CrazyHoundGameDesign

  This post is about reflecting on where I am today and how I plan to progress with trying to make games.  It's a bit long and includes a description of why I want to make the games I want to make, and why I want to make them.  I also mention a few things I've learned along the way that might be helpful. Over the last few years my ambition has been to try and figure out how to make games that people can enjoy, but more than that, to figure out how to create games of a quality that I feel is sufficient for me to be willing to charge people some money for providing games that I hope they will enjoy playing.  These days, in the world of AI, Influencers and the never ending need to chase the latest trends, I personally feel that many games released today do not reflect what I enjoy in a video game.  This is not to suggest that all of the games made today are bad, just that most of them are not the sort of games I enjoy playing. The games I grew up with didn't have o...

I've had to make some changes to my blog following Google, which runs Blogger, not liking the reposting of my own posts from Itch on Blogger as well. This apparently results in a policy violation where Google thinks I've "stolen" my own posts, and considers them to be inappropriately duplicated. As a result of this, and in an attempt to remedy this violation, I'm instead including links back to the original posts from my Itch account, rather than duplicating them here. My overall aim in duplicating the Making the Dream Work series was to eventually transition to using this blog as my main blog for my GameDev activities. As Google requires the information on this blog to be "unique" and for it to "add value", the Making the Dream Work blog series will now only be hosted on my Itch account, and future blog posts and series not related to my Itch games will only made on this blog. Apologies for any inconvenience or confusion. About the Making the ...

  Logo (c) Alnutmob Studios Alnutmob Studios is an Indie Dev Duo currently working towards their first release with a "monastic management and trade simulation" game.  Their current focus on making a complete game, from mechanics to polish, and their desire to respect the player experience is an approach that already draws your attention to their game, even though it's still in production. Follow their progress at @Alnutmob   on X (twitter). Project Experience Games Released:  0 (working towards first release) Game Jams Joined:  0 "Proof of Concepts":  "A Few …" (systems, resource loops and UI to test ideas and refine main projects) Current Project Alnutmob Studios are currently developing a medieval monastery management and trade simulation game. Current Project Game Art (c) Alnutmob Studios In the game, players will oversee a community of monks who brew beer, manage production, and trade with nearby cities. The game focuses on balancing faith, labour...

Earlier, while having a look at X.com (formerly Twitter), I came across a post by another solo indie dev explaining how finishing a game as a solo indie dev doesn't really get enough praise. Finishing a game as a solo dev deserves way more praise than it gets. — CodeRed (@CodeRed_dev) October 18, 2025 It got me thinking about my own journey, and that I am, myself, nearing that point of finishing the process of making a game.  As much as I would like praise, £1 million, and a standing ovation, it's not realistic.  My only real hope is that it gets some attention and that people enjoy playing it. I have taken the relatively safe option of making a game that is quite simple in terms of design, mechanics and graphics.  It looks as it should, plays as it should and is a "game".  It might be simple and, while based on an arcade classic, has been built from the ground up. All over social media, I see people trying to make games and make progress, and the inevitable idea of...