PLEASE START US OFF BY INTRODUCING YOURSELF:
Hey there! I'm JacopoDev, a solo game developer from Poland! For years, I've been creating games as a hobby in game jams, but this time, I'm working on something much bigger and more special to me. 🧡🤎
TELL US ABOUT UNITY-CHAN
I'm creating a virtual girlfr- I mean, a virtual assistant and a friend! 😅
Unity-Chan: Desktop Companion is a blend of two types of games. On one side, we have a desktop mascot assistant who hangs around your screen, interacts with other windows, and chats with you. On the other, we have her virtual room, where we can spend time with her, play mini-games, and immerse ourselves in a cozy, sweet atmosphere. So either she visits your world on your desktop, or you visit hers in a virtual room!
The first idea came from early Neurosama Twitch streams (an AI streamer made by Vedal). In one of those streams Vedal made Neuro assist him during his coding session and I thought "hey, I'd like some AI friend to judge my code too!" 😂. Then with time the idea grew into creating more personal experience with making it a mascot on desktop and with her own place for us to visit.
HOW HAS THE DEVELOPMENT JOURNEY BEEN
This has been the most exciting and valuable learning experience I've had! To make a mascot interact with other Windows apps I had to learn using OS libraries and get creative with their limitations. Then there was the boom with generative AI and adding really fresh and unexplored things to the game.
WHICH GAME ENGINE DID YOU CHOOSE AND WHY?
As for the game engine my choice was obvious - it had to be Unity Engine! Not only did I have the most experience with it from hobby projects, but I also had professional experience with C#. And you know, Unity-chan is an official mascot of Unity Engine, it would be weird to do it in another one (but also hilarious, not gonna lie 😀)
WHAT'S BEEN YOUR BIGGEST DEVELOPMENT HURDLE SO FAR?
I quickly realized how many areas I lacked experience in or needed assets for—animations, 3D models, VFX, SFX. So it always is a tough decision to make: do I spend time learning to do it myself? Do I hire artist to create unique asset, or buy from asset store? Each choice has benefits of time vs. money vs. quality and being unique.
If I had to choose one thing most difficult to me, it would be marketing the game. It is so distant skill from my usual programming and tech skillset that I am basically learning it with this project.
ADVICE FOR FELLOW DEVS?
If you're a beginner developer, learn how to use Version Control Systems and keep your work with safe backups, nothing feels so bad as all work going to waste due to some accident.
The second is to plan and document everything—write down your tasks and any bugs you find. Not only it will give you a way to estimate time for features, it also gives easy way to document changelogs. And having lots of tasks moved to "Done" column feels so satisfying! 😊
ANY FINAL THOUGHTS?
Thank you for reading and good luck creating your own works! Have fun learning and remember to stay healthy too!
If you're interested in a more in-depth dev log of my game, I post updates on the game's Steam News page:
https://store.steampowered.com/news/app/2955310
-JacopoDev
❤️
Unity-Chan: Desktop Companion on Steam
