Dev Log vs. Postmortem: Key Differences Explained

Imagine building a house.

You wouldn’t start hammering without a blueprint, right? And after the house is built, you’d want an inspection to ensure everything’s up to code.

Game development is similar. A dev log is your blueprint, and a postmortem is your inspection.

Dev Log vs. Postmortem: Key Differences Explained

Many indie developers find the prospect of documenting their process daunting. Juggling code, art, and design is enough without adding “documentation” to the list. However, understanding the difference between a dev log and a postmortem, and when to use each, can significantly improve your workflow and the quality of your game.

Think of it this way: a dev log is forward-looking and iterative, while a postmortem is retrospective and analytical.

What is a Dev Log?

A dev log, or game development log, is a running record of your progress. It’s your ongoing architectural blueprint. You use a game dev journal to track game development progress, documenting your successes, failures, experiments, and decisions along the way.

It’s a living document, updated frequently, reflecting the current state of your project.

Best Time to Create: From day one of development.

Purpose:

• Track game development progress and stay organized.
• Document design decisions and their rationale.
• Share progress with your community (if public).
• Identify potential problems early.
• Maintain consistency in your vision.

Content Examples:

• Showcasing a prototype mechanic, explaining the design choices behind it.
• Documenting a new art style and the tools used to create it.
• Describing the challenges of implementing a specific feature.
• Sharing your weekly goals and whether you achieved them.

Common Pitfalls:

• Being too technical and losing sight of the "why". Focus on the design intent and the player experience.
• Not updating it consistently. Even short, regular updates are better than infrequent, lengthy ones.
• Treating it as a chore rather than a useful tool. Embrace it as a way to clarify your own thinking.

Actionable Tips:

• Structure your dev log around weekly or bi-weekly goals.
• Use visuals (screenshots, GIFs, videos) to make it more engaging.
• Focus on what you learned, not just what you did.
• Consider keeping a private dev log for internal use and a public one for community engagement.

Many indie devs find success sharing their work, building a community, and getting feedback. The creators of Stardew Valley used a dev log to garner interest and support for their game years before release.

What is a Postmortem?

A postmortem is a critical analysis of your project after it’s completed (or after a significant milestone, like a demo release). It’s your building inspection, identifying what went well, what went wrong, and what you would do differently next time.

It’s a retrospective look at the entire process, focusing on lessons learned.

Best Time to Create: After a major milestone or project completion.

Purpose:

• Objectively evaluate the project’s successes and failures.
• Identify areas for improvement in your development process.
• Learn from your mistakes and avoid repeating them.
• Improve team communication and collaboration.
• Celebrate accomplishments and acknowledge challenges.

Content Examples:

• Analyzing a failed marketing campaign and identifying the reasons why it didn’t work.
• Evaluating the effectiveness of your chosen development tools and pipeline.
• Assessing the impact of scope creep on the project timeline.
• Reflecting on team dynamics and communication challenges.

Common Pitfalls:

• Being too forgiving and glossing over mistakes. Be honest and objective in your analysis.
• Blaming individuals rather than focusing on systemic issues. The goal is to improve the process, not to assign blame.
• Failing to implement the lessons learned in future projects. A postmortem is only valuable if it leads to real change.

Actionable Tips:

• Use a postmortem template to ensure you cover all the key areas.
• Gather input from all team members (if applicable).
• Be specific and provide concrete examples.
• Focus on actionable recommendations for future projects.

The Spelunky postmortem is often cited as a great example of a developer honestly reflecting on their process and the challenges they faced.

From Blueprint to Inspection: Iterative Improvement

Both dev logs and postmortems are essential tools for improving your game development process. The dev log helps you stay on track and make informed decisions during development. The postmortem helps you learn from your experiences and avoid repeating mistakes in future projects.

They both enable iterative improvement. You build a better “house” each time.

So, how do you put all this into practice?

Start by committing to consistent documentation. Set aside time each week to update your dev log. After each major milestone, schedule a postmortem to reflect on your progress.

The key is to find a system that works for you and stick with it.

To help you track game development progress and stay consistent, check out our integrated development Game Development Journal tool. It’s designed to simplify the process and help you document your creative journey from beginning to end. Use it to build better games and improve your development process.