powering through' and working long runs has trained me into poor dietary & sleep habits. But after decades of doing nothing but use a computer, I don't have a clue what to do other than that. And I'm not in very good physical shape to do much anyway. So, yes, a good life-work balance is necessary. Not just that, A good analog(no computers) vs digital life balance is necessary. In this new cyber-century, it's easy to forget we still have physical bodies to take care of.

[@gcg8187]

@@peterbelanger4094 hey if you want to get into investing you can read some books like 'the intelligent investor', and do that. no computers neccessary. well you do need a computer, but thats not wher u do all the work

[@masamaeda9217]

Gamedev aside, one thing I've noticed from these videos is he really seems to understand how to enjoy life. The balance is seriously inspirational.

[@ThomasIsBored]

I envy this guy massively for how well balanced and diverse this guy's life is

[@blakasmurf]

Bruh, his day is so much more chilled than mine. For me it's literally, get up dev, forget to eat, after 10 - 12 hours stop because I literally am too tired to go on

[@jdh]

So happy you’re back to some more regular uploads, really missed your videos these past months!

[@shouryasanas4830]

JDH

[@lonelyfloat2582]

oh look it's the C man

[@DevDuck]

I love this style of video! As always it makes me want to dive deeper than the scripting language I'm often programming in and see what it's like to build all the goodies under the hood. Excited for more! I missed Rufus.

[@ThinMatrix]

Glad you liked it ^^

[@amalirfan]

Both of you guys produce amazing videos!

[@txe1nd]

@@amalirfan yep

[@txe1nd]

@@amalirfan there video is so good i which them both

[@HybridLizard_com]

There is a nice chill mood here. Your videos are actually a bit similar in style with showing the shrimps or the view outside and inside.

[@LuigiMysteries]

Keep it pushing brother. You've been an inspiration to me throughout the entirety of my career. Your MMO series was one of the initial drives for my interest in development. You responded to a comment I wrote when I was 15 (6yrs ago now), took me seriously, and I won't soon forget it.

[@mattiasrosell9487]

Happy to see you back!

[@TutorialeGratuite]

I could watch videos like this all day. Keep it up.

[@ConorOD451]

"Get home from the pub right now, you've been there all day!" "Can't, all the roads got deleted"

[@KRYMauL]

If he really wanted to add in some drama into the game he could make relationships where the partner of a character will drag them home if they've been out for too long.

[@txe1nd]

@@KRYMauL lol

[@delqyrus2619]

8:40 A little tip i recently discovered for my games: Just skip this "write your own tool" and simply write some custom exporter for blender. It is much easier than it sounds and you might get a much better workflow if you simply do all the model-reated stuff at one point.

[@RandomProduct]

I love the cozy feel of your devlogs. If I ever commit to doing devlogs, I want to use your style as inspiration!

[@Draconicrose]

I can't believe how much you get done in a day and how chill and relaxed you make it all seem!

[@alexhetrick9109]

Please make more of these types of videos! It's just as interesting to see the day-to-day workflow as it is to see new features

[@3mro_coding]

As solo developer working from home I love your home office setup. The looks of the trees and sun lights it's really cool place.

[@valeriiduz2701]

I'm not indie game developer, but your street view in windows (0:23), it's amazing!

[@GonziHere]

Oh please do more of these - I don't care about the content as much as I do about your format. Your devlogs are extremely calm and relaxing, so the more the merrier, even if the content isn't the next big thing.

[@the-pink-hacker]

I love these sorts of videos. This is one of my biggest reasons why I want to go into game dev.

[@EgeSayn]

yeah, they really motivate me to work on my game projects :) I would love to see your videos too!

[@PhodexGames]

Believe me, it's a better attitude if you go into game dev because you want to go make a cool game, not because you want to breathe the vibe a video is setting.

[@Steinbolt]

Absolutely glad to have these "day in the life of" style videos back. More food, more Rufus, more gardening... This window into the wholesome activities and lifestyle is so relaxing and enjoyable. Please continue with the excellent content 🙏

[@RubberJoelzilla]

I love how your devlog videos are sort of lifestyle videos too. Adds a lot of flavour to the videos and makes them much more engaging. Kepp up the great work

[@naturecodevoid]

I’m so excited to see the finished product! Thanks for the great videos.

