Mike Aprile

Marketing, Sports, Video Games // Growth @ aytm // Content @SleeperHQ // The Narrative Dept Grad // UE5 Indie Dev

[Mike Aprile @_maprile]

The past eight weeks have felt like the busiest of my life, but I’m proud to say I pushed through and accomplished something I’ve had on my list for a long time. I’m a @narrativedept graduate!

[Mike Aprile @_maprile]

i remember when i was a kid learning how to play drums and how frustrating it was at the start. i almost gave up so many times, and then one day it just clicked and it became easy

i think i’ve reached that breakthrough point with unreal

[Mike Aprile @_maprile]

decided to take a short break from my big game and…make a small game 😂

i’m going in a radically different direction for this one, and i already have a prototype in just a few sessions

it’s a good sign of how much i’ve learned by how much faster i’m able to build now

[Mike Aprile @_maprile]

i don’t think i’d be able to move this fast today without the years of grinding tutorials and youtube and lots of experimentation, but it’s a cool feeling when the same stuff that used to be difficult for me just clicks now

[Mike Aprile @_maprile]

new tigers jaw album is phenomenal

[Mike Aprile @_maprile]

got a new HUD UI element hooked up and working in engine, created from scratch

it’s a simple fuel gauge that drains as you burn fuel and refills by 10% with an item pickup

i’m prototyping a flying mechanic and displaying the player’s current fuel level was a must!

[Mike Aprile @_maprile]

@devsanddorks 🫡🫡

[Mike Aprile @_maprile]

This is one of the reasons I’ll never buy this game.

[IGN @IGN]

"We should have clearly disclosed our use of AI" — Crimson Desert dev says, launching a "comprehensive audit" of all in-game assets. https://t.co/jjXG3yqekn

[Mike Aprile @_maprile]

It’s synced to the Unreal Editor, so my changes submit to the cloud in no time at all.

I can sleep better knowing if my PC dies, my project is safe and I won’t lose any progress

Now I can get back to the fun stuff, like level design, writing dialogue, and testing new mechanics

[Mike Aprile @_maprile]

That little green check might not look like much, but it’s my reward after a crash course on something I knew little about until a week ago in UE5.

[Mike Aprile @_maprile]

I saved backups to external drives, but it took forever to sync, and I wanted to do this the legit way.

I knew nothing about setting up cloud servers, virtual machines, revision control, terminal etc a week ago, but after a lot of learning and plenty of roadblocks, it all works!

[Mike Aprile @_maprile]

that feeling after days of trial and error, troubleshooting, reading documentation, and it finally works. whewwww

this is a core gameplay system that the whole game is built around.

after getting unstuck, it feels like the floodgates just opened

[Mike Aprile @_maprile]

new dopamine source unlocked: when my non-programmer brain builds a gameplay system in unreal and it actually WORKS in-game

[Mike Aprile @_maprile]

DMs are open 😅

[Mike Aprile @_maprile]

Where are the concept artists at? 👀

I’m looking for the right person to collaborate with on art direction.

Shoot me a DM if you’re interested or want to refer someone!

[Mike Aprile @_maprile]

I should have mentioned that this is a paid opportunity 🙏

[Mike Aprile @_maprile]

@UnrealEngine #screenshotsaturday

[Mike Aprile @_maprile]

@UnrealEngine @jay_cgi