December 7th to December 21st 2025

• Latest in Testing
• Fitness update and comparison
• Destiny 2: Renegades
• Early Christmas gifts (to myself)
• 15 Days: Part 19 rewrite

Latest in Testing: You may have read about Confidential Killings and UrbX Warriors in some of my previous blogs. These two have been fun to test, especially since I’ve been working through each of their builds since their earliest incarnations throughout the year. Being able to see and be a part of their respective creative journeys so far has been a privilege.

They’re very different; Confidential Killings is a detective game, and UrbX Warriors is an arcade-inspired retro action game, so my approach to testing has been quite different, although there has been inevitable overlap along the way. Whilst Confidential Killings currently requires making sure the game’s logic makes sense and that everything is as polished as possible from start to finish (launch is early January 2026!), UrbX Warriors requires specific attention on new items being added that work as expected and don’t mess with what’s already working in the game right now. My approach has varied and changed depending on what’s needed over time, and there’s always the importance of making sure everything works as it should but, overall, the different requirements of their respective builds has kept things fresh for me.

Aside from one other project in the background, these are now my main two going forward. Confidential Killings looks great this close to launch (see their steam page, linked below), and UrbX Warriors is looking very strong for the first half of next year. I’m excited. Working on these different projects has been an interesting experience for me but the one thing they both have in common is they consist of small teams, and whilst I’m not adverse to working in larger teams, smaller means a voice that is listened to, along with more meaningful input from all sides. It’s a good fit for me.

Anyway, the links to their respective demos are here:

Confidential Killings on Steam

UrbX Warriors on Itch.io

Check them out; they’re well worth playing.

Fitness update and comparison: Well, it’s been a strange couple of weeks on this. Navigating the various pre-Christmas parties and catching up with friends has meant that keeping to my goals has been difficult, and that was just the first week! The second was more about comfort. Surrounded by what felt like a tsunami of coughing, sneezing and general winter illnesses, I seem to have managed to avoid the worst of it all (maybe it’s the daily cod liver oil and vitamin D, and the constant use of hand sanitiser?). Yet, with the colder weather, the darker nights, and the desire to get to my Christmas break as soon as possible, the temptation for treats seemed to claw at me more than ever. So I find my stats remain similar to the previous month, although by the time this goes out to you all, I should have got through the majority of festive celebrations. With Christmas Day and New Year’s Eve as probable treat days, I’ll have a clear run through to the end of 2025.

I did have one mug of coffee, after four and a half weeks. I was so tired that it was actually needed as a pick-me-up rather than the daily gallon-like inhalation from not that long ago. It was also a good test to see if I would stick at one and whether the after-effects wouldn’t be too painful. I can say I got the boost I needed, the addiction remained defeated, and I felt fine. So, one every so often, when needed or for a treat, is good with me.

As for exercise, it is creeping back slowly in the form of walking a little more each day but anything more than that feels like a pipe-dream. However, that plan I mentioned last time is due to begin on Monday (22nd) so, with some commitment on my part, I should see some progress. Even if it is late in the year, just starting is a win.

As before, the numbers in parentheses are the number of days since July, per 15 Days, accumulated, with the percentages in each section showing the amount across the total days so far. We’re nearly at the end of the year so the next graph will be the last for 2025. I might start over with new targets in 2026. I’ll think on it.

Destiny 2: Renegades: It’s been a while since I loaded into Destiny 2. Even though I bought the expansion, The Edge of Fate, in a sale (the first time in years I’ve not bought an expansion pre-launch), I hadn’t found much time to commit to my Guardian. Then Bungie launched the Star Wars/Destiny 2 crossover, Renegades, and that was just too good to miss. I’ve enjoyed it, as much as a Star Wars / Destiny 2 fan can. There’s even a way to earn and wield the equivalent to a lightsaber; what is known in-game as a Praxic Blade. To say it’s cool is an understatement; I mean, look at this:

Early Christmas gifts (to myself): Among other things, I am a collector and I’ve been on the lookout for decent copies of Broken Sword 1 and Broken Sword 2 for a while. After a lot of searching and a little bit of haggling, I snapped up both within a week of each other.

Considering they are now 29 and 28 years old respectively, to find these copies in such exceptional condition has been well worth the time spent. I’m very happy to have these originals in my collection, and they also look fantastic in the custom cases.

15 Days: Part 19 rewrite: I wasn’t happy with the quality of my writing in Part 19. Having an opportunity to write about a wonderful AdventureX and then dive into what I consider to be a very interesting podcast on a developer’s approach to testing, I felt it was very lacking in detail and my thoughts on the podcast flowed incoherently. All-in-all, I found it rather dull to read. All this came from rereading some of my older blogs and seeing a difference in my writing over the last year. It’s the first time I’ve felt like this but it’s also a good sign because I can do better, and I like that I can see it. So, in the coming weeks, I’ll sit down and rewrite it and let you know when that’s been done.

And now we’re into the final ten days of 2025 so Part 21 will be a reflection and summary of 2025, along with some of the goals I have for 2026. I’m going to change these blogs slightly to keep them interesting for me to write and hopefully for you all to read, and I’ll write more about what that means next time. For now, as the holiday season rapidly approaches, I wish you all a wonderful break and a relaxing time when you get there.

As always, until next time, stay safe, and thank you for reading.

Paul.