Hey, happy 2025! I hope this little update finds you in good spirits as you get back into the post-festive routine. Last year was a roller coaster for Iconiel and Codename: Zalidium. The demo didn't hit the mark despite my best efforts. I thought people would find the game more appealing, but I was wrong. So over the festive break, I took some time to reflect and research. Here's where I think my design and philosophy went wrong:

• Aesthetics matter Personally, I liked that my game looked different from others that shared similar gameplay to mine. I thought there was a bigger audience for this type of low-poly chicanery, but I was living in the past. But not living in the past enough to appeal to the retro gamer either, as I was not trying to make it look like something you'd play on an old console. Therefore, it lost out in a couple of ways and probably others.
• Worry What started out as a game designed to be fun and frictionless became more about not upsetting anyone and making the game inclusive. Then there was the worry about budget and time, being a self-published, solo-developed game. I spent too much time worrying about marketing and hustling for likes and follows because I was worried the game wasn't going to be seen. This all took focus away from the gameplay itself.
• Godot Godot is a cool game engine, don't get me wrong. Switching to it was essential for me to keep developing something after turning my back on using Unity. But it has its limits and drawbacks. I really didn't want to listen when other developers said it was only good for rapid prototyping but, to be fair, they were right. Of course, as an open-source project, it is constantly improving; however, for what I need as a solo game developer, it just isn't there for me.