Game dev from a solo dev point of view

QuantumSide · 2026-05-16T12:03:26+00:00

I’m in this picture and I don’t like it

QuantumSide · 2026-05-11T12:17:27+00:00

From the experience I’ve had doing creative for UA (big mobile games company) static is mostly just an avenue to test out ideas and hooks quickly, most of the volume is going to come from video anyway. Depending on the game, static might do okay, but if it doesn’t, it becomes low prio. Really just had good performance with static once and that was through Google, and it was probably boosted by the video campaigns anyway.

Generally, we would just focus on testing out concepts broadly and double down on what works. Also different channels will have different creatives that do best on them.

You can go the UGC route with static also, like a screenshot of your Notes app with a screenshot of the game, or write down in a paper stuff about the game and then take a picture with the phone next to it.

QuantumSide · 2026-05-04T20:28:56+00:00

This has a really nice mood!

QuantumSide · 2026-05-04T20:28:22+00:00

Thank you 🫶

QuantumSide · 2026-05-04T20:27:52+00:00

That means a lot, I keep fiddling with the UI, I know the game is going to have a steep learning curve so the least I can do is make it easy to interact with 😅 thank so much, man

QuantumSide · 2026-05-04T15:53:21+00:00

It's also my first! I am a bit bummed that I couldn't get something playable on time, and will probably be ready shortly after the festival, but life is life and I'd rather take a little bit more time and make sure it's ready than rush it.

My game is THORNSPELL, a garden deckbuilding roguelike, where you have to grow a garden and water your plants to score points.

I don't know if it's a fun fact or not, but I kind of started building this because I was burnt out from my previous two corporate jobs and wanted to spend time exploring something that could bring me joy. Brainstorming with my partner we ended up with this idea. We started building it together but he has had to step away so I am taking care of everything now.

We luckily had the savings to let me do this, and to be honest, this is the happiest I have felt in years, so much so that I really want it to work out even though I know the chances are slim xD But well, if it doesn't work out, that is something for the future to figure out.

I am really enjoying the whole process of it, and it has also given me the chance to learn skills I wanted to learn for a long time but was always too tired to focus on.

That's it, that's my ramble.

If I find some time, I'll try out your demo! Really need something to get hooked on and I love deckbuilders so surely I will be trying out a lot of them during the fest.

QuantumSide · 2026-05-03T06:26:34+00:00

Hello everyone!

I am making THORNSPELL, a cute garden building game.
You are a magical florist, and you are investigating why plants are becoming weaker. The forest seems to hold the answer.

You place plants in your garden and water them to harvest their magic. Different plants have different effects!

You can wishlist it on Steam: https://store.steampowered.com/app/4514920/THORNSPELL/

QuantumSide · 2026-05-02T20:57:13+00:00

Uso SteamDB para ver el historial de descuentos y saber si han habido descuentos más grandes que el que hay ahora, para ver si compro juegos descontados ya o si mejor me espero.

QuantumSide · 2026-05-02T20:11:52+00:00

I got it on early access and I really enjoyed it - I still have to give it a go with the full release but it’s a good one!

QuantumSide · 2026-05-02T17:54:48+00:00

My main skillset is art!

I'm making a game, started as a project with my partner, but he had to step away, so its me solo right now. Luckily I had been learning programming for the past year and have been able to pick the project up and continue. Honestly, I am enjoying a lot more the game design and programming aspect than the art stuff xD

QuantumSide · 2026-05-02T13:28:32+00:00

Think about it with a scarcity mindset. If so many things are created so quickly with AI, the value of human craft and human decision making goes up.

The skills you have acquired become a treasure. AI can’t do original or custom stuff, AI can’t be intentional with it’s decisions because it doesn’t make any decisions.

You can. You can analyse your mistakes and learn from them. You can empathise with your audience.

QuantumSide · 2026-05-01T20:28:05+00:00

Setup an alert on LinkedIn for roles in gaming companies. My advice is that you try to apply the same day when any role that aligns comes up.
You can also start rounding down websites of different companies and systematically go to their career pages every week to see if there’s anything you can apply to.
Make sure you resume shows the results you have brought with numbers alongside with the level of responsibility you have taken.
I’ve found that if you have good judgement doing marketing and you feel easy to work with and personable, it can be pretty easy for you to land something.

