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Wrapping up 2024 • Celebrating the life and works of solo developers

PreMortem.Games

Still, Nowell strives to maintain a healthy work-life balance. Financial success Solo dev Tuomas Auronen , operating under the name Redbeak Games , looks pretty relieved three days after the launch of his game Mortal Glory 2. The game is developed by Californian solo dev Michael Cosio, working under the name of Tainted Pact.

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Solo dev Patrik Nagy on his game Backrooms Media “No amount of playtesting is ever enough”

PreMortem.Games

No amount of playtesting is ever enough,” he says. “I No amount of playtesting is ever enough. I tried to ensure I heard all the players’ opinions and did many playtests with thousands of players, but there were still flaws at release.” The toll on your mental health can be quite high for a solo dev.

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Solo developer Voidmaw on creating Katanaut: “Done is better than perfect”

PreMortem.Games

And of course, balancing everything like coding, art, marketing, and playtesting can be exhausting. Playtesting is a huge part of the process, but also biased if you find yourself asking the same individuals for help. The toll on mental health can be quite high for solo devs. Motivation can also be tricky.

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Indie dev studio Wikkl Works takes virtual rock climbing to New Heights

PreMortem.Games

Intricate mechanics The dev team faced two major challenges when translating the physical act of climbing to gameplay mechanics: replicating the intricate mechanics of grip, support, weight, and motion, and ensuring user-friendliness. Of these, the climbing system proved to be the most demanding task.

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Solo dev Jonathan Barbosa Dijkstra “Learning new skills is a great motivator”

PreMortem.Games

He took some online courses on programming and he was in business, as a solo dev operating under the name of Frambosa , only six months later. So, his solo debut game Billy Bumbum might be the first and last game he made as a one-man-dev-team. All this before there’s ever any playtesting done.

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Final Factory by Never Games takes automation into space and adds bullet-hell

PreMortem.Games

One of my close friends, Ches Denison, joined me working 5-10 hours a week as a playtester, game designer, and just a general jack-of-all-trades-guy. Once playtesting began in early 2023, player feedback further refined my vision. Plus, maintaining a healthy work-life balance is the most important thing you can do as a game dev.

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How to Make Board Game Rules

Brand Game Development

A mechanic is the concept behind the game and the rule is the way that it’s handled to ensure balance.” ” Rules are really tricky to do right because you have to serve two purposes: balance the game and communicate clearly. Making Balanced & Clear Rules. Playtest a Ton. Rules vs. Rulebooks.

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