My First Finished Game - Devlog

Hii, thanks for passing by and reading this! I want to tell you about how I made my very first finished game.

From tutorial Hell to a real project

For almost 5 years I was stuck in tutorial hell. I watched hundreds of hours of videos, read about design patterns… but I never finished anything. Not even a single level.

That’s why I decided to force myself into a strict time limit: finish a game in just one week.

How one Week Become two

This is how the game looked on Day 5 out of 7:

At that point, it was buggy, way too simple, and so short it could be finished in under 30 seconds. So I extended the limit to two weeks.

Making decisions fast

With only two weeks, I had to decide: what really matters?

I decided to focus on polish first — thanks to some pre-made assets, the game immediately started looking more like a “real” project instead of a prototype.

The game started with just two mechanics: movement and picking up items. Instead of adding everything I wanted, I focused on polishing and debugging those basics and adding some graphics.

Ideas like a dash, a combo system, a high-score counter, or obstacles would’ve been great — but also way too complex for the deadline.

The importance of game feel

Seeing gems fly into the player with a magnet effect… just feels right.

Even with such simple mechanics, I wanted the game to feel satisfying:

• Smooth movement.
• Gems that feel absorbed.
• Sounds and text feedback to make actions juicy.

The result was a “comfy” game. No timers, no stress — just the small joy of collecting and growing stronger.

Making the Most of Limited Time

Watching gems form patterns feels pretty nice, doesn’t it?

To avoid repetition, I improvised: every few waves something new appears, like a new gem type or formation pattern.

But still… it didn’t feel like quite enough.

Last Day addition

On the very last day, I took a risk and added a new system: upgrades.

At first, the player feels tanky and sluggish. With upgrades, there’s progression — more speed, bigger magnet range, and the ability to handle waves of gems without stress.

Lessons learned

Biggest lesson: plan first, code later.

Since I jumped in without a clear goal, I lost at least 3 days reworking systems. Next time I’ll think through the design before touching code.

I worked 10–14 hours a day to finish this, and while it was rough, it was also exciting. Watching a simple square evolve into something that feels like a real game made everything worth it.

What’s next

This project is small — just like my next ones will be, for now. I still have a lot to learn, but each project helps me grow.

I’ll take a few days to think about game design before coding again. In 2–3 weeks, I’ll be back with a new project (no idea what it’ll be yet, haha).

Thanks so much for reading and supporting me on this journey! 💖