Howdy - my name is Joe, I go by JoeFatigued / DevFatigued on socials, and I'm an indie dev working solo on 'I AM A CATERPILLAR' - a cozy platformer full of bugs (but in a good way 😉)
In 'I AM A CATERPILLAR', you play as a tiny caterpillar in a big world, who doesn't want to become a butterfly. You'll explore cozy environments with unique bug-like crawling mechanics in a casual, low-stakes setting, making friends with other forest critters who will help you along the way with your goal of stopping the transformation.
The game started out as many indie games do, as a tiny gamejam project - in this case where the theme was 'delay the inevitable'. That evolved into a larger project when I felt attached to the concept of the story, and the fun of crawling around upside down as a bug which felt like a unique starting point to build from.
Developing IAAC has been a lot of fun, exploring and figuring out the games mechanics and vibes along the way. I started a couple of years ago now, and have been working on it as a passion / free-time project since.
It's made in Unity basically just because that's what I know best, and it does the job so far.
I'm sure this is a common answer, but TIME! I have a day-job that takes most of my time up already, and balancing that with free-time work on IAAC while trying to maintain a healthy work-life balance too has been incredibly tough - it means im progressing a lot slower than I'd want to in order to not burn out, as I'm also the only one working on this. But I still love the journey, and it will take as long as it takes.
I know you've probably heard it a million times, but keep your scope small - especially if you're working on your first game! And do loads of GameJams if you're up for it (*don't burn out on them though - remember to sleep plenty!), throughout my career I've felt their rapid iteration has been a huge benefit to my skillset each time I take part.
Just to say good luck with your gamedev journeys 🐛
-Joe
❤️
