Hanoi is the best Vietnamese city for working away from home.
Yes, Ho Chi Minh City had plenty of office space and empty cafes for a distraction-free environment. But it was too distraction-free. There was nothing to do, even after a day’s work. Add heavy traffic and gasoline fumes, and you’ve got the perfect city to catch up on Game of Thrones, but not much else.
Danang was on the other end of the spectrum. Heavenly beaches, delicious food, glistening night lights, and a number of ancient towns. It was thoroughly enjoyable. And the people, some of the nicest I’ve ever met, were generally cheerful and relaxed. But the internet speeds were equally languid. And the work spaces weren’t there. Not ideal for making a downloadable game (my demo took over ten hours to push online).
Like Goldilocks, I needed three tries. Hanoi is the last bowl of soup: it’s just right. Affordable office space in a walkable city. Great internet speeds with excellent food. Busy back alleys and plenty of tourist sites. These days I work for half the day then wander the streets, pop into a coffee shop, then work another half day at night. It’s the ideal schedule. My perfect hybrid between work and play.
Last week, I wrote the second part of my series on Crafting the Map Screen, where I described creating the map’s directory. Right now I’m working on the city itself, so expect another post about that soon (it’s taking a little longer than anticipated, but I’m liking the results!). Once I’m done the series, there will be enough content to justify a subpage for the project — I’ll update my website with a separate devlog just for the game. Until then, stayed tuned to the TigSource forum for regular game updates. Excited to share more soon!