Game development is such a weird field of work. Especially when doing it solo, you have to apply (or learn) so many different skillsets.
Next to the programming there is art and music involved, marketing, planning, social media, architecture, game design, testing, community management, you name it.
I embarked on a huge journey when starting to make this game in August 2018. My goal was to make something completely from scratch in a language I had not mastered yet. No usage of fancy existing game engines, just pure C++ code and a few libraries.
Was it worth it? Definitely! Even though it will probably not be a huge financial success, I have learned so much that will help me with future projects and the support I got was amazing.
Some of the key points I learned were:
- Learn how, where and when to market (I actually wrote a small article about that here: https://chocolate-pinecone.medium.com/5-marketing-lessons-i-learned-releasing-my-first-commercial-indie-game-a2cfd1f82779)
- Be open to harsh feedback, it's usually the most valuable
- If you can, pay for things you are not skilled in or do not enjoy. It saves you time and results in better quality stuff than you could have made.
- Take breaks when you need them, and remind yourself of your goals
- Don't expect your first project to be financially successful. Instead expect it to be a stepping stone in the experience of game development.
- Create the smallest acceptable version of your game first, and build out afterwards.
I have pushed the release button this morning and loved it. I can't wait to see what happens, and what everyone will think of it!
That's it for my little snippet of game development.
If you do actually decide to play it, please consider leaving a Steam review. It helps insanely with getting more eyes on the game!