Remembering what it means to be indie

I've been creating games independently now for more than a year. It hasn't been easy to do everything myself but it has been rewarding. Somewhere along the way I feel like I lost track of why I became indie. I even started to regret making games in the first place. I'm not sure if this post will amount to anything more than me rambling but I feel reflecting on my past might help myself as well as others remember why we all chose to do this in the first place. 

After finishing my first game Wordsum, I wasn't sure what was next for me. The game didn't take off like I had hoped for. Don't get me wrong, the amount of people who played my game was more than I could have originally thought possible. Even better was the people that played the game seemed to really enjoy it. But even with this, I was baffled that it took me over a year to get 1,000 downloads. The game also didn't make much money (I found I do like to eat on occasion). I was spending all my time figuring out how to maximize the IAP for my game. What had I become?

When I look back, it made sense why the game didn't become the next Crossy Roads or Monument Valley. It didn't look or sounds unique so it didn't standout from the crowd. Where did the game lose it's identity? It started during early development of the game when I got caught up in what would sell well and what would attract people to download the game. In summary:

The game I set out to make became a watered down version of the original. After the release, I became obsessed with marketing and IAP. I was miserable. The whole point of this change in my life was to make games I was proud of. I had quit my full time programming job to do it (I still contract to support myself). Yes, I can be proud this game exists and that it's fun but there are too many what ifs.

Over the next year, I've done a few other things. I made a VR game for the Leap Motion Game Jam, In Space, No One Can Hear You Dance. I started other games like Donut for the Gods and my current focus, MetaWorld. In the back of my mind I never felt like Wordsum was done. Little by little I began recreating the game as I originally envisioned. A fun, fast and beautiful word game that took the spirit of a game by Shintaro Sato, Blocksum, and shook it up with words.

I asked an artist who happened to be my friend to help with the art. Make it her own. I refined the gameplay to the core mechanics and improved the 'feel' of the game. Most important of all, I took my time and I didn't compromise my vision. This new game Wordsum Blitz, was something I wouldn't say what if to once it's released. It's the game I wanted to make.

I hope people do buy the game and enjoy it just like I would. I want them to look at it like I've looked back at Blocksum all these years and say "that was a really fun game". In the end, that's all the really matters to me. If you want see the change for yourself, download Wordsum for free for iOS or Android and check out Wordsum Blitz when it is release on iOS App Store on November 6, 2016. And thank you for letting me vent.