Game devlog template

Game devlog template

A devlog is a record of your game as it changes. It builds an audience slowly, gives your testers a reason to come back and lets you remember in a year what you did and why. The trick is making it small enough to keep doing.

Pick a cadence you can keep when work gets busy: every two weeks, or after each milestone. A short post on time is better than a long one that never gets written. If you miss one, post the next one anyway, with no apology.

Wherever your players already are: your game’s page, a community you’re part of or a newsletter. Keep your own copy of every post somewhere you control, so a platform changing doesn’t erase your history.

Game devlog template: part 1

• Show, don’t describe. One screenshot or a short clip beats three paragraphs.
• Say what changed. “Added a sprint” is a note. “You can now sprint, which changes how the first level plays” is a story.
• Include a problem. What went wrong and how you fixed it is the part other developers share.
• End with what’s next. It gives readers a reason to return.

Game devlog template: part 2

• # [Game title] devlog [number]: [one line on the main thing]
• [Screenshot or short clip]
• ## What changed
• - [Thing 1, and what it means for the player]
• - [Thing 2]
• - [Thing 3]
• ## A problem we hit
• [What went wrong, what you tried and what worked. Keep it honest and short.]
• ## What I'm working on next
• - [Next 1]
• - [Next 2]
• ## Try it
• [Link to the latest build, or how to join the playtest.]
• ## Tell me what you think
• [One specific question: "Is the first jump too floaty?" gets more replies than "Thoughts?"]