Heya man, I just wishlisted this because of reading your comments in this post. You’re a good dude.
I’m a programmer too, been doing it for roughly 27 years. Next year, I’m going to quit my well paying job, where I have a fully remote working position working with some of the most talented engineers in the field for one of the largest privately held companies in the world, a position I’ll probably never be able to get/achieve again in my lifetime; and throw it all away and start an indie studio with my brother and another indie dev. I’ve wanted to make video games for as long as I can remember. This is a childhood dream of mine.
Life’s too short, chase your dreams while you still can. It doesn’t get easier when you get older.
Hearing about your passion helps keep me focused on hopefully realizing my own dream one day soon :)
Edit: I genuinely don’t understand the downvotes? Could someone help me understand why please? :)
I’m not down voting you and I applaud chasing your dreams, but a well paying, stable, fully remote job is not something to give up lightly.
Maybe that’s why people are down voting you? Not that they should but people be people.
Personally, I’m just some schlub on the internet, but I’d strongly advise you to reconsider leaving that kind of financial stability. At the very least you’ll need a pretty good amount of money saved up to live off of. Most indie games aren’t successful, most indie game companies fail. There’s a gigantic risk for you and a huge lost opportunity cost (your income & benefits, particularly benefits like health insurance if you’re in the USA) just to get started and on top of that you have to make something people want to buy.
Not doubting your talents but people would kill to be in your spot (remote, well paid, full time) - I’d think long and hard about the risk you’re accepting.
I do, however, wish you well and hope you succeed beyond your wildest expectations! Just something to chew on.
Thank you for the kind words. Personally I wouldn’t do that, seems to risk. Please make sure you have enough funds to survive for as long as possible. I grew up poor and it sucks. I hate that kind of instability. Good luck with your studio! :)
I sincerely appreciate that concern :)
I am good on funds for a couple years of living frugally. I also grew up poor and you are correct, it does indeed suck. One of the few benefits of having been in the industry for so long and trading my sanity and health for $$ is: I’ve got a decent bit of that saved up. Which I’ll be trading away for survival during this :) If it makes money, great, if not, I gave it a shot and I can always get a job again doing the B2B thing, even though it likely won’t be as comfy as the position I’m in. I’m just totally burnt out with it today. To the point where the stress of going to work caused a major health issue to manifest that’s given me a new perspective on life.
Thank you for the well wishes! I’ll be checking out your game when it’s released!
For the best experience, do you recommend playing the demo or waiting for full release?
The demo is like a prologue level. Definitely play it. It will not spoil anything, it adds to the experience as you learn some stuff about The Dev (within the game world)
Ok. I’ll install it later.
I remember seeing your toaster progress pretty recently!
Congrats!
Ah yes… the Hitler Toaster debacle :D
Thank you :)
Adolf Toastler.
One of the rare situations where that specific mustache can make me laugh!
Hey, I’m one of those wishlisters!
I’m excited to see it. Your inspiration games are great (anything that says similar to Outer Wilds is going on the wishlist, basically), and I’m looking forward to your narrative. I haven’t played the demo yet and was going to go in blind.
Cheers man, hope it is okay for your work life balance soon enough.
Thank you! I will go easier with the next game or at least that is the plan
Congrats, that’s a massive achievement!
Thank you! I have two other games and this has never happened! I was still a newbie then. I took my time making this one. I hope people enjoy it : )
Well, I’m glad this one is gaining lots of interest for you! It looks like a cool game!
I have my first game called “Enso” in the Steam Next Fest right now, so fingers crossed I’ll be able to gain a little traction too! Do you have any tips on how to promote your game without feeling like a scumbag? I hate the “salesman” type feeling I get from talking about my game online 😅
Congrats on that! To just get a game demo to Next Fest is huge! I don’t know how to not feel like salesman, but just try to be sincere and share your success with players. Despite all the rage-bait and negativity on the internet, people genualny like positive stories. That’s what I try to do at least :)
Thank you! That’s actually really good advice, if you share positivity then you’re more likely to attract positive people! Makes perfect sense 🙂
My PC doesn’t meet the system requirements but I’ll comment for engagement
Thank you, you are two kind. Also I’m pretty sure you can probably play it on low or medium. Try the demo if you want see how it runs
Congratulations. I wish you all the best 👏👏
Thank you so much :)
I hope that if you do press the button
Tap for spoiler
The game uninstalls itself.
But only if the refund window has passed.
haha I know there is a way to QUIT on the Engine I’m using. I wonder if there is a way to Uninstall it haha
Thank you so much to everyone who has wishlisted the game—it truly means the world to me. And if you’ve never heard of it, that’s totally okay! I just wanted to share a bit about what it’s like to pursue the dream of making indie games on your own.
Balancing this with a regular job, a wonderful dog, and a supportive girlfriend can be overwhelming, and honestly, sleep has become more of a luxury than a reality at this point. But creating games has always been a huge dream of mine, and no matter how tough it gets, I’m determined to make it happen. I genuinely believe that the harder you work, the luckier you become—but it all starts with putting in the work.
I just wanted to take a moment to remind everyone that, even if a game doesn’t turn out perfect, most indie devs have poured their heart and soul into it, often while juggling tight budgets, limited time, or both. In my case, my brother, who’s an amazing programmer, helps out whenever he can, but he’s been incredibly busy this past year, so it’s mostly just on weekends. For me, it’s been a lot of 14-hour days.
So thank you again for all the support—it makes all the sacrifices worthwhile. And to any fellow developers out there, keep pushing forward. We’re all in this together.
Let’s keep our fingers crossed for an internet phenomenon boost.
absolutely :)
How did you reach 6k? Do you think that something in particular helped you get there this time?
I’m also working on my first release - Bedroom Battlegrounds and I got just about 1k wishlists and I’m hard stuck 😅
I’m happy for you!
Thank you :)
“Inspired by the stanley parable”
Yeah that will do it. I am clicking that wishlist/buy button like i never had a choice in the matter.
i can’t wait for your game to be finished. as a The Stanley Parable and Title_Pending enjoyer, this will be right up my alley.
YES! I love them both too, some of my main inspirations. Glad someone else sees it!
I just went to wishlist this game and discovered it was already on my wishlist. Can’t wait for this game to release! I’ll definitely have to add it to my queue of random screenshot posts here.
Thank you! Almost two years in development now, I really hope people enjoy it. It might truly break my heart if it players are disappointment
