What the heck, man?!?!? It’s been a month since your last blog!!

Yes, it has! A lot has gone on this month, all distracting me from making Earth shattering progress on the game:

BAD STUFF:

HVAC Woes – In a classic case of “this is what happens when you buy a new computer, our 30 year old Heat Pump started leaking water into the house any time it runs. Drain pan was completely gone, air handler was rocking back and forth…so we spent a couple of weeks researching and getting quotes for its replacement. The garage looks like a war zone, but we’re back and better than ever (and realizing the old unit really wasn’t working well AT ALL.)
Water Line Leaking AGAIN – 2nd time in under a year. Previous owner had a new line installed about 6 years ago…the installer buried the line 3 feet deep (14 inches is code here) and backfilled without sand…so all those shale shards in our soil carve into the pipe as water moves through it and the line vibrates from water hammer. Can’t afford to hire the job out after the HVAC, so I’ll be renting an excavator and installing a new line myself. (I’m the plumbing guy at HD, so I’m good). 3/4 PEX-A encased in PVC…that way the line is protected and easily replaced if needed (whoever owns this place in 30 years can thank me then).
Power Shift at Work – Our Director left a year ago; two managers have left in the past month (one planned, one not). As a result, most of the team is bucking for the promotions / shifts that will happen…this means extra projects and more work for everyone, regardless of our interest / lack thereof.

GOOD STUFF:

Mom’s Electric – Mom traded in her car for an EV…except she got a Kia. Steep learning curve for her, and she’s had some issues with it that left her stranded. This meant an impromptu trip home to re-install a charger and get to the bottom of the charging issues she’s having. She at least got a killer deal on the car and won’t have to pay for gas or maintenance anymore – great on her fixed retirement income…and no impact to her transportation!
Beta Testing for a Friend – The folks at Super Space Crystals have been friends of ours since SEGE. They are MUCH closer to a finished game than we are, and are pusing through full-scale testing on Steam. I’ve spent time testing and debugging their build. Check them out on Steam!

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What I’ve been working on:

I realized something last night as I poured over the flowchart of game managers, network matchmaking, and game mode selection: I don’t need to code and plan for all of this right now.

Since SEGE, I’ve been working on converting all of the boilerplate code that runs Barn Brawl: game setup, mode selection, character selection, moving from round to minigame, scoring across rounds, results screens…all of the stuff that was hacked together just to run a set demo sequence at SEGE. Instead of just wiring up the modes and things I have completed and playable NOW, I’ve spent far too much time trying to plan for every feature and mode I’d like to implement.

At this rate, I’ll launch in 2028 if I’m lucky…and that won’t do.

It’s called “Scope Creep,” and it’s something that every project suffers from. I took a lesson from Benji over at Super Space Crystals: he’s laser focused on getting his Steam presence playable so he can build an audience for the game and release on time. He WANTS to implement bosses, special missions, controller support, leaderboards, etc.; but instead of waiting on these features to be complete before people play his game, he’s running the game with what he’s got – which is a lot!

Barn Brawl is already playable.

SEGE proved that! Instead of implementing private rooms, custom games, bots, and multiple modes – I’m scaling down to ship a demo of Barn Brawl as it is now: amazing couch chaos friendslop that’s fun when a few people gather and play together.

Yes – online play works. Quickplay and automatic “dumb” matching are there, as are room codes / invites. What’s not there yet is my AI / bots. These will be essential to the game, but I have to escape logistical setup / UI purgatory to code them!

NExt Steps:

First, I’m shelving most of the menu options until it’s actually time to work on them. Game modes with greyed out buttons and panels for characters you can’t select do no good. Three characters (and the awesome Smash-Style selection screen I rigged up), along with the focused gameplay modes I have.

You aren’t abandoning those features, right?

Nope. My vision for the game includes all of those things. What I’m adjusting is the way I go about thinking and implementing. Right now, I’m trying to plan the perfect admin and menu system…one that can handle every eventuality.

That’s not sustainable.

Instead of panicking and wasting time stubbing out things (that I’ll inevitably have to re-do anyway as I work on each feature), I’m moving to directly implement and wire in those features one at a time as I complete them. There will be minor things: a new minigame / level, gameplay tweak, or a better UI screen. There will be BIG things: stage voting, Bot AI, new modes, and graphics / models / characters. The goal is to compartmentalize and work each feature in a smart, more manageable, object-oriented manner.