#gamedev
Hands-on game development: tools, tech, and production.
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Can Indie Games Compete With AAA? An Open Letter From a Studio Betting On It
A small indie studio's open letter on indie games vs AAA: verified numbers from Balatro, Stardew Valley, Hades and Minecraft, and the honest odds.
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How Do Tiny Teams Make Huge Games? The Micro-Studio Era
One person made Stardew Valley. One made Balatro. The sourced numbers behind the micro-studio era, what enables tiny teams, and what the data leaves out.
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Steam Early Access in 2026: When It Works and When It Backfires
When Early Access works, when it backfires, and what changed by 2026: verified timelines from Hades to KSP2, Steam's stale-game warning, and the 21% rule.
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How to Write a Steam Review That Actually Helps Developers
What makes a Steam review useful: playtime context, specifics over scores, fair comparisons, and how Steam's review score bands and visibility really work.
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Why Hand-Drawn Games Are Beating AAA Graphics
Hand-drawn games like Cuphead, Hollow Knight, and Hades keep beating photorealism. The real reasons: cost, readability, identity, and art that never ages.
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What Makes a Good Roguelike?
A good roguelike rests on meaningful runs, real variety, and readable deaths. Here is what separates a great roguelike from a merely hard game, with examples.
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The Best Roguelike Deckbuilders to Play and Wishlist
The best roguelike deckbuilders to play and wishlist, from Slay the Spire and Monster Train 2 to Inscryption, StarVaders, and Overbaked's own Hellmate.
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How Long Does It Take to Make an Indie Game?
Most indie games take one to five years. Stardew took about four and a half solo, Cuphead around seven. Here is what really drives an indie timeline.
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What Makes a Good Management Sim Fun?
What makes a management sim fun, not just busywork: meaningful tradeoffs, real stakes, characters over columns, teaching difficulty, and legible feedback.
