I recently started streaming twice a week on Mixer. The streams happen at 9:30pm CT (7:30pm PT or 10:30pm ET) on Thursdays and Sundays. Thursdays are Code Nights where I fumble through the creation of a video game. Sundays are Play Nights I play and analyze a game that has something interesting in it. No specific topic, just play and talk about game with the intent of finding interesting design in games.

Now, I’ll take a few questions.

Are you a game developer now?

No, but I’d like to be. More specifically, I’d like my own games.

That’s not to say I wouldn’t work somewhere that makes games, as I’m sure I’d learn a lot, but as it stands right now with my real life, I’m not willing take on the cost of doing the whole “lift and shift” to my whole career. Maybe another day, but not today.

What about all that web development stuff?

That’s still something I like and will continue to work on, but making a video game has always been something of a dream. I’ve dabbled in combining the two, but there is a lot I need to learn about game development and design that has nothing to do with code.

What is with the streaming?

If I’m being honest, it’s more for me than it is for you. No offense.

The streams act as milestones to keep it relevant in my real life. The streams are scheduled and planned for, as they are hard dates in a calendar that I can plan my life around. Playing a game keeps me thinking about what I want to see in my game, and code keeps me building the game.

Is that why you’ve been in hiding for so long?

Not intentionally, but yeah.

There is a whole story behind it, but I’ll save that for another post. The short of it is that during my self imposed sabbatical, I realized that I need to work on something I’m truly passionate about. That passion is video games, and this is me making sure I don’t regret trying to get myself involved.

I have an idea for a game…

Awesome. Me too! Feel free to share it with me on Twitter, Instagram, or Mixer Chat and we can chat about it.

Does that mean you’re leaving the Western Devs?

Heh, no.

First, these people would be lost without me. Second, I’m still planning on talking about code, but likely a little less often. I’ll be reviving davidwesst.com in the near future where you can see all my game related content. For the time being though, only devblogs will show up over here.

When can I buy your game?

I have no idea. Right now, I’m toying with a prototype I call Vagabond and whether that turns into a game is a whole other story.

Is your game code open source?

No, but I’m not against it.

Ignoring the whole selling an open source game discussion, my code is amateur at best. I’m an application web developer trying to wear the shoes of a console/PC game developer. It’s going to take some time before I feel like I know what I’m doing to actually put something out there for people to assess.

I’m interested. How do I support?

Like, share, watch, and participate whenever and however you can.

I’m really just getting started in this, and it’s going to have some rough edges. Just stay tuned and we’ll see where this takes me.

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Thanks for playing. ~ DW

Update November 30, 2023 – Removed the iframe for mixer.com as it no longer exists.