Solo Game-Dev
For the last couple of years, I’ve been working toward becoming the game developer I always wanted to be. It’s a dream I’ve had since before I was ten, back when I spent endless hours on our old MS-DOS tower desktop. My siblings and I played everything we could get our hands on—Warcraft II, Wacky Wheels, Hocus Pocus, Crystal Caves, C&C: Red Alert, Day of the Tentacle, Curse of Monkey Island—you name it.
Exploration
Some of those early games really inspired me. Exploring a kid-friendly programming language (START) opened my eyes to the endless possibilities of game creation. I loved sketching levels for imaginary games, dreaming up action platformers, and envisioning the most beautiful pioneer cities in Anno 1602. I kept playing and loving games for years, but I never truly “got started” on making one. I didn’t have a clear vision of a game I wanted to create—there are so many great ones out there already!
Inspiration and Dedication
Around 2020, something changed. Trees have always been a subtle but recurring theme in games I’ve enjoyed, and when I learning about Pando—the enormous tree super-colony in Utah— it sparked my imagination. Inspiration struck , and I had an idea for a game that felt exciting and clicked with me on multiple levels. It gave me the push to explore this concept further and see where it might lead.
And now:
By early 2023, I decided to stop dreaming and start doing. I began teaching myself to work with Godot 4.2, committing to weekly sessions of learning and creating. It’s been a fulfilling journey with plenty of ups and downs, but the idea has grown into a project I truly love. There’s still a long way to go, but I’m getting somewhere—and I’m excited to keep going. Let’s do this!
