Still Almost Done

I'm sure most people know this by now, but I'll reiterate it: The last part of game development is really hard. And not only is it hard, but also repetitive and boring. And yet every day is one step closer to release, and I'm getting reallllyyy close now.

Bugs

Every time I think I've fixed all of the game-breaking bugs, another one appears where I least expect it. Making a game with a lot of scripted moments and cutscenes allows a lot of opportunity for soft and hard locks, and those kinds of bugs are completely unacceptable, for a short narrative game especially. If the first chunk of user reviews of my game are from upset people who find bugs that prevent them from finishing the game, it could really tank its favorability in Steam's algorithm and bury it from a lot of prospective players. So I've been playing my game from start to finish over and over and over again and implementing fixes left and right to make sure everything works properly.

Playtesting

But playing through the game on my own, no matter how many hours, has not been nearly enough. Luckily, I have a good amount of friends and friends-of-friends who have been playtesting it which has proven invaluable these last few weeks. They have found game-breaking bugs I never would have found on my own, and without their help, releasing A Walk With Yiayia would be a huge disaster.

Playable on Steam Deck?

I'm happy to report that A Walk With Yiayia will be playable on the Steam Deck! I don't have one myself but I have a few playtesters who are running the beta on theirs and initial impressions are really good! I'll release my recommended graphical settings for Steam Deck when the game releases so that you don't have to fiddle around with them on your own. That's all I've got to report for now! And as always, I'm happy to answer (most) questions if you'd like to ask them below. -Trent

[ 2022-10-14 23:55:43 CET ] [ Original post ]