I have a squirrel living in my loft. The kids have named them 'Nutty' as we see them frequently. Nutty however thinks they're a gecko clinging to the walls of the house. #Nature #Squirrel

I'm glad I learnt how to make gameplay systems instead of just scripting gameplay. Two new upgrades and one new ability setup pretty quickly. I only had to fix some UI stuff which was due to me being lazy the first time I set it up. 😅 #UE5 #IndieDev #GameDev #Hexion

I'm currently working on the palettes for colour blindness. I need help to see if the picked colours are distinguishable enough. There's 5 colours in each of the palettes. If you are colour blind or know someone that is, your help would be greatly appreciated. #GameDev #IndieDev #ColourBlind

Its not really procrastination though is it... I call it strategic reflection time. 😁 Is any one else buying it? #GameDev #IndieDev

How important are descriptions in games? How many people actually read them? I feel like its a nice to have but I'm ashamed to say I often don't read them. 😅 This makes me wonder if I'm wasting my time adding them. 🫣 #GameDev #IndieDev #Hexion

A while ago I had the idea to use blender to create icons and design UI for my game. I still feel like it was an amazing decision. Is this something anyone else would try? #GameDev #IndieDev #Blender

I had some feedback that the colours for some of the tiles can be difficult to distinguish... There for you can now select a colour palette. I just need to create palettes tailored for colour blindness. 💪 (lots of research ahead of me) #UE5 #GameDev #IndieDev #Accessibility

So... I set up a fiverr page and damn! The number of spam messages in just a few hours is wild. Easily over 20 messages trying to phish for my bank details with bogus orders. #fiverr

I'd be procrastinating on how I wanted to handle the various tutorial prompts but i think I happy with this. Still need some work but it feels better than what I had previously. #UE5 #IndieDev #GameDev #Hexion #Tutorials

Its been a while but I've finally started working on radioactive tiles. After X amount of moves, the time will decay to a lower level element. Still lots to do. #UE5 #IndieDev #GameDev #Hexion

Part 1 of my new tutorial series is now live. We'll take the Combat Template and rebuild some of it into a scalable, reusable attribute system. youtu.be/uc609OIJr_8 #UE5 #GameDev #Tutorial

So I've been getting rather frustrated today. It's been a while since I've edited a video and normally use Clip Champ for some of the final assembly. Bug after bug or just terrible design choices that make no sense. Then there's the push to try get me on the cloud. #Clipchamp #Microsoft #Frustrated

When using UE5, there might be times you only want something to happen at runtime. There's no dedicated method to distinguish this in BP but... You can just do an 'Is Valid' check on the game mode. As this only gets created at runtime, it'll be invalid during editor calculations. #UE5 #UETips

So it didn't take a long to turn my mock-up into some functional UI. It definitely looks and feels better than the old design. Is there anything you might change? #GameDev #IndieDev #UE5 #UI

I've not shared anything in a while so this is what I'm currently working on. I've opted to remake the compound group UI. This is where you select the individual compounds to build/complete. With the mock-up done, i just need to make it work. #GameDev #IndieDev #UE5 #UI

In preparation for setting up some tutorial prompts I'll need to explain some of my game rules, I got my kids (6 & 8) to play my compounds mini game. I was surprised when they go it and bashed 20 levels out. I just need to remember how I explained it to them. 😅 #UE5 #GameDev #IndieDev

Enhanced inputs can seem scary at first but its simpler than you'd first think. For example, if you want two possible events happen using the same key (E) but when it's pressed or held, this can be achieved using the 'Tap' and 'Hold' triggers and two input actions. #UE5 #GameDev #EnhancedInputs

I've been going through some things that have left me completely emotionally drained. I've been reading 'The Body Keeps the Score' which has made me realise I should probably talk about it more. #mentalhealth

The feeling I get from gaming isn't the same as when I was younger. Even when playing some of the older classics. It's hard to say why but it makes me wonder if it's something to do with not really being able to 'complete' games these days.

This might be a controversial opinion but... any game with in app purchases should have an option to disable all prompts for in app purchases by law. Nothing worse than having to help an 8 year old navigate them.

Deciding you need to move a BP class to C++ can be difficult as it is but you can get help creating the header using the header preview option from the right click menu. #UE5 #UETips

As a project grows and ideas change, old (early) systems can become unfit for purpose. It's important to make this assessment early so you can decide whether you want to use some band aids or rebuild and refactor. So... yes, I think i'll be remaking the upgrade system. 😅 #UE5 #GameDev #IndieDev

I'm a part of the group that hasn't watched the #GameAwards. Anything worth checking out? I'm going to assume there was nothing regarding: ES6, FO5, Portal 3 or Half-Life 3

Here's a little update of what I've been working on. Sometimes the little things can make a difference. #GameDev #UE5 #IndieDev

After some testing, I've decided to combine assembling compounds and upgrades in Hexion. So today I've worked on a mock-up for the new compounds menu. The idea is when you complete a compound group, you get the upgrade. 5 (maybe 7) compounds per group. #UE5 #GameDev #IndieDev #Hexion

It still baffles me that console gamers still pay just to get online. If they tried this on PC, there'd be an uproar. The idea should have been stomped out from the beginning.

