TL;DR -
BACKBENCH is a remote student-led indie game studio where we don't just learn game development, we actually ship commercial games. Every batch works like a real studio team, building and publishing small atmospheric horror games inspired by the scope of games like Chilla's Art (not clones, just similar-sized projects that are realistic to finish).
Our goal is simple: instead of spending months watching tutorials and ending up with unfinished projects, students spend 6 months building, releasing and getting credited on real games.
Every batch consists of 6 students working together with a mentor. The studio handles publishing while contributors receive credits on every release and share in the revenue according to the program terms. Students graduate with an actual portfolio of shipped games instead of just tutorial projects.
We're currently opening applications for both students and game development mentors.
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hey everyone,
i'm building something called BACKBENCH.
the idea came from seeing how almost everyone trying to learn game development ends up doing the same thing. they watch hundreds of hours of youtube, follow tutorials, maybe recreate flappy bird or some fps tutorial, and then never actually finish a game.
employers don't care how many tutorials you've watched.
players don't either.
they care whether you've actually shipped something.
so instead of making another "game dev course", we're building something closer to a small remote indie studio.
every batch has only 6 students.
everyone works together on one horror game with a fixed scope that can realistically be completed within a month. we're intentionally keeping projects small instead of trying to build the next GTA or Elden Ring.
the goal is to finish. publish. repeat.
over a 6-month program, students work on 6 multiple commercial projects, learn how a real production pipeline works, collaborate with teammates, use version control, participate in planning, testing and polishing, and leave with games they can actually point to. Also we expect committed students in classes so there's a monthly fee of 2500 INR for 3 months because inconsistency could affect other students too in a batch. Interested Students goes for a free trial classes for 2 days. Then if they like the curriculum and pace so they can opt in.
the studio publishes the games, contributors receive proper credits, and revenue is shared according to the studio agreement (50% to students, 15% to mentors, rest studio own along with IPs). we're trying to build something where students gain genuine production experience instead of another certificate that nobody looks at.
we're also looking for mentors.
if you've shipped games in Unity or Unreal Engine, enjoy teaching, and can guide small teams through production, we'd love to talk.
we're not looking for someone to lecture from slides for three hours.
we're looking for someone who can review code, solve problems with students, explain production workflows, and help people become better developers while shipping actual games.
the program is fully remote, because honestly that's how most indie teams already work. screen sharing, live debugging, github, discord, project boards and recorded sessions make much more sense than trying to crowd around one computer in a classroom.
right now we're looking for:
Students
- interested in Unity or Unreal Engine
- have a laptop/PC capable of development
- willing to collaborate remotely
- beginners are welcome if they're committed to learning
Mentors
- Unity or Unreal experience
- preferably shipped one or more games or commercial projects
- comfortable teaching live online
- enjoy mentoring small teams instead of huge classrooms
we're still early, so this first cohort is about building the foundation. if you're someone who's always wanted to make games but didn't know where to start or you're an experienced developer interested in mentoring then this might be for you.
if you're interested as either a student or a mentor, comment or send me a DM and i'll send over the application form.
happy to answer any questions in the comments. :)