What happens when a glitch in the Matrix cause a catastrophic corruption and complete loss of project?

Learned a very hard lesson about Unity metadata and GitHub compatability today....Suffice to say, I will NEVER make the mistake of trusting the Unity+GitHub combo again.

Last night, I went to bed, riding high. I had solved the hardest challenge in my project, and had very little left. I was completely confident that I would be submitting the MVP (minimum viable project) version to my first game jam and was only unsure about how much polishing I would be able to finish.

Today, FOOL'S GOLD does not currently exist. 💔 It's still hard to accept. I put my heart into this game jam and FOOL'S GOLD, and this turn of events almost seems surreal.

I don't want to get into a lengthy technical explanation of what happened, and I'm honestly still feeling pretty deflated from the experience. Basically, using GitHub as a form of version control for Unity projects, not only just doesn't work correctly, but apparently when there is an issue, fixing it how GitHub is designed to "fix" these issues, with Unity, actually makes them worse. 

Unity and GitHub Killed Kenny...Those Bastards!

As I desperately researched how to salvage my game, after about 3 hours of panic, research, trial and error, and even a friend helping try to find a solution, it became clear that this would not be able to be "fixed". The game files are corrupted, both in the online backup and on my local machine. Literally, it's all as good as vaporized. 😞

While this was a crushing blow, it's still a learning experience. Now I know for the future how to safeguard against this possibility, as well as being able to share with others how to not make this same mistake.

If it wasn't for the Game Jam component, and the fact I was really stoked at the quality of game I was on track to submit, the painful disappointment would at least be lessened. The fact that I was so close to really knockin' it out of the park, on my first game jam, with my first from-scratch original game, all my project management...it's definitely a hard blow. 

However, my personal goals for this Game Jam were to make my own original game and to not give up. Most game jammers quit or don't finish the jam, and I even briefly thought about throwing in the towel at moments. 

But I didn't. And I made an awesome game I'm really proud of, even if no one got to play it. 💗

At first I was going to give up on the jam, as I had work today and the submissions are due in about 34 hours. What can I do? Remake the game? 

..........

What if I remake the game?

Crazy idea right? I mean I literally can't make the MVP version (polished or not lol) in that time, but...maybe I could piece together a demo? You're thinking, if everything is lost, how can I even make a demo in that time? Well, how lucky for me I happened to make a devlog. 😉 And while I can't access my project or files, I can at least view the actual code I created, all that hard logic and problem-solving work, can be somewhat salvaged thank God. 

Between the game logic already being coded (I can "copy and paste" from the code from GitHub as I can at least view the code files in that way) and the screenshots from this devlog, I have about 90% of the blueprint to remake the game as it was.

But in 36 hours? Not likely. I already had a few all-nighters this week (Redbull should sponsor Game Jams haha), so I need my sleep. Plus, there's no way I'm going to feel that kind of "creative fire" motivation when I'm just trying to rebuild it as fast as I can, versus actually enjoying the game development process. 

I will spend the remaining time in the game jam piecing together a "demo/test version" of FOOL'S GOLD. While it feels like a punch to the gut submitting such a stripped-down version of my game, I know it'll feel a lot better than just walking away and not submitting anything at all. 🎮

While it won't be the FOOL'S GOLD that I was 100% on track to submit, it'll still allow me to accomplish my goals. And as much as I didn't want to write this update lol, it's been cathartic in a way. This devlog has been great, and something I plan to do for all video games I build. 

This whole experience has been amazing, even with this pitfall. I couldn't be happier that I took on this challenge. I learned so much, and I look forward to joining another game jam again soon.

..........

FUTURE OF FOOL'S GOLD: 

I will finish the POLISHED MVP version of FOOL'S GOLD in the coming weeks. Sadly, due to life responsibilities and my actual work lol, I can't work on FOOL'S GOLD, or any game for that matter, in the way I could this week. Had planned a lot ahead of the game jam for optimal efficiency, and I was able to fully clear my schedule.

Also, programming at this pace is not sustainable haha. I hope to rebuild the version that was on track to be submitted for the game jam, hopefully within the next 2-4 weeks. I have a lot of things outside of game development (sadly lol) going on at the moment, so I'll have to work on it in my spare time, which is more realistic for long-term indie game dev projects anyway. 😋

While I'm certainly still fairly bummed, I've decided to focus on how cool it'll be when I can (finally) show my friends the game...even if it'll be a rebuilt version of the original. I will make the game the same way it would've been for the game jam, and will wait till after that iteration before adding more features or making the next version of FOOL'S GOLD.

I've decided to keep this devlog going. Not only is it really cool to interact with and help other game devs, but I'm just so happy it exists right now lol. It's the only record of all the work I've done. It would be truly devasting if there was absolutely nothing left. I'm grateful for the pieces I was able to recover. 

I will continue this devlog for FOOL'S GOLD as I remake it and beyond. It might be delayed, but FOOL'S GOLD will live again soon, even if that means I have to Frankenstein it back together!  😂