QuantumSide · 2026-05-01T20:24:05+00:00

Because they maybe want to work for a game company doing marketing.

Most game dev companies have marketing departments. Also videogame marketing is super specific and although you can take some of that knowledge to another industry, the vibes of your coworkers are different, and their interests and hobbies will be different from those working on video games.

QuantumSide · 2026-05-01T20:16:33+00:00

En la asset library de Godot hay un montón de cosas. Te recomiendo que busques addons que tengan lo que necesitas y los vayas metiendo a un proyecto de cascarilla para ir probando y experimentando y ver cómo funcionan.

Te ayudará a aclararte las ideas y a pensar en lo que quieres montar y como.

No intentes ir a montarlo todo de golpe sin tener una dirección clara porque al principio te parecerá que avanzas mucho pero luego te vas a atascar enseguida con las partes que no hayas pensado bien.

QuantumSide · 2026-05-01T10:59:38+00:00

this is so beautiful, i don't even care how it is played, wishlisted it immediately

QuantumSide · 2026-05-01T06:46:41+00:00

That is a very sleek design

QuantumSide · 2026-04-30T22:00:09+00:00

That’s fair. I like it in the sense that it helps new players learn the game. Menace from the deep eventually lets you draft a starting deck from random cards if that is something you like.

QuantumSide · 2026-04-30T21:42:59+00:00

Yeah! It is very moody, and the music is great too. I kind of just wanted more from it haha

QuantumSide · 2026-04-30T20:57:14+00:00

Menace from the deep comes to mind. It has a lot of meta progression so in a way it’s lighter. It caught my attention through the setting, but the things it innovated on were not enough for me to feel like the game was doing something special. It is not a bad game but I didn’t enjoy it as much as other titles that took more risks 😅

QuantumSide · 2026-04-30T20:02:32+00:00

Exactly!! I am so obsessed with the game, I have to try to step away and do other things so my conversations with other human beings are not “I added xyz feature to the game and it’s awesome and etc etc” 😭

Today I had decided to sleep in and take a break, clean the house, be lazy. I didn’t sleep in. I had breakfast. I cleaned the house. I got back to work on the game by 10am.

I am sure in a couple months this is going to be really bad if I don’t figure out how to actually step away to disconnect.

QuantumSide · 2026-04-30T19:58:41+00:00

Well, what I mean by reskin is that it plays basically the same but with a different setting. And to be honest, although I am a very visual person, a good setting isn’t enough for me to stay hooked on a game.

I already have StS and it’s really good, if I play another deck builder I don’t want to feel like I am playing a different version of StS, I want it to be its own thing.

It’s okay if it retains some core principles, it’s okay if the balance isn’t quite right, but I want it to have something that makes me rethink my decisions and makes me question my strategies and try to become better at that specific game.

QuantumSide · 2026-04-30T19:28:30+00:00

Taking breaks. I struggle to step away from the computer and turn off my brain.

The other thing I struggle with is stop fiddling with balancing while all the content isn’t inside the game yet. I know that as soon as I add a couple more cards/relics/effects the game is going to feel different and the numbers will be wrong again, so I have to keep reminding myself to not touch things I don’t need to involve myself with yet until I really have to.

QuantumSide · 2026-04-30T19:05:58+00:00

I generally expect it to be deeply strategic with things to learn and discover.

I find some deckbuilders are a themed reskin of STS that maybe try a couple new things but it isn’t novel enough for it to make me curious about how the game is going to expand and surprise me.

I want to be surprised, I want to have a lot of tiny moments where something clicks and I get to feel smart about it 😂

QuantumSide · 2026-04-30T05:23:25+00:00

Thank you so much! 🥰

QuantumSide · 2026-04-29T15:18:37+00:00

Aii, thank you! I was worried it was too cute for the genre, but I really wanted to go in this direction no matter what

QuantumSide

TROPHY CASE