Cadence 2019 Update

This is probably the 3rd time I've attempted to write this post. So, lest we hit number 4, I’ll get to the point:

Cadence isn't dead, nor is it coming at any great speed. Previously I've struggled with this contradiction, because long stretches without anything to show is a terrible way to build an audience, especially in 2019 with so many outstanding games to choose from.

And let's be honest, I've been bad at posting updates. Like laughably, hilariously bad. Apologies! At times it’s been hard to find the right words, because no matter how I dressed them it felt like making excuses. But of course it’s better to own the situation!

So here we are: I’m solo indie dev working a day job. Staying sane, healthy and fulfilled are important values to me. After six years I understand my own limits well, and working long weekends is often a daring dance right on the edge of burnout. I have often thought about if I should hang up my hat and call it a day - but every single time I can’t shake the belief that there is something special here, something the world deserves to see. Even if it only reaches a few people, the off chance I might forever change someone’s creative trajectory is the thing that keeps me going.

I think back to my time working on the block building game Terratech as an example of community engagement done well. A new update every six weeks, weekly twitch streams, an engaged core of long term early access players, new players constantly trickling in. Despite the speed bumps, open development cycles where players and developers contribute together can be a beautiful thing. This is always where I wanted to Cadence to land.

However as I sit here, in my literal bedroom, I have to admit I was overly optimistic about being able to reach this sustained pace of development. Even with a team of more than 20 people Terratech received accusations of being dead during the quieter periods. This is the world we live in now, triple-A companies run brutal update schedules to keep gamers engaged amongst a sea of choice.

And so I started to shy away from Early Access: there's no point gathering feedback if you don't have the capacity to respond, because that's kind of the same thing as not listening. It really pains me to think I'd take people's money without giving them their money's worth. Stalling on release was safe way to ensure I wasn't ripping anyone off.

Unfortunately the collateral damage meant I sailed past all my release dates (the first one was as far back as 2015). Even though no one's money was on the line, each time eroded trust and dampened peoples’ faith. In fairness, not even I could have ever imagined it would take this long.

With the benefit of hindsight though I have confidence in my choices. Working a day job protected me from financial ruin, especially if the game flops. It also gave me room to be more creative and solve very difficult design problems. The Cadence of 2019 is barely recognisable as the same Cadence of 2016.

In July the game was one of ten finalists in the indie showcase at Develop Brighton. Despite getting annihilated by bedbugs in my dodgy hotel room (never say the indie lifestyle is glamorous), it was incredibly exciting to show the game for the first time in three years. I’m really happy with the result, the game played well. But there is still much to do!

After the back-to-the-drawing board reset in 2017, it was clear my placeholder programmer graphics had reached the end of their usefulness. Over the last few months I’ve been working on a visual refresh and getting the art closer to its final form. I’ve also been modernising from my ancient Unity 32 bit project to the latest 64bit Unity version. This process was quite painful, but means I’m once again able to release on all my intended platforms.

Also I’ve officially ended my working relationship with Rodain, one of my original collaborators. Rodain’s life has been on a journey of many parts and has moved well past Cadence. Pragmatically this had been the status quo for a few years, and it was past time for us to formalise this fact. The whole process was very amicable, and I wish Rodain nothing but the best. It’s no threat to development either because, as explained, this is already how things have been for a while now.

Going forward I would like to a bit more transparent about the work I’m doing on Cadence. Starting today you can join The Official Cadence Discord Server. I don't know how much I'll be able to hang out, but I realised a killer feature is the ability to add automation and bots. Even if you don’t hear from me very often, at least the bots can show you what I'm up to.

One example is the git bot. Git, a version control software, has a record of every single change since the first line of code. This means each time I submit a new change a discord channel gets notified and you know I’m still working on the game. There will be quiet periods when life gets in the way, and that’s okay. Life is important too.

Secondly, I've said before that I wanted people to start beta testing. Discord is the perfect place to coordinate this effort. Starting on the 11th November 2019 I'm going to start distributing some test keys. It will be very small scale for now, but I've run out of excuses, it’s time to let people play!

So does this mean the game is done or coming soon? Well not quite. The essence of the game is absolutely there, as has been for a while. However there's still a long laundry list of polish and bug fixes needed for a commercial release. Take for example saving user progress: without it you can still understand the game and play levels, but it’s something every released game in the last 20 years should have. In a world where I had more time I could imagine these features going quickly, however I’ve learnt not to trust such assumptions. Perhaps the only honest thing I can say is it's closer than it's ever been before, and it will be done when it's done.

And to those of you've been following the project for a long time kept the faith, all I can say is thank you!

Hope to see you over in the Discord