_Spooky month begins and with it, season-appropriate uploads. Slowly but surely a more effective routine takes shape after several weeks of initial project development. The primary goals remain the same but with major adjustments. Lighthouse Quest will be replaced by a horror-themed title with a smaller scale. Work on writing and drawing will resume as normal, I already have 12 pages completed for the Ace Combat fanfiction.

_Opening Thoughts: I don't see it as unwise to tackle the challenge of creating 4 games simultaneously because that phase of [proj_01] doesn't branch out until the assessment game is complete. With that in mind, it's important to learn as much about the MV Engine as I can. Take it from a lifelong procrastinator I know when I am overestimating the time I have to meet a deadline. To complete the assessment game before the end of the month (or at least finish the bulk of it) then I will need to design a smaller game so that I may work comfortably in the given timeline, but it must be in-depth enough to challenge myself as a Game Creator and test my abilities with MV's features.

When I think about it, the Halloween Deadline feels completely arbitrary. Because what happens once I finish the horror game? It means I'll be taking on the Four Titles with whatever skill level I build from this month. There are 3 months left in the year. Being realistic, I cannot complete something in the next 30 days while having learned enough to meet the scale of my ambition.

There are 91 days left in 2024. Call it autism or OCD or whatever condition I get from my lineage, I enjoy time tables that fit like Tetris. Not a single day should be allowed to waste. I still don't know enough about game development to structure the new timeline into anything more complex. All I know is that each item in my Project Index needs to see substantial progress daily. Each dev log for the rest of the year will include a progress tracker based on hours. On New Year's Eve, I'll tally up the hours into days to measure how I am doing.

_Challenges: Now that I have a much stronger schedule for the rest of the year I worry less about losing time to distractions. However, it is more of a problem of myself that could hinder work for the rest of the year. I have had a lifelong inability to deal with long-term objective. I lose the forest for the trees, suffer from executive dysfunction, and quickly lose interest in a goal. This all compounds into a personal difficulty to overcome challenges that take more than a few days to complete. My answer to this is to find a way to keep the work interesting, even if that means restarting so that I may do better.

There's also the matter of gaining traction with the public and building a following. This is very low on my list of priorities. I'm not going out of my way to promise something I'm struggling to deliver. Instead, I'll let attraction build naturally as progress continues.

_Closing Thoughts: Everything I've just laid out is pretty clear so far. As time goes on, more and more previous dev logs will be made irrelevant as plans change, or at the very least adapt. More than anything it's important to be cognizant of the fact that execution takes time. Also, I'm updating the quote of the week.

_QoTW: "Don't count the days, make the days count."-Muhammad Ali

_Not much to report today. The end of last week was more about figuring out my game development process and finding a groove to work in. I will say it's important to know when to let go and start over. That's how I'm learning so far, the projects undergo the same process of revision as writing does. Rough Draft-->First Draft-->Second Draft, etc.

Lighthouse Keeper starts with the stratified maps, building each one before connecting them via door events. With the process of revision in mind I will restart development. Unfortunate, but with each attempt the next iteration will be more successful.

How I build parks in Jurassic World Evolution is: Start a map, build the park until I run into a snag, restart sandbox, go further each time. This will be my modus operandi until its time to change the formula.

_RPG Travel Kit: [proj_00]: "RPG Travel Kit" has sat on the backburner since development for Lighthouse Keeper began. This is because it's been a long-running project with little success and then something new came along. This time I'll be condensing the Death in Space core game without any major changes to the rules. Data will be kept minimal, tailoring the entire project to a smaller pocket-sized format. Adobe products will be omitted for now, instead I'm opting to print the Kit by hand, however amateurish that may look.

_Outfitting the Schedule: With the hiring process going as it is, I won't be officially employed until early October. I'm going to use the time to work on whatever I can but will do my best to accommodate everything in my line-up. Been a while since I've sat down at a café to work. Daily progress should include:

>RPG Travel Kit

>Writing

>Drawing

>Lighthouse Quest

As long as I maintain consistency, all is well.

_Challenges: The intent behind printing the Travel Kit by hand is to address the problems I've had with printer margins and low ink. As I said, it'll look amateurish. But if it facilitates a gaming session then it's done what it needs to. To catch up, I'll be going light on the custom ruleset I wanted to implement since simulationist mechanics add drag to the game if done immodestly. "Travel" is the key word, it needs to be agile.

