PLEASE START US OFF BY INTRODUCING YOURSELF:

Hiya! My name's Bernie Wick, and I'm a game developer from the lovely Vienna, Austria. In the past, I was employed as a software developer and later team lead at a game studio, having gained great experiences and some good friends along the way.

I always wanted to try creating games on my own, telling my own stories, so at some point I decided to do exactly that. Aside from my professional work, I've already published a game or two on my own. Thinking back, I've been in game dev for some years now. Time flies!

TELL US ABOUT FADING SERENADES.

For me, it's a reflection on modern life. Everything is going so fast and is so addictive. Everybody needs to be more productive, always demanding more and more and more. And in all that, we seem to forget what's important to us. We forget how to truly enjoy and lose ourselves in something worthwhile.

I regularly try to take a serious break from nearly everything digital. Just to have a week or so for me, my books, and my thoughts. And every time it's a breath of fresh air - why can't it always be like this? Where is that clarity when I'm sitting in front of my computer? Why am I falling back into all of those habits that I don't like about myself?

I'm a big science-fiction nerd, so I thought, what would the even more extreme and futuristic version of our current life look like, and further, what would the opposite, this analogue part, if you will, within that world be? Out came the island in the game: A bunch of old folks keeping these old ways, just because they like it, but needing help, too. And of course, everything is going a little awry.

Aside from all those literary thoughts, I've played way too much Dredge (the scary fishing game) and was way too captivated by the inventory system of that game! So, I wanted to make one too.

HOW HAS THE DEVELOPMENT JOURNEY BEEN

Usually, my development process is writing a lot in my pen & paper notebooks, to work through ideas and details in my head. Something usually forms out of that. I'm not much of a prototyper in the typical sense (and was always terrible in game jams). Instead, I try to get my vision of the project playable on screen (and in the hands of my testing friends) as quickly as possible, to then iterate and iterate and iterate on.

I believe that it's very rarely about the idea itself, but way more about the execution and polish of the project. Anything can be made fun. That's something I've learnt working for others.

WHICH GAME ENGINE DID YOU CHOOSE AND WHY?

I use Godot! I'm very vocal about it on social media because I think this little engine is going the right way. Other engines seem to stray from the path nowadays, with features nobody asked for or just bloat.

However, my main reason is just the speed at which I can develop my games. I'm a software developer at heart, and I would love to create a game from scratch at some point (because opinions). But, as a single-person company that doesn't yet have a big portfolio that sells, it's important to me to be able to quickly develop my projects. I want to eat, after all!

WHAT'S BEEN YOUR BIGGEST DEVELOPMENT HURDLE SO FAR?

Developing the (or any?) game had its ups and downs, honestly. For Fading Serenades, my most important deadline and subsequent learning was Steam's Next Fest in June this year. I managed to create a demo of the game well ahead of time, having only started development in February. This was nice, because I could prove to myself that my planning of development times actually works.

I hoped to get a few eyes on the game through the festival, because I'm still building my audience, after all. Well, with the Switch 2 releasing just a few days before, and some other big announcements, releases, and Next Fest participants, it was a rather rough and disappointing week for me. Numbers and attention were low all around.

However, the few people who did play the demo left positive feedback and seemed to enjoy the game. There are never only negatives. That's important to keep in mind.

Still, I would have to lie to say that my motivation wasn't hit a little bit then and was rather slow to come back. Mixed with a busy summer in other areas of my life, I'm trying to find a healthy balance of how much I work and how I approach it. There's always a lot of work to do, and I want people to have a great game to play, after all!

ADVICE FOR FELLOW DEVS?

Two things come to mind:

Focus on enjoying the process.

And finish your projects.

Whenever you feel drained after working on your project, ask yourself why that is. What would it look like if it were easy? What would the process be like if you truly, deeply enjoyed it?

Maybe there are things you could change to make that happen.

Also, finish your projects. It makes you learn about yourself in many ways. Forces you to leave your perfectionism behind. I'm starting to realise that's a good skill to have.

ANY FINAL THOUGHTS?

Go make art.

Draw something, scribble on a piece of paper, sing your favourite songs, or write a little story. Doesn't have to be for anybody else; it just has to exist.

Bernie

Fading Serenades on Steam