3 Plugins That Organize Devlogs for Long-Term Reference

Organizing Devlogs for Long-Term Reference

How many abandoned game dev journals litter your hard drive? We’ve been there.

A promising start, filled with initial enthusiasm, only to devolve into a chaotic mess of scattered notes and unsearchable screenshots. Your game development log, meant to be a valuable asset, becomes a digital graveyard.

Let’s be honest: most game dev journals fail. They become useless because they lack structure and a clear purpose. But it doesn’t have to be this way. You can track game development progress effectively.

Think of your game dev journal as a UX flow, not just documentation. What problems are you solving for yourself when you revisit it months later? This is where plugins come in.

Here are three plugins we wish we had used from the start, plus a way to ditch the plugins entirely. These can revolutionize how you track game development progress.

Plugin #1: The Category Crusader

The Problem: Your game dev journal is a sprawling, undifferentiated text blob. You can’t find anything.

The Solution: A plugin that allows hierarchical categorization. Think folders within folders.

Example: Imagine working on a complex combat system. You need to track enemy AI, player abilities, and animation states. A category structure might look like this:

• Combat
  • AI
    • Enemy Type A
    • Enemy Type B
  • Player Abilities
    • Ability 1
    • Ability 2
  • Animations
    • State Machine
    • Transitions

This allows you to quickly narrow your search to specific areas. It’s essential for any serious game development log.

Pitfall: Over-categorization. Don’t create categories so granular that they contain only one or two entries. Aim for a balance between specificity and manageability.

Plugin #2: The Tagging Titan

The Problem: Categories are too rigid. You need to cross-reference entries that belong to different categories.

The Solution: A plugin that supports tagging. Think keywords.

Example: Let’s say you’re debugging a complex issue where a specific player ability crashes the game when used against a particular enemy type. You can tag the relevant devlog entries with:

• combat
• AI
• player_abilities
• bug
• crash
• enemy_type_a
• ability_1

This allows you to quickly find all entries related to that specific bug, regardless of their primary category. Tagging is a game-changer for any game dev journal.

Pitfall: Inconsistent tagging. Use a controlled vocabulary. Decide on your tags upfront and stick to them. Avoid creating multiple tags that mean the same thing (e.g., bug, error, issue).

Plugin #3: The Link Lord

The Problem: Your devlog entries are isolated islands of information. You need to connect them to show relationships and dependencies.

The Solution: A plugin that supports internal linking. Think hyperlinks between entries.

Example: You’re refactoring a core game mechanic. Link the original devlog entries describing the old mechanic to the new entries documenting the refactored version.

This creates a traceable history of your design decisions. You can see how the game evolved over time. Internal linking transforms your game development log into a dynamic knowledge base.

Pitfall: Orphaned entries. Regularly review your devlog and ensure all entries are linked to at least one other entry. This helps maintain context and prevents valuable information from getting lost.

The “One Tool to Rule Them All” Approach

Plugins are great. But they add complexity. Managing multiple plugins can become a chore in itself.

What if you could streamline the entire process with a purpose-built tool?

Our team found ourselves constantly tweaking plugin configurations. We needed something simpler, something that integrated categories, tags, and linking seamlessly.

That’s why we built our own journaling tool. It’s designed specifically for game developers. It allows you to easily categorize, tag, and link devlog entries. It even supports embedding images and videos.

Instead of wrestling with plugins, you can focus on what matters: tracking your progress and building your game. And after all, having a great game dev journal is about staying consistent with logging your creative process.

Ready to ditch the plugin juggling act? Start organizing your devlogs for the long-haul.

Studio Retrospective: Our Past Devlog Failures

We’ve made all the mistakes listed above. Our past devlogs were a mess. They were a source of frustration, not a source of insight.

We learned the hard way that a well-organized game dev journal is an invaluable asset. It helps you:

• Track feature development
• Debug complex issues
• Understand user feedback
• Make informed design decisions
• Avoid repeating past mistakes

Don’t let your devlog become another abandoned project. Invest in a system that works for you. Whether it’s plugins or a dedicated tool, start organizing your game dev journal today.

A consistent and well-maintained game development log is an investment in your future success.