I need to take a break from binging out on video games. If I'm not going to set a timer for myself then it's in the best interest of my work to withhold from Steam until I can make some progress. The impulse to play video games will just as easily turn into any other form of distraction and this is where good spiritual hygiene comes in. Mastery of the impulses, not the other way around. Furthermore, creativity demands a clear headspace. Mental clutter is just as detrimental as material clutter.

_Closing Thoughts: Though I like to be ambitious with the number of projects I'm working on, having eyes bigger than my stomach will slow progress all around. Yes, there are many things I'm balancing but to make sure each item in the line-up gets proper attention, it'll be best to take smaller bites from smaller meals. Call it goal-oriented size training. Mental health has been suffering lately (SO MUCH SUFFERING!) so I'm taking it easy on myself while I keep moving forward.

From my experience, difficulty is intensified when you take the challenge personally. It may help to laugh it off, not be too serious with what you're doing, but for now I'm maintaining a quiet and clear headspace with everything. In a spiritual sense, lots of negative energy going around. Less will indeed be more.

_Quote of the Week: “Life has become immeasurably better since I have been forced to stop taking it seriously.”-Hunter S. Thompson

_Work continues on the maps for Lighthouse Keeper, each day brings a little bit more progress but at the rate I'm going I'll have to extend my timeline into November. With that in mind, I have progress to share. Overworld maps are easiest and a tad more fun with how abstract they are. Mine is ready to present. I'm getting into the swing of using door events to move between locations and I enjoy testing this feature, but I anticipate issues with this web of movement once more maps are completed.

Needed a mental health day so development has been uneventful but saw it necessary to finally showcase something.

Like I said, it's fun to put together these little overworlds because of the bird's eye view and sense of control. Regarding the number of locations, I'd normally say better too much than too little, but with the timeline being what it is I see it more pertinent to cover my bases to assess RPG Maker's features before moving on to the Four Titles. Quality over quantity for now.

So far nothing's annotated because this entire project is played by ear. Despite my intent behind the development of Lighthouse Quest, I'm going to treat this title as if it were one of the upcoming four. It's only the planning that's omitted.

_Concerns: I never like to say I've bitten off more than I could chew because doing so admits error but with my line-up being what it is, it'd be wise to make room before introducing more plans. I will not say more. But, plans I've already discussed will move along congruently with the maps for Lighthouse Quest.

Another thing in mind is how I'm to build traction for the index of projects. Part of me says to ignore that aspect of development, especially since I'm not going to do a patreon, but interaction with an audience could lead to workshopping ideas. As I've stated before, I retain complete artistic control over the projects, but ignoring people with greater technical knowledge will only hold me back.

_Art + Writing Index: This entry marks the point when I have more blog posts than artwork uploaded. To remedy this I'm following through with the idea to lay out ideas for any drawing or writing. Both media will see daily progress just as much (if not more so) than Lighthouse Quest. Since writing comes to me more naturally than drawing, expect to see the former updated more often.

Drawing: OCs dressed as Gallian Militia, DiS Character Showcase, April Study, DiS Weapon Concepts

Writing: FanFic Showcase (Barotrauma, Dead Space, Ace Combat, Kenshi, and Skyrim), Obscura Files Anthology,

It's in my best interest to stay busy.

_Closing Thoughts: Today's been a lesson on the importance of mental fortitude. I needed a mental health day today, the details of which I'll omit, but I'm left with the realization that challenges must be met with either personal detachment or embracement. My mood determines which. Another lesson my Dad left me with is that slow motion is better than no motion-I think he stole that from Chapelle Show. But I see truth to it. Humans are persistence hunters and I told myself I'd avoid crunch culture.

In other news, I've been selected for pre-employment following a successful interview. I find it odd that I'm typically hired for jobs concerning other people's trash, I suppose there's a metaphysical irony to laugh at here. What I like about vultures is that they're successful because they occupy a niche many wouldn't fulfill themselves. That's how I chose the name. Just waiting for my skill level to line up with my tastes.

Enough talk. Tomorrow's DevLog will be brief. It's time to let my work speak for me.

