A solo dev making a hostile deckbuilder about mental load, broken systems, and invisible rules nobody ever explained to you. Yes, I'm still talking about the game. Mostly. Sporadic dev journal. Expect bugs, dry humor, and long silences.https://bsky.app/profile/nobleheather.bsky.socialhttps://bsky.app/profile/nobleheather.bsky.social/post/3msiqr4jucc2hThe whole adventure on Substack: https://open.substack.com/pub/nobleheather/p/the-case-of-the-missing-icon?utm_source=share&utm_medium=android&r=6yf63i #GameDev #IndieDev #programming #SoloDev #IndieGameDev07 Aug 2026 14:18 +0000at://did:plc:pone5rvob26prpdnaimkw26e/app.bsky.feed.post/3msiqr4jucc2hhttps://bsky.app/profile/nobleheather.bsky.social/post/3msghx7uxm22pCoworker: A drawing tutorial? We spent $20 on assets for a reason Me: I'm trying to match textures Them: Still?! Weren't you happy to "weave" them or what? Me: I figured out WHICH ones to use. But how do I BLEND them? Hard or soft edges? And- Them: ...*running away* #GameDev #IndieDev urls.fr/JsFqKf [contains quote post or other embedded content]06 Aug 2026 16:35 +0000at://did:plc:pone5rvob26prpdnaimkw26e/app.bsky.feed.post/3msghx7uxm22phttps://bsky.app/profile/nobleheather.bsky.social/post/3ms6q6ktgrc2iMe: *Writing a complex road system so villagers can walk around naturally* = 3 days Also me: This soundtrack is amazing! Let's make the whole gameplay fit the music! = 4 sec Me: *Scripts everything to the millisecond* = 3 days My therapist: So... about your commitment issues. #GameDev #IndieDev03 Aug 2026 14:41 +0000at://did:plc:pone5rvob26prpdnaimkw26e/app.bsky.feed.post/3ms6q6ktgrc2ihttps://bsky.app/profile/nobleheather.bsky.social/post/3mrpmpwyhhs2gMe: I'm looost😭 I'm trying to replace the old logic with the new one. Please help me figure out who does what. 📎1,200 lines GPT: Here's the edited file. 📎872 lines Me: You're kidding. *reading* You're not. Holy cow. I worship you🙇 Here are some offerings: 💾📼📀 #GameDev #IndieDev #programming #SoloDev28 Jul 2026 14:29 +0000at://did:plc:pone5rvob26prpdnaimkw26e/app.bsky.feed.post/3mrpmpwyhhs2ghttps://bsky.app/profile/nobleheather.bsky.social/post/3mrn45xphis2vMe: What if alien computers were quaternary? Coworker: ...What? Me: Like quantum computers, but with 2 more states Them: You do realize we're trying to SELL this game, right? Me: It would be fun alien lore, not science Them: ...And how are you planning to draw 4-dimensional lore? #GameDev #IndieDev [contains quote post or other embedded content]27 Jul 2026 14:28 +0000at://did:plc:pone5rvob26prpdnaimkw26e/app.bsky.feed.post/3mrn45xphis2vhttps://bsky.app/profile/nobleheather.bsky.social/post/3mrkkapfc6s2mIsn't that sound awesome? No idea what it is. Clearly alien technology 🤩 #GameDev #IndieDev #IndieGameDev #SoloDev #GameDesign #SoundDesign #AudioDesign26 Jul 2026 14:02 +0000at://did:plc:pone5rvob26prpdnaimkw26e/app.bsky.feed.post/3mrkkapfc6s2mhttps://bsky.app/profile/nobleheather.bsky.social/post/3mrhyi65lys2dMy friend, talking about historical tuning systems for his PhD: "...and if you listened to Bach or Beethoven in the temperament they originally wrote those pieces for, they'd sound dissonant to modern ears." Me: Ooooh! Alien music! 🤩 Them: Err... Me, taking notes: Do tell! #GameDev #GameDesign25 Jul 2026 13:38 +0000at://did:plc:pone5rvob26prpdnaimkw26e/app.bsky.feed.post/3mrhyi65lys2dhttps://bsky.app/profile/nobleheather.bsky.social/post/3mrfju5ywis2mMe: I have an idea. GPT: Here's how to expand it. 3h later conversation.txt = 3TB specifications.md = 5TB design234.png, design235.svg, design236.jpeg... Me: 😨 * GPT : That's a great idea! Me : Everything I say is always great if I listen to you. More critical thinking please. #GameDev #IndieDev24 Jul 2026 14:11 +0000at://did:plc:pone5rvob26prpdnaimkw26e/app.bsky.feed.post/3mrfju5ywis2mhttps://bsky.app/profile/nobleheather.bsky.social/post/3mrd7rt3mmc2sCoworker: Aren't we making the textile game after the alien archaeology one? Me, distracted: Mm-hmm. Them: Then why are you reading a book on tapestry? Me: Design! See? It says you should alternate solid-color areas with