Hey everyone!

This is a pretty closely followed the path you describe. In fact, I decided to blog about the experience of going solo, so others could learn from my example the way I did from others before me. I just can't believe how incredibly crazy my journey has been so far. Almost feels like a movie!

This Is My Story

But what I want to do today is tell you my story...I have always wanted to make video games. It's not an uncommon dream anymore but from where I am from (India), opportunities to do this just didn't exist when I was younger. Nobody was "making video games for a living". Ever since I was a little kid, programming has been my passion. I still remember sitting in front of a computer and making it print "Hello world!!!" for the very first time. It was almost magical to have the computer do what I want by typing a small piece of code.

After being miserable for years doing things I didn't really love, I had idea to drop out of college because I was studying a B.Com.(considered as a VERY bad move at the time...) to pursue game development as a career. But begin in a culture of india which has ethical values, traditional customs, and belief system, it was hard. I joined Diploma in Game development as a part-time course instead of drop out of college to try for the thing I really loved.

Eventually I discovered my passion for making games.It all started by making levels and watching people play them. One day, I picked up Unity3D and C# through a course and moved a 3D cube left and right on the screen. The feeling that came after that was just as memorable as when I had first written code.

I started out by reading ALL the books I could get my hands on and watching ALL the you-tube videos I could find on game development. I also knew that practice is the best way to learn, so I decided to pick up Unity and make a LOT of ugly, shitty prototypes. I did this every day, 12-14 hours for months. Eventually, I saw this movie called "Indie Game: The Movie" and cried like a baby. It felt so relatable and this is when I first learned I wasn't alone and there are other devs. I could not even think how much they supported me and helped me in learning those things.

A year and a half later, I had made a few dozen games. They were all pretty bad, but I learned a LOT from doing this. I was starting to build up a portfolio. I tried finishing over-scoped game ideas. I tried finding contract work. Since then, I have worked on multiple games, both professionally and as a solo developer trying to make great, unique games. During the journey, I have also participated in game jams at the India Game Developer Conference. Today, I write code and make games professionally. I'm driven by quality, scalability and performance. My goal is to make great games and if there's any way I can help you, feel free to reach out to me at dineshmrx@icloud.com