A new start

It's shocking how long it's been since I added to this section of the site, but oh well we're here now. 

So I've been in a state of testing what works and doesn't work with regards to the things I put on the site. Some things are dead on arrival, while others generate quite a bit of traffic. As for traffic "quality" well that varies widely by source, but the information I have received back will shape what content I do in future.

I have a tiny number of commercial fonts I've created that have started to appear in the products I create, one of them being the shirts I create. On the topic of that, I have done quite a few designs which I've added to one of my online product on demand partners.

Whilst I'm on about print partners it has to be said that on the whole the print on demand industry is becoming increasingly, well the technical word is shit.

I've recently had trouble with one company in particular, you can read about the trouble here. But it only confirms something I've know for a long time, that is I'm going to have to produce my own shirts at some point. 

This way I can remove the restraints and failures placed on me by these large irresponsible corporations.

In other news I created a little game called UMA, it can be seen here.

It's a unique concept, a bunch of islands generate randomly in configuration. You then have Tetris style buildings to place down. Now to make the game even more niche I avoided many gamerfications, to create a more relaxing experience.

It's an experiment in selling DRM free and getting some of my production systems streamlined. You wouldn't understand how much work goes into even a tiny game like UMA.

I'll try to  list an overview in simplified form:

Come up with a concept
Code early version
Add programmer art
Code evolved idea (what will be the final product - in some form)
Add final game art
Record sound effects
Add sound effects
Create music
Add music
Test, polish, fix any errors
Create and push out marketing materials for any where you sell or advertise the game

Now this is a very general view of the work required, but needless to say all that work and more is involved in the tiny price you pay for a game. All those professions (coder, music etc) are well paid positions in companies, all with benefits and pensions. However when you are an independent developer you do all that and more for pennies.

Then throw into the mix the sheer volume of competition and rising Communist ideology disguised as consumer rights activists and you see how a dream job turns into a nightmare faster than a curry turns into toilet pebble effect.

With that in mind, I think the price of games will have to be more expensive and delivered via a different platform. Steam is becoming more of a hindrance to the gaming market as a whole and there is a worrying push for games to be an online only subscription model, which I'll have to fight against at some point but we'll see.

While Steam is in our sights, I wrote a little piece about them and Epic for you to look at. It deals with the facts between the two stores and offers a little insight into some of the problems thrown up by this whole fake Steam vs Epic saga that customers have spoken about.

I am currently working on a little project that I hope to put on Steam in the near future. My worry is that as it's a short experience the refunds will be high, but we'll see, maybe people aren't as bad as they are made out to be.

The cold weather is breaking up nicely so I've managed to venture out into the mud bowl that is my garden and do a bit. At the end of 2019 I managed to harvest a bumper crop of Parsnips and I'm starting a fresh batch of them, as Parsnip soup is mental great.

I hope this year I can grow a fucking huge Pumpkin in time for Halloween. I've tried for two years on the bounce now, but the size of the pumpkin has been tiny and couldn't ripen before the bad weather sets in.

Anyway I have sown some seeds indoors, so fingers crossed I might get something of a decent size and in time.