GMTK - March 2022 Update (Patreon)

Hey everyone!

Back in December last year, I said I would return in March of 2022 to talk about how things are going with the channel and GMTK in general. So… hi! Hello! Here I am. Let’s jump in.

Videos

So, first things first, I’m pretty happy with my video output for the year so far. Both January and February have had two videos a piece, and March will have one (an upcoming video about the next stage in my game’s development).

I’m also happy with the mix of topics. Of those five videos, three have been episodes of my new series, Developing, and two have been more traditional GMTK analysis videos. The latter includes a general topic seen through the lens of multiple games (Invisible Choices), and a design-led review/analysis of an interesting game (Deathloop). Classic GMTK stuff.

Meanwhile over in Developing, I did a big thing! I released a playable demo to the public, to get feedback. That’s a huge step in the game-making journey. And I’ve learned so much about playtesting, public perception, gathering and adapting to feedback, and so on.

The next video is slightly more technical as I’ll talk about the steps I went through to improve the character controller. But I think it should prove useful and interesting - and Patrons will also get (timed?) exclusive access to a little demo to play with what I’ve made.

In terms of numbers… they’re doing fine. Perfectly acceptable. And I’ve really enjoyed making them - I definitely feel like I’ve got my creative spark back.

Trips

Okay, so March has been a little bit slow for GMTK. But that’s for a good reason… I’m currently typing this from a little studio loft in Amsterdam!

Last year I was speaking to a university in The Netherlands, in the city of Breda, about doing a series of four guest lectures and workshops. It was hard to know if it would even happen, considering the pandemic… but it’s gone ahead. In the first two sessions I’ve been teaching students about general game analysis and UI design… and in the next two I’ll be going into economy/resource management and level design.

I also do a workshop after each sessions. So for the UI design, I just hooked my Switch up to the big screens and played Pokemon Legends, while the class discussed the various menus and HUDs. It was really fun.

Now the idea was to fly back and forth from London each time, but I suggested that I just stay in The Netherlands between two of the sessions. So I’ve been living and working in Amsterdam for a big chunk of March. And it’s been a lot of fun!

(Left to right: the beautiful canals of Amsterdam. The windmills of Zaanse Schans. My new robot friend).

I’ve done lots of touristy things like visit the Rijksmuseum, the Anne Frank House, and Zaanse Schans (a quaint tribute to classic Dutch culture, with windmills, clog making, and cheese tasing).

I’ve also seen lots of people. I visited Twirlbound (Pine) in Breda, the Dutch Game Garden in Utrecht, the Institute for Sound & Vision museum in Hilversum (they’re showing GMTK clips as part of their upcoming design exhibit) and I’m heading to Eindhoven later today to visit the students’ game dev society there. I also held an impromptu GMTK fan meet-up in Amsterdam, in a cool bar-arcade hybrid.

(Just some of the people who came to say hello!)

It’s been a wonderful experience so far - I’ve really missed travelling with the pandemic. And while that nightmare is far from over, it’s nice to get back to some sense of normality. Plus, I always love teaching and working with students. In just a few sessions I feel like I’ve gotten to know some of them, and I’m keen to see how their studies go. It's nice to come back every couple weeks and see the progress they've made on their projects.

I do appreciate that taking time out to travel the world can mean fewer videos. But, with that being said…

Future plans

Now, the initial idea for the lectures was to reuse some of the stuff I’ve talked about on GMTK. But I quickly realised that the students all watch my channel, and so that would be a bit of a waste of their time. So I’ve actually been doing completely original research and writing for these lectures.

And the best thing is - I can turn them into GMTK videos, soon! So my plan for April is to put Developing on pause so that I can make a couple GMTK vids: a big chunky video on economy design. And a video about making menus - more classic graphic design than game design, but should be very valuable.

As for the other two talks… well the first one, about general game analysis, is very useful to have in my back pocket for other university visits. In fact, I’m already talking to a uni in Northern Sweden about a lecture and workshop. So I’m hesitant to put it on YouTube immediately - but I will eventually. In the mean time, I’ll do a version of it for Patrons down the line.

The other video is about level design and I haven’t written that lecture yet - so we’ll see what happens with that.

After those videos are done, I’m looking to do another month-long MVP sprint in May for Developing. I will also announce the 2022 Game Jam date. And then go from there! For example, I'm currently addicted to Elden Ring, so I’m sure that will lead to *something* video related down the line.

Other stuff

I’ve been nominated for a Unity award! They pick a best dev log every year - and for 2022, Developing has been nominated. The winner should be revealed this week, so fingers crossed for me. I did say on YouTube that I would make a video about the “basics of Unity” if I win, so we shall see if I need to add that to my pile of future videos.

Oh yeah, I also asked y'all about joining Nebula. Thanks for your feedback there. So far it's been... a little disappointing. I'm not sure how much I can say within my NDA - but I'll keep at it for now and see where it goes. I think if I wasn't focused on Patreon it would be more fruitful, but ultimately you're my core fans and so my allegiance will be here. (Until Patreon inevitably tanks all of its goodwill with some NFT nonsense, naturally). 

And so yeah, there we have it. 2022 is shaping up to be an awesome year and I’m just really enjoying... everything right now. The videos are really fun to work on, the travel is incredible, and the other opportunities are exciting too. I’ve just been talking to someone about another design consulting gig which might go ahead! Agh, everything's coming up Milhouse! 

Thanks very much for your continued, generous support. Any questions about GMTK stuff, please chuck them in the comments and I'll answer ASAP.

Ta,

Mark