PLEASE START US OFF BY INTRODUCING YOURSELF:
Hi, I’m Folmer and I run a solo indie studio called nopopo, which means "no police”. I've been making games since 2012, starting in Flash, then moving to mostly mobile.
My latest project was Devolver Tumble Time, for which I assembled an 8 person team, and took on the role of game director.
I basically just love making art, and found out that games let me do just that in more ways I ever thought possible!
I'm originally Dutch, but currently live in Valencia, Spain. I have two cats (Digby & Parker).
TELL US ABOUT CASTLE V CASTLE.
Castle V Castle is a turn-based card battler that takes Castle Wars gameplay (an old Flash game I always loved) and adds a Wordle-style layer of daily challenges and streak tracking.
It’s a game idea I’ve started and stopped working on like, 5 times at this point? Just one of those concepts I keep coming back to. This time it seems to stick!
HOW HAS THE DEVELOPMENT JOURNEY BEEN
Like I said, I’ve attempted to make this game a bunch of times at this point, so the actual development has been pretty smooth. I know exactly what I want it to be and how to get there.
WHICH GAME ENGINE DID YOU CHOOSE AND WHY?
I use Stencyl for all my solo games, I’ve been using it for 10+ years now so I’m p proficient with it. It’s a great engine for non-coders and I wish more people knew about it.
WHAT'S BEEN YOUR BIGGEST DEVELOPMENT HURDLE SO FAR?
Development itself has been good, it’s more the circumstances of the games industry and *gestures at the dumpster fire that is the whole world* that’s the issue. There’s not much funding happening rn, getting twitter exposure is awful, my friends are getting laid off all over the place, all that kinda shit.
ADVICE FOR FELLOW DEVS?
It’s all been said before and the majority of gamedev advice becomes outdated the moment it’s been said, but I do want to say that the ONE thing that’s always held true is:
Make a game and RELEASE it. It’s what you’ll learn the most from, every time.
ANY FINAL THOUGHTS?
Find something to fight for, make art, get money, help others do the same.
-Folmer
❤️
