Why Journals Beat Kanban for Indie Game Design Insights

Progress in game development isn’t a straight line. Think of it more like carefully laying stones, one by one, to build a winding path. Each stone represents a decision, a feature, or a line of code. Sometimes the stone fits perfectly, and sometimes it needs to be chipped away, re-shaped, or even discarded. Game dev journals help you see the whole path, not just the stone you’re currently focused on.

Why Journals Beat Kanban for Indie Game Design Insights

Kanban boards are fantastic for managing tasks. They give you a clear overview of what needs to be done, what’s in progress, and what’s completed. But for indie game development, especially when tackling emergent design challenges, Kanban can fall short. They can lead to task fixation, where you’re so focused on moving cards across the board that you lose sight of the “why” behind those tasks. A game dev journal provides the context Kanban misses.

A solo developer might create a Kanban card: “Implement Jumping.” They grind it out, get jumping working, and move the card to “Done.” But what if the jumping feels off? What if playtesters hate it? The Kanban board doesn’t capture the process of implementing jumping, the struggles, the iterations, the design decisions made along the way.

This is where a game dev journal shines. It allows you to record:

• Why you decided to implement jumping in the first place.
• The initial design considerations (jump height, air control, etc.).
• The problems you encountered during implementation.
• The solutions you tried and the reasons they worked or failed.
• Unexpected results or discoveries made during the process.
• The final implementation details and rationale.

By documenting this process, you create a valuable feedback loop. You can revisit your journal later and understand why you made certain design choices. This is invaluable when you need to iterate on the jumping mechanic or when you’re designing similar mechanics in the future.

Common Kanban Pitfalls and How to Avoid Them

Kanban’s biggest weakness is its focus on doing rather than thinking. Here’s how to avoid common pitfalls:

• Task Fixation: Getting tunnel vision on completing tasks without considering the bigger picture. Solution: Regularly review your game’s overall vision and how each task contributes to it. Your journal can serve as a reminder of this vision.
• Neglecting the "Why": Forgetting the reasons behind design decisions. Solution: Always record the rationale behind your tasks in your journal. Don’t just write "Implement Jumping"; write “Implement Jumping to allow players to reach higher platforms and explore more of the level. I’m hoping this will add a vertical element to gameplay.”
• Ignoring Friction: Smooth workflows can be deceptive. Sometimes, friction is a design signal. If you find yourself constantly fighting against a particular mechanic or feature, it might be telling you something important. Solution: Pay attention to those moments of friction. Document them in your journal and analyze why they’re occurring.
• Lack of Context: Losing track of the context surrounding tasks. Solution: Link your Kanban tasks to specific journal entries. This provides a bridge between the “what” (Kanban) and the “why” (Journal).

A Step-by-Step Journaling Workflow for Game Design

Here’s a simple workflow to integrate journaling into your game development process:

1. Daily Entry: Start or end each day with a journal entry. Even short entries are beneficial.
2. Focus on Process, Not Just Results: Don’t just record what you did; record how you did it and why.
3. Capture Struggles: Don’t shy away from documenting your failures and frustrations. These are often the most valuable insights.
4. Record Unexpected Results: When something unexpected happens, investigate it and document your findings. Serendipity can be a powerful design tool.
5. Link to Kanban: Reference specific Kanban tasks in your journal entries. This creates a cross-reference between your task management and your design thinking.
6. Regular Review: Set aside time each week to review your journal entries. Look for patterns, recurring problems, and unexpected insights.
7. Actionable Changes: Turn your journal entries into actionable design changes. If you identify a problem, create a new Kanban task to address it.

For example, your journal entry might read: “Spent the day tweaking enemy AI. They keep getting stuck in corners. I tried increasing their turn speed, but it made them look jittery. I suspect the problem is with the collision detection. Need to investigate further. (See Kanban task #32: ‘Fix Enemy AI Pathfinding’).”

Turning Journal Entries into Actionable Design Changes

The real power of a game dev journal lies in its ability to drive design changes. After reviewing your journal, you might notice that you’re consistently struggling with the game’s combat system. Your journal entries reveal that the enemies feel too spongey and the player’s attacks lack impact.

Based on this, you can create a new Kanban task: “Revamp Combat System.” In your journal, you outline your plan:

• Reduce enemy health.
• Add visual and audio feedback to player attacks (screen shake, impactful sound effects).
• Experiment with different enemy attack patterns.

As you implement these changes, you continue to document your progress in your journal. This creates a continuous feedback loop that allows you to refine your game’s design iteratively.

Many indie developers publicly share their development journey and, by consequence, show how they are tracking progress. For example, you can look at how they are keeping game development logs, detailing their design, progress and blockers and learn how they use these insights for future game design changes.

Capture Design Insights Seamlessly

Keeping a consistent game dev journal doesn’t need to be a chore. Our integrated journaling solution is designed to help you capture design insights seamlessly. It offers features tailored for game developers, such as tagging, search, and integration with popular task management tools.

Start Your Game Design Journal Today and unlock the power of reflective practice. By documenting your journey, you’ll gain a deeper understanding of your game, your design process, and yourself as a game developer. Don’t just build a game; build your design knowledge too.