PLEASE START US OFF BY INTRODUCING YOURSELF:

My name is Jeudy Blanco, I live in Costa Rica. I have been a software developer for 24 years, I have a masters degree in Astrophysics, married for 21 years, 1 daughter. I've had interest in game development since the very beginning of my career, but it was until 2015 that I started my first mobile projects (after seeing the phenomenon that was Flappy Bird that showed that anyone could make a successful game).

My first game engine (or library in this case) was Libgdx. I developed a couple of mobile games with it. Then discovered Godot and have been using it ever since. In 2020 I started developing my first PC game, Extinction Eclipse, a space RTS. In 1999 I was a huge Starcraft fan, so I wanted to do something similar.

In 2021 I was accepted by Nintendo to publish on the Switch, so I dedicated 50% of my time to work on the game, until it was finally published on Steam and Switch. On 2023 it was ported to iOS and Android. Now I also help other Godot developers to bring their games to the Nintendo Switch (specially from Latinamerican countries like me, free of charge).

TELL US ABOUT WOLLEY'S DUNGEON ADVENTURE.

My current game is called Wolley's Dungeon Adventure. It's my first 3D game. Originally I though about it as a variation of one of my mobile games, Snaky, which is a yellow character that has to move around the world eating bouncy balls and avoiding dangers. The original idea was to make a simple 3D version of it, but it grew in scope. I'm also a great fan of Kirby games, so I changed the mechanic a bit to make the character inhale instead of just eating like pacman. I worked on the prototype since 2022.

With the modest earnings from Extintion Eclipse I was able to hire an artist who helped a lot in the design of the character and different elements of the game, and also a great musician. I put together a pitch with a demo and last year got a publisher who is funding the game! So now I have a team working with me to make it happen. I love isometric perspective games, like Hades, so decided early on that I wanted that for Wolley. Also, I want it to be a relaxing and fun game, so it doesn't have death per se. Instead, if you get damage, you lose some of the bouncy balls you have inhaled (like in Sonic games when you lost rings). Also, the concept turned out to be really fun and I saw a lot of potential to make it local multiplayer for VS and coop modes.

The main goal of the game is to chase and inhale bouncy critters, and when you had enough, you use a scale, weigh yourself in it, and a door opens and you move on. This is inspired in an amazing NES game I loved when I was a kid: Snake Rattle and Roll.

HOW HAS THE DEVELOPMENT JOURNEY BEEN

As I mentioned, I love Godot, so it was the natural choice. It's simple amazing. It's not just that it is open source (I don't care too much about modifying it) but that it is so easy to use. The setup is so simple and lightweight (compared to Unity) and for the type of games and scope I do, it works great. Also, it's relatively simple to export to the Switch, and now with W4Games in the picture, XBox and PS seem to be an option in the near future.

WHICH GAME ENGINE DID YOU CHOOSE AND WHY?

I build the prototype in Godot 3.5, but for 3D, it's not very optimized. Also limits which consoles you can publish on (without paying one of the few providers thousands of dollars), so I decides right after I got funded that I would start from scratch in Godot 4.2 It took me about 2 months to migrate all I had in the prototype to the newest version, and it was a fairly simple migration.

WHAT'S BEEN YOUR BIGGEST DEVELOPMENT HURDLE SO FAR?

I'm not an artist nor a 3D modeler, so I always struggle with that part. It takes me forever to make even the simplest art or models for my proof of concepts and prototypes. Luckly, there are many free or cheap models out there, and platforms like Fiverr allows you to hire decent artists for a few bucks to get things moving.

ADVICE FOR FELLOW DEVS?

Don't be afraid of failing. It's part of the process. But also, don't feel intimidated. Fake it until you make it (I'm still waiting for the "making it part"). Projects can get huge in scope, so always keep a list of tasks, and try to work on at list a couple every day. You will see you make progress and that is a morale boost. Also, learn to ask for help. Most of us can't do everything at the same time (code, art, music, etc), so getting the right people to help is very important. Of course, it will depend on your financial situation, but it's always possible to find affordable people willing to work with you. Gamedev is amazing, but don't sacrifice your health, family time and health for it. Sleep 8 hours a day, you will regret it if you don't in your 40's like me. Also, take calculated risks. If you are a software developer, chances are you have a decent salary. So try to save some money to afford you go half time gamedev while still paying your bills and see how it goes.

ANY FINAL THOUGHTS?

Just keep developing games, it is amazing.

-Jeudy

❤️

Wolley's Dungeon Adventure on Steam