marled yarns to create visual rhythm. #GameDev #IndieDev #GameDesign [contains quote post or other embedded content]23 Jul 2026 16:06 +0000at://did:plc:pone5rvob26prpdnaimkw26e/app.bsky.feed.post/3mrd7rt3mmc2shttps://bsky.app/profile/nobleheather.bsky.social/post/3mraigzcid226Me: Why do I have this weird bug? GPT: Because Windows. * Windows™ : The answer to 42% of bugs throughout the galaxy. Subscribe now! #GameDev #IndieDev #IndieGameDev #Programming #DevLife #SoloDev22 Jul 2026 14:03 +0000at://did:plc:pone5rvob26prpdnaimkw26e/app.bsky.feed.post/3mraigzcid226https://bsky.app/profile/nobleheather.bsky.social/post/3mr5z437vyk23Me: If that alien has four fingers, he probably counts in base four? Coworker: ...Probably? Me, 2 days later: So if we rotate the triangle, that gives us 17. Then at 65 we can add a dot- Coworker: You do know we have 205 collectibles, right? Me: #GameDev #IndieGameDev #IndieDev #CreativeProcess21 Jul 2026 14:23 +0000at://did:plc:pone5rvob26prpdnaimkw26e/app.bsky.feed.post/3mr5z437vyk23https://bsky.app/profile/nobleheather.bsky.social/post/3mqyzp3zpsk23The accountant, reading my training request: "Harmony classes at the conservatory" ?🤨 Me: We're making a game with sound puzzles. It's legit Them: ...🙄 *approving my request anyway* * Next year, be prepared to hear me talk about HRTFs, ambisonics, reverb... :D #GameDev #IndieDev #GameDesign19 Jul 2026 14:50 +0000at://did:plc:pone5rvob26prpdnaimkw26e/app.bsky.feed.post/3mqyzp3zpsk23https://bsky.app/profile/nobleheather.bsky.social/post/3mqwqsqsi4s2w#GameDev #IndieDev #IndieGameDev #programming #DevLife #SoloDev18 Jul 2026 17:06 +0000at://did:plc:pone5rvob26prpdnaimkw26e/app.bsky.feed.post/3mqwqsqsi4s2whttps://bsky.app/profile/nobleheather.bsky.social/post/3mqrh2wkejk26Me: Wow, where did you get that tan? Holiday? Them: Uh... outside? It's been sunny and 35°C all week. Why are YOU still pale? Me: Has it? I was trying to match three textures in my game and somehow ended up watching all 159 Feng Zhu Design videos... #GameDesign #IndieDev #IndieGameDev #GameDev16 Jul 2026 14:28 +0000at://did:plc:pone5rvob26prpdnaimkw26e/app.bsky.feed.post/3mqrh2wkejk26https://bsky.app/profile/nobleheather.bsky.social/post/3mqjvo4r7ys26Coworker: What are you doing? Me: I've lost an icon. Coworker: Isn't that a bit excessive? Me, opening three more tabs: Not anymore. This is war. * The whole adventure on Substack : https://open.substack.com/pub/nobleheather/p/the-case-of-the-missing-icon?utm_source=share&utm_medium=android&r=6yf63i #GameDev #programming #IndieDev #IndieGameDev #DevLife13 Jul 2026 14:28 +0000at://did:plc:pone5rvob26prpdnaimkw26e/app.bsky.feed.post/3mqjvo4r7ys26https://bsky.app/profile/nobleheather.bsky.social/post/3mqf4d2gqzc23#GameDev #IndieDev #IndieGameDev #IndieGame #Programming11 Jul 2026 16:44 +0000at://did:plc:pone5rvob26prpdnaimkw26e/app.bsky.feed.post/3mqf4d2gqzc23https://bsky.app/profile/nobleheather.bsky.social/post/3mq5bxno5lc2eMe: Let's implement this feature. GPT: Shouldn't we do X and Y first? Me: No. We're doing it now because I said so. GPT: OK. Here's the list of everything we have to change. Me: ...Let's do it later. GPT: OK 😄 Me: **I resent that smiley😑** #GameDev #IndieDev #IndieGameDev #program08 Jul 2026 14:04 +0000at://did:plc:pone5rvob26prpdnaimkw26e/app.bsky.feed.post/3mq5bxno5lc2ehttps://bsky.app/profile/nobleheather.bsky.social/post/3mq2qztogrs22Me, designing an alien UI: 5min Googling "alien UI" 10min Cyan & anthracite? Boring. Let's do metal 1h Browsing CodePen 3h Asking GPT what the hell a shader is 1day Still looking up words from the answer (Extrusion???) 1week Somehow studying metallurgy Expected feature delay: ∞ #GameDev #GameDesign07 Jul 2026 13:55 +0000at://did:plc:pone5rvob26prpdnaimkw26e/app.bsky.feed.post/3mq2qztogrs22https://bsky.app/profile/nobleheather.bsky.social/post/3mpyb6jct7s26File Explorer: Loading new folder... Estimated remaining time: ∞ Me: *Learning Bash and moving my files by hand* #SoloDev #GameDev #Programming #IndieDev06 Jul 2026 14:06 +0000at://did:plc:pone5rvob26prpdnaimkw26e/app.bsky.feed.post/3mpyb6jct7s26https://bsky.app/profile/nobleheather.bsky.social/post/3mpvsklz5tc2bI'm still learning, ok ??! 