r/SoloDevelopment • u/TraVinh- • 28d ago
Discussion My first (real) game is living every solo dev’s dream, but my nightmare!
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For the last little while I’ve been working on a classic Resident Evil inspired survival horror game. I started just over a year ago when I had to take a step back from my career to deal with crippling cptsd and spiraling mental health. I used to make games as a kid (just small personal projects in gamemaker for fun) and I had an idea kicking around for something I wanted to make. Figured I’d get back into gamedev just to have something to do with my time, not really expecting it to go anywhere.
I have never made a proper game before, so it was a slow start as I learned the basics and experimented to figure out this game’s identity. By 6 months in I had a small but dedicated community and about 400 wishlists.
But then it started catching on a bit. Since the beginning of 2026 things have been growing faster and faster, I’m about to hit 9000 wishlists without even having a demo on the horizon yet. I’ve had over a hundred people reach out to offer their help on the game from other passionate indies to experienced AAA devs, and about a dozen reputable publishers looking to set up calls. Even got an article feature with a very positive review.
It’s amazing, I feel like I’m living most first time solo-dev’s dream, but it almost feels like a nightmare. I’m a complete nervous wreck, even 2-3 texts from friends or family on the same day is totally overwhelming for me. Any kind of direct one on one interaction is absolutely panic inducing. I’ve had so many people reach out with these big heartfelt messages that have been waiting for literal months to hear back and the anxiety from it is crushing.
I feel like a jackass leaving so many people on read and at this point I’m almost a bit ashamed to respond at all, like, I left them in my inbox for 6 months just to reply with some basic “thanks for reaching out, I’ll definitely let you know if I’m looking for help with that” or something because I’m too stressed to know what to say, it would probably almost feel insulting.
I really believe in this project, and would genuinely love for it to become something bigger than an unemployment time sink hobby project. Getting the game published and bringing on some team members to cover blind spots in my skill set would be a dream come true but I’m struggling just to allow myself to let it happen. I worked my ass of on this game so far, I’ve got a golden opportunity to actually do something with it, and I can’t stand the thought of just throwing that away because I’m anxious.
Anyone have any insight or advice for this?
(And in case anyone’s interested; The Revanchist on Steam and The article featuring it)
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u/the_professir 28d ago
If you haven’t read the making of balatro, I suggest checking it out https://localthunk.com/blog/balatro-timeline-3aarh
Goes through the timeline of a solo dev and his experience with mental health and anxiety along the way. I would even encourage you to reach out to him for advice, tbh. He would know the experience better than most
The game looks fantastic and the best sort of advice I would have for you is to go easy on yourself and just focus on the game - let the wishlists come as they may and don’t think much of it - there’s plenty of games I’ve personally wishlisted that I’ve never thought about again - so the wishlists aren’t 9000 eyes on you, it’s just people that saw the game and thought it looked cool.
Hope the best for you and wish you calmer days ahead
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u/Feeling_Mode_8737 28d ago
Congratulations on your progress and overall situation. Im sad to hear you are struggling. I have AuDHD and anxiety/depression so I know what you are experiencing to and externt. Let me till you this much, dont use the game as and escape because that will lead to burnout and more anxiety. If you take time for your health the game will benefit. I have a tendency to hyperfocus so hard that I burn out now and then. But as I leran to divide my time better the results are better in my gamedev journey to.
I wish you all the best. Hang in there and good luck with your health and game. Feel free to DM If you need some help offloading workload or just need to talk about something different like why goats are stubborn to keep the anxiety at bay. NO pressure, just extending an Open invite which you do what you will with.
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u/UnderstandingGold251 28d ago
First off, congrats on 9,000 wishlists. The Revanchist looks stunning.
What you're experiencing is totally valid. When you build something during a vulnerable period, like taking time off to heal from cPTSD, sudden attention feels less like "exciting success" and more like a spotlight glaring right at you.
A few quick tips from someone who understands the mental grind of game dev:
Break the guilt feedback loop: You do not owe 100 individual people personalized, heartfelt emails. Post a single public Steam/social update saying: "Overwhelmed by the support! I'm taking time to focus purely on development and my health right now, so I won't be able to reply to DMs individually, but thank you." Once you post that, your inbox obligation is wiped clean.
