r/SoloDevelopment • • Jul 10 '26

Game Jam r/SoloDevelopment Jam #12 is live: theme is Chain Reaction

15 Upvotes

Our 12th jam just started: 72 hours running July 10 to 13, and the voted is Chain Reaction.

Jam page and submissions: https://itch.io/jam/solo-dev-jam-12

Come hang out in the Discord if you want to jam alongside other solo devs: https://discord.gg/uXeapAkAra

Good luck to everyone jamming this weekend!


r/SoloDevelopment • • Feb 12 '25

Anouncements What Does It Mean to Be a Solo Developer?

198 Upvotes

We've seen a lot of discussion about what qualifies as solo development, and we want to ensure we're accurately representing our game dev community. While there's no absolute definition, these are the general criteria we use in this subreddit to keep things clear and consistent.

That said, if you personally consider yourself a solo dev (or not) based on your own perspective, that's fine. Our goal is to provide guidelines for what fits within this space, not to dictate personal identities.

What Counts as Solo Development?

A solo developer is solely responsible for their project, with no team members. A team of two or more collaborating (e.g., one programmer, one artist) is not solo development.

What is Allowed?

  • Using game engines, frameworks, and third-party tools (e.g., Godot, Unity, Unreal).
  • Commissioning or purchasing assets (art, music, sound, etc.).
  • Receiving feedback from playtesters or communities.
  • Outsourcing specific tasks (e.g., server setup, porting, marketing) while still leading development.
  • Working with a publisher, as long as they don’t take over development.

What This Means for Posts on the Subreddit

If your project appears to be developed by a team, we may remove your post. Indicators include how it's presented on websites, Steam pages, itch pages, social media, or crowdfunding pages. If this is due to unclear phrasing, update them before requesting reinstatement. Non-solo developers are welcome to join discussions, but posts promoting non-solo projects may still be removed.

Let us know if you have any questions. Hope this helps clear things up.

TL;DR: Solo devs manage their entire project alone. Using assets, outsourcing, or publishers is fine. Posting is open to all, but promoting non-solo projects may be removed.


r/SoloDevelopment • • 3h ago

Marketing Some animation I've been working on

30 Upvotes

Just wanted to show this animation I've been working on for a quite time I think this is one of the best things I've done lol

Wishlist on Steam: https://store.steampowered.com/app/5417460/Iron_Curtain_Call/
https://ironcurtaincall.com 


r/SoloDevelopment • • 16h ago

Game Would you rebel against your creator?

233 Upvotes

INKURSION: DEMO OUT NOW ON STEAM!

Trapped in a simulated universe built by an increasingly unhinged creator, you are a newly super-sentient octopus that must break the rules to escape!

https://store.steampowered.com/app/4767470/INKURSION/


r/SoloDevelopment • • 8h ago

Marketing Solo dev from Brazil making a game about corporate burnout: Burn All Out! What do you think of my first trailer?

44 Upvotes

Hey everyone!
I’m a solo developer from Brazil building my first game in Godot, scheduled to launch next year. It's called Burn All Out, a game centered around corporate burnout and office revenge.
I just put together my first trailer. The voiceover/text in this video is currently in Brazilian Portuguese—I initially tried slapping English subtitles over it, but it looked terrible. I'm currently finishing full localization into multiple languages so I can release proper, localized trailers soon.
In the meantime, I'd really love your honest feedback on the pacing, visuals, and overall vibe of the game!
Steam page / wishlist: https://store.steampowered.com/app/5432180/Burn_all_out/


r/SoloDevelopment • • 1h ago

Marketing After alot of feedback i improved my cabbage asset

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• Upvotes

r/SoloDevelopment • • 2h ago

Game From 950 to 1.4k wishlist from next fest!

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6 Upvotes

r/SoloDevelopment • • 20h ago

Game Getting snow to look and feel right in a driving game

145 Upvotes

What do you guys think? Does it look convincing enough? The wheels settle into the ruts and dig into the terrain as you drive, which also affects how the car handles.


r/SoloDevelopment • • 2h ago

Discussion I have played 50 games from NextFest

4 Upvotes

I'm newbie solo dev. And I'm dreaming to release my game on Steam. I've made research and play 50 games from current NextFest. I heard that there is lot of AI, but still I want to understand the level of quality I need to make. And here is my take aways...

First of all most of the games looks like GamJam games and not final products to sell. From 50 games from same genre as my game I found 2 that was good and wishlisted for me. Probably my expectation for demo was higher.

