MrZGames
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[Devlog] 2024 madness!
🕑 Added 2024-12-27 18:51:46 +0000 UTCHey friends!
I hope you are having a very fun time during the holidays!
Today I wanted to talk a bit about all the stuff that happened during 2024. This is just a devlog post (and a bit of rambling).
It’s been an intense year…
The first important thing that happened this year is that I realized how much I misjudged the interest of people on kinky fight club 2. While there were a lot of people interested in a sequel to kinky fight club, I believe KYFC was still a niche game, and as such it kind of failed to make the studio grow.
So I decided to speed up and ramp up the development of Deviance. At that point I was working on it for a few weeks only, and I was barely moving all the hundreds of meshes, textures and animations to Unreal. And here is when things start going downhill. I had hired Programmer #1 to work on unreal on November 2023, so I can start moving to the position I want to do: Creative director, so my challenge here was to learn to command others rather than just do it myself. For a bit it went decently, much slower than I expected, unsure if it was because he wasn’t as skilled as he said he was (which ended up being the truth) or if things just took that long to normal people.
And here comes the “Fun” part. Due to personal reasons, I decided to take 2 weeks off at the end of May. During that time, literally on day 2, the Programmer #1 send me a message to say he found a client with a bigger project (so more money) and that he was dropping the project. Nice. After coming back and trying to figure out what to do, because I spent 3 months preparing and learning non-code stuff on unreal, and now I don’t have a programmer, and the motherfucker didn’t write any documentation…
However, this guy recommended me someone else that worked with him, since we were sort of “friends” I trusted him and tested Programmer #2…
Things started well with Programmer #2, and as usual the first thing she does is remake everything Programmer #1 done because he did a shit job (which was true).
At this point I realized that there was no way in hell I could provide a decent first demo for August, as I intended.
So I started a new project and crunched like a maniac to get a “small” first demo for August…
(First concept for Yaradiel's Crown, inside Kinky Fight Club 2)
I couldn’t get it done in time, so I got it for September. At this point I was working like crazy on both games, and I also tested 3 other possible additions to the team: two writers and one level designer. Let’s just say none of them made the cut, one of them ended up being an activist and tried to weaponize the game against me…Without even having worked on it!
By the end of August I was exhausted, I basically remade RPGMaker on unity, by myself… and then added sex!
My original plan for Yaradiel’s crown was to be a small prequel to develop while I were moving to Unreal, however, at the end of August (or around that time) Programmer #2 got an offer for a teaching job, and decided to drop the project. This person not only did not complete the task she said she would do, it left the project in a worse state than it was before.
(Progress after 1 month, I do really like making the UI first)
At this point I found myself having wasted almost a year of development and a lot of money and time. I tested over 20 people, hired some, fired all of them, and all I had to show was a project that looked pretty but didn’t work. Unplayable. So I decided to cancel Deviance and abandon the Unreal engine.
(pre 0.1, now it almost looks like a game)
At the same time, the former CEO of Unity left and Unity canceled their stupid “install fee”, and started taking steps to improve as a company and regain our trust. With all the frustration I had I decided to stick to what I know and keep working on unity for some more time. This is when I started expanding on Yaradiel’s Crown and decided to make it a proper game rather than a small prologue.
(First version of Zantlaha, with only the major points of interest added)
After October I managed to slow down a bit. I was happy with the game’s overall reception. I know there is still much to improve, but I was happy with the progress. I started looking for level designers, as that is something that takes me a bunch of time and I feel I could hire someone else to do it. I posted an ad with simple instructions to test people, and at this time 22 people failed the test, 2 passed, one of them got intimidated by the game being an adult game (this info was in the ad tho) and the other wanted to pay him “senior level designer AAA rates”... (for someone with an almost empty, amateur level, portfolio)
(First demo!)
So here I am, still looking for level designers (and possibility writers). I have learned a lot this year, and realized that I could make really cool stuff. I found out that every year, I have been consistently increasing my skills and becoming able to make more complex stuff. I think the biggest challenge with Yaradiel’s Crown was making the ATB combat.
I wanted to make something similar to all those RPGMaker games that I love, yet something different, something a bit more innovative. I definitely innovated there, but I’m still not sure if most players love it.
I think after the last update where I gave the player “absolute turn priority” is when the game started feeling better. I did post a google form so players could give me feedback, and reading that has been reassuring that while the game is in no way perfect, I’m going in a direction that most players are happy.
(0.3 Now with much better lighting)
On a systems level Yaradiel’s crown combines a lot of old systems that I had to remake, and a lot of new systems. It is the first “open world” game that I make, and integrating the whole moving + saving and loading wasn’t easy. I wanted players to have an immersive and constant experience, so if the last time they played they were in a hard situation and full of restraints, the next time they join they will still be in that situation, rather than starting “a new match”. This required a rework on both the buffs and bondage systems, so the data can be accessed and stored more easily, while also giving the player feedback on what is going on (the buff icons, the sounds, the visuals, etc).
