I set out this year to make SMALL mobile games. I wanted to complete them in 4-6 weeks and now here I am what feels like MONTHS on my first mobile game Burger Ninja.

Am I going to make money if this game sells? Well, there is one important factor to look at here: ACTUAL work hours. I started this game in the beginning of November and now we are approaching the end of January. Three months of work right? WRONG! Let’s break it down…

My typical work week is 5-6 days. Each day varies in length because of working from home; there’s freelance, job hunting, lunches, and family stuff all mixed in. This year I also set out to spend approximately 20% of my work week on promotion and marketing. That’s stuff like social media posts, promo emails and what you are reading right now- THIS NEWSLETTER. These things will DIRECTLY result in sales. But as far as actual labor, this project was also the first project I started STRICTLY tracking every hour spent developing and releasing. I am so glad I did! When you look at those numbers, I’m not losing this battle as badly as it feels…

According to my timecard chart, as of today I’m 319.25 hours into Burger Ninja. That’s 5 60/hour weeks or 39 8/hour days. That’s great! Right now I estimate I’m roughly 40% through development. But what is actually done? How does this effect scope? Great question!

So, as I’ve learned, games need to grow and shrink according to how they come together and feel. This game is scoped out to have a 60-90 minute playthrough. To see actual play length, I designed and re-designed one level (see last newsletter). It was TOO long for a 10-15 minute level. So I shifted my focus. Instead of redesigning and redesigning levels, I set out to get everything into the game that’s not a boss or final BG graphics. It’s breaking down into clear week chunks. Last week was spent on animating and implementing Burger Ninja’s powers—SUCCESS! This week was spent on animating and implementing all enemies—SUCCESS! Next week will be implementing hazards and mechanics. If I succeed, I’ll have everything I need to layout the WHOLE game (minus bosses and final BG graphics). That’s a great place to be! I’ll be able to add and subtract to the scope as I see fit.

Well, Man is doing ok with the development of Burger Ninja. Man is still alive, working hard and feeling good about life.

Burger is going to be fine. In the end, Burger will be a tasty slab of gameplay. The winner of this war will be decided by the hunger of the people who wanna eat a meaty game…

Let’s see who wins the next 2 weeks of battles, maybe Man will survive long enough to tell the tale…