Hi, I’m Albert van Zyl, the solo caveman behind this dinovania. I've been making games for myself and other studios for over ten years, coming from the good old Flash days. I'm currently working on a Metroidvania full of dinosaurs called Primal Planet which will be my first steam release ever.
Ever wished for a certain kind of game and wondered why it hasn’t been made yet? That's exactly what happened to me with Primal Planet.
Rewinding back to a few years ago when I was watching Jurassic Park for the first time since I was a kid. The nostalgia hit hard, reigniting my childhood love for dinosaurs. Growing up in South Africa, I was surrounded by breathtaking nature and wildlife, which left a lasting impression. Combining this with my love for metroidvanias, the idea for Primal Planet was born—a game where you could immerse yourself in a world of dinosaurs.
My vision for Primal Planet was clear: create a metroidvania where the environment feels alive. Not just obstacles to overcome, but a world where creatures interact with each other—predators hunt, prey flee. Inspired by the conceptual depth of games like Rain World, I wanted to craft a dynamic ecosystem that keeps players on their toes.
I've been a fan of metroidvanias since childhood. Back in the early 90s as a little kid, I played my first ever metroidvania called Zeliard—a classic crafted in 1987 that completely captivated my young imagination. Since that moment, I've dreamed of creating my own metroidvania, and now, with the necessary skills and resources at my disposal, that dream has become a reality.
Primal Planet is a story about the bonds of family and how far one would go to save your loved ones, while also reflecting modern society issues., But above all else, it is meant to be an entertaining and action-packed adventure on a dinosaur planet.
It's been amazing, it's been awful, it's been wonderfully fun, it's been everything! I am no exception to the pressures and amount of work solo devs go through in order to make a game. Saying that us solo devs have huge workloads is an understatement. Development has had it's ups and downs for sure. That being said, development on Primal Planet has been surprisingly smooth since it all started about 3 or 4 years ago. I'm constantly waiting for something to go massively wrong, hehe.
I've played around with a few game engines at first, but ultimately landed on Godot. It's free, open source and does exactly what I need to accomplish for Primal Planet. I love Godot.
I still see myself as more of an animator than a coder. There are many technical and programming hurdles that I struggle to overcome, but one of the main hurdles (and main priorities) during this time is making sure I live a balanced life and not lose myself in isolation and constant work. It can happen so easily.
One of the biggest killers for doing anything in the long run is when you feel like you don't have time for anything else. You have finally reached a point where you can do the thing you love, the thing you've dreamed of your whole life, but the payoff is that it's the only thing you can do. It feels like a cosmic joke. The rest of your life is slowly slippig away as you work on your dream project.
To any other developer who feels this way, you are not alone! Professional gamedev in this time and place is incredibly challenging and we have to give ourselves a break. Try not to be too obsessed with working on your game, even (or especially) if you feel like you don't have time for anything else.
Remember that the other things in your life are actually more important. Giving them proper time, attention and care will not only improve your mental state and life in general, but it will improve the quality of your game and your overall motivation as well.
- Thanks for reading through all of my ramblings and for taking an interest in Primal Planet and in me as a developer. I appreciate it very much and I can't wait to share this game with the world once it's ready. I hope some of you are just as excited about it as me!
-Albert
https://store.steampowered.com/app/2350270/Primal_Planet/
❤️
