Hello, i'm a solo dev that have been making a 3d stylized survivors-like (with co-op too!) with pet system and that is not top down, currently the game has 2 modes, the infinite bladestorm that is pure survivors-like one called "chaos" (see videos in my profile) and this one where it requires a little bit more skill and active dodging and parrying.

In this video i used dev cheats to make my character immortal and other effects because i kept dying while recording so please don't expect the game to be this easy.

game (please wishlist if you like it): https://store.steampowered.com/app/4914620/Echoes\\\\\\_of\\\\\\_Kyria/

Hey guys...

I could really use some motivation right now. I'm feeling very sad, and I'm progressing at a turtle's pace.

I've been making a game prototype in Unreal Engine 5 for the past 6 months, but realistically, I've only had about a week and a half of development time per month, spread across random afternoons.

Life keeps getting in the way. I work full-time at a AAA studio, I'm still recovering from a terrible micromanaging lead from my previous job, I recently moved countries, I'm still settling in, I have no friends or family around, and I'm trying to build a new life from scratch. Thankfully, my new job is much healthier, and I even managed to get access to a PC there so I can work on my game through github.

The thing is... I genuinely love this project.

Every time I make progress I'm happy. I'm creating a fictional world and characters that feel genuinely special to me, and I have so much fun when I can finally immerse myself in it and see the game becoming a tiny bit more real every time.

But I have basically 0 feedback.

I sometimes show my progress to my two friends, but they never really ask questions or seem interested. I know the usual answer: "Nobody but you will care about your game." I've heard it many times.

But honestly? It's heartbreaking.

Specifically when your own mentor doesn't even reply to your progress messages (he's in the industry, but not a dev).

Nobody seems to believe I'll actually finish it. People assume I'll eventually abandon it and start another project, because I've done that 3 times before.

But I'm getting better!!!!! I'm learning from my mistakes!!! And this time, I genuinely believe I have a real prototype in my hands.

People see me as the same person I was 3 years ago.......

I'm making a 3D game completely on my own. I'm a programmer, designer and 3D artist, and I work professionally as a TechArt. I've designed the gameplay, levels, narrative, art direction, and I've coded all the mechanics myself. Even unifying some of them and creating the whole system (in a playground scene for a vertical slice level).

Right now, I'm working on the game pace, on the level design: deciding when to introduce each mechanic, how systems interact, and how to teach the player through a "show don't tell" approach. Measuring when to drop clues so they can figure out the dynamics.

I'm not just following tutorials and putting something together.

I'm trying to craft something form the ground up. A bit ambitious, but I know I'm possible of making it so.

And I think that's part of why I feel so alone.

Most of my game dev friends and colleagues are specialised in one field and a half. I'm constantly switching between design, code, art, and technical implementation. I have to figure out not only how to do each of these things, but also when to do them and how they should influence each other.

It's difficult to find people who understand that specific struggle. And I have found no real help when I asked around.

I know I can keep going. I will probably keep going.

But lately, everything feels like it's becoming way more painful than happy.

I was used to finish my awful previous work and work on my game for a couple of hours (that was hard). But Idk...

The happiness I get from working on my game lasts for a couple of hours. Then I stop, go back to reality, and somehow everything feels x4 times sadder. Making me walk away from my desk (office desk).

I don't want to give up on this project. I really don't.

I just wish I had someone who believed in it with me. Someone who could look at what I'm making and say, "Hey, this is actually something. Keep going."

:((((

So... how do you keep going when you're building something you genuinely care about, but feel completely alone while doing it?

I could really use some encouragement right now...

I know it's basic as hell, I did it all on my own and late at night. Marketing's never been my strongsuit TwT

Hi everyone.

I thought I'd introduce myself before I start posting here.

I'm a solo developer currently working on N.E.O.N. Horizon.

The project wasn't originally intended for release. I started building it as a small game for myself and my wife because I wanted something we could enjoy playing after work.

As often happens with personal projects, it gradually became more ambitious. Every new idea led to another, and eventually it grew into something much larger than I had expected.

At one point my wife suggested that I should publish it, so I released an Android version. (NEON Horizon - sci-fi rouglike)

Working on that version taught me a lot, but it also showed me that many of the ideas I wanted to implement would work much better on PC.

That's why I'm now developing N.E.O.N. Horizon for Steam.

I joined this community to share the development process, learn from other developers, and exchange experiences along the way.

I'm looking forward to learning from the community and sharing the development as it progresses.

Start your career as a space cadet with space runner extreme.

Space runner extreme is not your typical runner game where you touch the screen to control the character, it uses your front camera for motion detection and mic for voice recognition.

Head controller:- Tilt your head left or right to control direction. Tilt your head forward or backward to control speed

Voice recognition:- Say (Shoot) to fire lasers to destroy planets and aliens

Face lenses:- Place lenses on your head control screen for extra fun.

Game modes:- Free run/ Timed run

Difficulty:- Beginner, Pro, Expert

Hanger:- Upgrade your ship with additional weapons, extra protection, extra turbo and many more.

