My First Week in Game Development: A Stardew Valley Inspired Game - Weekly Devlog #1
The first week of my indie game dev journey has been a whirlwind of emotions! I started with a surge of excitement, picturing the cozy, charming world I wanted to create—a Stardew Valley inspired game. The idea of building something from scratch, a digital world where players can explore, farm, and build relationships, felt incredibly motivating for this game development adventure.
However, that initial excitement quickly met the reality of just how much there is to learn. Diving into the Unity game engine, choosing assets, and setting up this Astro dev blog initially felt like standing at the foot of a massive mountain. There were moments of feeling overwhelmed, wondering if I’d bitten off more than I could chew.
Despite these challenges, the passion for the project and the clear vision of the Stardew Valley inspired game I want to make kept me going. Stardew Valley isn’t just a game to me; it’s an experience. It’s a peaceful escape, a creative outlet, and a testament to what a single developer can achieve. That’s the kind of feeling I want to recreate. This week was tough, yes, but it also laid the foundation for an incredible adventure in 2D game development.
Week 1 Progress - My First Weekly Devlog Entry:
- Defined the Tech Stack (Unity Game Engine): After research, I chose the Unity game engine. Its rich asset store, large community, and cross-platform capabilities made it a strong contender for my Stardew Valley inspired game. Unity’s visual scripting tools and C# also seem well-suited for the cozy farming/life sim I’m aiming for with my 2D game development efforts. The initial setup was a bit daunting, but exploring the interface and basic tutorials helped me get my bearings.
- Built this Dev Blog (Astro & Markdown): Keeping a weekly devlog is crucial for tracking progress and staying motivated on this indie game dev journey. I chose Astro for its speed and content-focused design to create this Astro dev blog. Getting a basic blog running with Markdown for posts was surprisingly straightforward. This process also helped me get more comfortable with Git for version control and site deployment. It’s a simple setup, but effective for sharing my game development progress.
- Started a Unity Course (CodeMonkey’s Kitchen Chaos): For a practical introduction to the Unity game engine, I started CodeMonkey’s Kitchen Chaos course. Early modules covered Unity editor basics, game objects, components, prefabs, and fundamental C# scripting (like player movement and interactions). Seeing a small game take shape quickly, even with simple cubes, was very rewarding. This hands-on approach is definitely solidifying concepts vital for 2D game development.
This is the game build for week 1. It’s completely empty – just a placeholder to test the build process for my Stardew Valley inspired game!
Wrapping Up Week 1 and Looking Ahead
So, that’s a wrap for week one of my indie game dev journey! This week was all about laying the groundwork. I chose the Unity game engine, set up this Astro dev blog (my weekly devlog) to document the journey, and dove into Unity’s fundamentals with CodeMonkey’s course.
The first game build is, as promised, hilariously empty. However, it marks a crucial first step: the project officially exists! This week was a mix of excitement and a steep learning curve in game development. While there’s a mountain to climb, the progress so far feels rewarding.
Next week, I plan to continue with the Unity course, hopefully getting into more complex mechanics for my Stardew Valley-inspired game. I also want to start thinking about the core gameplay loops and perhaps begin sketching out some initial ideas for the art style. It’s still early days in my 2D game development adventure, but the journey has begun.
Thanks for reading this weekly devlog entry, and I hope you’ll join me next week to see how things progress on my Stardew Valley inspired game!