The Cost of Text Devlogs vs. Video Devlogs

The Cost of Text Devlogs vs. Video Devlogs

For solo game developers and students, keeping a game development log is crucial. It helps track game development progress and provides an invaluable reference point. However, the choice between text-based and video-based devlogs significantly impacts time, resources, and project perception.

The Hidden Costs of Video Devlogs

Video devlogs often seem appealing due to their high engagement potential. They can showcase gameplay directly and allow for a more personal connection with your audience. However, the production overhead is substantial.

Time Commitment and Burnout

Creating a high-quality video devlog involves far more than just recording gameplay. You need to script, record voiceovers, edit footage, add music, and design custom intros and outros. This process can easily consume days of development time each week. Many indie developers experience burnout attempting to maintain a consistent video release schedule alongside active game development. The pressure to produce visually appealing content often distracts from core development tasks.

Resource Drain and Technical Hurdles

Beyond time, video devlogs demand specific resources. You’ll need a decent microphone, video editing software, and potentially even screen recording tools with advanced features. Learning to use these tools effectively has its own learning curve. Technical issues, like corrupted footage or rendering problems, can further derail your schedule and frustrate your efforts.

The Underestimated Power of Text Devlogs

Text-based devlogs, while less flashy, offer a lean and highly efficient way to document your progress. They minimize production overhead, allowing you to focus on the content itself and your game development.

Efficiency and Consistency

Writing a text devlog takes significantly less time than producing a video. You can quickly jot down progress, challenges, and solutions as they happen. This immediacy allows for greater consistency in your updates. When you remove the barriers of complex production, you’re more likely to log your progress regularly, which is essential for a valuable game development journal.

Long-Term Reference and Organization

One of the greatest strengths of text devlogs lies in their searchability and ease of organization. Unlike video, you can quickly scan, search, and link to specific entries. This makes them incredibly effective for long-term reference, helping you revisit past decisions or troubleshoot recurring issues. Imagine trying to find a specific design decision from a year ago buried in hours of video footage – it’s a nightmare. With text, it’s a simple keyword search.

Before and After: Real-World Examples

Consider two hypothetical indie developers, both starting their first project.

The Video Devlog Enthusiast (Before)

Developer A decided to go all-in on video devlogs. Their initial videos were enthusiastic and well-received. However, within a few months, their video releases became sporadic. Each video took a full day or two to produce, cutting into their coding time. They found themselves rushing game features just to have something new to show. The pressure led to inconsistent content and, eventually, a several-month hiatus from devlogs altogether. When they returned, finding specific technical notes from earlier videos was nearly impossible, slowing down their bug-fixing process. Their public perception shifted from an active developer to someone struggling with consistency.

The Text Devlog Advocate (After)

Developer B, on the other hand, committed to daily text devlogs. They used a simple markdown format to quickly document their progress, design iterations, and bug fixes. Their updates were concise but frequent. While they didn’t get as many immediate views as Developer A’s early videos, their consistent output built a dedicated following over time. More importantly, their internal documentation became a powerful asset. When facing a bug related to a system implemented months prior, they could easily search their game dev journal for every decision made and every obstacle encountered during its development. This streamlined their workflow and significantly reduced debugging time. Their public image was one of steady, reliable progress, fostering trust and anticipation for their game.

Organizing Devlogs for Long-Term Reference

The key to maximizing the value of any devlog, especially text-based ones, is effective organization. Your game development log should serve as a living document, not just a historical record.

Structuring Your Entries

Adopt a consistent structure for each entry. Include the date, a brief summary of the day’s work, specific tasks completed, any new challenges encountered, and planned next steps. This structure makes it easy to quickly grasp the context of each entry and track your game development progress over time. You might also include a “decisions made” section to record key design choices and their rationale.

Utilizing Tags and Categories

Implement a system of tags or categories for different aspects of your project. For example, you might tag entries with “gameplay,” “art,” “audio,” “bugs,” or “marketing.” This allows you to filter and review specific areas of your development process quickly. When you need to understand all decisions related to your combat system, a tag search provides an immediate, comprehensive overview.

The Power of Internal Links

For a truly effective game development journal, use internal links between entries. If a new decision builds on a previous one, link back to the original entry. If a bug is related to an earlier system, link to the development notes for that system. This creates a powerful web of interconnected information, making your log infinitely more useful than a collection of disparate notes. This also helps you see the evolution of your ideas and understand the context behind past decisions.

Avoiding Common Pitfalls

Even with text devlogs, consistency is paramount. The biggest pitfall is simply not doing it. Set aside a small, dedicated time each day or week to update your game development log. Even five minutes of quick notes are better than nothing. Don’t aim for perfection; aim for completion.

Another pitfall is making your entries too brief or too vague. While efficiency is key, ensure you provide enough detail for your future self to understand your past thoughts. “Worked on UI” is less helpful than “Implemented new inventory UI, struggled with item dragging, resolved by using a custom event system instead of Unity’s default.”

To streamline your documentation and easily reference past decisions, consider starting a consistent journaling practice with our game dev journaling tool. It’s designed to help you organize your creative process, track game development progress, and leverage the power of internal linking and categorization for your game development log.