Devlog: Pivot Problems and Their Fixes

Devlog: Pivot Problems and Their Fixes

Game development is rarely a straight line. We all dream of smooth sailing, but reality often throws storms of scope creep, feature creep, and brutally unrealistic timelines our way. This is the story of how my team almost capsized our passion project, and how we used a game dev journal to right the ship.

The Initial Vision: Spacefaring Mayhem

Our initial goal was ambitious, but we believed achievable. We were creating a procedurally generated space exploration game. Players would captain a customizable spaceship, trade resources, engage in combat, and uncover the mysteries of a vast, dynamic galaxy. Think FTL meets Elite Dangerous, but with a quirky sense of humor.

We were a small team of three, fueled by caffeine and the naive optimism of indie developers everywhere. We jumped in headfirst, tackling everything from complex AI to intricate ship customization systems.

The Creep Sets In: Scope and Feature Frenzy

The first signs of trouble appeared subtly. “Wouldn’t it be cool if players could build space stations?” Someone suggested. “And what if we added a branching narrative with multiple endings?” Another chimed in. Each idea, individually, was exciting. Collectively, they were a recipe for disaster.

Scope creep devoured our roadmap. The game ballooned in complexity. Features were added without proper planning or integration. Our initial timeline of 12 months stretched to 18, then 24. We were working harder, not smarter, and the core gameplay loop suffered.

We were facing the classic indie dev pitfalls: falling in love with ideas over execution and underestimating the effort required to bring ambitious features to life. We were so focused on what could be that we lost sight of what should be.

The Wake-Up Call: Burnout and Broken Builds

The breaking point came during a particularly grueling crunch. The game was a buggy mess, our team was exhausted, and morale was at an all-time low. We had spent countless hours on features that didn’t gel. We realized we had a Frankenstein’s monster of a game, and something needed to change, drastically.

The Pivot: Re-Evaluating and Re-Prioritizing

We knew we needed to pivot, but where to start? We began by brutally assessing the current state of the game. This involved:

• Identifying the Core: What was the one thing that made our game unique and fun?
• Cutting the Fat: Which features were non-essential and could be cut without sacrificing the core experience?
• Realistic Timeline: How long would it actually take to polish the core experience and release a playable version?

This was a painful process. We had to kill features we loved, features we had poured weeks, even months, into. But it was necessary.

The Game Dev Journal to the Rescue

That’s when we decided to start a dedicated game dev journal. We’d heard about it before, but brushed it off as “extra work.” Now, we were desperate. This wasn’t just about recording progress; it was about documenting our decisions, rationales, and lessons learned.

Every day, we meticulously recorded:

• What we accomplished: Specific tasks completed and challenges overcome.
• What we learned: New techniques, problem-solving strategies, and design insights.
• What we plan to do: Clear, actionable goals for the next day and the coming week.
• Rationale for decisions: Why we chose to implement (or cut) specific features.

The journal became our single source of truth, a living document that guided our development process. It allowed us to:

• Track game development progress: Visualize our progress and identify bottlenecks.
• Stay consistent with devlogs: Regularly share our progress with the community and gather feedback.
• Organize our creative process: Structure our thoughts and prioritize tasks effectively.
• Avoid repeating mistakes: Review past decisions and learn from our failures.

Actionable Steps: Fixing the Ship

Armed with our journal and a renewed sense of purpose, we took concrete steps to fix the project:

1. Scoped Back: We ruthlessly cut unnecessary features, focusing on the core gameplay loop of ship customization, resource management, and combat.
2. Defined New Milestones: We set small, achievable milestones. Each milestone focused on polishing a specific aspect of the core experience.
3. Iterative Development: We adopted an iterative development process. We built, tested, and refined our core mechanics based on player feedback.
4. Timeboxing: We implemented strict timeboxing for each task. This prevented us from getting bogged down in rabbit holes and helped us stay on schedule.
5. Daily Stand-ups: We held daily stand-up meetings to discuss progress, roadblocks, and priorities. This kept everyone on the same page and fostered open communication.

The Results: A Playable, Polished Game

It wasn’t easy, but we managed to turn the project around. We released a playable, polished version of our game that captured the essence of our initial vision. It wasn’t as grandiose as we initially imagined, but it was fun, engaging, and, most importantly, finished.

Lessons Learned: Pivoting Thoughtfully

The biggest lesson we learned was the importance of planning, prioritization, and realistic goal-setting. We also realized the immense value of tracking our progress and documenting our decisions.

Without the game dev journal, we wouldn’t have been able to analyze our past mistakes, identify our core strengths, and pivot effectively. It was the key to rescuing our project from the brink of collapse.

Now, every time we start a new project, the first thing we do is set up a dedicated game development log. We track our progress, document our decisions, and learn from our mistakes. It’s an essential part of our development workflow.

If you’re struggling with scope creep, feature creep, or unrealistic timelines, I urge you to start a game dev journal. It’s a simple but powerful tool that can help you stay on track, avoid common pitfalls, and create better games.

Ready to take control of your game development and turn your vision into reality? Start your free trial today!