_Quote of the Week: "The best time to plant a tree was 20 years ago. The next best time is right now."-Chinese Proverb

[END LOG]

_Update: Work continues on the RPG Maker assessment project which I've titled Lighthouse Quest. Made edits to the starting location and played around with some event scripting. One week of studying, however, isn't enough to cover all of MV's necessary features. The workflow will see frequent pauses to reference online tutorials and any notes so far.

_Project Management: I've made a point before of needing to juggle multiple interests as game development goes on. Some of it may or may not be related to the four titles in lineup but it's more important to me that I stay busy regardless of the current task. Again, part of the ADHD. I just get bored easily. So to keep the projects fresh and inspired I'll adhere to a rotating agenda, that way I can do a little bit of work each time on the next idea in circulation. Like the games in proj_01, the schedule will grow organically, perhaps not have a defined structure at all and remain tailored to my current mood.

To recap:

-[proj_00]: "RPG Travel Kit" + Necrotrauma

-[proj_01]: "Four Titles"

Additions to the schedule mainly include subjects of study:

-Digital Drawing

-Illustrator

-Photoshop

-Designing a concept for a squad-based tabletop war game

Addendum: Work continues on writing and drawing but it makes sense to me that both subjects deserve the same developmental structure as projects 00 and 01. More so than "working on writing and drawing", an index is needed for upcoming ideas.

_Closing Thoughts: Routine, like air, needs to circulate else it becomes stale. Projects and ideas will rotate as needed and I reaffirm that nothing will be omitted unless absolutely necessary. I just want to be more limber with my time. Still waiting on an email following a successful interview. In my headspace, as long as I go to work, pay my dues, and save, no one has the right to bother me about anything. Despite some concerns regarding energy and time, project development will remain a priority.

_Quote of the Week: "The best time to plant a tree was 20 years ago, the next best time is right now."-Chinese Proverb

_Abstract: Updates regarding the past couple weeks, development plans, and the state of things so far.

_Update: Work started on the initial RPG Maker title as planned. So far, I have completed the overworld map which I anticipate is the easiest step so far. Not much planning has gone into this one and I haven't even thought of a name for it until today. Before I truly start work work on the original four titles, this game is just an assessment to see how well I can do in this engine. Development is supposed to continue until the end of October but that deadline may come with extensions.

Over the past couple months, I've been realizing more the effect of persistence on creative projects. Typically I would work on an idea in long durations to grind out as much progress, however, the final product and my well-being suffers from that kind of work ethic. Instead, I'm moving forward with time management stratagems such as the Trident Method. My basic understanding of it is that a little bit of progress each day surpasses the effort to try and accomplish as much as possible in the shortest timeline. In other words, slow and steady wins the race. Each week should contribute to goals in the long-term.

_Challenges so far: As always, the distractions have been a recurrent problem. ADHD? Probably. But I have a solution that came about the same time I was redesigning Lexine's character: If the formula doesn't work, then change the formula. Ideas can go stale quickly if not immediately acted on. That's why staying creatively limber is important, especially if it's hard to achieve results.

I learned something from PirateSoftware on YT about ADHD and that's the importance of immediate feedback. The fun part about games is you almost immediately recognize the consequence of your efforts. The majority of the time-and this is especially true in academia-it takes time to notice results and I can see that is why anyone with an attention deficiency would get bored more quickly than others. I've heard one theory that it's an evolutionary leftover from the hunter-gatherer days. You go outside to forage and hunt and you needed to be quick and deliberate with your decision making or else you'd get eaten by a pack of lemurs or something.

Does it work? Yes. Then continue.....Does it work? No. Move onto something else.

The capacity for long-term strategizing must've become more advanced when humans finally went agrarian.

_Concerning Art Direction: As stated previously, I've been watching a lot of DanMachi on the Roku Channel. It's a good place find free anime if you don't mind a few minutes of ads here and there. I like the way Japanese artists handle fantasy because in my experience they maintained a child-like sense of wonder which is at the heart of a good fantasy story. I'm crafting a world I myself would like to live in and let the audience decide whether or not they themselves would do the same.

