PLEASE START US OFF BY INTRODUCING YOURSELF:
Hi, I'm Tomasz Chabora, most people know me as KoBeWi. I'm an indie game developer from Poland, currently working on Voice of Flowers. I'm also an active contributor to Godot Engine.
TELL US ABOUT VOICE OF FLOWERS.
Voice of Flowers is a 2D metroidvania that takes heavy inspiration from Mario games. It has focus on platforming and jumping on enemies is one of the main methods of attacking.
It actually evolved from an old project of mine, called Mariovania, which was literally a Mario/Castlevania cross-over. I shared the game on MFGG, it got somethat popular, even received some awards. So I thought - if this was an original indie game, it would probably do quite well. At first I wanted to do a simple reskin of Mariovania with original sprites and music, but eventually the idea evolved into something much bigger, with the same principles at its core.
HOW HAS THE DEVELOPMENT JOURNEY BEEN
The development had its ups and downs. I started the project with a team, but it eventually disbanded and I was developing the game solo for some time. Currently there are 4 people working on the project and it progresses rather slowly, but steadily.
WHICH GAME ENGINE DID YOU CHOOSE AND WHY?
The game is developed in Godot Engine. In the past I tried various engines and frameworks, and eventually settled on using Godot. It's light, I find the workflow intuitive (it does not get in my way), and being open-source is a big plus. I actually became a regular contributor to the engine; if there is something I'm missing or I don't like, I can fix it myself without waiting indefinite amount of time.
WHAT'S BEEN YOUR BIGGEST DEVELOPMENT HURDLE SO FAR?
As I've been working solo for most of the project's development, I'm at an awkward moment where the game is mostly finished and ready to release (in early access at least), but 90% of the graphics are placeholders and need to be remade. Voice of Flowers is a rather big project and making quality art takes time.
ADVICE FOR FELLOW DEVS?
Note everything down. If you find something not right during playtesting, notice a bug or some potential improvement, write it down somewhere, so it's not forgotten. Prioritizing tasks may be tricky and not all notes will be relevant in the future, but tiny details make the game more polished and refined.
Also strike a balance between planning and flexibility. It's important to have at least a rough plan (i.e. something more tangible than "basic idea"), as it helps to define the game's direction and scope. At the same time some things might not go as planned, so you'll have to rewrite or throw out some parts of the game; it's inevitable once the project reaches certain complexity (and most projects will, unless they are extremely small).
ANY FINAL THOUGHTS?
When starting your "dream project", it's important to decide whether you want to make the game for fun or for money. While one does not exclude the other, it has major impact on how you should approach the development and influences the final product.
-Tomasz
❤️
