PLEASE START US OFF BY INTRODUCING YOURSELF:
My name is Vincent Penning. I'm a tattoo artist from the Netherlands, currently working on the metroidvania game Super Roboy.
TELL US ABOUT SUPER ROBOY
I’ve been tattooing for over twelve years, and for most of those years, it was a constant grind: drawing, painting, tattooing, and making books about tattoos. About two years ago, I decided to find a hobby unrelated to tattooing to “reset” my mind every now and then.
I started writing, drawing comic book characters, making music, and animating to see what I liked. When I discovered game development, it clicked: it allows me to combine all those things into a single project! I’ve been hooked ever since.
HOW HAS THE DEVELOPMENT JOURNEY BEEN
The journey has been pretty smooth. I made a prototype, which took about six months, and had it playtested thoroughly. I also went on Reddit to gather as much feedback as possible.
After the playtest, I decided to restart the whole project and implement everything it taught me. That version became Super Roboy.
WHICH GAME ENGINE DID YOU CHOOSE AND WHY?
I use Unity simply because it was the first one I encountered.
WHAT'S BEEN YOUR BIGGEST DEVELOPMENT HURDLE SO FAR?
There haven’t been many hurdles, to be honest, other than the fact that it’s not easy and it’s a lot of work.
I think it helps that I already found my passion in tattooing. This makes game development very relaxed in my case: what can’t be done today can wait for tomorrow, and there’s no pressure to make a huge number of sales. This really helps me focus on making a game that the players will like.
ADVICE FOR FELLOW DEVS?
Enjoy it! Game development has made my life a lot richer. Also, don’t quit your day job unless you can do so without worrying about your finances. If your life depends on your game doing well in sales, it will probably add a lot of stress to your development cycle, which might suck the fun out of it.
ANY FINAL THOUGHTS?
Thanks for inviting me to be a part of your website, and keep up the good work!
Thanks so much!
-Vincent
❤️