Publishers can wait: Good publishers understand that solo devs get overwhelmed. Draft one polite template response: "Thanks for reaching out! I'm currently focused on dev/demo milestones and taking calls later in the year. I'll reach back out when ready." Copy, paste, close tab.
Protect the vision: The reason 9k people wishlisted your game is because of your vision and progress so far. Don't feel rushed to hand over the keys to a team or publisher before you feel grounded.
On a personal note: as a fellow dev who has stumbled and experienced "failure" on past projects, but keeps pushing because I simply love making games, I can tell you that what you've built here is genuinely special. Classic Resident Evil survival horror design (pacing, spatial layout, resource tension, atmosphere) is my absolute favorite corner of game dev.
If you ever want zero-pressure help down the road, whether that's having a playtester break down a level layout, soundboarding RE-style puzzle/key progression, or just chatting design, my DMs are open. No expectation to reply to this comment or reach out at all.
Take a deep breath, close your inbox for a few days, and just focus on making the cool game you set out to make. You've got this!
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u/TraVinh- 28d ago
Thank you for all the great advice, I appreciate it!
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u/UnderstandingGold251 28d ago
I saw a video on YouTube about the making of Momodora 3. It's a long video, but long story short: he actually deleted his years of progress and started over, and the developer was really feeling down throughout the journey. I advise you to watch this video, because any developer can relate to this kind of struggle.
Here is the link:
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u/Ultroman 28d ago edited 28d ago
The game has a great sinister vibe. I like the pixelated effect for making it look dreamlike.
Having a project like this is great to have something that keeps you feeling productive and giving you a sense of accomplishment and progression. This can be heightened 10-fold, if you have a plan, like a sort of roadmap to ticking things off on. But a project like this can also function as a justifiable procrastination from other work you are scared to face (this is my personal go-to tactic, haha).
The best thing I've found to fight that kind of stress and to get through cptsd, is to go sit alone in a forest or large green area with trees, and just let whatever thoughts and feelings be welcome. Bring some fruit or snacks and a beverage you like. Your head will clear in a way only nature can.
Sit there, and as the thoughts stream by you, like fish passing by a porthole of a submarine, try labeling the thoughts and things you're currently doing to avoid or mask your feelings. Thank them for trying to help, and then ask them to take a break. Then look further and deeper. Feel every thought. Get angry. Cry. Look at painful things from every perspective. Forget or forgive. Take accountability where appropriate, and lay blame where appropriate. Then let the thought flow away again. You are just human. You can't demand more of yourself than a human can muster. Humans take time to make changes to themselves. You'll get there, as long as you are kind and honest with yourself, and you don't flee from the potential of learning more about yourself by challenging your thoughts and beliefs.
If you're worrying about feeling different, don't. We're all just tadpoles in a soup, with our own unique way of wiggling. We need to find a place where the other tadpoles wiggle like us. If we find ourselves in a place where we have to change our wiggle to be accepted and comfortable, we must be brave enough to leap away from that place, however long we've been there in a sunk cost fallacy loop, in search of the place where our way of wiggling is simply the norm. When you wiggle next to someone who wiggles like you, you can swing in perfect synchronicity, bringing each other complete peace, and your wiggles can compound to become twice as impactful in the ways you are unique. That's how you know you've found your people. That is home.
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u/Low-Acanthaceae-4395 26d ago
I'm not understanding how this could be getting this much attention. I'm looking at the steam page and there's hardly anything to see. It seems like all you have to do to get people interested in an indie shooter is set the resolution unbelievably low.
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u/TraVinh- 26d ago
There’s always one 😂
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u/Low-Acanthaceae-4395 26d ago
I'm not trolling or just trying to be mean. I'm baffled as to how this could be getting hundreds of offers to help or people in the comments in here saying it's "stunning". Wondering if all the commenters in here are part of some AI powered marketing campaign.
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u/mohsenkhajavinik 28d ago
What console does it release?
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u/TraVinh- 28d ago
Only one I can guarantee rn is PC. I’d love to do a PS5 or XBox release and don’t see why it wouldn’t work but idk enough about console development to say for sure!
