On the Anniversary: Lessons Learned from Developing “The Nameless: Slay Dragon ”

The Nameless

Slay Dragon has now been live for a full year since its launch on September 26, 2024!

There's a saying in the game

"Learn from the past, forge the path to the future"

So what lessons did I learn from developing this game?

First, a rather serious issue: the game's UI. The code was extremely messy, making it exceptionally difficult to add new features. For instance, countless players suggested implementing batch alchemy and crafting for our game's systems. However, achieving this would require a complete rewrite of the entire UI code—something I never dared attempt due to the high risk of introducing new bugs. I must sincerely apologize to the players here and assure you that I will not make the same mistake again in the future.

Second, I underestimated the complexity of UI design. I commissioned an artist friend to create the UI assets, but he had to stop midway due to unexpected hospitalization. I finished the remaining half myself, piece by piece, and later hired someone else to complete the rest. The final result was subpar—I had underestimated the complexity required to achieve both aesthetic appeal and practical functionality. Future projects will prioritize UI development.

Third, Online collaboration lacks accountability. While I worked full-time on the game, all other tasks were completed through remote teamwork. During art resource optimization, our ability to make significant adjustments was limited, resulting in subpar overall visual quality. Future projects will incorporate in-person collaboration and focus more heavily on enhancing artistic presentation.

Fourth, I initially assumed my game's audience would consist of players with prior RPG experience. Consequently, difficulty settings and tutorials were designed assuming this baseline. However, a significant portion of players were unfamiliar with classic RPG mechanics and content. This led to insufficient consideration for newcomers in both difficulty scaling and tutorial design. Future games will incorporate more accessible difficulty options and detailed system explanations.

Fifth, The game lacks QOL. Its UI operations feel outdated, failing to provide more user-friendly functions, which makes it less modern in terms of usability. More people care about this than I anticipated. Future updates will focus on enhancing functionality and UI usability.

Sixth, there was a significant miscalculation in project timelines. Initial estimates projected one year for development, later revised to two or three years, but the final completion took six years. Humans struggle to accurately gauge the time required for untested endeavors. Moving forward, when developing games, we should adopt conservative time estimates for uncharted features while relying on past experience for familiar content.

Finally, we must acknowledge the game's strengths and continue building upon them:

The core gameplay experience fully achieved its intended goals, refined to perfection without compromise. Moving forward, we will continue to avoid compromising on the core experience.

Cost control: My ability to continue making games today stems entirely from effective cost management. Without this discipline, millions could have been spent, leaving us still struggling to recoup costs. Future projects will see increased investment, but cost control will remain stringent.

The narrative is exceptionally well-crafted—a story I'm deeply satisfied with. While it may still feel raw as a commercial product, it stands as a mature artistic work. Future storytelling will retain its serious undertones; we won't chase trends just for popularity.

The level design is solid. While later stages required serious brainstorming to maintain freshness, the final designs turned out quite satisfying. Moving forward, I'll strive to learn and create even more engaging levels.

This concludes my project summary for The Nameless: Slay Dragon . I remain committed to crafting more enjoyable games in the future.