I very explicitly, with my family's support, set up the expectation that the game was my #1 priority in 2024. I only took one small vacation, during which I still worked. My wife and I would watch one 30 minute tv show at night, and do the crossword in the morning, and other than that, aside from meal time, the expectation was that I would be working on the game by default (not that I worked non-stop, just that the default was "the game"). It was fully 7 days a week for like 30% of the project. Involuntarily, I sacrificed exercise and diet too :( I just couldn't manage the discipline. I also absolutely annihilated the quality of my sleep.
I got feedback from my wife within a few days, the first time she saw the game. Even she, a non-gamer, could tell that there was something compelling about the idea. And if you look at an above response, you'll see that I explained that the prototype, about a month into dev, go streamed to thousands of people. The feedback was VERY early and very positive. I wouldn't have been brave enough to keep at it otherwise, knowing myself.
I wish meta progression was better, what shipped was a compromise with respect to time. "Good enough" was just purely just vibes and an editorial eye. No articulable criteria. Just a lot of vibes and trusting my intuition (a skill I gained verrrrrrry late in life)
I got feedback from my wife within a few days, the first time she saw the game. Even she, a non-gamer, could tell that there was something compelling about the idea. And if you look at an above response, you'll see that I explained that the prototype, about a month into dev, go streamed to thousands of people. The feedback was VERY early and very positive. I wouldn't have been brave enough to keep at it otherwise, knowing myself.
I wish meta progression was better, what shipped was a compromise with respect to time. "Good enough" was just purely just vibes and an editorial eye. No articulable criteria. Just a lot of vibes and trusting my intuition (a skill I gained verrrrrrry late in life)