This is the first post of my new project called "Nano Pet" or just "Nano" (might change name later), a virtual pet game for PC and Mobile. Since I decided to quit my job to have a go at the Indie life, I'm going to have a regular devlog here on itch. I'm not sure what the cadence of these logs will be, likely one ever 2 weeks. I'm on a holiday in Japan for three months, so I won't exactly be crunching on my game during this time. By the end of Q3 2019, I'm expecting to have a playable demo/build of my game with the most basic features. For now though, I'll just be posting pics & gifs.

About the Game

A little backstory: I got the idea for Nano sometime last year when I was playing with an old tamagotchi pet. I realized how simplistic old virtual pet games were, and wanted to see a virtual pet game with more complicated and engaging mechanics. Initially I had an idea for a virtual pet game where you are more engaged in the upbringing of your pet. For instance, I thought it would be interesting if you had to cook for your pet instead of simply choosing "Apple" or "Hamburger" for your pet. I spent more and more time thinking about what it takes for someone to raise another living being, which made me think about my own working-class parents. I wanted to incorporate the complications of parenthood with the struggle of making ends meet on multiple part-time/gig jobs (with no benefits).

Planned Features:

• Pet Care and Evolution - You'll be cooking, cleaning, playing with, and overall caring for your pet. Depending on how you raise your pet, they'll grow and evolve into different pet types. You also need to make sure your pet is well fed and getting regular doctor visits, or you may get a visit from the Nano Welfare Services. Give your pet a good life, and they'll surprise you in interesting ways.
• Real Time/Date Events - Nano Pet runs on  your local date and time, meaning your pet will run on your schedule. There will be daily/weekly events, as well as special yearly events.
• Cooking - A big part of Nano Pet is cooking for your pet. There are many different recipes for you to discover, and your pet will develop a taste for specific recipes and ingredients (and maybe allergies).
• Micro Jobs - To earn enough money to afford food, toys and gifts for your pet, as well as apartment rent/utilities, you'll need to work for FriendlyCo on micro jobs. Micro Jobs consists of mini-games and task, which change on a daily basis. 
• Bills and Bureaucracy - Part of raising your pet is dealing with weekly bills and check-ins with Nano Welfare Services. Dealing with these things can be a challenge, but there are many paths you can take to tackle unexpected hospital bills or a surprise food shortage.
• Ambient Story - While playing, you'll learn more about the world and society you live in via the news/updates, as well as FriendlyCo's role in you and your pet's life.

What I Have So Far

When I had this idea, I was already working full-time so I only able to work on this game late night and weekends. I worked on it very sparingly, and so far was able to create the following

This is a small Nano Pet bouncing a ball in your small apartment. I have a lot of the cooking mechanic implemented already, just need to create a LOT more possible recipes (I made a recipe creation tool, might write a blog post about that later). 

The computer that you work on is called the NANOCOM. I personally really don't like the UI in most mobile games, and since my last big project was a VR game, I've kinda fallen in love with in-world UI. Thats why all the UI in the game is going to be driven by your NANOCOM personal computer device. 70% of the stuff you do in Nano Pet will be on your NANOCOM, including your job, paying bills, shopping, cooking (as seen in that last gif), pet status, reading messages, etc. Your device moves around the house as needed, but will mostly rest on it's docking station by your pet's bed.

I've modeled a lot of things in the apartment already, but the appearance of things might change. I'm happy with the color palette, but I think it could use some tweaking & better utilization for things around the house.

Plan for the DevLog

Since I'll be in Japan until June, these logs are going to be kinda sporadic. I'll try to make at least one every couple of weeks. When I have more to show off, I'll write logs and updates on a more regular basis. I've never written a devlog before, but it seems like a good thing to do with a big project like this. Also, as soon as I told people I was going indie, five people asked me to link my devlog or dev blog, so I don't wanna let those five people down.

I'll try to focus my devlog on development progress, deep-dives into systems/tools/whatever I'm working on, influences and interests relating to my project, and other stuff. 

That's it for now. It's 10:40pm here in Osaka and I'm watching something on TV. I don't really know whats going on or what they're saying, but it's very dramatic nonetheless.

Bye for now.