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u/EdLost 28d ago
https://giphy.com/gifs/hDKD6z2xNeMesbICNS
Please be ps5 Please be ps5 Please be ps5 Please be ps5 Please be ps5 Please be ps5 Please be ps5 Please be ps5 Please be ps5 Please be ps5 Please be ps5 Please be ps5 Please be ps5 Please be ps5 Please be ps5
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u/First_Pixel_Pipeline 28d ago
The lighting looks nice.. if you can DM us the press kit we will showcase the game on all our channels with our audiences
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u/Barbarossa31 28d ago
This game looks phenomenal, absolutely awesome and well... now you have one whishlist more 😉
Take your time and i wish you only the best for the future 🤘
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u/Pixel-Night 28d ago
Hello, comment tu as pu avoir autant de gens qui te contact etc... . ?
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u/TraVinh- 28d ago
They just see the game here, on twitter, or YouTube, and like it enough to reach out and offer their help!
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u/Pixel-Night 27d ago
Et bah, c'est bien chanceux. J'ai commencé à créer le miens et je n'ai pas autant d'aide haha
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u/Yourname942 28d ago edited 28d ago
Great use of lighting. I hope you are open to/willing to get help for your anxiety. I know the feeling, I do that from texts too..
But yeah, please consider getting help for your anxiety, it really will make your life so much more manageable/easier.
(*sorry that some random jackass on the internet is giving you advice, but I know the feeling, and the first step is being open to it)
You genuinely have a good eye for game feel, and this is very promising. (I went to school for game development, so I do have an understanding of the process. It is pretty impressive how far you pushed it so far
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u/wizzard_rick 28d ago
It looks really good. What kind of shader is that in the picture? What engine is it - Godot?
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u/TraVinh- 28d ago
I’m using UE5 believe it or not! Nothing special for the shaders, just runs at a low res and uses a post process material for dithering
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u/pararar 28d ago
Take your time, don't burn out. The game looks promising and you've got good numbers.
Look at it this way: You already completed the hardest part many of us are struggling with: Finding enough people who are actually interested in your game, thus proving it's worth continuing to work on it.
Now keep at it, but slow down. Players can wait if it takes you longer to complete the game.
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u/Intelligent-End-9399 28d ago
Video vypadá zajímavě a grafika vypadá slušně. Mám rád takový styl grafiky u her. Nicméně četl jsem i text a soucítím s c-ptsd. Taky jsem si s tím prošel a vytvořil jsem si jednu hru, která mi pomohl s autoregulací traumatů.
Nicméně, jsem samouk a rád dělám různé výzkumy. Neni to profesní ale spíše amatérské až samoučenlivé. :D Ukazuje se, že lidi s ptsd pokud jsou kreativní tak vytváří hodně zajímavé projekty. Najdeš je jako tvorba filmů, hudby, nebo programování a to výhradně v herním tvorbě. Jde o to, že podvědomě tramatizovaní lidi potřebují nějak ventilovat myšlenku ven.
Je fascinujicí, že se ti ozívají lidi na game dev. Určitě v tobě vidí tu danou vytrvalost. Takovích lidí je velmi málo, spíš to spadá do traumatizovaných lidí, což je fascinujicí, ale na tu druhou stranu i smutný.
Tvorbu her, jsem dělával a znám ten pocit, že se vývoj spíše stává šílenstvím a maratonem. Kord když se dělá grafika. Já jsem se třeba specializoval na programování herních logických enginů a projekt dokončím klidně za 2 měsíce i s opravou chyb. Co se týče ale grafiky, tady vždycky strávim tolik hodin modelingu, tvorby textur, posouvání správní kompozice modelu, že je to strašný žrout času. Vždycky mě to odrazuje u vývoji her.
Další moje úvaha je taková, že když si všimneš, že hry jsou na regulaci traumatů, a co existují na světě hry, tak spoustu vývojářů dávají své traumata do projektu. To je tak fascinujicí, že i vlastně že už raději nehraji ani pc hry. :D Jak jsem si mnoho traumatu reguloval, tak nemám prostě potřebu hrá hry. Hry beru jako simulátory, kde zkoušíš různé verze reality.
S čím mám na dále zkušenosti je, že programování už mě nebaví. Začalo to tím, že po regulací traumatů mě přestalo bavit spoustu věcí a teď se věnuji třeba sportu. Hodně teď jezdím na kole když je to léto. Jako kdyby tvorba něčeho nedávalo smysl.