[@Limitless_Games]

So happy to see more videos from you! ☺️

[@imgekko4142]

Perfect length to accompany my break! great video glad you are back at it!!! looking forward to more videos

[@LifeOfMohammed]

Awesome update as always loving seeing how far you come each time also loving all the plants! Nothing is ever the boring side when you upload so excited for you to hit 200k!

[@TheNameIsForty]

Great video, good to see you upload more regularly. Time goes so fast, didn't even realize it had nearly been 3 years since I watched your videos almost weekly during the making of Equilinox.

[@davidberry8275]

thanks for posting this blog, very relaxing to watch. Also. a nice to see a bit about your life and lovely dog.

[@Justinkol]

Awesome work. Even the slower maintenance dev logs are very entertaining. The calming nature of the way you explain and solve problems and splice in bits of your day are so valuable. Doesn't matter if the feature isn't new, shiny, and tangible :)

[@Sk4lli]

Personally I like this kind of video as much as the ones with loads of visual progress. Sometimes even more. It shows a bit more how you really go down about the development and while visually not much changes in the game, you still have lots of interesting footage to show, even if it's just the editor. :)

[@bobbycomputers]

Your vibe improves my work, my approach, my attitude, and my outlook on what I do. Thanks so much for sharing.

[@bierkules2608]

As a berlin cityboy I love your apartment men, it's so chilled, bright and green.

[@infiniti2011]

Yeah, it's really nice.

[@Beriol9]

I missed THESE type of devlogs! Please, do make more! Watching you work is a huge motivational for me :)

[@sqrtof81]

About the .obj to .cba tool: Wouldn't it be smarter in the long run to make a blender extension instead of a standalone utility? Would help if you chose to support mods in the future, and it's also something new to learn about :P

[@Day13May]

That would require learning a new language however. Would be pretty neat though!

[@IndieMarkus]

I also thought about that. The custom entity format could also just be a .json file for easy im- and export (don't need to write a custom serializer). @Bounty: It's just python - I think that he'll manage writing a blender plugin after a shader language (OpenGL?) and Java.

[@klaxoncow]

@@Day13May Python's not too difficult to pick up. In fact, it was doing exactly this - writing an "export" plugin for Blender, to write my data out in the format I needed for my code - that was my first time ever coding Python. But I got it working. It's not hard. And, really, Blender does most of the work - you just write the function it calls after the user's used the file dialogue to select where to export the data, and then your function just needs to walk through the object data and then write things out to the supplied filename. At its simplest, it can just be basically a "for" loop that walks through all the vertices in the selected mesh - just an array in Python - and then you write out the value to the file.

[@stewartzayat7526]

@@Day13May learning a new language on some basic level, given you already know one well, requires surprisingly little time compared to learning the first language. Especially when that language is python. I learned python about a year ago when I needed it, having been programming in C, in a few hours/days. I don't claim I was some guru after that, but I could get stuff done.

[@Day13May]

I'm well aware how easy python is, but it's always easiest working in the language you're native to

[@KjipGamer]

Thinmatrix: back to regular uploads *Everyone liked that*

[@FiveNineO]

I absolutely love the fact that you're building this in Java and in Eclipse in 2021

[@FiveNineO]

@GameCraft when I was at Uni like six years ago everyone was talking smack about Java, and for those who were stuck with it IntelliJ Idea was all the rage. And now it's like all the hype is around React and web stuff like that. But I've always liked Java and Eclipse, they may not be the cool new thing but they work

[@AJ213Probably]

@@FiveNineO At my university the first two programming classes use Java while the last two use C++. People were pissed they had to use C++ and wish they were still using Java lol. Personally, I don't think the language matters even when learning so it's just a nice bonus on the resume to say you know C++. I know Java, C++, C and Python all because of school.

[@henrycgs]

@GameCraft java is a terrible choice for a game. it's slow, verbose as hell, and owned by oracle which sucks ass. also, eclipse is extremely outdated. at least he isn't using netbeans.

