My name is Randy Becker, and I am a solo developer. I have been creating games for over 15 years, with experience in Flash, GM Studio, Unreal, and Unity. Despite my passion for retro and cute styled games, I am mostly known within the "exe creepypasta" community.
"It's Starfox on foot" is about the most common comparison the public has for Unit Down Charge. And, well... that was the goal. I love rail shooters, and frankly, there are far too few of them. I wanted to capture the charm of those games, but wanted to make something that removes it from being a clone. So I combined Rail Shooter action with the control scheme of a Cabal Shooter to create Unit Down Charge!
I will be honest... I work a full time job, and have a loving partner that deserves my attention. It's easy to look at it as an impossible task to find time to also program a rather ambitious project. But with a set-in-stone release date (that I refuse to move), good friends/supporters, and a small few dedicated hyped fans... I find time. 2 hours a day, every day, more on weekends, and I give no excuses even if I have to stay up until 1 in the morning.
This project uses Unity, and I chose it for a very... odd reason. They randomly adopted a "Visual Scripting" that I am a very big fan of. Many programs I use (Unreal Blueprints, Game Maker Studio's block logic, ect), already use this. So it felt like a very easy and reasonable transition, especially with the simple asthetic I was aiming for.
Oh, and for any starting developers wondering if a game can be made with "only visual scripting", the answer is yes. Absolutely. I am sure most will argue against it, but this game is proof it's more than capable as long as you know how to use it.
I'd say the biggest hurdle is the same as most small indie games; Getting exposure. With the success of a small-scale Kickstarter, I had the funds to get the voices I needed, professional promotional artwork, and even advertising/influencer backing. However, even with this, getting traction and eyes on the project has been a lot of work, and has had very mixed results. I post weekly updates, gameplay, sneak peeks, and funny glitches on over 7 social media outlets, with hopes of getting a hit or two. And these posts take a lot of time out of my programming time. But it's important.
Don't ask the internet what the best engine is. Don't ask the internet if you should make an RPG as your first game. Don't ask the internet if your poly count is too big. Don't ask the internet if your code is messy.
It doesn't matter, unless it matters. You want to use Unity? Use it. You want to make an RPG? Make it. Does your game perform just fine with the high poly model? Use it. Does your game work as intended with your code? Ship it.
Others are not making your game; You are. Just remember that.
If you are developing a game, and are getting burnt out or even just unmotivated in general, a little advice that's helped me with my 9 year old project in the past:
Go back and look at some of your first footage or assets of your project. Look at how far you come from that. And, show the world. "How it started VS how its going" is not only a great promotional post, but a great motivational one at that.
Randy❤️