Do I really want to deal with drag and drop behavior from the UI to the world? That is today's question and that's because I know how much of a farse it is to setup. 😅 Like, I will but that doesn't mean I want to. 😂 #UE5 #GameDev

One of my mainstay ongoing freelance projects is sadly coming to an end this month, so I'm on the lookout for narrative design/writing opportunities! I mean, I already was, but now I'm looking harder

I've recently uploaded a few parts of a new series where I rebuilt the inventory system in someone's project. If you want to watch the journey, check it out. youtu.be/st6DfJauZro #UE5 #GameDev #Hybris

Slowly getting there with the new UI design. All the menu stuff is working. What are peoples thoughts? Any changes you'd make? #UE5 #GameDev #IndieDev #UI

Having buttons with a button tag and a payload object is surprisingly useful. 🤔 I keep alternating between which one is used for the button click events. #UE5 #GameDev

Remember to keep things tidy! It'll save you a keyboard when you have to revisit in a few months. #UE5 #Blueprints #GameDev

I've recently uploaded a few parts of a new series where I rebuilt the inventory system in someone's project. If you want to watch the journey, check it out. youtu.be/st6DfJauZro #UE5 #GameDev #Hybris

I've been giving the main menu some TLC. I think this looks a lot better! Just got to redo some of the other UI stuff. And yes, Hexion Protocol is the name I've decided to call this game. :) #UE5 #GameDev #IndieDev #HexionProtocol *Gradients & Compression 😅

Which one looks better? Also open to suggestions. :) This is for my hexagon game where you swap/merge tiles to collect elements. You'll eventually use these to create compounds. (puzzle) #GameDev #IndieDev

Naming things is always hard but after a few months of pondering I think I finally know what I want to call my game. Not sure I'm ready to share though. I need to sit on it for atleast a week to see if I feel the same way. 😅 #GameDev #IndieDev

Editor Utility Widgets are very useful! I might do a tutorial on how to use them for creating game icons for all your items in a single click. What are peoples thoughts? Would this be useful? #UE5 #GameDev #IndieDev

So I've been spending some time separating some aspects of my game into their own levels. This also meant I needed to actually start looking at saving some of the data off. It's slow going but getting there. This is what my compound puzzle is looking like at the moment. #UE5 #IndieDev

I wonder what would happen if all original content creators did an upload blackout. Where would all the people using AI to effectively steal someone's work get their source from?

So last week I did some prep work on a new direction for a secondary gameplay loop. As part of this I was working with some Editor Utility Widgets in #UE5 to help generate the data required more easily. Has anyone else created some custom editor utility widgets? If so, what for? #GameDev #IndieDev

When you've been working on stuff but it's all over the place and you feel its too messy to show. 😅 [Insert awesome screenshot] #GameDev #IndieDev

Spent some time working on my current project. I added a mechanic where you can fuse 3 tiles together. Still needs some work but I'm happy with it at the moment. However, this game needs a name, any suggestions? #UE5 #IndieDev #GameDev

Here's an update of my current project. Whilst based on a decade old project of mine, I'm still not sure what to call it. Any suggestions? #UE5 #GameDev #IndieDev

Many years ago I tasked myself with creating a unique icon for each element. At the time I loved them. Yesterday however I decided to redo them as they didn't scale well when using in a game. I did so using blender and they're probably the cleanest icons I've ever made. #Blender #GameDev #IndieDev

When my 7 year old is playing Minecraft (java) and she's whipping out the console commands. 😅 It only seems like yesterday when she learnt to read. #minecraft #proud

So I just cancelled my 365 subscription. Having to pay £70 a year was bad enough let alone over £100. £250 for one time purchase is insane. If we actually compare the feature most people use, there's nothing new. Adding to that OneDrive doesn't even work correctly with win11. #Office365 #Microsoft

@nomansbsky.bsky.social Why is voice chat enabled by default in #NoMansSky? It should be OFF by default, please sort it out. Had my partner not been sat in the same room as me, I would have never have known.

#MetaHumans being integrated into #UE5.6 is a game changer. I might actually invest more time into how it works. Going through the browser was often slow.

Is this a little much for a test level? 😅 And yes, I threw in the vertical wind turbines I models a week or two ago. :) #UE5 #IndieDev #GameDev

I felt like making a 'Test Level B' this afternoon. Not finished but a good start. #UE5 #IndieDev #GameDev #Blockout #LevelDesign