[@StarContract]

So glad to see 2 videos in a short span

[@pedroduran8927]

Your videos always inspires me, and also it looks like a lovely and paceful place where you live :) keep up the amazing work! i love it so much

[@jeremynunns7496]

Your videos are really lovely to watch. Love your style and the work you do. Inspired me to start my own devlogs. Saw your videos a year ago but didn't subscribe for some reason - but have done so now and looking forward to seeing more on your city game and your farm games!

[@evan_game_dev]

Its always such a pleasure to see these videos, great work!

[@TheWhitePianoKeyProductions]

as a non programmer, I love these more behind the scenes video's, what actually happens in code. So these video's are a joy! Even just you explaining bugs and how you fixed them would be interesting

[@mikeohc]

Good to see this side of dev! Keep it the good work!

[@jordanstokes7143]

I'm so happy to see regular uploads again!

[@jamesprivett1257]

Superb man, keep it up. I'm a Dev myself and I find your content really relaxing and inspiring to watch. It's cool how you incorporate other things into the videos as well. Makes them different.

[@Xamimum]

Hey TM, loved the new video! It's always a lot of fun watching them and seeing the progress. Always calms my mind for some reason. Would love to play the finished game.

[@danilodjuric]

I really enjoyed this kind of video where you show game dev is not all exciting visual progress. Keep these up please!

[@KyranFindlater]

An undervalued aspect of game development which makes a huge difference in workflow efficiency is the tool making. It would be cool for more in-depth looks at tools, workflows, when and why to make a custom tool, etc.

[@robvp71]

Really appreciate your videos! I have started my really basic devblogs but it is so much work and yours are really professional and interesting! Thx for all the work.

[@rublie1426]

What a very satisfying video to watch! Although I don't directly understand the coding you show, the sense of progress is very enjoyable to watch. Looking forward to more content, whatever the video format is.

[@andrecbarros]

This video is such amazing man, nice work and you live in a beautiful place, congrats!!

[@rafanteapps1888]

I love watching you cooking, please give it some more time! It's nice for someone who lives on the other side of the planet to see the type of food of your country, also the landscapes and the nature, it's absolutely gorgeus

[@DanCSS]

Love how your office is full of plants, its very green, also very cool insight into your workflow!

[@Adam-cn5ib]

I really enjoy you discuss things about the code. I don't really understand it, but I can appreciate the process still.

[@RobLang]

Lovely Dev blog. I'm always inspired after watching yours. I should really try mixing in real life too.

[@GrahamOfLegend]

Thanks for sharing your process/day with us! I can't lie though, it was hard for me to get past how DOPE your view is! Having an desk that can face a huge window like that is amazing. Congrats haha. Also, cool game!

[@tauheedgamedev2388]

I really enjoyed this style/format of devlog, really well done

[@fmvlee]

I love seeing this side of development, it shows more of your thought process behind the things you are doing. Would love to see more of this, keep up the good work

[@cryptocrusher]

Love to see you back with regular videos Matrix

[@JoelFunk]

Another incredible video as always! You're one of my favourite developers to watch. Keep up the great work!

[@rcookie5128]

Super cozy. Really nice to have more regular dev logs, even if they aren't filled with much visible progress!

[@codehawkfalcon]

This is awesome! I hope you add biking, trains, and trams

[@jkr9594]

i saecond that. public transit is great.

[@simoncodrington]

Always great to see what you're getting up to mate

[@LilayM]

Awww, I'm endlessly fascinated how other indie devs organize their days. LOVE seeing stuff like this from you!

[@MatthewKeanartist]

this video was fantastic! please keep doing these "slice of life" type vids. They are lovely to see and help show just how much lovely work you are putting into this!

[@spenceryascolt8038]

I'd be very interested seeing in this side of game development. Have you thought of making a series of these type of videos? I am working on my own Java game engine and I enjoy having devlogs on in the background.

[@alicel995]

Half of the reason I’m here is to look at your beautiful setup and plants. Keep on posting please 😍😍

[@Pedro5antos_]

1:10 what a view from your window! Awesome content, as always

[@asp-uwu]

I quite like the videos that show off the background stuff! It's all just as fascinating as the more visible changes :)

[@dragonminz602]

I realy like this type of devlogs. I think it has got a good balance between features and codetalk/techtalk.

