Day 15: The UI Grind - Making Progress Visible
Hey everyone! Today's been one of those development days where tons of work happens but it doesn't feel like much because... well, UI work.
The Tedious Reality of UI Development 📚
While I don't have a lot of visual progress to show (the screenshot is literally all you can visually see), I've been deep in what feels like the most tedious part of game development - the UI systems. The save/load functionality has been working for a while now, but it was just console commands and debug keys. F5 to save, F9 to load - functional but not exactly player-friendly.
So today I've been building an actual interface to make it look clean and integrated into the game world. I decided to go with a spellbook theme - because why have boring menu screens when you can have a magical tome? Each section is a different page with bookmark tabs sticking out the sides. The inventory page, save/load page, settings - they're all going to be different pages you flip through.
The Invisible Mountain of Code 🏔️
Here's the thing about UI programming that I'm learning - it's hard for me to feel like I've actually accomplished anything until I see it represented in the world. Even though the coding takes much longer than any other part of this process, it's all invisible backend stuff. Today alone I wrote:
That's so many of lines of code, multiple scripts, event systems, references... and what do I have to show for it? Some bookmarks on a book.
Making Peace with the Process 🎮
I like the coding side of things - really, I do. There's something satisfying about architecting a clean system that just works. But there's this disconnect between the effort put in and the visible result. When I added the slime enemy on Day 2, boom - immediate visual feedback. Little guy bouncing around. Today? Hours of work for... tabs.
But here's what I keep reminding myself: this UI work is important. Nobody wants to play a game where you can only save through console commands. The polish matters. The user experience matters. Even if it's not as exciting as adding new spells or enemies.
Small Victories ✨
At least now there's something I can see, which makes progress feel more achieved. The spellbook opens when you press Tab. The bookmarks are there, waiting to be clicked. The save/load page exists (even if it's mostly empty boxes right now). It's starting to look like an actual game interface instead of a development prototype.
Tomorrow I'll probably spend more time on this - adding the actual save slot displays, making the transitions smoother, maybe even getting that page-turn animation working. It's not the most exciting work, but it's necessary work.
The Learning Curve 📖
One thing I'm realizing is that UI work has its own entire set of considerations I never thought about:
It's a whole different mindset from "make spell go boom."
Still, progress is progress, even when it's mostly invisible backend stuff. The save system works, the UI framework is in place, and slowly but surely, Mystic Valley is becoming more of a real game and less of a collection of systems.
Anyone else find UI work weirdly unsatisfying despite being crucial? How do you stay motivated during the tedious parts?
MysticValley.games
Did you like this post? Tell us
Leave a comment
Log in with your itch.io account to leave a comment.