Football first. Then the rest.
A year of engine work, the growing prototype, and how I am organising Idleball next.
Read the postDEV BLOG
My development notes.
A year of trying to get a football management game working, from the first player generator to the Godot prototype. Some days went better than others.
OCTOBER 2025 — TODAY
The early work.
I started with the two engines in VS Code and moved into Godot in September. These posts follow the work from the first player profiles to the current prototype. Start at the beginning to see how the game has changed.
Start at the beginning
- 01 · Dev Blog #1: Playing God with Semicolons
- 02 · Too many players who looked alike
- 03 · Getting two teams through a game
- 04 · A believable score can still be wrong
- 05 · One game was only the start
- 06 · I needed to see the thing on screen
- 07 · Moving into Godot
- 08 · One whole season. My own little moon landing.
- 09 · Fifty seasons. I may have got carried away.
- 10 · Working out the roster screens
- 11 · The part where you manage the team
- 12 · Football first. Then the rest.
12 posts
The part where you manage the team
Connecting the roster to contracts, finances, injuries and the wider season.
Read the post
Working out the roster screens
Building out the player, roster and game views once the Godot prototype was on screen.
Read the post
Fifty seasons. I may have got carried away.
The first completed 50-season dynasty run, with plenty still left to improve.
Read the post
One whole season. My own little moon landing.
The first successful season, and why reaching the end meant so much to me.
Read the post
Moving into Godot
Putting the planned player-to-roster-to-game route into the Godot prototype.
Read the post
I needed to see the thing on screen
Preparing roster, player and game views after the first season work.
Read the post
One game was only the start
Moving from individual matchups to a roster, schedule and results that carry forward.
Read the post
A believable score can still be wrong
Following the first simulation results back to the assumptions that produced them.
Read the post
Getting two teams through a game
Taking the more varied player profiles into a first single-game simulation.
Read the post
Too many players who looked alike
Making the player generator useful before feeding its output into a game.
Read the post
Dev Blog #1: Playing God with Semicolons
Picking programming back up after twenty years, and starting with the Player Creation Engine.
Read the postNo posts match that search. Try another word or category.
DEVELOPMENT PICTURES
How the game is taking shape.
I kept some of the earlier screens. Here they are alongside recent prototype captures. These are different saves, but you can see what I've changed in the interface.
The front office
The newer budget view spells out the season-opening bill, when it is due, and what should be left afterward. Those are the numbers I need when I’m deciding what the team can afford.
View full screenshot 
View full screenshot