Welcome to my first devlog entry for Soulless! As a solo developer in my final year at university, I wanted to jump start my university year with breathtaking, AAA-level concepts that would showcase my skills as a game designer.

However, I quickly ran into my biggest challenge, programming. My greatest fear of not having the technical skills to execute a complex game was holding back my creativity. To overcome this, I planned a structured approach:

Breaking Down Difficulties

In order to balance my ambition with practicality, I developed three different game concepts, each with a different difficulty level based on what I think I can realistically handle

1. Easy Difficulty: 2D Action Hack-and-Slash

   • A side-scrolling combat game with fluid animations and satisfying attack mechanics.

     • This concept is easy for me because i have the most experience in making 2d games so far, and there are less variables to worry about.

2. Medium Difficulty: Third-Person Soulslike

   • A strategic combat system inspired by Dark Souls with dodge, parry, and stamina-based mechanics.

     • This concept feels very exciting to me because it challenges me to grow my third person 3d game skills without feeling overwhelming.

3. Hard Difficulty: First-Person Multiplayer Survival Game

   • A survival-based experience inspired by Rust, featuring base-building, crafting, and PvP elements.

     • This is my favorite game of all time however i know nothing about networking, large open-world mechanics meaning this concept would push my technical limits with .

Researching Concepts

Creating these concepts does feel like a good start, however I know that it is imperative I choose the correct one based on my time frame of one university year and current skill set. Therefore next week, I will commit to:

• Researching each genre to understand the core mechanics that make them work.

• Comparing game engines to determine which one is best suited for each concept.

• Test small prototypes to evaluate feasibility before making a final decision.

This week was all about overcoming fear of failure and finding a structured way to explore my creativity on a single page. Next week i will pursue the research necessary to make a final decision on which game to develop!