So, I started a game studio

Whelp. I started my own solo game studio: Oxybear Games

For a long time now I’ve wanted to do something with my own game ideas. Working in a decently sized game studio like Paradox Interactive is great: I have extremely talented and kind colleagues, I get to do very fun and challenging work on games that I love. But at the same time I also have game ideas that I want to explore, ideas and designs that simply don’t fit in the context of the games I work with at my day job.

For years I’ve been poking around with those game ideas during evenings, weekends, holidays, and whenever I find some spare time while not feeling mentally exhausted from full-time work. (Because, turns out, game dev at work and game dev at home use the same “mental muscles”. I honestly believe it would be easier to develop games in my spare time if I worked with something physical rather than mental.) But the progress has been slow…

So, sometime last year I started thinking of whether it was maybe time for me to start my own indie company. I have two close friends from university who went all in and solo-developed their own games, with success, which inspired me a lot. (Check them out: Zapray Games and Lingon Studios.) It felt like maybe it wasn’t such a far-fetched idea to make my own games after all. Last year I also took a two-month leave to join my partner in Nepal, where she was doing volunteer work, and I spent that time hacking away at a game idea of mine to evaluate how feasible the whole solo development thing could be.

I absolutely loved it! Having the time to do concentrated work with less everyday stress was freaking awesome! I’m primarily a programmer and was afraid that I would hate all the other parts of game dev, like producing art and music and such, but even that turned out to be fun!

When I came back to work after those two months, I talked with my managers and my team, and after some negotiations and a bunch of paperwork I am now working half-time, with the rest of the time being spent on my own things. I’m incredibly grateful to both get to spend proper time on my own projects, and to keep my colleagues and still be involved with exciting stuff at my day job! (Plus, I can keep some financial stability — not to forget.)

So, the last couple of months (most of the time spent waiting on replies from authorities and banks) I’ve been setting up my own company. Both exciting and somewhat scary at the same time. But mostly exciting!

Go check it out at oxybeargames.com.