YoBot: Percussive Maintenance – Devlog #1

The Idea (Where it all went wrong)

So, I wanted to make a physics-based base defense game. Something fast, something polished, something FUN. Naturally, my first thought? A yo-yo-wielding IT guy fighting off a robot apocalypse. I mean, obviously.

The game loop? Smack bots with a yo-yo, survive endless waves, build defenses, buy upgrades, and (hopefully) beat some bosses. Simple, right? 

(Narrator: It was not simple.)

And because I apparently enjoy suffering, I made it a physics-based, 2D, base defense, rogue-lite. 

The Planning Phase (A.K.A. The Illusion of Control)

Before diving into development, I did the responsible thing: I planned. I even set up a fancy Notion board, and everything!

I named the game YoBot: Percussive Maintenance because, well... you’re literally slapping computers with a yo-yo. What ELSE would I call it?

For the boss fight, I wanted something unique. Instead of just wailing on a big bad boss, I thought: "What if you could trap the boss with a string?" So, I made TinyBot—the cutest little death machine you've ever seen. My vision? A swarm of these tiny menaces that you could either whack or trap with your string. 

It all sounded great. Until I actually started coding.

Development Begins: (Null According to Plan)

To put it simply? It went horribly.

I spent an entire day just trying to get the player movement system to work. Like, what even is physics? Why does math hate me? Why did I choose a yo-yo as a weapon when I barely understand normal 2D movement?

At one point, I just went to bed early out of sheer frustration. Because when all else fails, sleep is the best debugging tool.

The next morning, I did something crazy: I played a video game. Apparently, I hadn’t done that in months (which should’ve been my first red flag). But I needed to destress and remember what makes a game actually fun.

Spoiler: Sound design and a solid core gameplay loop matter. My game? Did not have that yet.

So, with renewed determination (and caffeine), I got back to work.

Final Progress Report: (D's get Degrees)

Despite the initial chaos, I managed to knock out a ton of core systems:

✅ Enemy Spawning 

 ✅ Enemy & Player Damage 

 ✅ Base (Heart) Taking Damage 

 ✅ Particles on Hit (because who doesn’t love some juice? mmmmmmmmmmmmmmmm) 

 ✅ Upgrade System (Even though you're perfect the way you are)

 ✅ "Prestige System" (a fancy way of saying “Here's more enemies”)

 ✅ New Weapon Types (a.k.a. more damage go brrr) 

 ✅ Shop Window (Spend all ya dollar dollar bills!)

 ✅ Enemy AI (they now do things instead of just existing) 

 ✅ Lose Condition (which, let’s be honest, I experienced a lot myself)

What’s Next?

As much as I’d love to upload the game right now… yeah, it’s not ready.

I still need to:

🎵 Compose music 

 🎧 Add sound effects 

 🎨 Make actual good art (instead of my current “programmer art” special) 

 🕹️ Add animations 

 🏠 Make a logo & title screen 

 ⏸️ Pause menu & settings

You know… basic game things.

But hey, a demo is coming soon, and I’m also working on a video devlog, so stay tuned! Editing takes forever, but it’ll be worth it.

For now, back to smacking robots with a yo-yo.

-Atlas != Offline