Unfortunately, the other three titles lack the clarity that Fyreflight has. April Lindemann has been just as hard to write for as she is to draw. There's an essence of her I'm trying to capture in any given medium and as always, I miss the mark. Video games show no difference right now. Additionally, Twilight of the Dead is struggling because if you want to make a zombie story that distinguishes itself, you have to be wholly original and I see that the way to do that is by treating the zombie apocalypse as the whipped cream to a milkshake. Lust and Lechery will make do so long as I can create the slice of life elements using my engine of choice.

_Obscura Files: April has always been somewhat of a narrative vagabond. She's been written into multiple stories but has had no defined setting of her own. I try taking inspiration from works that are somewhat contemporary and driven by narrative, sometimes with a twist of mystery to it. Times like these, I need to shut down the indecisiveness and roll with my intuition. Right now it says to keep the geography of this world but change everything else about it. That way I maintain a setting that is more familiar while still allowing for creative agency. Furthermore, Obscura Files should make do with a smaller scale for now. With that out of the way, I can move on to more pertinent aspects of the game's development.

_Twilight of the Dead: To keep this title from becoming another passing fancy, I need to reference what has interested me in the past as far as zombies go. I've said in an earlier entry that the outbreak is always more thrilling than the following apocalypse, this isn't to say it's better. It's fun to see the unique ways people adapt to a crisis and this can be done well by tracking the timeline of our characters from zero-hour to the end of the world. Three IPs to draw inspiration from: Highschool of the Dead, World War Z, and The Last of Us.

_Lust and Lechery: To reaffirm my intent behind making this game, I wanted to create my own stylized version of Vrelnir's Degrees of Lewdity. But I want something more driven by an undercurrent of Lovecraftian plots. With this in mind, it's still very important to cultivate that sandbox and let the player run wild for the most part. As the title implies, the game rests on the crux of NSFW gameplay. Worldbuilding isn't so much of an issue here as I can always take the GTA approach of designing my own custom city or even a whole ass state. Slice of Life as a genre would be the best way to start building that sandbox I mentioned. With that in mind, I recall the idea to focus on characters in a group housing or sorority type of situation. The newest challenge I identified is the matter of how to handle the main character. Another important reminder, maintain the RPG functions throughout development.

_Current Situation: Job interview tomorrow, the position's full-time, pays more. I could use that money to fund development while saving enough to move out. Living in a house with five people is a really lame arrangement. Que sera, sera I guess.

_Closing Thoughts: My dad doesn't know I quit my job so I fill the hours by staying out of the house during that timeframe. Furthermore, a new job means I can replenish my coffee budget and stress less about responsibilities. I also have a cat to feed. With the basics of the worldbuilding issue resolved, I can move onto more meaningful parts of game development, the specifics of art direction and mechanics and the like. I foresee that my timeline is a steady gradient from the artistic side of things sliding into technical details.

I've been completely ignoring the RPG Travel Kit. My decision, moving forward, with that project is to keep it light on the custom elements but still bring forward something to showcase with each DevLog. Remember, I'm still just transferring data from the core rulebook onto smaller print.

_Quote of the Week: "The best time to plant a tree was 20 years ago. The second best time is right now."-Chinese Proverb

_Update: I dug out an old journal which contains a ton of notes from the first time I studied RPG Maker. This week has been all about catching up to speed and seeking new inspiration for the upcoming titles. For once, the distractions from my work actually yielded something I can use. Two new leads: the DanMachi anime and Nocturnals by Cowboy Toad Games.

Thinking on DanMachi and a couple of other JRPGs, I figured that looking at the style guides as their own worldbuilding projects works as a new stratagem. More info to follow but I gotta bugout soon. Later, later.

_Update: Not much progress today besides some journaling. Applied for more jobs, though. My intent is that once hired, I can increase the budget on my projects. It's the only way I can afford instruments to practice with. Best not go too crazy with the spending since I already have adequate resources to work with.

Studying begins tomorrow, then in a week, the first test RPG build begins development.

Gonna start writing these dev logs in the morning. Need to get up early tomorrow.

_Quote of the Week: “A man who procrastinates in his choosing will inevitably have his choice made for him by circumstance.”- Hunter S. Thompson

_Opening Thoughts: Work continues on the style guide. My usual place closes in the afternoon so I had to settle for Starbucks, but it gave me time to write a reflection on my games' art direction. More than anything, I'm stuck on the problem of how to make Twilight of the Dead interesting. It's not that zombie outbreaks are stale, it's just that they've been done so poorly, and ad nauseum mind you. That's what I'm going to mostly talk about in this entry: How to make zombies interesting again plus some miscellanea.

