Though I've worked on a few game-sort-of-things professionally (the original 2017 /r/place being the most well known), this is my first solo project. This started as a Ludum Dare game jam entry with a friend, and we got #1 in the Fun category, #1 in the Innovative category, and #6 Overall out of ~2000 entries.
Honestly, I was blown away (called my friend after we finished but before reviews came out and both agreed: we weren't sure if this was even fun), and this was the push I needed to go off on my own and make something bigger.
I've been working on it for about 10 months, but a significant amount of that time was spent in things that didn't feel very productive: trying to figure out marketing / PR, trying to pitch publishers, setting up a business, play testing, and trying to jump through app store hoops. I think a lot of that will be easier next time.
Honestly, I was blown away (called my friend after we finished but before reviews came out and both agreed: we weren't sure if this was even fun), and this was the push I needed to go off on my own and make something bigger.
I've been working on it for about 10 months, but a significant amount of that time was spent in things that didn't feel very productive: trying to figure out marketing / PR, trying to pitch publishers, setting up a business, play testing, and trying to jump through app store hoops. I think a lot of that will be easier next time.