Posted August 24, 2025 by PixelEyes-Dev
#demo #gamedev #rant #learning #release #card game #indie #cats #multiplayer #single player
Hey, I go by PixelEyesDev in this journey that started 6-ish months ago, been working as a gamedev -specifically gameplay programmer- for the last 4 years and I finally decided to gives this solo indie dev thing a serious shot , but when I say that , I DO mean the hard way !
When I decided to start this project, I knew that the coding part wouldn't be an issue, I've done it for a while (4 years as mentioned) and most tasks to me are just a matter of "butt in chair, type the lines", after all I better be good at that with those years under me , so what's the deal ?
Well you see, I've always been a control freak when it comes to code - my code to be specific - and that kind of attitude needs to be toned down when working with other people, we all know some pretty common programmer archetypes (the super-abstracter , the super-planner , the "clever"-solution guy, the band-aid guy, etc..) and having those opinions all clash against each other in the same codebase can cause issues, so finding a sane common ground is the "pragmatic" thing to do...
With that said, having a project all to myself gave me a chance to create a environment where everything is homogeneous and VERY sane for me to work in, and -hey- maybe I can see some blind spots in my methods now that they're driving the whole codebase, no one to blame now but me :)
Yep , you know that thing that Youtube "gamedev gurus" tell you not to do and to be smart with assets ? I did the opposite, and let me explain exactly what I mean.
Other than the engine (Unity) , everything in the game is custom made (and no , not a single drop of AI slop has been used)...
The music , the code , the rendering pipeline , the shaders, the models , the textures , the SFX , all of it was handmade.(with the exception of the 3 building models in the campaign mode that I ofc plan on remaking myself).
Some people would read that call BS , some might think I'm extrapolating for dramatic effect but I mean 100% of what I said.
Some would call it dumb and a waste of time that could've been used elsewhere, other would just tell me to just put 100% in programming and get a pro to do the "assets" side of things or just buy asset packs , but I had other plans.
I can think of many reasons ranging from "well that's just who I am as a person" to "a speech about the value & meaning of making things and how it's getting lost" but I'll stick to the following things that come mind that I think will bring some value :
My ultimate goal is to eventually form a small & compact team to make bigger and better games together, I'm talking about a lean-and-mean group of individuals that have deep knowledge about their domain, that last thing you want in that dynamic is a guy smoking a cigar , taking a bite of an apple then saying while chewing
"Hey guys , guess what ? I have another idea for you to implement , YES another one , this one is bigger AND better ? let's make everything do everything AT THE SAME TIME ! pretty sweet isn't it ? yeah , that was just a single kernel I just picked from my Megamind-looking cranium full of ideas, maaaan what would this project be without me ! I should reward myself with another cigar right after I finish this one"
Doing everything from scratch means being familiar with every part of the game making process and having concrete experience to draw from when talking with competent people, "speaking their language" is the way avoid becoming that guy and have a clear understanding AND respect between each other, no need for hand-wavy descriptions and discussions that go in circles and lead ultimately to frustration and not getting the ideas across.
Do things. understand them. THEN you'll be able to talk about them.
The professional gamedev side is full of contributors that go unnoticed -especially in the world of AAA where a big part of it is driven by large numbers and low efficiency- , you don't get to pick ideas or express yourself that often in a way that defines the game , or at least your ideas get passed through so many "sanitization" steps that it loses its essence by the end of it, this creates a disconnect between the developers and the game and makes you think :
"Well I don't see myself in this game, my input doesn't get acknowledged anyways so ill just disassociate from the game and just do the work, the only thing binding me to it are my X-hours a week I put into it".
At some point I had those thoughts in my head every day I went to work, over the years, that kind of environment seeps the creativity out of people slowly yet consistently and turns them into glop-brained people, so AVOID it if you can , or GET out while you can.
When you make something from scratch, it gives you so much confidence and positive reinforcement, the ability to point at your game -ALL of it- and saying "I made it happen, ALL of it , that whole experience I just spawned into the world, that's me" is sacred feeling that I think everyone should experience at least once with a project.
When you first start getting into gamedev, it all looks like a map with a thick layer of fog of war covering it, maybe you start exploring and unlocking the "coding" part of the map, you start getting good at it , and after a decent time spent mastering coding, it becomes your thing , you're a "programmer" now HAH ! You look ahead and see all the "marketing" and "art assets" parts still unexplored and think to yourself "man I'm knees deep into this coding thing, that's who I am , you're telling me I need do that again with Blender now ?" You look to your left
"MEGA ASSET PACK 80% OFF GAME READY ASSETS"
You look to you right, a harlequin pops out with a goodie bad and says
"psst, you want some EPIC courses with the secrets for making best selling and award winning models?".
This is the moment where you look ahead, open a browser tab and and type in "Blender tutorial for beginners (10h)"
Because learning is like a muscle, the less stimulation and work it does , the more it atrophies and gets lazy.
You need to quickly get out of the comfort zone caused by feeling accomplished by learning coding, and hop into the next thing , and guess what , it will be much easier than learning to code for the first time , it gets exponentially easier and faster every time!
Making a game from scratch is the way to acquire the core skillsets and the deep knowledge needed to understand and make games, you have to resist the urge of falling for "snake oil salesmen" and embrace struggling and bit early in order to flourish later.
This was my first every attempt at making a devlog/rant/whatever this is, these thoughts have been on my mind for so long but I decided to only post them when I had a piece of work displaying the results of what I'm preaching, so here I am typing this out at 5am after releasing the demo of Paws Up ! This is by no means the last time I post here (I hope), a lot of work still needs to be done on the demo and release is only the first step, tell me what you think in the comments :)