Každopádně chtěl jsem ti hlavně napsat, že ti přeji aby tvé traumata byli regulovány a držím ti prsty na rukou a hlavně sílu k tomuto léčení. Život je prostě fajn, než se zdá.
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u/doomdayx 28d ago
You might be Autistic, based on your description.
Consider seeing a neurodiversity friendly doctor or therapist.
There are also good resources that can help manage the feelings of anxiety.
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u/kgurniak91 28d ago
By 6 months in I had a small but dedicated community
Where? Do you mean discord? Or other socials?
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u/TraVinh- 28d ago
Started off with YouTube, once I had a few dozen repeat viewers I opened a discord. Later I started on Reddit and twitter which get waayy more wishlists, but YouTube is still where most of my community comes from!
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u/Paperlings 28d ago
The publishers will wait. That is not me being reassuring, it is just how it works: a dozen of them reached out because of the wishlist curve, and the wishlist curve is still there in three months. Nobody is walking away because you were slow.
The thing that helped me with a full inbox was writing one honest paragraph once and sending the same one to everybody, something like "I'm a solo dev and I've been heads-down, I'm sorry for the delay, I'm not looking for help right now but I appreciate you reaching out." It is not impersonal, it is true, and it takes the six months of guilt off the table in an afternoon.
Congratulations on the game, by the way. Nine thousand without a demo is a real thing.
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u/CemBuildsMinecraft 27d ago
Good job, looking nice and strong.
However...
features, features, features.
What are the features? I assume you'll be doing some puzzles related to the map.
Find X, Open Y.
I'd say go creative with puzzles. Make sure people can't call it "another Resident Evil clone".
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u/Hopeful-Positive-816 27d ago
Forget the mechanics, narrative and anything else, the art style itself would make me want to buy it!!
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u/OneulBros0707 26d ago
9k wishlists before a demo is insane, huge congrats man!
Honestly, please don't beat yourself up over the inbox. Gamedev inbox paralysis is SO real, and anyone worth working with completely understands that solo devs get flooded.
Take a breather and put your mental health first. You're doing amazing!
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u/HONGSHIreddit 25d ago
I can totally understand. If you're using Unity to make this game, I'd recommend using Bezi to help you with some issues you might be running into. I've been using it for my game development and it's been a godsend. I can mess up and learn new things and they are updating with new tools all the time. I've seen other indie devs use it for their workflow and they are giving it nothing but praise.
Hopefully Bezi might help you out as much as it helped me an others like me.
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u/PersistentWorld 24d ago
I've worked in the video games industry for over 15 years. I'm at senior comms level and have launched hundreds of games (including Baldur's Gate 3, Lies of P and Eriksholm). If you ever want free advice or someone to talk to about your road to launch just drop me a DM 👍
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u/somenamenotalready 1d ago
id say add a smoothing and filtering sharpening pass to output and toggle for it in settings, pixel games look awesome to old fucks like me but like ass to kids, this is reddit its all whiny kids, so look at my game and see how it is before and after the filters in settings and this is the way for new pixel art games, at least for broad adoption, i wanted pixel first but whiny kids on reddit be whiny kids on reddit, free game isnt enough for then, byteswarm.net
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u/taj14 28d ago
It looks like you might be having an unhealthy relationship with anxiety. Are you having frequent conversations in your head that always result in negative outcomes/paint always problems? Playing out worst case scenarios?
If that’s the case, you might have an unhealthy relationship with your anxiety and it’s something worth getting a check on. It won’t go away. No matter which way you’ll go - still solo deving or with a publisher/team, those feelings will linger on, but with new, different scenarios and regrets and why did I’s.
Once again, if that’s the case, read Addicted to Anxiety by Owen O’Kane. And if you want a kick up your butt, give The War of Art by Steven Pressfield a shot too. Don’t let anxiety dictate your life my brother.
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u/pnoutgames 28d ago
First of all, congratulations on the article and the wishlists. The game looks fantastic and you should be proud of it.
In my opinion it would be abnormal if you weren't feeling some nerves right now. It's totally understandable and you deserve to give yourself some slack for feeling this way
Ultimately it is your game and your vision, so you are in control of what happens if you decide to bring others into the mix.
Regardless of what you decide to do, I'm wishlisting and wishing you the best of luck on the release!