Overall I’m happy with how things turned out on a personal level, I grew a lot and I created a lot of things that last year I didn’t think I would be able to make. I’m still annoyed at how everything related to Deviance went. I spent a lot of money and time there, and well, sometimes you win, sometimes you lose…
(The whole gang)
I’m happy that people like my games, that’s very important, because I’m not just making the game I want to play, but the game that I want everyone to enjoy!
So thanks to all of you who supported me this year… It’s been hard, but we survived!
I will come back in a few days with news of what is coming next year!
Have a wonderful day!
Cheers!
Comments
rodney king
Sometimes our limiting beliefs are actually our strengths in disguise. When I first started, I didn't feel I could hire good people and compete with big companies. Later, I realized that I didn't need to. Big companies need to hire thousands of people, every good hire I made doubled my progress. One suggestion (feel free to take it or leave it) is to look at your fan base to see if anyone (or simply ask if there is any one they know) with the skills you need. They'll be familiar with the game and have a passion for it, which will override your big two objections!
Mr Zed
Thanks! I think the main is that I see the game as a game and not as something taboo, which a lot of people sees when they read "adult game", so this makes finding centered people harder, but the other issue is that I cannot compete economically with AAA studios, so finding good people is hard taking these two things into consideration. But I will keep trying! Thanks again, and yeah from time to time it is crazy to compare and see all the road traveled
axelle
ya i own them all great stuff. excited to see what you got for us in 2025.
rodney king
HI Zed, thanks so much for sharing your journey. Just wanted to let you know that this is a common path to starting your own company so congrats on putting in the reps! One thing that helped me (I also had to hire/fire teams of developers who did similar things to what you had mentioned, dealt with employees who were activists who didn't care about customers but rather just furthering their "cause") was to develop a mission for the company that the right people are attracted to as well set of values (characteristics) that people you like to work well all have and are non-negotiable. Then, instead of only interviewing for skills, you're also interviewing for personality and culture fit. This is something all leaders need to learn if they want to grow. This process took me about 3 years to fully understand (and a lot of money that was spent on the wrong people). Also - what I learned was that expensive people these days don't equal high talent. In fact - it's almost the opposite. People that either have too much ego/no experience or people that have peaked. You need reasonable people who are hungry and will be happy to be paid by goals not time. Nevertheless, I just want to congratulate you on your tenacity, your passion, and just know this is all a common part of the process! I remember when I first subscribed to you and you had the KYFC demo with the big heads. Don't forget to celebrate how far you've come!!
Michael McCain
I for one absolutely love the KYFC games the most so far.
Omar Giovany Moreno Torres
Amazing works Mr. Z. Looking foward to both KYFC 2 and YC!
ilmncsm
Been following along as it happened, but seeing it all in once place like that, wow you have been through a lot this year. Thanks for sticking with it, and glad you've been learning. I enjoy your work and look forwards to seeing where you take it in the future. Good luck with 2025, hopefully it turns out better!
Varlance Interactive
I just wanted to say I sympathise with all the pain you went through to get your games out the door. Those people you hired that let you down should be ashamed of themselves. I am sure you want to avoid naming and shaming them in case of negative consequences, so I’d best leave it at that.
Chester
I don't know where you find the willpower to soldier through all this nonsense, but thanks for going through it all for our sakes. Hopefully the lessons of this year will make things go smoother for you in the challenges to come. Thanks for all you go through and all you do for us!
Tom Zima
Hate to hear all this that really sucks. Glad to hear it hasn't kept you down. I love what you make and wish you the best going forward. I joined cause of kyfc 2 but this new yandiels crown has been amazing. Still hope we can get a finished kyfc 2 but hearing all this i get why we have to wait. Keep up the great work.
Riot_of_Flowers
Christ dude, that is insane, but also a good look into how sometimes all the background stuff going into games like this actually is. Its not always about rolling out of bed in the morning, pouring a cup of coffee, walking outside to hear the birds singing then saying, "Right! Time to get to work," and everything unfolds like clockwork. Though not really the same field, I work for a small business, and I've been there since 2007. I've seen a lot of people come and go, and times constantly change. People strolling in with 6 months or less experience, wanting ridiculous salaries, people responding to an ad in the paper, NOT wanting to do the position in said ad, and terrible, often problematic work ethic when we finally do find someone. Man I wish I knew how to do it, I'd help you in a second, seeing as how your games are right up my alley, I'd have no issue with any of the aspects. Just know man, you're deeply appreciated for what you do.
