Positive Devlog

Positive DevLog

It's nice to be able to give a good update.

In a week or so, I will be finished with my unreal engine course.  It took way longer than I thought.  But I am proud of the work I've done so far.  The question now is, what is next?  There is so much I've learned, but even more that I still need to implement.  For instance, one of my goals with this course was being able to have a game with a menu screen.  Learning how to do things like load saves, and make checkpoints.  Which this course didn't cover at all.  

From what I gather, to get a job, I need four years worth of programming experience, several projects that are shippable with their code posted on github, and then something “masters level” , basically a mechanic that I think of and implement, which you could build an entire game around.  I'm ⅛ of the way there, which seems daunting, but at least I'm making progress.  So what should I do next? How do I get myself up to the point of being a master level programmer?

My thought is to stick with the druid mechanics courses, as I like the teacher.  There is a larger top down rpg course that I could take. But I'm not interested in making a top down rpg.  But does interest matter?  If I was in school, I would have to program a bunch of things that I am not interested in. Afterall, this course does go over things like checkpoints, saves, and creating a start screen.  Key things I'll need to learn if I ever want to make a shippable game. But that is three times as long as the course I just completed, and that will be a huge effort.  

My plan was to follow another course from Druid Mechanics. A free one on youtube that taught devs how to add a bow and arrow to their third person character. I originally thought that was good next step, as building a third person shooter/bow mechanic would be good to add to the portfolio.  It also would be way faster (4 hours compared to 140 hours).  But is doing things because they will be easier and faster, a good idea?

I'm still undecided, but I'm leaning towards the top down rpg course, as learning about things like leveling up and basically damage/armour mechanics, would go a long way across all types of games.  Where as a bow is just a bow. 

But either way, progress is progress, and we are making progress, fuck yeah. 

Doomer Rant

Now for my thoughts on the doomer state of the world.  Shit is so fucked, so fucked.  Not only is the economy heading towards a recession. But the switch 2 had to cancel pre orders because tariffs are about to be so high, no one will buy it! Which I think has less to do with the tariffs themselves, rather than the “winner” and “loser” mentalities that Nintendo alternates its console launches with. Nintendo has been in win mode since they realized they don’t need to try with Pokemon. 

To me, the truth is that games are horribly undervalued, but Nintendo specifically overcharges for the vast majority of their games.  I don't think many people have a problem with the switch at 449$ (despite it being expensive) because they know it is a great piece of gear. Nor would they complain (as much) about a new, mainline, Zelda game being priced at 80/90$.  Because a game as good as Tears of the Kingdom is worth around that much(to some).  As are most AAA bangers (elden ring, cyberpunk, etc.) because great AAA games are a great value to the consumer, due to their long run times and incredible production quality.  

So is Mario kart a AAA banger?  Not in the past.  Sure it may be the game that sells the most, has the most play time, and according to all of Nintendo’s metrics, be a game people are willing to spend 90$ (or more due to tariffs) on.  But it remains to be seen if it has the sheer amount of gameplay needed to justify the new AAAA tier that games are hurtling towards. Yes, GTA 6 can charge 100$.  Because GTA six will be big enough to basically have Mario kart inside of it.  

Where this NintenGap is really apparent is with Kirby.  Kirby is not a AAA franchise. It has never been.  It's been a side scroller saved for Nintendo's portable consoles, with a few rare spin offs on main consoles.  Kirby in the Forgotten Kingdom should have been 40$.  Instead it launched at 60$, and everyone online yanks their pizza over the unique and interesting ideas that Nintendo implements in a game made for children.  I love Dunkey as a reviewer, but when you remove price from the equation (as he does), you start to lose track of the value of games like Kirby.  A value that has gotten so out of whack, the switch 2 version costs as much as Tears of the Kingdom Switch 2 version.  That just doesn't make sense when you compare the size of the games, and I doubt it makes sense when you compare the development cost of both games as well.

A game like factorio can, and should, raise its price to match inflation. Games like GTA 6, Cyberpunk 2, Elder Scrolls 6, and other God tiers can charge 100$ if they wish.  But then everyone needs to agree that Yakuza never goes past 60$, and Sonic goes down to 40$.  Avowed should be 40$.  Astro Bot, 20$. Games like FIFA should be free to play. If a game charges you anywhere north of 60$ it needs to be unimpeachable.  You really want to play Dragon’s Dogma 3 at 100$? At least with a rockstar game, it will run decent at launch.  If you played an admittedly amazing and large game like Cyberpunk at launch, you would be so dissatisfied with your 100$ purchase. 

But this brings us to the next portion of the discussion, is the switch 2 going to be as powerful as a PS5 pro?  No, it's not.  So Everytime you look at a game advertising itself as 4k, or see specs that the screen is 120 hz, do not believe it’s lies. “Most games will have a 40 fps mode,”  or “this is when Nintendo finally gives third party devs the power they need.”  Please know it is a lie. All of it.  

To start, 4k 60 fps does not exist.  I mean, factually it does.  There are maybe 4 or 5 games that are well built enough to hit those parameters, and PCs powerful enough to do it.  But the vast majority of games today aren't 4k. Especially on consoles. Nintendo has never chased graphics and they won't start now. I bet they will bring their benchmarks up from 30 fps to 40 fps for some games, but don't get it twisted, you are not getting the newest Mario kart in 4k 60fps.  I will be shocked if it reliably runs 5 year old games like cyberpunk at 1080 fps without serious graphic limiters.  Docked or undocked, Nintendo is never going to be at parity to modern consoles or PCs.  

That is not to say this won't be worth it. Just that when Final Fantasy 7 gets announced, everyone understands that you are choosing portability or everything.  That pokemon is still going to run like shit, and look like shit, because more power does not mean devs have an idea of how to use it.  But do not fear, for none of this matters, a proved by the developers Panic Button.  These guys have been churning out the good stuff on underpowered consoles for years now.  They have shown you can play amazing third party experiences on underpowered consoles (which the switch 2 actively is, and will only get worse with the next generation). It has nothing to do with power, just about how you use the power you have, and the switch two will be able to give you a great cyberpunk experience, just no where close to the mythical “4k 60fps,” or the more godly, “4k 120fps” that so many pc players allegedly play at.  

So where does this leave everything?  It is a weird spot, as the switch 2 is just too expensive across the board, and is actively lying to consumers about the experiences that they will have out of the box.  It will be supported by third parties for about 2 years before it can no longer keep up with modern specs. Gamers will claim it's okay that Nintendo does whatever Nintendo wants because only Nintendo can make something as magical as a Nintendo game, and they may even be right.  But it does not change the fact that valuation of games is way off.  Games like 1-2 Switch, the switch2 tech demo, and the wheelchair game should be free.  Games like Mario kart should be 60$, alongside Kirby. Then Nintendo can charge whatever they want for DuskBlood, as that actually might be worth 90$.  

But please do not think you are supporting devs by buying this overpriced and over valued piece of tech.  The keyboard warriors who love to jump out of the woods and fight for Nintendo charging 90$ a game “because games were more expensive in the 90s due to inflation,” are straight up bad people.  They do not care that greedy pricing strategies have hurt the industry as a whole.  I sincerely wish them the worst, because they are the same people who will keep on buying pokemon, even though it's never been shittier.  They are the same people who think Kirby should cost 80$ because they are more obsessed with IP than the product itself.