Yes I'm a lone indie developer. A long time ago I made a game called LOVE. Now im making a Real-time stealth tactics game called EXO. However I'm not doing it full-time. Sounds like a great group! Making a game yourself can be very tough, but also rewarding. Having people to share your experience with is really important. If you ever want a guest who spent many long years working on a game and came out of if scared b…
Ask HN: Any solo game developers here?
121–130 of 152 posts
Re: Ask HN: Any solo game developers here?
#122Earlier quoted context omitted.
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.
Re: Ask HN: Any solo game developers here?
#123For all developers who are curious about the solo gamedev lifestyle business, I’m sure there are many, what are the basic economics that can make it work? (Other than money saved at MAANG.)
what are the basic economics that can make it work? Ah i was coming here to warn you about that. Ill brace for downvotes but if i can light a candle for just one person, that would be fantastic. A big misconception about the economy of games is that they are content - economically-wise. An example of content is music or movies, think spotify or netflix. This is absolutely not the case. Economically, games work like s…
Most games are played heavily within the first year, and thereafter not so much. Indeed, game revenues in general are even more front-loaded than movie revenues; for most games, 80% of the game's lifetime revenue is made in the first 6 months of release, which is why DRM is a thing on new games but usually gets removed in a patch a few months after release: to stop piracy during those crucial first few months. (With movies, excluding blockbusters which live or die by their box office, most of the revenue is made after the film leaves theaters from licensing deals and consumer media sales.)
Excluding subscription games like MMOs, only a tiny handful of games continue making substantial amounts of revenue after 6 months. Games like Minecraft, Terraria, and Stardew Valley are the exception, rather than the norm.
Don't let that dissuade you. As a solo developer, you only need a few thousand in sales to make a good living.
Re: Ask HN: Any solo game developers here?
#124I created Snake '97, the retro phone game remake that has gained some traction on Android and iOS (50M downloads): snake97.com On how it got where it is, including a fun back story, I wrote a blog post: https://willem.com/blog/2018-02-21_updating-snake-97/ It must be said: developing a game and have it enjoyed by millions is something very special. Things really went bananas when I was invited to an art gallery showc…
Are you able to get meaningful income from it? (Google Play store mentioned it contains ads tho I haven't seen any)
Re: Ask HN: Any solo game developers here?
#125I'm developing a racing game as a hobby. But I generally don't discuss my game with other developers since they are not the target audience for my game. I prefer to talk with players and get 360° feedback. I don't get the benefit of sharing the game to fellow developers.
This kind of makes me sad. I feel like this is a terrible trend that is/has basically ruined gaming. The way I see it, making a game is art. I want to make games to express my ideas, and my feelings, and I want to do the best I can to convey those feelings and ideas in my games. The moment you start seeking player feedback for your game you are no longer making art, you making a product. I suppose that is all well an…
But a game has a time component to it. Its asking a lot more of the player. It needs to be fun, or the player will stop playing and your vision will stay stuck in the game. Some feedback is helpful to make it fun and let them experience/ see your vision.
For Art, Open Studio events are really rewarding for artists to get their art out there and also talk to visitors. I did it for a few years. Putting your art out there for public consumption was hard. Some loved it (some enough to buy a few things), some did not. But I could talk to some of them and I grew and got better.
For games one of the fun things I do during the year is go to "Figg Fest" https://www.bostonfig.com/fest-homepage/ Its been virtual, but I liked it better in person. Game makers display their games, and most have a version to play (some simplify as 2+ hour board games at a 5 hour convention...). I like talking to the board game makers, their inspiration and how they develop. They teach us visitors and watch us play.
But if Solo development is your thing, thats cool too. I get not having things "wateredown by committee" but feedback can be helpful.
Re: Ask HN: Any solo game developers here?
#126However, after some time, I decided to work on some side projects that were in a completely different field.
I started playing with the PlayCanvas game engine and created a 3D PvP based browser game.
Currently, the game is in the alpha stage and is called Enion Online.
Link: http://alpha.enion.io
Re: Ask HN: Any solo game developers here?
#127Yes I'm a lone indie developer. A long time ago I made a game called LOVE. Now im making a Real-time stealth tactics game called EXO. However I'm not doing it full-time. Sounds like a great group! Making a game yourself can be very tough, but also rewarding. Having people to share your experience with is really important. If you ever want a guest who spent many long years working on a game and came out of if scared b…
Re: Ask HN: Any solo game developers here?
#128Earlier quoted context omitted.
They want a tight-knit group. Which is inherently exclusive but that's not the predominant attribute.
The result is the same, so it's a moot point. Why post this to such a large community like HN if they're adamant about exclusivity? Why not post it somewhere smaller like Indie Hackers or a reddit sub instead?
Re: Ask HN: Any solo game developers here?
#129Earlier quoted context omitted.
That looks incredibly good for a solo high school project. I mean it looks great period, but you must be a pretty special programmer to have made that solo as a high schooler. props!
Thanks. To be transparent, I started it in high school but finished recently (started it at 16 and I am 22 now) Personally I wouldn’t recommend anyone rolling their own engine
Re: Ask HN: Any solo game developers here?
#130I'm developing a racing game as a hobby. But I generally don't discuss my game with other developers since they are not the target audience for my game. I prefer to talk with players and get 360° feedback. I don't get the benefit of sharing the game to fellow developers.
This kind of makes me sad. I feel like this is a terrible trend that is/has basically ruined gaming. The way I see it, making a game is art. I want to make games to express my ideas, and my feelings, and I want to do the best I can to convey those feelings and ideas in my games. The moment you start seeking player feedback for your game you are no longer making art, you making a product. I suppose that is all well an…
The idea that the 'untrained eye' of the random playtester gets to make creative decisions about the game overall.. simply because they showed up to playtest the game, is a bit much.
Often programmers and artists don't even get full creative control over the work they do at game studios, random playtesters are far from ruining Michelangelo's David. Michelangelo is not even in full control, the techniques he learnt, skills he obtained and decisions he made earlier in the work, limit his sculpture too.
There is a way to integrate playtesters without demoting Michelangelo from control over the work.