Dev Blog #10 - Finishing DIMB

Written text cannot begin to describe the enormity of my failure to keep this website updated. With changing jobs, companies and priorities, it tends to happen. BUT! I have an update, and I want to talk about it.

Back in April I finished the bulk of the gameplay of DIMB. The challenge levels themselves plus the Boss fight plus the in between break rooms were all done. All that was left to do was the intro to the game and the ending. Both took longer to write and confirm than I would have liked. But it turned out that finding time to implement them properly would be an even bigger challenge.

Once I moved from the UK to Spain in June, my time became even more scant. The first two months at the new job I was assisting production of a large mobile game. After the first two months, I started leading production of this large mobile game. I had no life. No time. No energy. I had nothing, as everything I had was being put into my job and this massive mobile game. Eventually, after a particularly dreadful bout of flu, I decided to resign with a heavy heart. Whilst I love the team I worked with, and love the game they will eventually ship, the working situation simply wasn't for me.

In October I started a new job, which is the one I am currently at. I'm still in Spain, and whilst this new position isn't as high pressure as the previous one, it does come with it's own set of difficulties. However, it has afforded me the time to finally finish DIMB.

In truth, there were only a handful of minor issues to fix and things to implement for me to actually call the game complete. This handful of things to do took two days of full time work to resolve. And that's it, the game is done (in my eyes). There are some remaining problems which I will list below, but the game itself can be played from start to finish with no major issues.

• Some of the art isn't top notch due to it being me just editing and recycling the good art we already had
• No real sound design due to lack of sound resources
• Feature set is barren due to running out of time on the project
• Not as much polish and flash has been added as I would have liked

At some point you have to call it a day on whatever it is you're working on. Waiting for it to be perfect will cost you more than releasing it with some flaws. And for perfectionists, releasing it when it is perfect is a day that will never come. I know the shortcomings of this game. But it doesn't matter to me. This is a game I designed, programmed and released. This is the starting point for the next game, and the game after that, and the game after that.

​DIMB isn't a game that will set the world on fire. It was never meant to be that. It was a test for myself. "Can I start making a game, and finish it for once?" Many people start making games, but very, very few ever finish them. I didn't want to keep on being one of those people. I have finished making a game, and it's available to play now at GameJolt!

The most important thing for me is that now, if I'm ever at some lacklustre gaming event, and I have a tag around my neck that says "Danny Colclough, Game Designer" and someone asks the question "So what have you made?"

I finally have an answer.