Alright, so today I’m gonna yap about my little “my life pet” project. It’s kinda dumb, kinda fun, and definitely a learning experience. Let’s dive in!
The Idea Sparked
It all started with boredom, plain and simple. I was scrolling through some design inspiration sites and saw a bunch of cute digital pets. Thought to myself, “Hey, I could probably whip something up like that.” Famous last words, right? But, I was determined.
Planning (Sort Of)
Okay, “planning” might be too strong of a word. More like scribbling down a few ideas on a napkin. I knew I wanted a simple pet that you could feed, play with, and maybe clean up after. Nothing too fancy, just a basic loop of needs and interactions. I decided to keep the art style super simple, like pixel art.
Diving into Development
I decided to use Python with Pygame because I’d messed with it before. First thing I did was set up the basic game window. Created a window, set the title, and got the main game loop running. That was the easy part.
Drawing the Pet
Next, I needed a pet! I went for a little blobby thing, just some colored squares making up a simple face. I spent way too long tweaking the colors and expression. Got the blob onto the screen and it was already kinda cute.
Adding Interactions
This is where things got a little hairy. I needed to make the pet react to stuff. I added buttons for “Feed,” “Play,” and “Clean.” When you click a button, the pet’s “hunger,” “happiness,” or “cleanliness” stats would change. I used some basic if/else statements to handle the logic. Click a button, a stat goes up or down, and the pet’s sprite changes slightly to reflect its mood.
Debugging Mayhem
Oh man, the bugs! I swear, every time I fixed one, three more popped up. The stats weren’t updating correctly, the sprites were glitching, and sometimes the whole thing would just crash. I spent hours staring at code, muttering to myself, and chugging coffee. But hey, that’s programming, right?
Polishing (A Little)
After wrestling with bugs for what felt like forever, I finally got the core gameplay loop working. I added some basic animations, like the pet “eating” when you feed it. And I tweaked the UI a bit to make it look less like a programmer vomited on the screen. It was still pretty basic, but it was functional!
The Final Result
So, “my life pet” isn’t exactly groundbreaking. It’s a simple little game, but it’s my simple little game. I learned a ton about game development, debugging, and the importance of planning (which I still kinda suck at).
Things I’d Do Differently
- Plan better: Seriously, a napkin sketch is not a design document.
- Use version control: Git would have saved me so much pain.
- Break it down: Tackle smaller chunks instead of trying to do everything at once.
Would I do it again? Absolutely! It was frustrating, but also super rewarding. And hey, now I have a virtual blob that depends on me. Kinda.
