Hey everyone,
Yesterday evening was special. Knowing I'd wake up to finally releasing RollScape, it was difficult to fall asleep because of all the excitement. But waking up today brought even more excitement. Because the day has come: it's finally the 22nd of May.
My game developer journey started when I was in kindergarten, making point and click games in PowerPoint. You might argue that PowerPoint is not the best game engine and I would totally agree with you. But if you can't read yet, then perhaps it is.
Going further in my life, I never stopped making games. Every month it was something else, but never something I could finish. A few years ago, I got very close, when I assembled a team of developers with a friend of mine and we started working on a horror game. The game was called Pavor, which we worked on for three years. We eventually had to stop because of a failed Kickstarter campaign, caused by a non-existing marketing budget.
Although it was a major setback, I knew that it could never stop me from following my dreams as a game developer. With or without a team, someday I would be back, pressing the release button of my first Steam game.
RollScape is a game inspired by Balatro, Roll and a few more roguelikes. It's the culmination of all the experiences I've had in the many different roguelike games that I played throughout the years. It's a game that I wanted to play, but that I couldn't find anywhere. No one had made anything like it.
So I got going, working countless days from the morning till the evening. Until the game was done and it was time to properly playtest it. I was lucky to have some amazing friends who were interested in testing the game. Through weeks of multiple phases and iterations, we kept on improving the numbers until everything felt right. Some major game changes had to be made too, but it was all for the better. My goal was to be proud of the final product. That was all. No matter the sales, I just wanted to be happy with the final result of the game. And I couldn't be happier. The excitement I get from having a good run and getting so close to the end or even winning, is a feeling I can not describe in words. Not only because I think the game is just so much fun, but also because I get so captivated that I even forget I made this game. That feeling, is something special.
I'm so extremely excited to share this journey with you all. Today, it's no longer just me and the playtesters. Today, everyone will get to enjoy RollScape. But I'll have to excuse myself now, there's a button I want to press.
Because the day has come: it's finally the 22nd of May.
Much love and thank you so much for being here with me,
Leo