ztier

I’ve finally started my very first game, and everything is going great... or at least, I thought it was. 

As I continued with my development, I’ve started to notice strange things happening—things I can’t quite explain. I’m not sure if it’s a bug or something... more.

What started off as a simple passion project is quickly becoming something I never expected, and I can't shake off this feeling that I might not be the one controlling the game anymore.

I’ll be documenting every step of my journey in this logbook. If you'd like to join me, feel free to do so.

Developer Journal

[Devlog — February 13, 2025 – 10:40 PM]

First order of business: I removed every single print command from the code and closed the console.

I am not dealing with that.

I don't care if it was some weird leftover debug message, a function call I forgot about, or just my brain playing tricks on me after too many sleepless nights. Maybe it was a glitch. Maybe it wasn't. Either way, I don't want to see it. It's gone now. The console is off. End of story.

I told myself I'd focus on actual development today. Not on elias. Not on the console. Just on the game itself.

I never planned for him to be anything more than a minor NPC—just a kid in the starting village, someone to give the player a bit of world-building and an optional side quest. But something about him stuck with me. Is it because his previous incarnation was something and he isn't?

Well, maybe it's because I put more effort into him than I usually do with background characters. After all, he started as a simple, functional character, but as I worked, I kept adding details. A sharper tone in his dialogue, a past that hinted at something bigger, small quirks that made him feel more alive. Before I knew it, he had presence.

And the more I worked on him, the more I felt like he shouldn't just stay in the starting village.

So, I made a decision: I'd bring him back.

I gave him a reason to appear outside the village, adjusted his dialogue to match, and tweaked his interactions to fit his expanded role. I liked the idea of him having unfinished business, something that tied him to the world beyond his original purpose.

And for a while, it was normal. Everything worked as intended.

Earlier, I ran the game. Loaded up the new scene.

Seth's event triggered. He spoke his lines, the conversation played out exactly as scripted. Nothing out of place.

At first, I thought maybe I forgot to assign his exit path. A simple mistake. I made a note to check the script later and moved on.

I worked on other things for a few hours, tweaking mechanics, adjusting some UI elements. Eventually, I circled back.

The event played, he said his lines, he turned like he was about to walk away.

It was barely noticeable. A fraction of a second longer than he should have paused. The kind of thing most players wouldn't even catch.

And then, instead of leaving, he turned back.

Toward the player character.

I watched, waiting to see if he would reset, if he would eventually walk away. He didn't. He just stood there, facing the player, frozen in place.

The game wasn't crashed. I could still move, interact with the world, open menus. But he wouldn't budge.

I opened the script file immediately, expecting to see some kind of error. A broken pathing variable, an event flag left in the wrong state. Something.

Thought about how, just hours ago, I told myself that Seth was normal. That I wasn't dealing with weird behavior today. That, for once, I could just work.

No. That's stupid. It's code. It doesn't react to thoughts. It doesn't have intent.

But the timing—the timing.

I stared at my screen for a long moment, debating whether to go back in and test it again.

>> Possible causes: Event triggers not working? Delay in system response? Something else is bothering again?

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