Since there’s no new development screen to share, I’m just posting a picture of my computer instead. Looking at the photo now, my keyboard seems a bit dirty.
I spent the entire week revising the build. While the graphics are still missing, I’d like to hear some feedback—whether the game is terrible or not—and work on improvements. However, it’s not easy to find people to ask for testing. Maybe it’s because Metroidvania is such a niche genre, or maybe it’s because my game just isn’t appealing enough. Even the harshest feedback would be welcome; I just want to hear something so I can figure out what to fix. But getting even one meaningful comment feels incredibly difficult.
I’m moving forward, doing what I can, but I don’t want to end up in a situation where it’s too late to make changes. At the same time, I can’t just sit around waiting. Once I start working on the environment, fixing things will take much more effort, so I’d like to get things organized to some extent before moving on—but maybe that’s just my greed. I tell myself not to stress over things beyond my control, but I can’t quite let go of my regrets.
For now, I’m experimenting on my own—adding and removing things here and there—but I’ve noticed that most of the things I add end up being better off removed. I believe things will naturally flow in the right direction if I keep doing what I can, but I still wish I knew what I’m capable of doing right now.
I’ve thought about gathering testers through a community, but based on my previous experience, it was exhausting and not very helpful. Looking back, I think it was probably because the game wasn’t good enough. And now, with this temporary build still lacking backgrounds, it feels even more awkward to ask for testing. I can somehow manage making the game, no matter how grueling or demanding it is, but everything else feels incredibly difficult for me.
Talking with ChatGPT made me think that asking for help on Reddit might not be a bad idea. The people in the Metroidvania subreddit seemed even more hardcore than I am.
My perspective has changed. I’ve started to think that expecting feedback from enthusiasts to solve my concerns might have been a fleeting illusion caused by yesterday’s emotional swings. Hitting the bullseye with a handful of precise feedback is a fantasy; the reality is more about shaping and identifying the boundaries through numerous bits of feedback. For now, I’ve decided to focus on improving things during the current testing phase and prioritize quality over quantity when creating the background.