The Yule Log #1: Concept and Planning

    I wanted to make a Roblox game. Yep, I'm going to start with that. Even though Roblox Studio isn't and will never be the most powerful, unique, or rewarding game engine, I thought it fit my purposes well. Roblox takes care of the physics, controls, online play, monetization, and marketing. I didn't have to make a complex game from scratch and try to get someone to download it off of itch.io. I didn't have to buy servers and complex software. All I had to do was build, code, publish, and get rich! Easy as pie.

    Problem: making a game, even a Roblox one, isn't easy as pie. Another problem: getting people to play it. I didn't want to spend hours, days, and maybe even years of my life building something no one would ever see. Solution: marketing. Of course, I could spend a few hundred dollars buying ad slots, but who can afford that? My solution: start a devlog. So I did. This is it. Hopefully it will be enough to earn my game some recognition. Anyway, you can't have a devlog without a game to work on, so I had to get on that. I decided to use an idea I had a long time ago: a 1v1 dueling game! 

    I knew that on Roblox, people love a good competition. So I thought that it would be a good idea to create a dueling game where people would fight each other in duels, collect cosmetic items, and rise through the ranks to become epic e-sport champions! Cue the 1 million dollar tournament music! Anyway, I thought this was a good idea and still do. This is what I'll be working on: a not quite original dueling game. Now that I think about it, most successful Roblox games are free bootlegs of popular paid games. Jailbreak, the most popular game on Roblox is a mix of GTA5 and Cops and Robbers. Flee the Facility is a copy of Dead by Daylight, Big Paintball is COD, etc. My dueling game is really a mix of a lot of different ideas. Speaking of which, here are some of my main ideas:

• There will be many different gamemodes: of course 1v1 but also Teams (2v2 and/or 3v3) and Modifiers (low gravity, superspeed, upside down, you get the point). Even in 1v1s there will be a lot of different ways to play. There's going to be Gun mode, Melee mode, and Random mode, which will be every weapon in the game (500+ at its peak). Just like in Super Smash Bros. Ultimate, part of getting good will be learning how to use every weapon.
• Collecting and trading cosmetics. I love Team Fortress 2 and think it's one of the best games ever. One of the great things about it is that you can buy, collect, and trade cosmetics that can define your character. That's something I don't really see much in Roblox and think will be really fun (and bring me money).
• Having lots of different and unique weapons. Of course, there will be your pistols and your miniguns but I think we can have lots of fun with the different ways to kill your opponent. How about a Throwing Watermelon that explodes when it hits someone with enough force? Or a slapping hand that only does damage from the front? Instead of trying to keep your eyes on your opponent, you're going to need to run at them with your back to them!

I think that this game has a lot of potential for greatness. I'll be working. See you next week!

    - Richard