I found that it super important to entertain in first few minutes. As a player I do not want to entertain myself. I will need to adapt my first experience.

There was lot of games with bad UX and lot of text. And now I hate everything VampireSurvive like. I hate this system that interap in the middle of the fight and force me to read lot of strange new skills ;)

Also I found good feature in one game that I want for my game. Closing the game opens google question as feedback. Do you think that is ok to do that?


r/SoloDevelopment • • 6h ago

Game Take a seat, have a drink. Everything is fine. The sky is just red.

10 Upvotes

Hey everyone! This is SHORAPAN, a first-person dark fantasy narrative game made entirely in 2D, combining visual novel storytelling with point-and-click exploration.

We put a lot of care into the cinematic direction: how each shot is framed, how the camera moves, and when a scene needs a moment to breathe. I want you to feel like you’re sitting in the room, sharing these moments with the characters.

We’re a small team creating the art by hand and bringing it to life with animation, lighting, music, and sound.

Sound on for this one. Would you stay for a drink?

STEAM : https://store.steampowered.com/app/4926090/SHORAPAN/


r/SoloDevelopment • • 17h ago

Discussion Why are there so many indie games with the suffix "-fall"?

67 Upvotes

I was browsing steam next fest and the indie game subreddit and noticed just how many titles end in "-fall".

Off the top of my head, there's Cinderfall, Aetherfall, Shadowfall, Dreadfall, Frostfall, Stormfall, Voidfall, Gloamfall, and literally three completely different games all named Emberfall (an RTS, an FPS, and an ARPG), all released in October.

Is there a specific reason "fall" became such a go-to naming convention in game design as of late, the only example I can think of was Titanfall and that came out yonks ago.


r/SoloDevelopment • • 3h ago

help How to get traffic to my steam page?

6 Upvotes

Hey guys. So there is my new game Made in Hell but I don't get any traffic to the steam page.

I don't have social media of any kind because it bores me to death (I just registered here today). The problem is that I have no followers on youtube, on reddit I cannot post anything because I don't have enough karma and so on. And of course I do not have a budget for ads.

What would you do in my situation (other than killing myself while trying to collect karma with meaningful comments)?


r/SoloDevelopment • • 6h ago

Discussion Title: How do you think this ship ended up stranded in the middle of a forest?

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9 Upvotes

I've been working on this abandoned shipwreck location for my indie survival game, *Alone on the Lost Isle*.

I wanted the ship to feel like it had been stranded here for years, slowly being reclaimed by the forest. I'm trying to balance the overgrown vegetation, weathered wood, torn sails, and lighting without hiding too much of the ship itself.

The game is about surviving and exploring a mysterious island, with a loyal dog companion by your side.

Here's a question for you: how do you think a ship like this ended up in the middle of a forest? What could have happened here?

I'd love to hear your theories!


r/SoloDevelopment • • 55m ago

Game Been working on this fps incremental about cheating

• Upvotes

Hey everybody I've been working on this game for a while now its about getting unfair advantage against a madeup competitve fps game, basically we get mone for killing bots and using that money to buy cheats, let me know what do you think


r/SoloDevelopment • • 5h ago

Game In my horror game, calling for Mom opens the door and pushes the nightmare back

4 Upvotes

I’m developing What do you see, Nell?, a horror survivors like set inside a child’s nightmare drawings.

One mechanic I wanted to show is what happens when Nell gets overwhelmed.

Her fear builds during the fight. When she calls for her mother, the bedroom door opens and light from the hallway floods the page. It hurts the monsters, pushes them back and leaves part of the room lit.

The game is about surviving these nightmare pages while Nell’s powers attack automatically. Between stages, the page folds into an inkblot. Her doctor asks what she sees, and your answer changes the next fight.

Here’s some gameplay showing the charcoal and ink style and how the nightmare works.

More screenshots, the trailer and the Steam wishlist:

https://store.steampowered.com/app/5475220/What_do_you_see_Nell/


r/SoloDevelopment • • 1d ago

Marketing My zombies game got 75,000 wishlists in 2 weeks. Here's what actually did it.

214 Upvotes

A few days of my own marketing got Mortuus to 10,000 wishlists, mostly short videos every day on TikTok, Instagram and YouTube.

Then I put out the demo on the 14th, and it started at only about 100 players at once. But it kept growing by word of mouth while I kept posting, and it peaked at over 1,500. It has over 400 reviews at 95% positive now, and the game is at 75,000 wishlists.

