PLEASE START US OFF BY INTRODUCING YOURSELF:
My name is Timo Boom, I'm a Dutch father and husband who does game development on the side as a hobby.
TELL US ABOUT PROPHECY ISLAND
I'm currently working on Prophecy Island, an open world rpg with randomly generated overworld and dungeons. The idea comes from me really enjoying rpgs like the souls and scrolls series, but getting burned out on repeat playthroughs because the mystery is gone. With Prophecy Island I want to make an rpg that always keeps its sense of mystery and exploration.
HOW HAS THE DEVELOPMENT JOURNEY BEEN
The idea came to me roughly 10 years ago, but I knew I didn't have the expertise back then to make it yet. That's why over the years I've made tech demos of components I knew I would need one day. And then, 3 years or so ago, I decided I was ready and started to put it all together.
WHICH GAME ENGINE DID YOU CHOOSE AND WHY?
Everything was made in Unity, so it was easy to merge everything. Unity is also the engine I'm using for the project right now.
WHAT'S BEEN YOUR BIGGEST DEVELOPMENT HURDLE SO FAR?
By far the biggest hurdle currently is working around the limitations of unity's build in navmesh system. It's slow, not asynchronous and sometimes unpredictable. I have hope however that some of these issues will be addressed in Unity 6.
ADVICE FOR FELLOW DEVS?
My biggest advice to aspiring game devs is to make something you want to play. The motivation to make something that you want to have is very strong and will help you get through the tougher times.
ANY FINAL THOUGHTS?
My final thought would be an advice to enjoy what you're doing. If you don't enjoy making a game you're doing something wrong. Either game development is not for you, or you're making the wrong game. Either way, it's worth to reflect and see what's going wrong instead of keeping on going until you burn out.
-Timo
❤️
