This is the second game I'm posting (Zonyx was the first)
As mentioned, I'm just doing this for fun and fun tends to mean staying away from long development times. There are plenty of pet projects based on old games that I'd like to do.
But even I still hit the problem of finding balance. For instance, I discovered that my old, cheap laptop's display apparently lacks crispness, which means that I can get away with lower frame rates and it still looks smooth. But when I tried my latest program on a higher spec laptop, it looked a bit jittery. I think I've gotten away with it this time... maybe.
I could improve the frame rate, but that means additional work and I'd rather take the lessons learnt onto the next project where I can factor it in from the start.
The only other thing I was going to mention was that for someone like me who can't draw and works solo, I believe that finding the essence of what makes a game fun is the key. If you're not worried about trying to sell your product then you're freer to try different things and keep it simple - putting the major effort in where it's really required.
Here's the game: Cybertron Mission, for Windows only.
Cybertron Mission on Google Drive
2 Screenshots
Link to original game available to play online
Minor update: It looks like some of the jerkiness (missed frames) was due to a refurbished laptop with a possibly dodgy 50Hz refresh. Now set to 60Hz and the issue improved a lot... weird, as the game runs at 30 fps and menus at 20fps. But also amended a Windows timer call - update uploaded.