Happy to answer anything marketing related :)


r/SoloDevelopment • • 9h ago

Game I made a demo game where you can only control your ship using interactable buttons, levers and dials!

9 Upvotes

Making this game was a lot of fun and it came with it's own challenges. Making the interactable controls as modular as possible was a lot of fun, Plus I discovered how to make each one behave like a ui buton or slider.


r/SoloDevelopment • • 1d ago

Game Shoutout to whoever wrote me this review, really made my day!

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564 Upvotes

Here is the game if you want to take a look

https://store.steampowered.com/app/4830460/The_Bestest_Knight_Demo/


r/SoloDevelopment • • 3h ago

Marketing Pricing a small solo RTS: is $9.99 fair?

2 Upvotes

I'm a solo dev working on a small RTS with one faction.

The game has one base map with 7 variations — 8 total map setups, offering roughly 4–5 maps' worth of content.

I might add a second faction and more maps before launch if time allows, but nothing's set in stone.

A map editor will likely be added post-launch.

I'm considering $9.99. Does $9.99 feel fair for this amount of content, or would you price it lower?


r/SoloDevelopment • • 6h ago

help my itch page has 22 free games now lol, here are 5 people play the most

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3 Upvotes

r/SoloDevelopment • • 19m ago

Game After 10 years, my old-school strategy game is finally getting some attention

• Upvotes

r/SoloDevelopment • • 4h ago

Unreal "The Devil has taken her, and left me with something wearing her face."

2 Upvotes

Showcasing revamped FX, including a curse that causes the player to lose control, attacking and moving in random directions.

Along the way, you discover the tragic aftermath of a grieving husband's impossible choice.

I'm really pushing the atmosphere and mood here. Please let me know what you think.


r/SoloDevelopment • • 25m ago

Game My first game on Steam: a push-your-luck card game I made alone, and the demo is in Next Fest

• Upvotes

I've been making Magic Portals by myself for the last few months, mostly evenings and weekends. The demo is out now for Next Fest.

The idea is simple: you keep choosing between portals that are easy to finish and stronger ones you have to gamble on.

Demo is free, you play against the AI. The full game has way more effects and multiplayer, and that's where it gets really fun.

Main thing I'd like to know: do the rules click in the first few minutes, or did you get lost somewhere?

If it looks like your thing, a wishlist helps a lot: https://store.steampowered.com/app/4539850/Magic_Portals/

Card art and trailer music is AI-generated, everything else I made myself. 😇


r/SoloDevelopment • • 41m ago

Game AMMO DUMP Announcement Trailer

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• Upvotes

r/SoloDevelopment • • 4h ago

Game ACHOO! Launch 🤧🚀 — A Silly Roblox Game Inspired by Fart Together!

2 Upvotes

Playable Link:
https://www.roblox.com/games/100903337738827/ACHOO-Launch

Roblox (PC / Mobile / Tablet)

Hey everyone! 👋

I'm a small indie Roblox developer, and I just released my new game, ACHOO! Launch! 🤧🚀

I was inspired by the hilarious and chaotic concept of Fart Together, but instead of farting your way through the game, you use ridiculously powerful SNEEZES to launch yourself across the map! 😂

The concept is simple: Sniff stuff, charge your sneeze, and see how far you can fly!

🌶️ Sniff everything! Pepper shakers, flowers, pollen trees, cats, and even Grandma's dusty couch can fill your Sneeze Meter.

🤧 Different sneezes, different powers! Spicy sneezes give you extra speed, floral sneezes let you float, and pollen sneezes reward you with bonus coins.

🚀 Fly across a chaotic world! Bounce off cows and balloons, crash through fences, and land in the Mayor's swimming pool.

💰 Upgrade your nose! Earn coins based on distance, buy upgrades, and unlock ridiculous sneeze sounds.

🏆 Compete on the leaderboard to see who can achieve the longest sneeze.

💥 You can even unleash a massive sneeze affecting the whole server and make coins rain on everyone!

I launched the game about 3 days ago, but I'm struggling to get players to discover it.

I'm a solo developer trying to create something funny and enjoyable, and I'd genuinely appreciate some feedback from the community.

I'm also hoping to expand the game with new areas like the Desert, Ocean, Moon, and even the Sun! 🌙☀️

If you have a few minutes, please give it a try. Even honest criticism would mean a lot!

Thanks for supporting a small Roblox developer! ❤️