Since my last post towards the end of last year, I have had a lot of personal stuff happening and it both prevented me from focussing on gamedev and creativity, and resulted in some major changes in my own life. For the last 3 years I had been living in a home run by a "bad" landlord who, when challenged on the condition of the property, chose to try and evict me which, while considered illegal in the UK, is also quite difficult to prove. Rental homes in the UK are also massively over priced, and as a low income worker, I had nowhere reasonable to go. The result of this situation 6 months ago almost resulted in my becoming homeless, which would have meant the loss of my job, my belongings, and even my dog.
That meant that the time I had been giving to gamedev had to be used for challenging court cases, looking for somewhere to live and engaging with local government to try and get a social home.
Then in March it all turned on it's head.
A social home provider in my area had completed a new project, the timings fit, the cost was managable, and I had a local connection. My only other option was true homelessness, so I hoped beyond hope to be in with a chance of getting a place to live.
I got lucky, very lucky! Randomly one afternoon, just as I was getting ready for work, I got the call that changed everything. I was offered a home, I could keep my dog and I could call the home my own.
Since moving in I have had to get used to living in my new home, a new routine, and a longer commute to work, but it works.
A few months ago I tried to restart my creative activities by joining another game jam, being a little rusty it didn't quite the reception I've had in the past, but it was a start. With work being busy, and a new routine to get used to, it's been difficult to find the focus I had last year, but this post, as well as a few other things this week have given me the chance to reflect and devise a new path forwards.
Over the last month or 2 I have been thinking about new game ideas and projects. For one idea, I've even started world building, setting up the things and ideas for the world and how things exist within it. Just running with the ideas and fantasies is really absorbing, I would even like to get them printed in a book to use as a reference for when I create things based on that world.
One of the ideas I've had for a game set in that world is a trading card game. Following a bit of experimentation and realising I could build it, I then realised there's a lot of Art to create for the various cards and characters. I also realised that I don't really believe my own art skills are up to the challenge at the moment. To try and start resolving that, I have set myself up with a new tablet that will be used for drawing, it came with PenUp, a drawing and art social app, and includes challenges, like game jams for game development. So I gave it a go, to test the new toy, and to see where I'm at art wise. The result took about 5 hours, and while I don't think it's terrible, there's a lot of room for improvement.
So for the actual plans for moving forwards, I know I want to improve my art skills, improve the quality and scope of the games I can make, and eventually, just maybe start making a return on my investment into these creative pursuits.
Today I've given myself a reset, I've decided on a rough weekly structure for my activities, and plan to keep going. I plan on having 2 evenings a week where I can post things across my socials, at the moment this will be my blog here and itch.io, and twitter/X posts, but I am considering trying to make vlogs on my Youtube. The last time I tried, I don't think it worked too well, perhaps I was trying too hard to be something or someone I'm not, if I do, I will need to make it my own space.
To itemise my plans:
- Improve my art skills by using them and practicing different things, from actual drawing to shading.
- Maintain my musical capabilities by making new pieces and practicing.
- Maintain my coding skills by working on projects, both new and old.
- Improve my social presence by actually posting stuff, keeping to a schedule and having something to say.
If you're still here, thanks for following me along.