I made the wrong game by mistake. Twice.
Go and Check out the Mini Murder Mysteries demo! https://store.steampowered.com/app/46... So, I accidentally made TWO games while trying to avoid scope creep. In this indie devlog, I’m breaking down the development of Mini Murder Mysteries, a bite-sized deduction game inspired by the Golden Idol series. What started as a simple mobile-first portrait project spiralled into something bigger, including porting it to PC, creating a bespoke demo for Steam NextFest, and navigating a moral crisis over AI-generated art. Play the Demo & Wishlist on Steam: https://store.steampowered.com/app/46... on iOS & PC: June 23rd! In this video: The Context Zone: Why I put The Murder of Ava Monroe on hold to focus on a pragmatic "cash injection" project. The Framework Strategy: How I built a repeatable level system in Unity to "brainlessly" pump out content. The AI Controversy: My experience using AI for crime scene images and why I ultimately decided to replace it with Photoshop filters and stock photos. Mobile vs. PC Porting: The challenges of converting a portrait-oriented mobile game into a landscape Steam experience (including my first time implementing Steam Achievements). Why a Short Lead Time? My strategy for shadow-dropping an indie game and why I’m prioritising mobile success. Timestamps: 00:00 - Intro 01:26 - The Context Zone and Pivot Park (Ava Monroe vs. Mini Murder Mysteries) 07:49 - Pragmatic Peak: Why small projects matter 10:25 - Prototype Peninsula: Building a Unity framework 17:25 - Build Badlands: How to make 9 levels in 2 weeks 20:10 - AI Archipelago: The moral crisis of AI art 24:50 - Steam City: Porting portrait to landscape 27:09 - A Psychopath’s Guide to Steam Achievements 29:45 - Demo District: Why I made a bespoke NextFest level 31:55 - The Endgame: Launch strategy. If you’re a solo dev struggling with scope creep or just love detective games, subscribe for more devlogs. You can buy my The Biggleboss Incident, here: https://play.google.com/store/apps/de... https://store.steampowered.com/app/29... https://apps.apple.com/gb/app/the-big... Wishlist The Murder of Ava Monroe here: https://store.steampowered.com/app/41... The P&C discord server: / discord Music: "Cool Vibes" by Kevin MacLeod (incompetech.com) Licensed under Creative Commons by Attribution 4.0 License #indiedev #gamedev #unity3d #solodeveloper #minimurdermysteries #detectivegames #devlog #steamnextfest
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