2 min read
Devlog #0 — Why I'm making a 3D game about my hamster
How learning Blender for fun turned into a 3D game about my hamster Bouboulle: a silly mix of Goat Simulator and Spyro, and a plan to actually finish it by documenting everything.
- gamedev
- blender
- devlog
- 3d
- indie
Devlog #0 is the one before the game exists. No gameplay yet: just where the idea comes from, what it is, and why I'm writing about it before it's finished. The video version is right below.
Prefer reading? Same story, in writing:
1. It started with Blender
At work I use 3D all the time, mostly through Unreal Engine. I was surrounded by 3D files and I had never learned the tool that makes the assets. So I decided to finally learn Blender, just for fun.
I followed several tutorials. That worked well, up to a point: after a while I had a folder of exercises, and what I needed was a real project to put my Blender assets into. Something concrete, with a goal, instead of one more donut.
2. So I'll make a game
The obvious project for a pile of 3D assets is a 3D game. The honest part comes next: I'm not going to make my dream game.
I've been here before. My 2D survival RPG was ambitious, and it is now on hold. This time I want something small enough to finish, and silly enough that I won't take myself too seriously.
3. The pitch
The game is a bit goofy, in the spirit of Goat Simulator, mixed with the adventure side of Spyro.
And it stars my hamster, Bouboulle.
- You play a hamster who has to explore a world.
- A storm blew away all the cherries, and you have to find every one of them.
- It is meant to be an adventure you wander through, with a stupid sense of humour.
That's the whole pitch for now. If it makes me smile when I describe it, it's probably the right size.
4. How I plan to not give up
The real risk with a side project is not the code, it's motivation. So I gave myself goals that don't depend on the game being done:
- Document the work, as I go.
- Write devlogs, like this one, so each step has a deadline of its own.
- And if I manage to build a small community around it, maybe that's the motivation I need to finish what I started.
Writing in public is the commitment device. If you're reading this, you're already part of it.
5. What's next
- Keep making videos: this one is the first, more are coming on the channel.
- Keep learning Blender by building the assets of the game.
- Share the first things I make, in Devlog #1.
This devlog is deliberately short. The game doesn't exist yet, but the reason it exists does, and I wanted that on record before anything else. More soon.
