So I've finished another LD, feeling really good and mostly exhausted. This time I was really low energy throughout, I think I'm getting older probably.

I wanna do a debrief on bits of DD, I'm really happy with how it turned out but I think it's not gonna be for everyone. Maybe that's ok. I definitely pushed myself in some new directions this time, so it was exciting to have it come together even though I was worried.

Things that went well: Building the car went great, idk exactly why but it just kinda came together, I'm really happy with how the vehicle handles and how it looks. I haven't modeled a car before so it was totally new to me, but I think I did a pretty good job.

The vehicle physics feel great imo, it was time well spent. All of day 1 was spent doing vehicle behaviour, hours and hours of tweaking, 100% worth it.

Things that went badly: I think I didn't really plan the gameplay arc very well and it shows. The game is fun to drive around in, but the goal is very sparse and not tightly designed, there's also no ending which is a shame. I couldn't think of something epic so I guess driving around the desert has to do.

I'm sad I couldn't fit more humor and more easter eggs in, theres a lotta desert and a lot of empty space that hasn't really been fleshed out. I'd love to stick some more pop culture references into the hidden areas, but I just didn't have the time. Sad but reality.

Things that were slower than expected: I thought for sure the entire quest system and implementation of the quests would be done on day 1, it wasn't finished til day 2, which ate into my level design and art polish time a lot. The artstyle is forgiving of the lower effort art, but a lot of art got cut because of this (originally planned 5! buildings, instead of the 3 actually in the game, and way more collectibles)

The vehicle system was expected to take some time, but it really did eat a whole day. I implemented a full internal gearbox simulation to make the engine torque and sounds feel somewhat realistic, and it paid off, but it took probably 4-5 hours of tweaking to get it to where it is. And it could definitely be even better with more time.

Things that were faster than expected: Making the map was a breeze, it's fairly simple for sure but it really came together rapidly.

Things I'm really happy with: The driving, I enjoy it so much I've found myself literally just cruising the map. I even made a bunch of changes to the roads to make them flow better as you drive, hopefully my hard work paid off and driving feels smooth, but playtesters seemed to struggle. I guess it needs practice...

Favourite pet feature: I love the signs, I'm super happy with how they turned out, and thankfully my playtesters picked up on them immediately and navigated well without a map. I think some people will still struggle, that's just how it is, but I think they do a great job making the map approachable in an authentic way that still feels nostalgically Australian.

Thanks for reading, I hope you'll give the game a shot. It was lots of fun to make, and I've enjoyed playing it myself. Until next LD!