Sorry I haven’t made any posts lately. I’ve been busy trying to get a simple indie game out on the Android Marketplace, running some tests, and finally get an indie game publicly published. It will be out soon, but that’s not what this is about.

Why an Indie Game Developer Journal?

I want to write an indie game developer journal so that you can understand what it takes to be an indie game developer, what I’m doing, and why I’m doing it. Sometimes I’m not even sure what I’m doing, so I research and look for the answers to my problems. In total, it’s a lot of work: I cry, I get depressed, I feel like I can’t finish projects, I have to work day jobs just to survive, I code and work on my games by night, I somehow fit in a social life and so much more. So, I’ll start from the beginning, when being an Indie Game Developer wasn’t an option, and my dreams seemed limitless.

In the Beginning, Before Indie Game was Called Indie Game

It was the summer of 1988, and the Nintendo NES was at its prime. I was about 5 years old when my super awesome mom came home from a neighbor’s garage sale and introduced me to the Atari 2600, the first generation of console gaming. It came with hundreds of games, some joysticks, and gave my brother and me hours of fun. I became infatuated with how one game could be just obstacles, like Pitfall, while others were all about precision and timing (not that I knew those words at the time) like Space Invaders.





My mother saw how it allowed my brother and me to bond, and how much fun we had with it, so every time she was at a garage sale, she would look for Ataris and games for us. I think it brought back her memories of the Arcades, and playing Pac-Man and Tetris (two games that to this day she still whoops my ass). Hanukkah was coming soon, and my mother knew what to get us.





December was coming, and my brother and I were super excited. Mom was taking us to Toys-R-Us to get our present. We arrived and ran to the isle with the Nintendo Entertainment System. It came with a light gun, two controllers, and the dual game of Mario Bros. and Duck Hunt. We took it home, tore it open, and the ultimate weapon for “get your homework done first” tool was introduced to us.

School Days

I started first grade, and every day after school, I would rush home to play. I still played outside with my friends (we played a lot of neighborhood baseball, I was in a softball league, and I loved to be outside doing things); I was never a stereotypical nerd, being social and nerdy was just crazy. I basically fit in everywhere. No to boast, but people loved me. I was smart, energetic, and adorable. But I knew I was different.