your pal Kaive

Bug fixing nightmare pre release

March 4, 2012 in Common Grounds, Games

I’ve read about ‘crunch time’ for game developers. I felt like I’ve been living it for the past year, (off and on,) but it wasn’t until this weekend that I finally witnessed the complete terror of it all.

It goes something like this:

– Put the order page link on the website to see it and test
– But still doing some work on it before an official release
– Some people buy it
— Explode in happiness.

Before officially announcing the release, I make some sales! It’s an incredible feeling, especially since I’ve been working in relative solitude, not knowing if anyone will care. Vindication, my friend! Wanted to rip off my shirt and run down the street screaming, “I did it! I did it! I DID IT!”

Then someone found some bugs. A sinking feeling kicks in. I fix them all within a hour or so, but while double-checking… I noticed a huge memory leak issue. Panic-mode activate! And that was my weekend in a nutshell.

I fixed it and the game runs like a champ, so much better than before. Crazy better.

For example: the game used to use an average of 160MB worth of memory as a baseline. Now, it only uses like 10 or so. A huge difference, especially in the sex scenes. They run as smooth as jelly lube. I’m telling you!

While this entire fiasco was my fault for putting it up for sale before I was ready, and it ruined all my plans for the weekend, I’m kind of glad it happened. I can sleep easy knowing the game’s ready for the big time. And the release will finally happen this week!

See you then~