[@TJEERDROKS]

Man I love these video's so much! Love seeing the progress for this game so far, even the "boring" tasks. Like seeing the bug fixes and how you handle them! Can't wait to see the future of this game.

[@HybridLizard_com]

Nice video and progress. Rufus on the boat was funny. Looks like you both had a nice time.

[@tristanos22]

I like the vlogs very much. It's nice that we get a glimpse of your life, apart from game development. Plus, it's motivating seeing you doing all these things, coding, gardening, painting, canoeing etc. Hope the next video comes soon!

[@TyZo]

So glad to have you back on a regular schedule!

[@msacco]

Programming is awesome, but anything around it also seems truly amazing, your work station, windows view, all the plants and green, that beautiful river which I assume is near your house, that really sounds like a dream buddy.

[@cyberpunkdenton9497]

Oh I loved the last Vlog that you did. Gonna enjoy this one as well, so thanks for the upload. Beautiful backdrop and setup, one suggestion I would like to make is to get those gas-spring VESA mounts. Takecare:)

[@fireforge5927]

I like how you have so many plants in your desk. I feel inspired to get some plants for my desk now!

[@MegaStygian]

Wellcome back nice to see you again so soon. !!!

[@Theoddert]

I love this style of video that goes into more nitty gritty than a typical 'feature' vid. But to be fair I'd watch you assemble IKEA furnature for 10 mins if that's what you put out, really glad you're back!

[@agent47hitman75]

I am curious to know how you implemented such a great error logging system shown at 2:40

[@TomCourtney]

I love your workstation and the view out the window.

[@rollinmarbles2908]

You should add a first person feature when you can jump into your city and walk around, using cars, and admiring what you built from the view of the people that live there

[@Crixino]

Hope you’re doing well! Can’t wait for your next video!

[@NikolayTzanov]

I've never clicked so fast on a video. Welcome back and hope you are well!

[@SaiponathGames]

Nice! Good luck with your City builder!

[@spoopy6359]

The anesthetic is enough for me to keep coming back. Truly an inspiration really

[@jsbarretto]

As a fellow Brit, I too simply go to the pub when the road home is destroyed by an angry god testing the patience of his minions.

[@rodholseth6354]

Thank you for sharing your experience! I'm designing my own game at the moment and it's great to see other solo developers creating something.

[@DanielDogeanu]

Your desk setup is stellar! That's the type of setup I dream to have one day...

[@fnoffer]

your videos are so chill and calming, really enjoyed this one ;)

[@jonphillips4082]

I'm glad you seem to be doing better, "health wise". I always enjoy your video's, so informative, I love how you handle the details. When I watch this I feel so relaxed! hehehe. Love all your devlog's, Great Job, Karl!

[@jonatheringaming8369]

A complaint system for individual people addressing city management issues would be interesting. For example, the person who couldn't find a path home would have a complaint about the roads once that person reached the failed state. Then you could click on people and go to their complaints tab to find all their complaints and make changes to your city based on those issues to improve their happiness. Maybe you've already made plans for a system like this or better cause the idea popped in my head when you demonstrated the Status system :D I love your videos! Keep it up!

[@MrKiraBR]

So nice to hear from you!! Hope you're fine and will be forever! =]

[@Mat-pu7sk]

It's good to hear from you again. :) We missed you!

[@goldone01]

I like the format - nice change up to the more technical videos

[@YousefDana]

Can you add pedestrian paths? You're making a very car based town and having pedestrian paths between houses would be a nice europe vibe.

[@willlogs]

The intimacy in your videos is awesome. Keep it up.

[@ColinBrown33]

The view out your desk window is beautiful!

[@its_meeeet]

Love your Devlogs . You keep motivating youth like us who want to pursue Game Development. Love from India .

[@ahdlkasdjfhalsdkj]

Your studio has such a beautiful view

[@noahdorego6031]

Love this style of video, as I am going into cs- helps me better understand structure and good coding habits. Keep it up!

[@LukaszWiklendt]

5:20 if the road suddenly vanished before my very eyes, twice, I reckon the closest pub would also be my first destination.