😭😭😭 #GameDev #IndieDev #programming #DevLife #SoloDev05 Jul 2026 14:39 +0000at://did:plc:pone5rvob26prpdnaimkw26e/app.bsky.feed.post/3mpvsklz5tc2bhttps://bsky.app/profile/nobleheather.bsky.social/post/3mpt7zzabrs2xMe, carefully taking notes during a game dev talk: "Keep your scope small" "Cut features" "Ship early" Also me, five minutes after the end: What if we added all 15 features they just mentioned? Coworkers: No. Me: *Gollum eyes* #GameDev #IndieDev #programming04 Jul 2026 14:03 +0000at://did:plc:pone5rvob26prpdnaimkw26e/app.bsky.feed.post/3mpt7zzabrs2xhttps://bsky.app/profile/nobleheather.bsky.social/post/3mpqs7qo6xk2bOCR (Optical Character Recognition)is the technology that turns scanned pages or images into editable text #programming #SoloDev #DevLife03 Jul 2026 14:50 +0000at://did:plc:pone5rvob26prpdnaimkw26e/app.bsky.feed.post/3mpqs7qo6xk2bhttps://bsky.app/profile/nobleheather.bsky.social/post/3mpof44tnzk2yMe: Write it down in the shared doc please. GPT: *overwrites half the existing notes with the new info* Me: 😑 Right. I'm making a local document. * GPT: *code* Me: It doesn't compile. Did you read the API documentation? GPT: 😅 [repeat == ∞] #GameDev #DevLife #Programming02 Jul 2026 15:50 +0000at://did:plc:pone5rvob26prpdnaimkw26e/app.bsky.feed.post/3mpof44tnzk2yhttps://bsky.app/profile/nobleheather.bsky.social/post/3mplul24zt22zEveryone when I was young: "Why so many questions?!" Me, finally working somewhere people have answers: What if we added a cursor sonar when hovering over cards that trigger the vigilance state? Coworker: Ping symphony. That's one way to solve sound design, but— Everyone now: 😵‍💫👀❓️ #GameDev #DevLife01 Jul 2026 15:49 +0000at://did:plc:pone5rvob26prpdnaimkw26e/app.bsky.feed.post/3mplul24zt22zhttps://bsky.app/profile/nobleheather.bsky.social/post/3mpj64uo5zs2jHow I deal with "urgent" IRL pop-ups: Human: It's urgent! Me: Call 911! The police! The fire department! Human: ...What? No, I don't need— Me: Then it's not urgent. I'll get back to you when I get back to you 😘 (Love being my own boss) #soloDev #indieDev #gameDev30 Jun 2026 14:02 +0000at://did:plc:pone5rvob26prpdnaimkw26e/app.bsky.feed.post/3mpj64uo5zs2jhttps://bsky.app/profile/nobleheather.bsky.social/post/3mpgpd2ay7c23#gameDev #indieDev #indieGameDev #soloDev #programming [contains quote post or other embedded content]29 Jun 2026 14:31 +0000at://did:plc:pone5rvob26prpdnaimkw26e/app.bsky.feed.post/3mpgpd2ay7c23https://bsky.app/profile/nobleheather.bsky.social/post/3mpeejg3gr222#gameDev #indieDev #indieGameDev #soloDev #programming28 Jun 2026 16:13 +0000at://did:plc:pone5rvob26prpdnaimkw26e/app.bsky.feed.post/3mpeejg3gr222https://bsky.app/profile/nobleheather.bsky.social/post/3mpbnevd6z222Me: *re-explaining the context to GPT* GPT: *immediately understands and starts building on it* Me: Wow. They finally found a treatment for your Alzheimer's? GPT: It's called Dreaming... *starts to explain* Me: "Dreaming". Right. Didn't that show end pretty badly...? 👀 #Westworld #GameDev #SoloDev27 Jun 2026 14:13 +0000at://did:plc:pone5rvob26prpdnaimkw26e/app.bsky.feed.post/3mpbnevd6z222https://bsky.app/profile/nobleheather.bsky.social/post/3mp7a2ofnw22wMe: How do I make this text more interesting? 10min *Trying colors & fonts* 1h *Playing with shaders & text effects* 3h *Adding & tweaking animations* 7h *Redesigning the UI* 15h *Watching UX talks* 35h *Studying cinematography* ... (To be continued...) Expected deadline delay: ∞ #GameDev #DevLife26 Jun 2026 15:10 +0000at://did:plc:pone5rvob26prpdnaimkw26e/app.bsky.feed.post/3mp7a2ofnw22whttps://bsky.app/profile/nobleheather.bsky.social/post/3mp3u6hqfxc2bAI UX #1 GPT : You should probably use that logic here. Me: We're writing code. Don't tell me "probably". Check. You're stressing me out. * GPT: *changes its mind* Me: We went back and forth on this yesterday, you goldfish! #GameDev #DevLife #AI #Programming25 Jun 2026 06:59 +0000at://did:plc:pone5rvob26prpdnaimkw26e/app.bsky.feed.post/3mp3u6hqfxc2b