What's the point of making devlogs?

[@kamakazines4901]

Yes to part 2!!!

[@NathanRohner]

Then I shall! Anything specific you were looking for?

[@MrChambers]

I started making dev logs to promote my game. And now I find Im studying analytics and trying to game the algorithum. Its definitly become more of an ordeal than I thought itd be. But its fun

[@NathanRohner]

I feel the exact same!

[@alwayscensored6871]

Shad and Oz are getting me interested in upgrading my PC to use Stable Diffusion. Some very cool stuff for us minimally talented designers.

[@NathanRohner]

Got a video coming out soon about using stable diffusion for game dev 😉

[@alwayscensored6871]

Hmm, turn Shadlands into a game. Then we can all make dream like Shad. Design your own reality in a computer before buying land and bulldozer.

[@NathanRohner]

That would be a cool idea! Gotta finish my own game first, cocoa loco ☕

[@P-Bean]

I enjoy making videos and enjoy making games but I don't enjoy making devlogs, I've really been floating around the idea of making those more "entertainment oriented" devlogs, especially when I spend months away from my KZbin channel to mess about with game dev, but ultimately don't feel like I have nearly enough interesting things to say about my game while I have a lot of things I want to say about other games or games in general. My games are also not made with the intent of making a video out of them which is something I feel a lot of game dev channels do. The problem is that game dev and KZbin are two incredibly time consuming hobbies when you fully separate them and don't make videos about the games you're actually making, even if one of those is a stable source of income which for me isn't the case. So even though I like to think that my experience with game dev has an impact on my videos since I've been talking more about gaming and game design and stuff like that it's still a massive time conflict to have these two separate passions while also not directly intertwining them and it's at the detriment to both of them.

[@NathanRohner]

I totally get what you're saying and I've been in the same boat with a lot of my recent work. What's been on my mind though after making this video, is that there's probably a format of videos someone is yet to invent, that combines the two more perfectly!

[@Chesemiser]

I sure am glad you are making these dev logs but im really looking forward towards your dev streams

[@NathanRohner]

Thankyou!

[@seanjordan0]

Great video! I think you're spot on with the analysis of the two different types of devlogs, more technical devlogs for developers and infotainment devlogs targeted more towards potential players. I also thought it was interesting that you mentioned the idea of a "gamedev Mr.Beast" because in my opinion Dani is the gamedev Mr.Beast. The similarities between the editing style with quick cuts every few seconds and animated pop in text are so uncanny to the point that I think Dani might be copying Mr. Beast to some extent (or vice versa). If you watch both of their most recent videos you'll see what I mean. Not sure if it's intentional but it seems both of their channels heavily appeal to children which is maybe the key to getting promoted in the algorithm? When I'm making devlogs my intention is to make intofainment devlogs targeted more towards potential players as a way of marketing my game while creating it. I don't intend to make much if any money from youtube unless the algorithm gods look upon me favorably. It's always really encouraging to see someone with 500 subs suddenly have a video explode to 100k views. I try to make infotainment videos that I would watch myself, I try to have fun with it. It's very tempting to try and copy the formula from videos that I see doing well, especially after I put a lot of work into a video and it gets 100 views. At the end of the day I think there's a middle ground between adopting trends and staying true to yourself. You kind of mention the third group of indie dev youtubers who seem to be more like full time youtubers that happen to do gamedev. They seem to focus more on churning out videos frequently usually psuedo-tutorials or advice on various gamedev topics. It seems they probably make the majority of their money from selling courses that they use their youtube channel to promote. I think Coffee Coder, Jason Weimann, and Thomas brush fall more into this category. Miziziziziz has a video from a while ago talking about how he made the majority of his money as a youtuber from a couple Udemy courses: kzbin.info/www/bejne/iIDPe2Sogc99pac although now It seems he's made a lot more money from releasing a successful game. What do you think about how it seems like most people that are heavy into making videos for gamedev youtube tend to not release a successful game? I think Miziziziz and the creator of Hydroneer are two exceptions to this but I can't think of anyone else off the top of my head.

[@NathanRohner]

Jonas Tyroller who recently released will you snail is probably the only other game dev youtuber, who's released a game and done frequent videos that I know of. I think it's just down to how hard making games are, it's hard enough to just focus on something like that solo. But also making videos (which is something I do for work full-time) can take out all of your energy at once, leaving you feeling burnt out and unmotivated to finish anything. Honestly it comes down to being diligent, working on things not because you want to but because you need to. I think a lot of people just work and work until their passion burns out. When really you should pace yourself and get things done just enough to progress and not become discouraged when things get hard.

[@vamperro]

great video, thanks for sharing your experience!

[@NathanRohner]

Glad you enjoyed it 😀

[@Skeffles]

Interesting topic. I wonder if there is a middle ground between the entertainment and progression styles?

[@NathanRohner]

I think there is, it's just hard to switch between the two without confusing or isolating your audience. As an example early on I loved Dani's videos, I thought of them as peak game dev content. But since his content changed and became more of the entertainment side of things I don't watch them anymore. As a viewer, videos like that don't interest me as much so I don't watch them (even though he got really big because of it).

[@GameDevJourney]

Fantastic video, love your thoughts. Making videos is REALLY hard and people do not realise how long it takes. Hope that Cocoa Loca is coming on well?

[@NathanRohner]

Thankyou for the kind words! Yeah making videos takes longer than working on the game some days 😅 Cocoa Loco is coming along, slowly but surely!

[@TheAngelofBaal]

For Me, Dev vlogs are more of a "proof of work" and an Update on the Progress. In the current Time I want to trust that Indi Devs (and even some AA or AAA game Devs) work on their game till the end, but that is too naive, so I like dev vlogs to give me "Proof" that the game gets somewhere and is not a scam or just an idea that will never see the light of day. So I like to see the more dry stuff and the more Infomercial stuff, it just has to be semiregular or with a Roadmap or a Plan for Future Updates, otherwise I lose interest rather quickly. On a different note, I like your dev vlogs so far, and the Dev Stream was also very great.

[@NathanRohner]

Glad you enjoyed it! So you're more of a consumer of devlogs? Do you find yourself ever watching the higher production, meme edit sort of stuff? Or are you just there to see how the game was made?

[@TheAngelofBaal]

@@NathanRohner I watch both. I like any content that is related to the game (most interesting for me is Gameplay and Code tho) because i like to see progress especially when i decide if i want to support a Game or a Dev. Also for smaller devs time is a big factor, making a 15 min+ video that is edited and more of a Entertainmend Video can be a big time commitmend wich can negatiivly effect progress on the actual game. But im happy for any dev that can pull it off.

[@NathanRohner]

Thanks for the comments, I'll definitely put them into consideration when working on my own stuff 😁

[@YuriTotted]

In conclusion: you want to be a youtuber or game developer? You figure that out after a year?