Hello again! Welcome back to the monthly devlog for ‘Oops! You’re the Hero!’ I hope you've been doing well, we’re getting to the best time of the year [in my opinion] - autumn! I’m very excited to pull out my jackets and jump into spooky season with warm drinks. Trust, I love my iced chai, but there’s something magnificent when I make the switch to hot. I hope you're also looking forward to the changing of the seasons! 

Let’s talk some house keeping. This devlog, I wanted to focus on how Artificium itself has been going, and what it’s been like running it in the current environment. I think it’s one thing to make a game solo [which is incredibly hard to do], but making it under a studio name and adding people has been a different beast entirely. 

So how do you work with that? 

Side note, I write these devlogs out by hand before typing them out, and I started this one and took a break in the middle of it. Reading back, I was about to get spicy in my takes, so I rewrote the whole thing. Past Kit does not make this easy for present and future Kit. 

With a new set of eyes, let’s talk about running a studio. 

First things first? I’m the realest. 

Second! The studio and the name it’s making for itself. Artificium has been going for over a year now, and is absolutely not run like a traditional game-making studio. It’s not a day job for any of the people who work on the project; I work full-time at another job, and the others also pick up other work as well. It’s fully remote, and asynchronous, meaning everyone works at their own pace and delivers on deadlines that are set between people, with the understanding that it’s alright if it shifts around. I know some places live and die by the Gantt chart, and that it would be crazy to do in a more "profesh" environment, but here’s how I view it: 

1. I already planned in the timeline to have way more time to work on things because thinking everything will run smoothly is crazy
2. Things happen. All the time. And it’s ok if a deliverable date needs to move because: 
3. It’s a video game. They’re great and amazing to make, but it’s not the end of the world if a release date has to be adjusted. 

And yes, I’m lucky to be able to think like this and adjust on the fly in these scenarios. More official game studios may not have the luxury to do that, with full-time salaries to pay and publisher deadlines to fulfill. Artificium doesn’t have investors or publishers. Maybe one day? Eh. Would it be nice to do this full time and be able to have others doing it as well? Of course! That’s the goal, and it’ll get there, but right now is an opportunity to lay the foundation. 

So for now, a schedule that allows people to work at their own pace, in their own space, trusting them in their proven abilities. 

And they’ve gone above and beyond! I’ve spoken a lot about the composer and the 3D artist, but I’m proud to say there have been two more additions to the project! Please, show some love to: 

Victor! Who is taking over the SFX for the rest of the game

And 

Paige! Who is leading in the 3D animations for our monsters

As always, I’ll put their portfolios here so you can check them out. They have already been so amazing, and I cannot wait for you to see what they’re working on. 

So while they’re out doing the real work, what is the studio up to? Where does it continue? 

On one hand, development continues! As the game stands, the 3rd level is in progress, and the 4th is being started. It’s crazy to think that there’s really only one more level to go, and then it’s just focusing on the release. 

But on the non-development side, there’s the outreaching side. One of the biggest things “LinkedIn Experts” have been stressing about is the importance of building a community that surrounds an indie game. While I’ve been posting weekly updates on socials, marketing itself is like taking on a whole other full-time job. I have the utmost respect for social media managers and what they constantly do. 

I’ve also been at work tossing around a few other ideas. First, I’m planning out an official website for the studio that makes navigation much easier. Second, I’ve been tossing around the idea for a while about a Discord or something similar for people to connect and maybe get a more personal view of what it looks like to make the game. However, I can’t let go of the idea of it not just being for the studio, but as a way for developers to connect and have a space they can create with each other. I’m not too sure if something like that would fall under a “studio space” umbrella, but hey, we could just do things here. However, I also know there’s like a million other places that do this, so who knows. 

Overall, running Artificium has been a ride. While not conventional in any way shape or form, I think it actually matches the ‘nonconventional’ times in the current industry. 

Would I recommend doing something like this? 

Do what you want. I think rules and processes and the “right way” to run a studio is blown out of the water. If studios can ghost, mismanage, and replace people with foolish “AI” for the sake of money, I’d say fight back. Make something that goes against what businesses want to consider “normal” now. 

But don’t listen to me haha. 

We focus on the good here. Building each other up and giving people opportunities. Which is why! Go give these amazing people a look and a follow! 

Paige: https://pnthorsen17.wixsite.com/my-site

Pedro: https://pedrofigueiredo.artstation.com/albums/2133675

Guilherme Alexander: https://www.guigagliardo.com/

Victor: https://www.lemondropmusic.com/

Me: https://linktr.ee/katiea_athanatosdev

The Studio: 

Bluesky:  https://bsky.app/profile/artificiumgames.bsky.social

Twitter:  https://twitter.com/ArtificiumG

The Game: 

Itch:  https://athanatos-dev.itch.io/oops-youre-the-hero

Steam: https://store.steampowered.com/app/3166160/Oops_Youre_the_Hero/?beta=0

Thank you so much for reading, and for tagging along on this adventure <3 

• Kit