Starting out in game development may seen an impossible task, especially if you’re
starting out on your own.
However, don’t be discouraged.
Today we will show you 10 games that were not only originally designed and created by
solo developers, but have grown to become influential in the game development industry.
We are Ask Gamedev AKA Ready Player One Direction AKA Arrested Developers AKA DJ Jazzy Jeff
and the Freshly Authored Game Code and these are 10 inspiring games that were each made
by a single person.
The first title in our list of solo developed games is one that is so famous that it has
crossed over to a multitude of platforms.
Gamers everywhere have either heard of this title and have most likely played a version
of it.
That title is none other than Tetris.
That’s right, this hall of fame classic was developed by Russian programmer Alexey
Pajitnov.
The title’s first playable version was completed June 6, 1984.
At the time of this video’s release, that makes Tetris 33 years old.
Fun fact: The original version of Tetris was made for an Electronika 60, which could only
display text.
This was influential in Alexey’s development as he wanted to create a game that would function
within the Electronika’s restrictions.
How’s that for a design restriction?
After playing the original version and becoming addicted, Dmitry Pavlovsky and Vadim Gerasimov
joined Alexey Pajitnov in porting Tetris over to the IBM PC.
From there, Tetris’ journey through history took off.
This title was quickly picked up by numerous platforms, some of which you may be familiar
with, including Gameboy, Nintendo, Atari, and Sega.
As of today, Tetris is the best selling game of all time!
For the next solo-developed title we jump fifteen years into the future to 1999 when
the simulation game Rollercoaster Tycoon was released.
In this game, players build and maintain a rollercoaster theme park, ensuring that all
park-goers have the time of their lives.
The first version of this title was created by Scottish programmer Chris Sawyer, who was
inspired to create this simulation game by his love of roller coasters.
Development of Rollercoaster Tycoon took approximately two years.
During this time Chris researched everything that went into running an actual rollercoaster
theme park.
What better way to develop a game than to experience it in real life?
While Chris developed basically the entirety of the game, he did get some assistance on
the graphics from his colleague, Simon Foster.
Aside from numerous expansions and spinoffs, Rollercoaster Tycoon has greatly influenced
the game industry through the simulation genre, board games, and has even inspired a series
of gamebooks that were released in 2002 and 2003.
In January 2018 Atari games announced their development of RollerCoaster Tycoon Adventures
for the Nintendo Switch.
Skipping ahead five years we find ourselves in 2004 with the release of Cave Story by
indie developer Daisuke “Pixel” Amaya.
Awakening in an unknown area with amnesia, players go on an adventure to help rabbit-like
creatures called Mimigas as they fight for their lives.
Originally developed for Windows PC, this Metroidvania platform-adventure took five
years worth of free time to complete.
Cave Story has been hailed as “the quintessential indie game” as Daisuke developed all parts
of this title from start to finish without any additional assistance.
Over the years, the game has evolved to become a cult classic, beloved for its compelling
characters, setting, story, and gameplay.
The influence on additional indie games has not gone without notice as Destructoid called
Cave Story an "important game”, and noted the influence Cave Story has had on artistic
styles and the continued relevance of 2D game titles.
Cave Story was nominated for Game of the Year at the 2010 Nintendo Power Awards.
Darting ahead five years we have the sandbox game of the century: Minecraft.
Originally created by Swedish developer Markus “Notch” Persson, Minecraft was initially
released in its alpha version on June 13th, 2009.
Sales skyrocketed to over 1,000 copies in less than a month which allowed continued
development of this beloved title.
As survival mode was implemented, sales only increased, giving Markus the means to quit
his day job and work on Minecraft full time.
Fast forward to 2014 - Microsoft acquires Minecraft for 2.5 billion dollars!
Minecraft is one of the biggest titles where we can see how a single creator's initial
production and vision was expanded and developed by a dedicated team to become one of the largest,
and well-known games around the world.
Onward to 2010, we have a game titled Thomas Was Alone by developer Mike Bithelle.
Originally developed as a flash-based browser game in October 2010, this title quickly made
its way over to Windows and Mac in July of 2012.
While the gameplay seems simplistic, the solid game design and compelling narrative will
have you falling in love with the characters personalities as you progress through the
story.
The popularity of this title is easy to see by the the numerous platforms that have been
released since the initial flash-based browser version.
Today we can find Thomas Was Alone on Windows, Mac, linux, PS 3, PS 4, PS Vita, Xbox One,
Wii U, iOS and Android.
Thomas Was Alone reminds us all that you don’t need amazing graphics to feel emotionally
connected to a game - A great atmosphere, good music and narration is plenty.
