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Ask HN: Any solo game developers here?

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Re: Ask HN: Any solo game developers here?

#91

I see alot of comments here who are wondering if they're good enough to join. At the same time, it looks like this group is very picky about who can join. Perhaps there is another Discord someone could setup where part-time game creators could join. I am making a procedurally generated world simulation game that is a little bit too early in the process to showcase, and definitely not work full-time on, but it still h…

>At the same time, it looks like this group is very picky about who can join.

He is using a psychological trick to make people feel insecure and inadequate, and thus create an imbalance of power within the group. However, his requirements may backfire because being a full-time solo game developer may only be possible if you have someone supporting you, or if you live in your mom’s basement or on social security. It excludes people who are serious about their endeavors but still have to pay the bills.

Re: Ask HN: Any solo game developers here?

#93
post #80
post #72

Earlier quoted context omitted.

On the other hand, there's a lot of people wealthy enough to buy games on a whim, try them out for an hour or two, and then never launch them again (and don't refund). So, maybe that helps the situation somewhat? Otherwise, I agree - no one I know is a serial gamer. We all have our favourites which we've been playing for 10+ years. The best game studios can make in such situation is make a game with in-app purchases,…

I think the games people are buying on a whim, though, are the games with 10-year staying power that they haven't gotten to yet -- not throwaway projects that aren't good enough to care about.

That is absolutely not how the market behaves. None of the big (or small) moneymakers in last few years came close to "10 years" of popularity and probably won't.

Where do you get this stuff?

Re: Ask HN: Any solo game developers here?

#94
I currently am just hacking on a Pong clone in Bevy in my spare time, so I'm not serious at all. Just want to say props to all of you who are putting serious work into creating games full time or otherwise. It has been quite a challenge in ways that web development just isn't.

Re: Ask HN: Any solo game developers here?

#95
post #59

Earlier quoted context omitted.

you immediately blocked on discord after sending the rejection message making it impossible to even say “thank you, good luck” in response, so there was no feasible way to reply or stay in contact or even follow your game, and I remember thinking he’s going to regret treating people this way later on when it comes time to build a community around his game… lesson learned now I hope?

I just checked my discord and I dont have anyone blocked. I close/leave conversations so I dont clutter my inbox, so maybe discord internally severs the connection? (That would be really good to know moving forward). (edit: I also dont recall "immediately" closing any chats, but I may have?) Anyways, sorry you feel that I wronged you, it really was not my intention. I received over 30 responses last time and it's a l…

This type of interaction is exactly why I stopped running communities online. People thrust their expectations upon you and then expect you to do either mental labor to meet those expectations, or emotional labor to make amends for not meeting their expectations that you never consented to in the first place. It burnt me out very quickly.

Re: Ask HN: Any solo game developers here?

#96
Yeah! I made this science fiction VN [1] and am currently working on a follow up with overworld and graphics. I’ve got a Discord server where my friends who make games hang out — we’ve got a couple different games being made as well. If anyone’s interested in joining, my Discord handle is in my profile.

[1] https://boonbane.itch.io/firmament

Re: Ask HN: Any solo game developers here?

#97

I started a small "no-name" studio to build games handful of years ago. Built and released two games thus far -- SimAirport & SimCasino. I'd potentially be interested, my email is in profile if you'd like to reach out. :)

Your games looks really good. Do you handle art + programming by ourself ? As someone that would like to create my own (basic) games, what would be the right tools and frameworks In your opinion to create art and game logic ? The easier to learn the better haha

Ultimately you just need to pick a goal and then struggle any way you can to achieve it. Python with the pygame package is a rather approachable way to get pixels up on the screen.

Re: Ask HN: Any solo game developers here?

#98
post #59

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I just checked my discord and I dont have anyone blocked. I close/leave conversations so I dont clutter my inbox, so maybe discord internally severs the connection? (That would be really good to know moving forward). (edit: I also dont recall "immediately" closing any chats, but I may have?) Anyways, sorry you feel that I wronged you, it really was not my intention. I received over 30 responses last time and it's a l…

Discord won't let you dm someone unless you share a server with them (or you're friends with them), so if you just happened to leave the server you shared, it could look like you blocked them.

there was never a shared server, and I expect it was exactly that, a block or a friend removal, DMs worked fine until they suddenly didn't after the "sorry we had only one slot to fill...", but that was hardly the issue (it was the lie about the "other community" invite) and perhaps he was just afraid people would try to argue? it was just a little jarring, after having what seemed like a good faith, face-to-face convo, to write "no problem at all, thanks and good luck on your project, I look forward to..." but it didn't go through because suddenly DMs didn't work anymore

Re: Ask HN: Any solo game developers here?

#99
im not much of a HN regular, but a friend forwarded this over my direction. absolutely love the idea of more exclusive game dev communities. understandably, large parts of the game dev space have become oversaturated with a ton of "beginner-help-spam", and while getting that entry-level help is necessary to integrate into any new community, it feels as though some of the more nuanced and mature parts of the community get lost in the noise. all that to say I love the idea, and wish you luck!

Re: Ask HN: Any solo game developers here?

#100
post #70

I see alot of comments here who are wondering if they're good enough to join. At the same time, it looks like this group is very picky about who can join. Perhaps there is another Discord someone could setup where part-time game creators could join. I am making a procedurally generated world simulation game that is a little bit too early in the process to showcase, and definitely not work full-time on, but it still h…

I'll clarify: I created a small community where everyone knows everyone's face/name. I am really restrictive with the number of people in the server not because I want exclusivity per se, but rather that I dont want to lose the deeper connections you develop with people in a small community. There's about 10 of us total right now. It also helps that everyone is on the same page (serious about releasing their game) so…

You’re saying that you don’t want exclusivity, but that’s what you have with such an arbitrary constraint. People are right to call you out.
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