The Nays Origins Devlog 8: The Final Game

I finished my Game Boy game, The Nays Origins! Though I know it was technically done during the previous dev log, I tied off loose ends and actually finished it up this time.

Here are a few final screenshots:

Now I'll get into the final dev log progress.

To start off, my friend Jinny playtested the game and only ran into one game-breaking bug. It was one that would randomly happen so I haven't tracked down why that is. But she was able to restart and progress. While she was playtested, I watched and took some notes. I was able to fix up all of the notes and nothing major had to be implemented.

So at that point, I did a final export and put it on the Game Boy cartridge for the last time. I also made a web build of the game and tested that so it can be played in the browser on itchio. I made the itchio page and created some custom assets to brand the page as well.

Then I printed out the final versions of all of the physical parts. I went to FedEx and had the instruction manual, box art, and sticker all printed. I wanted to make sure it looked polished and the printer in my apartment just wasn't doing it. So Jinny helped me cut out the pieces while we were there and then I was able to fit the final box art into the case!

I also printed a bunch of versions of the sticker page and landed on one that I liked the most. I stuck it onto the EZ Flash Junior cartridge and fit it into the case. It's starting to look official!

Then I put the instruction manual together. At first I was having trouble figuring out how to staple it properly so it wouldn't be bound too unevenly. Eventually I found this video that helped me figure out the method I needed to use. I used a push pin to poke holes where the staples would go, then I took apart two staples to fit them in, and pushed them back into place with an eraser. And then the book was bound together and finished! And it fits perfectly into the case.

And from there, everything was finished and ready to go! I uploaded the instruction manual online here.

Then I took a bunch of photos and then wrapped it up to give to my brother for Christmas.

So overall this was a really fun project and I feel very accomplished. I learned a lot and am excited for what's next. I plan to make a dev log video at some point to talk about my entire process all in one video, to summarize and show it all. This has been a fun journey talking about my process through blog posts though! I hope you enjoyed reading these.