I am Pedro Silva, the sole developer behind FUR Squadron and the upcoming FUR Squadron Phoenix. I have over 10 years of experience working on mobile games and decided to transition to indie development.
When I started the first FUR Squadron game, I was still working full-time for another company. All I wanted at the outset was to create a mobile game that offered a full-fledged PC/console experience. I aimed to keep the scope as limited as possible, drawing inspiration from Starfox 64 and its seemingly simple on-rails design. Ultimately, the project turned out to be much more complicated than I had anticipated, but I still managed to complete and publish it on mobile, as well as on PC and consoles.
Thankfully, I was able to leverage my previous experience working in development teams, and the transition to PC and console development went surprisingly smoothly.
Unity has been my tool of choice since the beginning of my career, so using it again was a no-brainer.
Graphic design and art have been a real challenge for me. Since embarking on my indie journey, I've received assistance from freelance artists and frequently consulted with concept artists and experts in 3D and environment design. I had to iterate on the aesthetics repeatedly for both the original FUR Squadron and Phoenix until I finally found something I felt comfortable with.
Scope is every indie developer’s worst enemy. Keep it as limited as possible because tasks often take three to four times longer than your worst estimates, especially if you haven't completed many games before. A three-month project can easily turn into a twelve-month endeavour.
Try to learn from veterans—their experience is invaluable. Working in a large studio for a while will teach you lessons that you probably won't learn on your own.
-Pedro
❤️
