This week has been unusual. In my last devlog I wrote that I might be burned out, but I’d never thought I’d actually experienced burnout before. This time my mind just stopped, I couldn’t think or do anything, which was a first for me and it caught me off guard. After taking two full days off, working lightly in the mornings for two days, then taking another two days off, I felt fine again. Even the feeling of being suffocated when opening Unreal Editor disappeared, which was surprising.
When I work with both code and assets I still feel a bit sluggish and my head aches slightly afterward, but if I focus on lighting or modeling work, I feel fine again quickly. The sense of anxiety and overwhelm has eased a lot. I used to hate meditation, but when my head hurt or wasn’t working well, just sitting still with my eyes closed for 3–5 minutes helped me get back to work, which felt odd.
Since it’s been hard to get feedback on the changes I’ve made, I’m running an event where anyone who plays the demo for at least an hour and shares a 30-minute gameplay video gets a key (a test key for now, and a full key when early access starts). It’s been a long time since I’ve received gameplay videos, and they’re by far the most helpful feedback I can get.
I hope this unbearably hot summer passes, that the tough times end, and that I can release the game soon– which will probably be another summer again.