Devlog

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🧠 DevLog #4 – The Camera Saga

Welcome back!

This past week was all about the camera — and not in a cinematic, dramatic, “look at this beautiful shot” kind of way.
More like “why is the robot vanishing off-screen while the camera stares into the void” kind of way.

🎥 The Camera… Situation

What started as a small fix turned into a full-blown side quest.

  • The camera wasn’t moving
  • Then it moved too late
  • Then it moved weirdly
  • Then it shook for no reason at all
  • And then it just… stopped responding altogether

I tested it.
I tweaked it.
I fixed it.
Then I broke it again.
Then I fixed it better.

I think the camera and I have finally reached a mutual understanding: it follows the robot, and I stop threatening to delete it from the project.

✅ What’s Working Now

  • Smooth camera follow behavior
  • Snappy framing on movement
  • No weird jitter or lag
  • And most importantly: the robot is back in view like it’s supposed to be

It’s not fancy, but it works — and right now, that’s enough.

🔄 What’s Next

Now that the camera isn’t fighting me every step of the way, I’m heading back to the level loader.
There’s still a lot to add — support for multiple robots, switches, gates, and all the logic to tie it together — but having a stable view makes it way easier to debug and design.

Next up:

  • Expand layout options
  • Improve internal wall handling
  • Start placing real game elements in levels
  • Try not to break the camera again in the process

🙃 Final Thought

Some weeks you build features. Some weeks you fix features you thought were already built. This was definitely the second kind.

The camera’s back on track. The robot’s visible again. Time to get back to building puzzles.

– Chris

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🧠 DevLog #3 – Breaking It Down to Build It Right

Hey folks, and welcome back!

This week was all about the level loader. I’ve got big plans for it, and if I want to keep this game flexible and future-proof, it has to be rock solid. So instead of layering on complexity, I decided to tear it all the way down — and rebuild it in the simplest terms possible.

🧱 The Plan: From Corners to Chaos

I started with the basics:

4 corners

4 straight walls

Then extended versions of those walls

Then L-shaped rooms

And eventually… rooms with walls inside of them

Everything had to click together like a digital Lego set — and after some trial and error (and more grid counting than I care to admit), it’s finally shaping up the way I imagined.

Perfection? Not yet. But directional perfection? Absolutely.

🚪What About Robots, Gates, Switches?

Once I had the room structure working, I was excited to start adding gameplay elements — placing in the robot, a gate, maybe even a working switch…

That’s when I noticed something odd.

The camera wasn’t moving.

No tracking. No shake. No flash. Just a stoic, silent observer in the wrong corner of the map.

Turns out, somewhere along the way, the camera logic gave up and walked off the job. So that’s my next mission: convince the camera to follow the robot again without staging a full-scale rebellion.

🎯 What’s Next

Fix camera tracking (or start a new religion around the corner of the map)

Finish phase one of the level loader

Begin placing interactive elements again (and make sure they still behave!)

Maybe — just maybe — get a proper test level loaded and playable

🙃 Final Thought

Some weeks are about cool features. Others are about foundational work that no one will ever see — but everyone will feel. This was the second kind.

Here’s to a week of structure, setbacks, and slow but steady progress. The robot’s not the only one learning how to navigate a maze.

– Chris

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🧠 DevLog #2 – Foundations First

Hey folks, and welcome back!

This past week has been a little less about moving robots around and a lot more about laying the foundations to actually finish this game the right way. It’s not the most glamorous part of development, but it’s absolutely necessary.

🧰 What I’ve Been Working On

🖥️ Website Overhaul – I gave imaginebeyond-games.com some much-needed love, including setting up this DevLog section. It’s officially the home base for all game updates from here on out.

📚 Business Planning – I’ve been focusing heavily on getting the business side of things in order — writing a full business plan, planning out next steps, and making sure Imagine Beyond Games has a real shot at long-term success.

🧩 Game Design Document – Progress here too: fleshing out the core systems, puzzle mechanics, and robot behavior so I have a solid blueprint to work from as development ramps up.

🐦 Twitter (X) Setup – I’m not usually big on social media, but I’ve set up a Twitter account for quick updates, screenshots, and dev thoughts. If you like seeing confused robots (and mildly confused devs), it’ll be a good time.

🛠️ Level Editor Polish – I managed to squeeze in a little work on the level editor inside Unity — not as much as I would’ve liked, but some progress is better than none. The custom room-building tools are already making prototyping way faster.

📌 What’s Coming Next

  • Continue refining the business plan and design doc
  • More level editor improvements
  • Prepping the first playable rooms
  • Getting the robot ready to show off publicly

🙃 Final Thought

Game dev sometimes means writing more documents than code — and that’s okay.
Every piece of planning I finish now is a piece of chaos I won’t have to deal with later.

Thanks for sticking around while I build the unsexy but essential side of the project.
Next week, I’m hoping for a little more action and a little less paperwork.

– Chris

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🧠 DevLog #1 – So… I’m Actually Making a Game

Hey there, and welcome to the very first devlog for my mobile puzzle game — name pending, robot approved.

This is something I’ve wanted to do since I was a kid glued to Super Mario Bros. on the NES. I’ve worked in software development for years, earned a degree in Game Design along the way, and spent more time than I’ll admit just “tinkering” in Unity. But now? I’m really doing it.

🔧 What I’m Building

This game is a free-to-play mobile puzzle game where you control a small robot and navigate hand-crafted rooms filled with logic-based challenges — switches, gates, obstacles, and whatever else I cook up between coffee breaks. No timers, no lives to refill, no shady ads every 3 seconds. Just puzzles and chill robot vibes.

I’m aiming for something smart, clean, and satisfying — a game that respects your time and doesn’t shove monetization in your face. There might be optional ads, and maybe a way to buy extra hints or lives, but those features will never be the core of the game. You’ll be able to pay once to remove ads forever if you want to. Fair and simple.

🛠️ What’s Done So Far

So far, I’ve got:

  • A working movement system for the robot
  • A grid-based room structure that supports obstacles and interactive elements
  • Prefabs for switches, gates, and goals
  • Level loading from text files (so I can design quickly and flexibly)
  • A basic non-rectangular room layout system that will let me make weird, interesting puzzles

Right now, the robot can walk, bump into stuff, and get confused. Same, buddy.

🧪 What’s Next

  • Finish the prototype before May 1st
  • Launch a one-week Kickstarter to raise $4,500 so I can keep working full-time on the game
  • Set up a community Discord where backers and players can help name the game, suggest ideas, and test early builds

💬 A Question for You

Would you rather see the robot with wheels, legs, or some kind of floaty hover system?
I’ve got a soft spot for hover-bots, but I’m open to being outvoted.

🙌 Thanks for Reading

This devlog is going to be pretty chill. I’ll post updates here each week (or when something big happens), and I’ll keep it honest — the wins, the bugs, the coffee-fueled code sprees. If you’re into that kind of thing, stick around.

Thanks for being here. Let’s see where this robot goes.

– Chris

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