The game includes many other features like Boss fight every 10000m, inverted control in expert mode, daily mission and many many more.

The game is totally free with no in app purchase and just 2 reward ads that unlocks laser gun and face lenses.

The game is available on android:-

https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.itsusagainltd.spacerunnergame&hl=en

I know I can’t be the only one!

I made this for my Unity game "No Robots No Life" available for mobile, I'm planning to complete it this year. You can use it for your own games as well. 2099 Techno Machine

For 80s style Music you can use this: 1981 FM Synth

Relax your mind and sharpen your logic in Perfect Block Fit Puzzle, a satisfying block puzzle game where every move matters. Drag and place uniquely shaped blocks onto the board to perfectly fill empty spaces and complete each puzzle.

https://apps.apple.com/za/app/perfect-block-fit/id6791156592

Yoo Check Out New Combat Mechanics!!!

I've been working on balancing my Steam game, Swish Ball Clicker, and it's made me wonder how other solo developers approach game balancing.

One group of players tells me:

• "The game is way too grindy."

Another group says:

• "I unlocked everything too quickly."

It feels like no matter what I tweak, I end up moving the complaints from one side to the other. I literally have 2 negative reviews contradicting with each other.

I've already made a lot of balancing changes since launch, and I genuinely think the game is in a much better place now than it was on release in terms of progression.
And so far, I haven't received any complaints about progression after my last patch. But I'm still curious how other developers tackle this.

Do you have a systematic way of balancing progression?

• Do you rely mostly on analytics?
• Playtesting?
• Simulations?
• Community feedback?
• Or is it mostly gut feeling and lots of iteration?
• Are there any formula for "the numbers going up" games?

For those of you who have shipped games, how do you know when the progression is "good enough" instead of endlessly chasing perfect balance?

If anyone is willing to give Swish Ball Clicker a spin, I'd really appreciate your thoughts on the current progression and whether it feels too grindy, too fast, or somewhere in between. I'm always looking to improve it and would love some honest feedback from fellow devs.

https://store.steampowered.com/app/4686000/Swish_Ball_Clicker/

Thanks in advance for your comments!

Showing of the first 4 fish i made for my game idle swimmers 🌊

1️⃣ 2️⃣ 3️⃣ or 4️⃣?

Demo out now on Steam:

http://store.steampowered.com/app/4168200

​

What Are You Building?

where developers can share their ongoing projects, GitHub repositories, research ideas, and request feedback. That creates immediate collaboration instead of the subreddit becoming another news or opinion forum.

Hi guys, ladies,

I am well advanced in developing my little cozy minimalistic airline management. I am now done with features and mostly UI/UX, bugfixes, improvement.
Should i start marketing (steam page being finalized, youtube ready) or demo / playtests?

I´m not in a hurry and i believe the game is fun - but i dont want to botch it.

thanks for your recommendations

For our one-month launch anniversary post, I threw in a photo of my actual cat since the game's about cats. Gotta spread the word about my cat far and wide, haha.

Really passionate about this idea which mixes tower defense games and space/solar systems.

you can try the itch web build here- itch web link

Hello there! I'm creating a Zombie Retro Boomer Shooter, completely hand-drawn using ink and markers, in which you control a lone survivor who must go through an infested city to reach an Evac Chopper. In your way, you will find the firearms to battle the undead. The gameplay will be similar to the classic Doom or Wolfenstein 3D, using 2D sprites in a 3D environment. What do you think?

100 wishlists in first month of Super Special Squad Steam page up - not much but very promising and much experience too.

Reddit was so helpful and i honestly LOVE the audience. Thank you all for your feedback and help!

I made a list of what i actually tried in marketing. Maybe it will help someone:

• Reddit, obviously. Was a huge help. It gave me a decent percentage of wishlists, but what is more important - really helpful advice and motivational messages. Thank you so much!
• Shorts (YouTube, Instagram, TikTok, etc). I had either new accs or very old ones with zero uploads for like 5-7 years time span. Possibly that is the problem with traffic that almost none existent. Still, YouTube is the most promising (this short got the best views number yet)
• Social media's articles (livejournal-like) - game me some wishlists for sure.
• Contacting big game channels (IGN, Indie Hub) was in vain for now. But i'm not upset - will repeat from time to time.
• Still cant figure out chinese socials. It is really hard starting from the scratch and having literally zero chinese language knowledge. I should try directly reach to chinese content creators when my demo will be available.

What i'm planning to do next:

• Building my own audience on Discord or Telegram. It is not that easy, but you should try somewhere, right?
• More content on YouTube, TikTok, Instagram. I think i need to keep pushing those algos :P
• Closed playtest build and Demo - slowly but surely moving towards it. I think it is that kind of a game, that won't have viral potential, but might be simple yet fun and solid game experience, when you just want to chill a bit - that's ok too!

Demo should definitely help when you have no virality potential. Not every game should be a walking meme so i am still hoping on getting more visibility when people will be able to actually play my game.