Shifting gears and heading over to 2012 we have two solo-developed games to cover, first
up we have Lone Survivor by Jasper Byrne which was originally developed for Windows and Mac,
though soon expanded to include PS3, PS Vita and even PS Network.
A survival horror game, Lone Survivor is a retro-styled 2D title where players follow
directions of hallucinations in order to survive, with the goal of escaping an apocalyptic world.
The story coupled with fitting music brings players into the game for a delightfully frightening
experience.
Gameplay involves solving puzzles, rationing supplies and exploration for story progression.
Fans have compared the game atmosphere to that of Silent Hill.
With the addition of multiple alternate endings, we have a fan favorite solo developed title.
The second solo-developed game in 2012 on our list is none other than Dust: An Elysian
Tail.
Independent designer, Dead Dodrill, worked on the design, art, and programming.
With the assistance of voiceover actors and soundtrack artists, Dust quickly drew a strong
following.
Dust: An Elysian Tail follows an anthropomorphic protagonist called Dust as he journeys through
the world of Falana with a faithful sword and a nimbat named Fidget.
This title has received high ratings from critics and gamers alike for its beautiful
art style graphics, combat system and amount of content.
The game was created using game engine Microsoft XNA and can be found on various platforms
including PC Windows, Mac, Linux, and console versions such as PS 4, Xbox 360 and the Nintendo
Switch.
On to August 8 2013 we see the release of Papers Please by developer Lucas Pope.
Dubbed to be a puzzle game, Papers Please was originally developed for Windows and Mac,
though was later ported to Linux, iOS and PS Vita.
Gameplay in Papers Please focuses on working as an immigration inspector at a border checkpoint.
Players follow a set of changing rules each day to review paperwork of incoming immigrants,
and decide, based on what they read, if the individual will be allowed into the country
or not.
The goal of the player is to prevent undesirables from entering the country while also protecting
their own family from the government from looking at them too closely.
Players come across many difficult decisions and moral dilemmas throughout the experience.
During development, Lucas posted updates to TIGSource, which allowed him to get helpful
feedback on the direction of the game from other independent developers.
Overall, Papers Please took nine months to complete and has won numerous awards including
Excellence in Narrative, Excellence in Design, and the Seumas McNally Grand Prize at IGF
2014.
You can also check out Lucas’ latest title, Return of the Obra Dinn, which was just recently
released.
Two years after Papers Please we have the official release of Axiom Verge by developer
Thomas Happ, in April 2015.
While the alpha of this title was released in 2012 for the Dream Build Play challenge,
it wasn’t fully complete until 2015.
Thomas began development of Axiom in 2010 as a side project that he worked on in his
free time.
Noticing a trend yet?
An action-adventure Metroidvania game, Axiom Verge was originally released for PS4, Windows,
Mac, and Linux only to be later developed for PS Vita, Xbox One, and Wii U.
With such high praise on release, it’s no wonder this title was expanded to other platforms.
Praise is given to Axiom Verge for its gameplay, boss battles, upgrades, and setting.
GameSpot’s Peter Brown was quoted, stating that “Axiom Verge is a game that's easy
to fall in love with because it hits so many high notes.
It takes the Metroidvania model and adds layers of ingenuity that are in a league all of their
own.
It's not a stretch to say that Axiom Verge is better than the games that inspired it,
because it's so inventive and thoughtfully crafted."
The final solo-developed game on our list today is none other than Undertale.
Released September 15, 2015, Undertale was created by indie developer Toby Fox with the
GameMaker Studio engine.
Opting for solo-development, Toby financed his project through Kickstarter with the original
goal of $5,000, but within a month over $51 thousand had been raised.
With that support, Toby was able to create a game that brought new innovations to the
RPG genre, including a combat system that allowed for fighting or rationalizing with
enemies.
Combined with interesting characters, the choice to grind or not, and the complete removal
of any type of backtracking fetch quests, Undertale became a huge success and fan favorite.
Undertale has additionally been critiqued as the best-written game of 2015.
As such this title has received multiple awards including Game of the Year and Best PC Game.
That concludes our list of solo-developed games, while there are many more out there
like Spelunky Classic, Fez, Banished, and most recently, The Hex, we simply can’t
cover them all.
For the final piece of this video, we would like to discuss our Ask Gamedev Community
Member Game of the Week.
This week, we’ve chosen King of the World.
An exciting real-time strategy game developed and published by Contec Games, this title
took two years of development before its early access release.
Enjoy real-time strategy gameplay with up to 12 players and/or bots who fight until
the bitter end.
With options to battle on land or sea, in medieval London or futuristic Manhattan, players
will find a beautifully crafted game worth the fight.
Find it today on Steam for $14.99.
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