Happy Friday everyone! As I keep watching the indie game space, there's so much changing so rapidly. But despite that, there's one thing that I think will stay a universal truth. "Why should people play your game over other games?" I see a lot of newer devs ask why no one is playing their game that is an exact clone of an existing game. Or a sandbox with no structure. This shouldn't be surprising. No matter the technology used to make it, the engine its built on, or the rules inside, all that matters to players is that there is a reason this piece of gaming entertainment should be enjoyed. What does it bring that is unique and worthy of the time to experience it? And when you figure out what that unique thing is, that's what you need to lean into. Get players to experience it quickly and see what makes it worth their time. Even if it's niche, the same still holds true. If your game will be super loved by people who study roman history, fine...just make sure they will love it and see that quick. Be creative. Come up with something that stands out. There's so many ways to bring that to life. That's how you'll find success in the industry. That's always been true, and I don't see that changing. Ok, time to finish this last piece of content, lock in my milestone, and then enjoy the weekend. Going to try Castlevania. I hope it's good. Have fun, and take it easy :)

One of the hardest things in game dev can be accepting that something was a mistake, and cutting your losses. In my current game, I built a whole feature to add some depth and give players some longer term progression. As the game as evolved, the need for this feature has basically diminished, and today I'm likely going to cut it completely. I can feel bad, or feel like wasted work, but it isn't, I promise you. If you were efficient about it and learned about your game more because of it, it was still a good use of time. As long as you cut it quick and move on fast. If you let it fester too long, then it becomes much more of a sunk cost issue. I have lots of stories of this over my career, but some of my best leadership moments was having the stones to cut/delete/end a feature that I was in charge of. And I find myself doing it again today. But the game comes out better for it. Anyway, happy Thursday :) Hope you're having a great week!