_What is Done Correctly: To stay positive, I'll talk about works of effective zombie fiction. The titles that come to mind are some games, some movies, a book, and a couple of shows but for the sake of brevity, I'll keep it to a few examples:

+World War Z by Max Brooks

+High School of the Dead (anime and manga)

+Dawn of the Dead (1978)

World War Z (the book) stands out in mind because I haven't heard of anything else that goes into as much detail about a zombie apocalypse on a global scale. I don't count Fear the Walking Dead because it's still too much like it's predecessor. Actors stand around arguing w/ each other and sometimes there are zombies. That isn't drama, that's filler. Getting back on track, one of WWZ's strongest themes is cause and effect. With every interview, you understood a new facet of the zombie war, how x affected y and became z or: how the global organ trade spread the infection and that lead to the great panic. How embargoing Cuba turned the island into a safe haven and then into a capitalist superpower.

It was more eerie to learn about the greater mechanics of the Z War than it was listening to the personal survival stories though those are great, too. The book is at its strongest when it's about the bigger picture.

I've watched the whole of the High School of the Dead anime and am still reading the manga. Just as WWZ's strongest theme is cause and effect, HotD's strongest theme is liberation. I say this as someone who has lived his entire life in the American southwest. I do not know anymore about the nuances of post-war Japanese society than I do about how to prepare an unagi roll. Be that as it may, I do understand that Japan is a very conservative nation with a lot of expectations placed on the youth, I assume that is true of every East Asian country.

More so in the manga than the anime, the protagonist Komuro treats the outbreak as his chance to rebel against the order of previous world. He finds a gun, boosts a motorcycle, and smashes a register. When the high schoolers reach the Takagi Estate, it puts forward the idea that adults are less fit to survive than the youth is. It's a morbid take on the passing of the torch between generations. Now that the old rule has broken down, the teens are free to shape this new world to their liking. Also, tits.

Lastly, the granddaddy of zombie media, George Romero. I'll wait for another day to go over his complete filmography but for now I'm sticking to Dawn of the Dead. There are similar themes of liberation that I see in Dawn almost as much as High School of the Dead. Even more than its critique of consumerism, DotD creates a setting where its fun to ask yourself how you would respond in this scenario. Zombie outbreaks are more thrilling than zombie post-apocalypses by a good margin and that's because the former is set where a great change occurs violently and unexpectedly. The dust hasn't settled yet, everything is still churning as this pandemic spirals out of control over a period of days.

Returning to the theme of liberation, DotD asks you the question, "What would you do if you had an entire shopping mall to reign over?". Down with the social conventions, with responsibility and the troubles of the old world. Everyone is free to survive on their own terms and many make an adventure of it. Headshot classics are the perfect antagonist for this setting because they provide a middle ground between an overwhelming and a feasibly manageable threat.

_Regarding Twilight of the Dead: Player agency should be at the forefront of game design. Actions should have weight to them and I'm talking about Project: Zomboid, not Tell-Tale's TWD. Though PZ leans more on its simulationist mechanics, the player should have a say in how the narrative is driven. I'm not trying to recreate Zomboid, of course, but I want to improve on where TWD is weak and give the player more important choices to make.

_Additional Notes: I'm moving more towards a fun and colorful direction for Lust & Lechery and moving away from a bleak tone that I had originally planned for. What I'm most proud of today is figuring out how to handle the worldbuilding in these planned titles. There will be similarities in concept, especially if it's a slice of life narrative, but all in all they will be distinguished from one another

_Closing Thoughts: If it's fun to design and create, then it will be fun to play. Rigidity is the next best to death so moving forward, I'm going to keep a limber mind about how to handle art direction and game design. It should be fun to come up with these additions to the style guide once I sit down to continue. At the end of the day, I have no one to answer to but myself. My creative input will be final and won't need to lose sleep about what others think. Everyone will be free to feel one way or the other about the finished product but as long as I'm satisfied, all is well.

