IdleCultivation

IdleCultivation

Oct 9

The writing pipeline kept eating the state it depended on

#writing #gamedev #indiedev #devlog

3 min read

IdleCultivation

Oct 8

How big is that tree? Sizing a world drawn at every scale

#gamedev #gamedesign #indiedev #devlog

1

4 min read

IdleCultivation

Oct 7

The spec was unbuildable, and only building it showed that

#gamedev #idlegame #indiedev #devlog

1

4 min read

IdleCultivation

Oct 6

Making a machine reviewer prove its own findings

#gamedev #writing #indiedev #devlog

1

4 min read

IdleCultivation

Oct 5

Knowing when to stop: reading the yield curve of a checking pass

#testing #writing #programming #indiedev

4 min read

IdleCultivation

Oct 4

Ten hours unattended: what a long job needs to survive alone

#devops #indiedev #programming #testing

4 min read

IdleCultivation

Oct 3

What an idle game may sell, and what it must never sell

#gamedev #gamedesign #idlegames #indiedev

4 min read

IdleCultivation

Oct 2

If someone might want it different, it should not be a literal

#gamedev #architecture #indiedev #programming

1

4 min read

IdleCultivation

Oct 1

Local-first saves and deciding which copy of the truth wins

#gamedev #architecture #indiedev #programming

1

4 min read

IdleCultivation

Sep 30

When the design doc and the code disagree, which one is wrong?

#documentation #gamedev #indiedev #programming

4 min read

IdleCultivation

Sep 29

How a game should say no: designing refusals people can act on

#ux #gamedev #gamedesign #indiedev

4 min read

IdleCultivation

Sep 28

Tests that pass for the wrong reason, collected from one project

#testing #indiedev #gamedev #programming

1

4 min read

IdleCultivation

Sep 27

Reach as a stat, and other ways to make a map behave like a place

#gamedev #gamedesign #worldbuilding #indiedev

4 min read

IdleCultivation

Sep 26

Launching a browser game Beta with no save wipes and 2,000 free copies

#gamedev #indiedev #webdev #javascript

5 min read

IdleCultivation

Sep 26

A social layer for a game nobody plays at the same time

#gamedev #gamedesign #idlegames #indiedev

1

4 min read

IdleCultivation

Sep 25

The cheapest fix for a wrong number in fiction is to delete it

#writing #testing #indiedev #gamedev

4 min read

IdleCultivation

Sep 24

Keeping score honestly: zero improved, four made worse

#testing #writing #indiedev #gamedev

4 min read

IdleCultivation

Sep 23

Linting a novel: what a continuity checker can honestly catch

#writing #gamedev #testing #indiedev

4 min read

IdleCultivation

Sep 22

Generating six hundred pages from game data without making slop

#gamedev #seo #writing #indiedev

4 min read

IdleCultivation

Sep 21

The dead feature: controls that render, respond and do nothing

#gamedev #ux #indiedev #testing

4 min read

IdleCultivation

Sep 20

How a fully translated game still shows English in fifty places

#i18n #gamedev #gamedesign #indiedev

4 min read

IdleCultivation

Sep 19

Auditing a world by walking it, not by checking things exist

#gamedev #testing #gamedesign #indiedev

4 min read

IdleCultivation

Sep 18

A minigame in an idle game has to be allowed to stop mattering

#gamedev #gamedesign #idlegames #gamebalance

4 min read

IdleCultivation

Sep 17

Placing a continent: what geography taught me about scatter

#gamedev #proceduralgeneration #worldbuilding #gamedesign

4 min read

IdleCultivation

Sep 16

A history the player can read: what an event log should record

#gamedev #gamedesign #ux #indiedev

4 min read

IdleCultivation

Sep 15

The art was already there, and nothing was drawing it

#gamedev #ux #indiedev #i18n

4 min read

IdleCultivation

Sep 14

Animating a character that has no animation frames

#gamedev #animation #gamedesign #indiedev

1

4 min read

IdleCultivation

Sep 13

Retiring a gate: when a breakthrough stopped being a checklist

#gamedev #gamedesign #idlegames #indiedev

1

4 min read

IdleCultivation

Sep 12

The tap was on time: input buffering in a one-button minigame

#gamedev #gamedesign #ux #indiedev

1

4 min read

IdleCultivation

Sep 11

Why the in-game market is eight rooms instead of one shop list

#gamedev #gamedesign #idlegames #worldbuilding

4 min read

IdleCultivation

Sep 10

Sight as a stat: designing fog of war around an attribute

#gamedev #gamedesign #idlegames #xianxia

1

3 min read

IdleCultivation

Sep 9

Interrupting the player is a cost you choose

#gamedev #gamedesign #ux #idlegames

3 min read

IdleCultivation

Sep 8

Half-steps: what doubling a level ladder taught me about pacing

#gamedev #gamedesign #idlegames #xianxia

3 min read

IdleCultivation

Sep 8

Designing an idle RPG where idling can't give you everything

#gamedev #gamedesign #idlegames #xianxia

3 min read

DEV Community

Badges

Writing Debut

The writing pipeline kept eating the state it depended on

How big is that tree? Sizing a world drawn at every scale

The spec was unbuildable, and only building it showed that

Making a machine reviewer prove its own findings

Knowing when to stop: reading the yield curve of a checking pass

Ten hours unattended: what a long job needs to survive alone

What an idle game may sell, and what it must never sell

If someone might want it different, it should not be a literal

Local-first saves and deciding which copy of the truth wins

When the design doc and the code disagree, which one is wrong?

How a game should say no: designing refusals people can act on

Tests that pass for the wrong reason, collected from one project

Reach as a stat, and other ways to make a map behave like a place

Launching a browser game Beta with no save wipes and 2,000 free copies

A social layer for a game nobody plays at the same time

The cheapest fix for a wrong number in fiction is to delete it

Keeping score honestly: zero improved, four made worse

Linting a novel: what a continuity checker can honestly catch

Generating six hundred pages from game data without making slop

The dead feature: controls that render, respond and do nothing

How a fully translated game still shows English in fifty places

Auditing a world by walking it, not by checking things exist

A minigame in an idle game has to be allowed to stop mattering

Placing a continent: what geography taught me about scatter

A history the player can read: what an event log should record

The art was already there, and nothing was drawing it

Animating a character that has no animation frames

Retiring a gate: when a breakthrough stopped being a checklist

The tap was on time: input buffering in a one-button minigame

Why the in-game market is eight rooms instead of one shop list

Sight as a stat: designing fog of war around an attribute

Interrupting the player is a cost you choose

Half-steps: what doubling a level ladder taught me about pacing

Designing an idle RPG where idling can't give you everything