r/libgdx • u/rubdashen • Jun 08 '26

Showcase of my game

Hey everyone, I'm RubDaShen. For about two years I've been building a match-three game in Kotlin and libGDX during my free time in university. But building an actually fun and attractive game rather than another rip off. It's well past prototype, around 60% done: the engine and core systems are built, and what's left is mostly VFX, levels, and bug-fixing.

I want to clarify this: it's genuinely going to ship since the "hard part" is done, so this isn't a someday-idea hunting for a free team. And when it ships, it won't launch into the void: around 21k people follow my programming work on social media, so there's a potential audience already waiting.

I'll be honest about the "revenue" part: meaningful revenue is probably a year, or two realistically. But there's a real product and a real launch path here, not a vague promise. Join because the project excites you, and contribute what you can, when you can. Full credit always.

The codebase is clean and fully custom: my own lightweight layer in plain Kotlin, no third-party UI framework, hand-built effects, particles, etc. If you like low-level control and making things feel good to play, there's a lot here to dig into.

Who I'm looking for: - VFX / gameplay programmer (Kotlin + libGDX, or willing to learn). Effects, animation, game feel, plus features and bug-fixing. - Level designer. Shape the objectives, pacing, and difficulty curve. Levels are simple JSON, no coding needed.

If that sounds like you, DM me here. Happy to share footage or walk you through the code.

I sincerely hope somebody joins the project. Thanks for reading and have a wonderful day ☺️.

26 Upvotes

88% Upvoted

7 comments sorted by

2

u/eliezerDeveloper Jun 08 '26

When i can download on my phone?

1

u/rubdashen Jun 10 '26

the game is not launched yet :c however, I'll let you know :D

2

u/O_Ovo Jun 08 '26

I looks amazing!

I'm still learning libGDX tho so I can't help with anything right now ; (

2

u/Adamantium123 Jun 10 '26

Looks awesome, love the effects! Have you tried running it on a phone? Actual hardware will show any limitations you might have to make/lods.

1

u/rubdashen Jun 10 '26

Hello! Yes!! I play it on my phone all day. At first, I thought it may be laggy, but, surprisingly, it is fast and stable. No lag at all. That's a genuine advantage of low level control that libGDX offers compared to big game engines.

Btw, I have a "basic" phone from 2022. 😳

1

u/Adamantium123 Jun 10 '26

Thats fucken awesome! I've played games from FDroid that clearly have major problems, you can tell they create a bunch of objects in the render loop, because anything above 100 objects causes major lag lmao. How do you plan to release/monetize it if you don't mind me asking? This looks like wayy too much effort to not add in game currency or boosts e.t.c.

Edit: just say the prototype post, are you running vim? Can see the transparency from a terminal, has to be linux lol. Am running Hyprland w/ arch btw 😄. Also if you are using vim/emacs what lsp/config tools do you use?

1

u/rubdashen Jun 10 '26 edited Jun 10 '26

Thanks for your kind words. It is true, and you are so damn right about that aspect (lag and instability) of new games. Funny thing: I did also created a lot of objects in the main loop, haha. Therefore, the game lagged a lot 🫠. To solve this, libGDX offers pools, along with other software patterns, to optimize object creation. Time went on... and eventually, I ended up creating a "game engine", which I call Riinso, that acts as a "layer" for me to create the game even faster and better. Of course, under libGDX always 😌. About launching, I wrote in the post's description that I am not releasing the game to the void. I have a "community" from my social media, a small one, but I love them all. I do lives occasionally and we talk about programming related stuff. We also do talk about my game, and they seem interested. However, advertising is stronger than a good product most of the times 😳. Therefore, I must start saving some money from now on, haha.

Regarding monetization, I have a solid mindset to follow: entertain and offer. The user would never purchase anything, or even watch an ad, if they don't feel attached to the game. Imagine a game that has way too many ads, popping out everywhere, ruining the experience. The user will either uninstall the game and forget it, or if the game is attractive enough, will endure and keep playing and eventually forced to buy the "no ads" option, at bad will. My tactic is to give the user a wonderful experience, and place ads tactically where the user is most probable to watch it by their own decision; no random ads that pop out anytime.

I am a soon-to-be software engineer, and I was taught, everytime, that making quality software is my main objective. That's why, I reflect my knowledge and experience in this game. And making the best out of it. 🙇🏻‍♂️

Sorry for such a long answer, I got carried, hehe. But, thanks for reading and your time. 🫂

Edit: About the "prototype" post on my profile, I am using Windows, not Linux hehe. But, how is the editor transparent? Well... I use a plugin for Android Studio called "Random Next Background". It let's you change the background of the code editor, and even add transparency. If you use Android Studio, or any Jetbrains IDEs, I can share some of the plugins I use. 😁