Hello! I’m Alex, and welcome to my personal indie game development devlog. I’m a professional software engineer and a casual (but enthusiastic) video-game player.
The genres I enjoy the most are RPGs, strategy games (real-time and turn-based), simulations, and open-worlds. I also enjoy a good CCG from time to time.
I’ve always been passionate about crafting worlds and telling stories, and indie games feel like the perfect medium to bring those stories to life.
Over the years, I’ve had a couple of failed attempts at finishing a game, along with dozens of tutorials on game design, development, and engines. This time, I’m committing to completing an indie game from start to finish, one of the ideas that kept resurfacing in my mind.
Once again, I’m starting the process as a beginner — the last time I fully completed a prototype was almost a decade ago.
When brainstorming ideas, I wanted something “simple” to implement. By simple, I mean a small set of core mechanics inspired by the games I love, supported by a compact world and story. With that in mind, I put my big open-world RPG ambitions on pause and focused on something more achievable given the limited time I have as a not-yet-full-time game developer.
While writing down ideas, one concept kept returning:
the character is a merchant.
Immediately, I remembered the long hours mining meteors in EVE Online for profit, or studying trade routes in Patrician III. The trading fantasy clearly stuck with me and felt like a strong foundation for my first indie game project.
Then another thought returned — after finishing The Mandalorian, I kept imagining a character similar to Han Solo: a rogue salvager or aspiring merchant traveling across planets, transporting goods, scraping by, dreaming of making a fortune.
Crafting worlds like that, and then exploring them, felt like the perfect direction for my first indie game concept.
So I sat down and started sketching out the world and mechanics for a space-exploration trading game. Originally, it was going to be a 2D top-down pixel art experience where the player pilots a small spaceship between planets and outposts, trading goods at each location. I also wanted special areas with rare items unlocked through small arcade-style mini-games. Then came facilities, upgrades, interactions… and the list kept growing.
Very quickly I realized this idea was becoming way bigger than what I can realistically support at the moment.
So I had to narrow it down.
I liked the pixel-art direction — funny, because I was never a huge pixel-art fan. But after playing Eastward, my appreciation for pixel-art worlds completely changed.
So yes, the game will be pixel-art. But instead of an entire galaxy, what if the game focused on a single planet? Or even better: a small 2D “microworld”, rich enough to explore but manageable for a solo indie developer.
And what if, instead of top-down, it became a 2D side-scroller?
Instead of controlling a ship, the player controls a character.
How would exploration and trading work inside a side-scrolling world?
That question alone got me excited — it felt like the right kind of challenge for an indie game dev.
I knew I didn’t want to make an endless runner. I wanted recognizable environments, stories, cozy vibes, and a living world. Something relaxed and atmospheric, but still offering challenges when the player wants them — a game that supports both low-key and high-focus playstyles.
Gradually, the idea took shape:
My first indie game will follow an aspiring merchant who, during one of his space travels, is forced to land on a Star-Wars-like planet with Eastward-style pixel-art environments. To earn enough money to repair his spacecraft and continue his journey, he takes on delivery contracts — transporting much-needed goods between villages and cities.
Payments vary based on distance, danger, and the type of goods.
Time is limited.
The world is harsh.
The character must plan carefully if he wants to get paid and survive.
I think that’s a solid starting point. There’s plenty of room to expand the lore and refine the mechanics, but for now this gives me something clear to build upon in my indie game development journey.
As for the tech stack, required skills, and the more detailed design breakdown — that’s coming in the next devlog of this indie game series.
See you there.