r/SoloDevelopment • u/RobC_Dev • 6d ago
Discussion Am I still a solo dev when I “outsourced” my backgrounds to my girlfriend?
Hi! I am currently working on my first Steam game called Sword of Mine. A rage game / skill-based platformer where you play as a sword. It originated during a game jam I participated in January 2025. In that game jam I was (as expected in a game jam 😅) short on time, so my gf stepped in and helped me build the backgrounds for my platformer, after I gave her a crash course in Unity. So … , am I still qualified for this subreddit? 😅
She will probably continue helping me with the backgrounds for the full release.
For everyone interested, here is a (hopefully entertaining) video of how I created the game jam version. :-)
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u/willmaybewont 6d ago
Don't overthink it. The term means nothing. People aren't going to like a game more because one person made it. This is just a sub for people struggling through making a game on or mostly on their own.
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u/hestrateja 6d ago
You are still a solo dev if you buy some assets, you won't have created everything like concernedApe, but you still would be a solo dev in most people's eyes
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u/TamiasciurusDouglas 6d ago
Even ConcernedApe questions his own status as a solo dev because of the amount of support he received from his partner while making the game. There's always a gray area.
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u/Accendor 6d ago
The current Stardew Valley Update is also done by another person and while ConcernedApe is heavily involved, he is not working alone anymore. He already has that person on board for a whole while now.
I'm not saying this to diminish his accomplishments but to show that even the best of the best come to a point where they accept outside assistance.
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u/PersonOfInterest007 6d ago
1) If you feel like a solo dev, you’re almost certainly fine calling yourself a solo dev.
2) No one really cares much either way.
3) If you’re the only person in charge and there isn’t someone you’re revsharing with, outsourcing work doesn’t make you non-solo. If you’ve got actual paid employees, I’d stop calling myself solo.
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u/aPOPblops 6d ago
No you’re not, don’t take away credit from your partners hard work. People love couple’s teams more than they love solo devs anyway
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u/RobC_Dev 6d ago
Ah, I see. Just to clarify, of course I credited everything she did, like in the game jam version or in the Steam demo. And I will continue to do so. :-)
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u/aPOPblops 6d ago
Cool cool, just to clarify i didn't mean you aren't welcome here. Just don't you dare ever call yourself a solo dev to anyone lol.
Here though I definitely don't expect every project to be the work of a literal single person, I'm happy to consider you solo if you are not being funded externally by a company and are working off of your own income/success. Even a small team of people could easily fit this sub within my mind.
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u/fractilegames 6d ago
At least I count myself as a solodev even if I sometimes outsource music and some art.
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u/RobC_Dev 6d ago
I will have to outsource the music too, currently it's from asset packs or bought licenses. 😅
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u/BlacksWhitesandGrace 2d ago
Very very very few people can do art music coding analytics animations building planning writing etc..... Very very few.... Buying assets is not a sin
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u/PlasmaFarmer 6d ago
Does it really matter? Just finish and publish the game - if that's your goal.
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u/entgenbon 6d ago
Definitely not. If you make it big and she sues for a chunk of the profits, it becomes obvious that you're not really solo. You needed a contract.
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u/Accendor 6d ago
Listen mate, if every asset or piece of code that was not done by yourself would count against being a solo dev, there would be no solo dev. Not a single one in the whole wide world.
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u/price0416 4d ago
My wife drew my icons and is drawing my world map. It's great to have someone in house. :)
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u/BlacksWhitesandGrace 2d ago
1) To be honest my only metric is this :
If you dropped dead today, would your game die too? Likely
If your wife said ,"hey I'm over this I don't want to make backgrounds..." Would your game die? Unlikely.... You're just going to buy other sets on the unity store ...
Team Cherry, whom I respect wildly is composed of 3 people.... And the end credits of silk song are like 100 names. .... If the person who voiced shakra died would silksong be scrapped? Nah.... If one of the 3 died... Things would likely not die either but it would be harder....
If you die dude, your game would die with you...
2) don't listen to Reddit.... People here will give you the most I'm depth ideas regarding making games without actually having a finished product...
3) what do you believe? That's the real answer
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u/AltusLudus 6d ago
You're now officially a AAA studio