It also depends how good and popular the game was.
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My games are just game jam gamesā¦
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You really are! Iāve read a couple of your devlogs and theyāre genuinely great, personal, and easy to follow.
You 100% right, and thatās kind of a shame. Thereās so much good stuff in written devlogs.
I do think format plays a big role though. After a long day, a lot of people (myself included 
) are more likely to click a short video than sit down to read, even if the written content is absolute gold.
So a lot of really valuable insights probably get missed just because of that.
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I know why theyāre not popular from experience. Theyāre quite boring to read and watch. Plus, most actual game devs would rather do the work themselves.
The reason I donāt do devlogs anymore is a little personal, but I tried and failed to do video devlogs, livestreaming, and 2 separate blogs: All because of my loneliness.
You see, I tried using these outlets as a replacement for friendship, but eventually, the void would catch up to me, Iād have a mental breakdown, and delete the devlog/blog.
It took me too long to realize that it wasnāt was I needed in my life. I donāt need to catalog every single thing that happens nor go for internet clout.
What I really needed was what I call āFews over Viewsā. I need to actually talk to people personally and be a genuine friend instead of a entertainer.
Thatās why I use Discord mostly and why Iām slowly moving away from this forum. As I feel like this isnāt the place to form an actual human bond, more a place to talk shop and get technical help. Which is fine, but not for me.
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Yeah, so I donāt do DevLogs for other people. I do them for me. I write Post Mortems in particular so I can review them later and remember what I learned last time. I did a daily devlog this past game jam at the encouragement of my brother. It was very draining. But it helped keep me focused. So I may do shorter ones in the future.
Loneliness is a big problem. I spent many years trying to solve that problem. Even when I had friends, I often felt lost and alone. In the past few years Iāve been on a journey of self-discovery, working on myself. As Iāve come to be more ok with my thoughts and myself, Iāve been able to survive with a lot less social interactions.
But yes, if the DevLog isnāt interesting to you, itās not going to be interesting to anyone else.
Also, I have years of experience writing technical documentation and reports in professional settings. Iāve sat in hundreds of meetings and read 10s of thousands of emails critiquing my professional writing. It has improved my writing quite a bit because I have feedback on what resonates with people. And Iām also good at telling entertaining stories to friends. That definitely helps in my writing.
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I got my writing skills from writing scripts for my YouTube videos (that no longer exist). I was a content creator for the Plants vs Zombies shooter games (Garden Warfare, Garden Warfare 2, and especially Battle for Neighborville).
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Oh neat! I didnāt know that! I loved the original PvZ.
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The entire reason I became a game designer in the first place was because I made analysis and balance suggestion videos on BFN because it was so flawed.
Ever since then, Iāve seen games as a designer than a player.
And the only reason Monkanics exists is because BFN died a year after launch (PopCapās fault). Then, I needed something to pivot to, and Monkanics was a natural extension of my abilities and interests.
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Always blame the publisher. Iād much more believe that EA made stupid demands or decisions that forced PopCap into that position. I literally saw awesome games killed at EA just to get unrelated deals done.
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EA did do that. But I was there when it happened. PopCap made some absolutely abysmal design decisions that hurt BFN and the future of PvZ.
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@Demetrius_Dixon @dragonforge-dev
That honestly touches me more than you might think.
I went through something very similar. When I released my first commercial game, I really thought āokay, Iāll make some videos and people will come.ā Andā¦ nothing. No views, barely any reaction. It felt incredibly lonely, like talking to myself in a void.
At some point I just stopped worrying about the outcome. I started making videos purely because I enjoyed making them, even if nobody watched (thatās why the series is called Epic Waste of Time by the way 
). Once I removed the āthis has to workā pressure, it became fun again: exploration, curiosity, just playing around. Ironically, thatās when people slowly started to connect with it.
Iām still very small numbers-wise, and thatās totally fine. What matters is exactly what you said: fewer people, but real exchanges.
@Demetrius_Dixon Actually, youāre partly why Iām finally launching a Discord in a few days (remember one of your first posts here?)! Itāll be a small, human-focused space where sharing your projects really matters: Iām planning a casual series to highlight indie work from the community, so itās not about my stuff ONLY, your creations will take center stage. At least, if youāre ok with that idea first
Thanks again for sharing this, it really resonated.
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Quick follow-up since this connects a lot to what we were talking about.
Iāve just launched the Discord server. Itās meant to be a small, friendly place to hang out, talk dev, talk games, and share stuff without pressure.
Itās also the first time Iām doing something like this, so Iām definitely not a community expert. Iāll learn as I go, and Iāll gladly rely on feedback to improve things.
Thereās a #your-projects channel where you can post what youāre working on (games, tools, experiments, milestones, anything). From time to time, Iāll pick a project from there to highlight it in a video. Nothing competitive, nothing guaranteed, just a way to give some indie work a bit more visibility, because we all know how hard that is.
In fact, I already have a first highlight in mind: @Frozen_Fried would it be ok for you if I started with Restarting in 20 Seconds? It was incredibly fun, well-scoped, and genuinely clever. Itād be an honor to kick this off with that one.
Above all, the goal is to keep this space human, friendly, and fun first. You are all welcome
Link to the Discord server: BolterSquad
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