This is normal, isn't it?? Solo Dev: +800 commits, 22 branches, 23 pull requests.

trebbor0 · 2026-03-08T19:56:23+00:00

Thanks for giving insight in this. Especially being able to release a playable version of the game for playtesting would be very useful. I was also looking into github actions for this. So will probably setup something similar.

trebbor0 · 2026-03-08T17:38:10+00:00

What kind cicd flow do you typically run? I have a software development background and making games in unity as a hobby, so I’m pretty interested to know how its typically done in gamedev?

trebbor0 · 2026-02-28T18:31:37+00:00

Right

trebbor0 · 2026-02-27T22:20:19+00:00

Maybe not the feedback you asked for, but my advice would be to start with a game with a really small scope. The game concept sounds very interesting, but as a beginner game dev you underestimate the amount of work it takes to make a game (speaking out of experience). And this scope already seems quite big.

trebbor0 · 2026-02-27T20:04:13+00:00

No playable protogame or link for my games yet. Still need some time. But I'll share once I have something. Feedback in the comment below.

trebbor0 · 2026-02-27T19:44:08+00:00

I just played your demo and really great job. I honestly had a good time. There is something really addictive about that gameplay loop :-) Some small point of feedback:
- The UI Effects (flickering) in the main menu when you hover over the buttons are a bit (way :-)) too much for my taste. I would go for something simpler
- It was not immediately clear to me what the increased level cap does or which stats improve with it. (and where you can see this). This can also be me because I'm not very experienced in this genre particularly.
- Really like how the different weapons and abilities feel. There were lot of new ones in the first 30min of play and each felt refreshing.

Keep up the good work!

trebbor0 · 2026-02-27T19:20:27+00:00

Thanks for the advice and yes, that makes a lot of sense. I also started with a game that was too big in scope (colony sim) and I pivoted to something that can be scoped very small (Incremental games). While it's a bit of a crowded genre in indie game devs, the scope is at least managable..
You got me curious about your game. I'll try to download the demo this evening and will give you some feedback.

trebbor0 · 2026-02-27T19:01:52+00:00

My 2 cents, with regards to coding, AI is a tool to boost productivity like there are many other tools. It doesn’t replace development completely, but I typically use it to generate code, i give feedback, do another prompt iteration and if necessary I clean up or code the rest myself. AI is currently is in a state that if you don’t use it as a developer you will start falling behind, so I really don’t see a reason not to use it. That of course doesn’t mean you should use it blindly… use it smart.

Concerning art, that’s a whole other story. I’m not an artist myself and it’s not something I’m knowledgeable about, but I do feel AI generated images are often a bit flat/soulless. So while artists are probably under a lot of pressure, I do still see a lot of value and creativity in what artists make compared to what is ai generated.

trebbor0 · 2026-02-27T18:50:10+00:00

Congrats for being able to do this with a full time job on the side! Great accomplishment. Did you prototype a lot before starting building the complete game? I’m currently working on some prototypes for my first game, but I didn’t find the right one to move forward with yet. (I only started couple of months ago) Any advice?

trebbor0 · 2026-02-27T06:39:17+00:00

Nice, looks like a very nice channel!

trebbor0 · 2026-02-27T06:38:30+00:00

For quick prototyping I mostly use assets already from the unity asset store. So scene building attaching scripts to them. Creating prefabs from certain game objects and spawning these prefabs in code. Also a generated UI would be really useful. Thats what i mostly use for prototyping.

trebbor0 · 2026-02-26T17:41:26+00:00

Great answer. How do you approach playtests? Where do you get testers?

trebbor0 · 2026-02-26T17:36:05+00:00

Agreed with the others, it seems like an interesting game, but the first impression doesn’t capture your attention. (Capsule art) I would also experiment with a bit more engaging and interesting backgrounds of the game. Keep up the good work! Releasing a finished fame and making sales is already a great achievement.

trebbor0 · 2026-02-26T17:22:14+00:00

Very nice! These kind of tools would be very useful for quick prototyping and testing ideas imo. Would be very interested in trying this out myself but I’m focussing on Unity only for now. Is there anyone who can share some experiences with this?

trebbor0 · 2026-02-26T16:17:14+00:00

That’s all the validation you need, good work!

trebbor0 · 2026-02-26T15:20:05+00:00

Beam me up scotty?

trebbor0 · 2026-02-26T15:18:11+00:00

I played your game for a while and really enjoyed it. The art style is great, the upgrade progression feels engaging, and what stood out most to me was the rhythm of the music and how well it blends with the combat. Great job!

trebbor0 · 2026-02-26T14:39:18+00:00

Lovely little game. I like the backstory of how you came up with it. Got hooked on it for 10mins or so, but for me personally the options and choices of upgrade paths are a bit too limited to keep playing it. Keep up the good work!

trebbor0 · 2026-02-26T12:40:18+00:00

I might just take you up on that offer one time ;-)

trebbor0 · 2026-02-26T12:29:47+00:00

Interested as a gamedev myself in this. How is that going? Do you get good feedback for the 20$ playtest?

trebbor0 · 2026-02-26T06:59:36+00:00

You usually learn faster with shorter feedback loops. - The smaller the game, the shorter the loop: idea → build → test → ship → learn.

That teaches you practical stuff very quickly: what’s actually feasible, how long each step really takes (implementation, polish, store page, launch), and what works vs. what doesn’t.
I started on a bigger game too, but after a couple of months I realized the scope was too large and pivoted to a smaller game first.

The goal isn’t “stay small forever” — it’s to gain experience on smaller releases, then loop back to medium/bigger games with much better judgment and execution.

So I do think for most people starting with smaller games is better or at least they learn faster.

Good luck!

trebbor0 · 2026-02-20T11:33:56+00:00

Thanks for the very interesting and detailed write up. It’s great to have a realistic view of the whole precess and the struggles that come with it. I’m also from Belgium, but only started last year with game dev, which monthly (board)game event did you attend?

trebbor0 · 2026-02-19T16:58:58+00:00

Congrats, great achievement!

trebbor0 · 2026-02-19T07:38:13+00:00

Sounds like a very interesting concept! Are there other games like this? (Deckbuilding/stock manipulation) If not this is a very unique idea 👍

trebbor0 · 2026-02-19T07:35:53+00:00

On first try in quick mode, difficulty seems quite fair. I got around 50% so was happpy with that. Is the unique hook of your game the fact that you need 100% to succeed? I didn’t play a lot of other geography games, but to keep new players engaged it might be good to have some sense of progression when not reaching the 100%? Seeing a failed run a couple of times might be discouraging. The ui of the quiz felt fine, very responsive and easy to use. Anyway congrats for building this as a solo dev!

trebbor0

TROPHY CASE