Early Development: A Game Jam That Started It All

The Wizard of O came from a game jam so long ago I can't even remember its name. While I didn't win, the feedback was a huge confidence boost. It was a simple feeling, really, seeing that a little game I made brought someone else a bit of enjoyment. You can still play that original version here on Itch.io, if you're curious where it all began.

The Big Idea That Almost Broke Me

Like a lot of solo developers, I quickly moved on to my next big project. This one was going to be my magnum opus—a sprawling top-down roguelite dungeon crawler with crafting and a huge world. I was so excited, I was even streaming development to a handful of people on Twitch. But as the months went by, the scope became a monster. Every feature I added felt like a new mountain to climb. The motivation I had at the start was slowly replaced by exhaustion. I had fallen into the biggest trap there is, and I knew I had to step away before I burned out completely.

During that break, a quiet comment from a game jam reviewer kept coming back to me: “You’re just missing an overworld and you could release this.”

It was such a simple thought. Instead of building something new from scratch, what if I just finished the thing people already liked?

The Grind to the Finish Line

That comment was a lightbulb moment. The game wasn't about a grand vision; it was about getting a small, fun project out there. The first step was the tedious part: bringing the game from a web browser to a phone. It meant re-learning how to make things work with touch controls, and fighting with the UI until it finally felt right on a tiny screen. It was a lot of small, frustrating problems, but each one I solved felt like a small victory.

Once that was done, I could finally get back to the fun stuff. I added a simple overworld, which immediately made the game feel more cohesive. Then came the new levels, each one a chance to build something new and creative without getting lost in a massive game design document.

The final stretch was a mix of intense focus and mind-numbing repetition. I built the save/load system, added settings, and hunted down bugs for what felt like forever. It was just me and my code, battling it out in Android Studio and Xcode. This is the part of development that doesn't get a lot of glory, but it's where a game truly gets finished.

Finally, came the moment of truth: preparing the listing for the Google Play Store. It was the final hurdle, a mix of writing, designing screenshots, and hoping everything was perfect before I hit the publish button. After all that work, it was surreal to think the game was finally ready to be shared with the world.