How to Build a Postmortem Journal for Indie Game Dev

Decoding the Grind: Building a Postmortem Journal for Indie Game Dev

I stumbled across an old notebook the other day, tucked away in a box of old prototypes and half-finished game jams. Turns out, it was my attempt at a “postmortem journal” during the development of my first “real” indie game, Cosmic Janitor.

It’s less a polished document and more a raw, unfiltered brain dump from a solo developer slowly losing their mind. But, buried within the rants and ramen stains were some genuine insights. Things I wish I’d realized during development, not after.

Turns out, consistently tracking your game development progress is more valuable than I ever thought.

This isn’t about creating a perfect devlog for the public. This is about building a personal tool to understand your creative process and avoid repeating mistakes. Here’s how, based on what I wish I’d done better:

Structuring Your Entries for Actionable Insights

Forget flowery prose. This is your space. Focus on clear, concise entries structured for future you to actually understand.

Decision Logs: Trace the Roots of Your Choices

Document every significant design decision.

Why did you choose that specific art style? What were the pros and cons of that particular engine? Who pushed for a certain feature?

Include your rationale at the time. You might think you’ll remember, but trust me, you won’t.

Example: “Decided to use pixel art (again) despite wanting to try vector graphics. Reasoning: familiarity, perceived speed of production. Concern: Might look generic.”

These entries will later reveal if your initial assumptions were correct. Did pixel art actually speed things up, or did the limitations frustrate you?

Emotional Check-Ins: Track Your Motivation

Game development is a marathon, not a sprint. Monitor your morale.

Record how you’re feeling each week. Are you excited about the project, or dreading it? What’s draining your energy?

Example: “Felt burned out this week. The level design is tedious. Considering outsourcing some map creation.”

These check-ins highlight potential burnout points and allow you to proactively adjust your workload.

Technical Roadblocks: Learn from Your Struggles

Detail every technical hurdle you encounter.

Document the problem, your attempted solutions, and the eventual fix (or workaround).

Example: “Spent two days wrestling with Unity’s animation system. Finally realized the issue was a conflicting Animator Controller. Solution: separated animation logic into multiple controllers.”

This creates a searchable knowledge base for future projects, saving you from repeating the same mistakes.

Common Pitfalls and How to Avoid Them

Journaling is only useful if done right. Here are some common mistakes I made (and you should avoid):

Vague Language: Specificity is Key

Avoid generalities. Instead of writing “Level design is hard,” write “Level design is hard because the current enemy AI makes certain areas unfair.”

The more specific you are, the easier it will be to identify the root cause of the problem later.

Neglecting Negative Feedback: Don’t Filter the Bad News

It’s tempting to only record the positive aspects of development.

However, negative feedback is invaluable. Record every critique, even if it stings.

Example: “Playtester said the movement felt 'floaty’. Need to investigate acceleration and friction values.”

Inconsistency: Sporadic Entries are Useless

The biggest pitfall is inconsistency.

Set a realistic schedule (daily, weekly) and stick to it. Even short entries are better than none.

Extracting Insights After Completion

The real value of a postmortem journal lies in its ability to inform future projects.

Reviewing Decision Logs: Uncover Hidden Consequences

Examine your initial decisions and their long-term impact.

Did that seemingly small choice about your character controller ultimately dictate the entire game’s level design?

Analyzing Emotional Trends: Identify Burnout Triggers

Pinpoint patterns in your emotional check-ins.

Did certain tasks consistently lead to burnout? Avoid those tasks in the future, or find ways to delegate them.

Cataloging Technical Solutions: Build Your Own Knowledge Base

Create a searchable index of your technical roadblocks and solutions.

This will save you countless hours of debugging in future projects.

Turn Your Chaos Into Clarity

Keeping a game dev journal transformed my understanding of my development processes. It’s like having a conversation with past-me, but past-me actually wrote things down.

I learned that my initial assumptions were often wrong, my emotional state directly impacted my productivity, and I kept making the same coding mistakes over and over.

Building a game is complex and chaotic. A dedicated postmortem journal is a tool to bring order to that chaos.

If you’re ready to start turning your game dev journey into actionable insights, a dedicated journaling tool can help. With features designed for tracking decisions, emotions, and technical challenges, you can structure your entries for maximum impact. Start journaling today with a free trial and unlock the power of reflection in your game development process: Get Your Free Trial Here