_Quote of the Day: "A man who procrastinates in his choosing will inevitably have his choice made for him by circumstance."-Hunter S. Thompson

_Update: Work for the style guide began on Pinterest today. One board, four sections, two dozen or so pins each. Bit of a snap decision but had to quit my job. Until something better paying rolls along, I'll be able to allot more time to the style guide and study sessions now with fewer constraints. There's no chance I'll set up a Patreon without more proofs of concept so getting hired asap is now a priority.

_Link to Pinterest: https://pin.it/40uVgCT6l

_Challenges: The obstacles are twofold: there's an attitude issue regarding the style guide and there's the ongoing problem of distractions. A strong part of mind realizes there are going to be moments where I must reset hard-won progress for any reason. Without the guidance of formal education (and I don't want it), trial and error is feasibly the only way to continue. Secondly, real-life drama combined with possible adult adhd means sitting still to grind out some productivity is difficult. To remedy this, I'm making adjustments in the workflow. Meditating, hydrating, and getting enough sleep and physical activity are essential additions to the routine. Because if my body suffers, then my mind suffers, and if my mind suffers, then my games suffer. So much suffering!

_Notes:

+The most I can do for the style guide right now is to employ all the resources I have available and they will be enough: Illustrator, Photoshop, Pinterest, Pencil & Paper, and any other media I scrounge up to name off the top of my head. It all just hangs on my current skill level

+Keeping a good attitude moving forward is how these projects will stay alive. The road ahead will have its challenges but it's better than doing nothing. What bothers me most is the uncertainty.

+The visions behind projects _00 and _01 are still lacking but I'm going to trust the process and follow my intuition to stay out of any creative rut.

+Realistically, the bulk of the style guide will consist of traditional drawings, but throughout this phase in the timeline I certainly look forward to experimenting with different media.

_Closing Thoughts: The heaviest thing on my mind right now is the loss of my job. I'm putting out applications but that still involves a lot of waiting and will need to follow up with any potential employer. I'm not at the point yet where budgeting for the projects is an issue (everything is still embryonic) but I'm still reaching for that goal of independence. Coffee shops are also where the real work starts-I'm telling you now, fuck Starbucks. Typically, you're going to pay $6 or $7 for watered down coffee and if you bought anything iced, congratulations, you've been scammed.

Tangent aside, my room is a fucking mess right now and that's going to hamper things. Clean your room, tidy up, organize. It does not matter what your goals are, just do yourself a favor and get that laundry off your bed, do your dishes, and keep bottled water ready in the fridge.

Lastly, it normally takes a couple days to finish a character drawing but now there's necessity of furthering the details both technical and artistic. That's my expectation for the rate at which I can produce visual progress. To keep the Dev Log updated for the remainder of the week, I'll share some inspirations of mine. Later, later though.

_Quote of the Week: "A man who procrastinates in his choosing will inevitably have his choice made for him by circumstance."-Hunter S. Thompson

_Picking up where I left off, new ideas regarding direction have surfaced. There's a lot of time at work I can listen to podcasts and video essays which is how I learn more from experienced game designers, including industry legend Hideo Kojima. Today I thought more about my strategy on how to move forward with [proj._01] based on what I've listened to.

1. Take a full week to become more familiar with RPG Maker
2. Create a Style Guide for each game
3. Build a Test RPG using stock assets

_Timeline: All of next week will go towards studying RPG Maker MV in more complete detail. Work on the Style Guides can begin tomorrow morning. Building the Test RPG will start on the 22nd and continue until Halloween. Expect updates throughout.

_Challenge: Distraction. When trying to lock in, it's annoyingly easy to lollygag or outright lose the forest for the trees. A lot of time has been lost to web-browsing and music. Meditating prior to work and maybe some lo-fi will remedy the situation.

_Closing Thoughts: I'm not gonna say more on the technical side of the RPG titles until I'm done with studying. Tomorrow, work begins on art direction and I'll showcase what I come up with in the Dev Logs and Art Portal. Given the workload I decided to take on, this project is going to take a couple of years, at least. From what I've heard, it's more realistic to overshoot on your timeline than to undershoot it. If I have time tomorrow, I'll get back to work on the Travel Kit.

_Quote of the Week: “A man who procrastinates in his choosing will inevitably have his choice made for him by circumstance.”-Hunter S. Thompson

[END LOG]