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bumbleborn

@bumbleborn.com

1.3K followers 660 following 930 posts

I'm a game designer, artist & sometimes music maker. (he/him) I made Echo: The Oracle's Scroll | bumbleborn.com catalog: https://play.date/games/echo-the-oracles-scroll/ devlog: tinyurl.com/mhkvsy7v

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bumbleborn @bumbleborn.com · Oct 8

I released my first video game, it only took me til I was 30!

Echo: The Oracle's Scroll is a metroidvania for the Playdate!
Catalog: play.date/games/echo-t...
Itch: bumbleborn.itch.io/echo-the-ora...

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bumbleborn @bumbleborn.com · 15h

Thanks :D

bumbleborn @bumbleborn.com · 17h

Ahh thank you! It really is, it's sad how much indie dev blogs have disappeared over the last 15 years, I remember there being loads

bumbleborn @bumbleborn.com · 17h

Same! I bought a book that taught me the basics of if/else statements (took actual months for it to click)

My childhood on newgrounds was playing this and wondering how they got the license from nintendo (cause I didn't know what fan games were haha)

bumbleborn @bumbleborn.com · 17h

Thanks, I appreciate it a lot! I can highly recommend making a game for the playdate, it's extremely fun and the community is so supportive.

bumbleborn @bumbleborn.com · 18h

No way, flash really made a generation realise art was fun in a way I haven't seen another software do.

With your illustration skill where it's at, your video games are gonna look incredible. I can't wait to see what you make for the playdate!

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bumbleborn @bumbleborn.com · 22h

If you read all this, thank you and I'm sorry it was so long-winded.

If you're like me and wanna make games, hopefully this was another little anecdote you can stick in your back pocket to convince yourself it's doable.

It's defo, 100% doable.

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bumbleborn @bumbleborn.com · 22h

Working with Emily has also been so nice!! We're making a viva pinata style game as well, but we wanted something smaller that we could release in the next 6 months.

I'm hoping that I can launch at least 2 games next year so it's time lock in, pet cats and write some code!!

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bumbleborn @bumbleborn.com · 22h

This game has been a joy to work on, it's a mix of all the different balatro-likes that I've played (and loved) but it also feels like it's own beast.

It was fun to play within days of working on it and it's the first time I've felt that.

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bumbleborn @bumbleborn.com · 22h

My first game with my partner @eelizabethhca.bsky.social!

Wunder! A coin-flipping, double-sided deckbuilder where you flip coins to win games and cross the 5 rivers of the Underworld!

(There will be a proper announcement next month!)

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bumbleborn @bumbleborn.com · 22h

This year I've been trying to relax, it's felt like I've had 2 jobs for a decade and I finally just have one, making lil games in my lil yellow room.

I've worked on the DX version, Echo: Comet Coast (Link's Awakening meets Harvest Moon), a Diablo-Like for the Playdate and....

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bumbleborn @bumbleborn.com · 22h

It took a long time to get there but I released my first game and I am very proud of it.

It's not the end of the story for Echo either, there will be more games in the series and a DX remake releasing next year.

I'm so grateful for the Playdate and everyone who gave the game a chance!!

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bumbleborn @bumbleborn.com · 22h

This is the revenue over the year, it's made about £15.9k in UK dosh which for me lasts a bit over a year.

It's sold just over 4500 copies, and the feedback I've gotten has made me cry (in a good way) multiple times.

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bumbleborn @bumbleborn.com · 22h

A 3 month project turned into a 16 month project, and that turned into Echo: The Oracle's Scroll.

It released on Oct 8th, 2024, and people seemed to like it!

It won Best Adventure Game & Playdate GOTY in the Playdate Community Awards!

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bumbleborn @bumbleborn.com · 22h

From this point I've talked about how it went in 2 of my devlogs on youtube. (I will finish the series at some point I swear!)

www.youtube.com/watch?v=iARa...

Making My First Indie Game | Echoes Devlog 0

YouTube video by bumbleborn

www.youtube.com

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bumbleborn @bumbleborn.com · 22h

I am very, very lucky that I've managed to get 2 jobs in my career that I have loved, but it's not an uncommon story to work for years in games and never actually finish a game.

I'd built more savings but I decided to play it safer, I went part-time at work and began on a small playdate game.

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bumbleborn @bumbleborn.com · 22h

It was too ambitious for me at that time, I needed a smaller idea and more savings.

Thankfully, a friend needed someone like me at their studio, so I managed to get a job for 3 more years.

I'm a Technical Designer now, and would go on to become a senior... but I still hadn't released a game.

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bumbleborn @bumbleborn.com · 22h

I left after those 4 years to make my own game!

But I only had enough savings to work for 5 months, I managed to make a demo for a 3d platforming game that I'm still working on a bit today.

store.steampowered.com/app/1986400/...

Echo's Climb on Steam

Echo's Climb is a challenging, 3D adventure platformer. You'll explore a kingdom frozen in stone, ascend the various locales and collect echoes of the past, all to hopefully return these lands to thei...

store.steampowered.com

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bumbleborn @bumbleborn.com · 22h

I loved working there but in our efforts to find a publisher I spent 4 years working on games that never released, one 3 years dev cycle and then another that I lead for a year before it was cancelled.

Eventually a game I worked on there did release but I was only around for 6 months of it.

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bumbleborn @bumbleborn.com · 22h

It took 6 months to get an internship, I was let go cause they didn't have funding but then brought back part-time a year later during my masters degree.

It was a little tough but I had gotten my first job making games, but there was an issue, something a lot of game devs struggle with...

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bumbleborn @bumbleborn.com · 22h

Then I graduated and it did kinda click haha...

It is very hard to finance the making of video games. To make a game on your own as a working class kid, well you need to play the long game.

My plan was to get a job in games first, save up and then leave to pursue indie dev dreams.

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bumbleborn @bumbleborn.com · 22h

I really enjoyed Uni but it was not without faults.

I once again ran into a lotttt of people saying "you can't make games on your own", it was odd since we were all studying to make games.

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bumbleborn @bumbleborn.com · 22h

I got into Teesside Uni on a game art course, before swapping to game animation in my second year.

This was because I hated learning animation so I didn't trust myself to learn it in my own time (dumb plan but it did work).

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bumbleborn @bumbleborn.com · 22h

I think people dislike the movie cause it's unrealistic; most people fail to make the game, or it fails to make money, or it fails to be what people consider a success.

But my definition of success was just making a game I was proud of, and that seemed doable.

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bumbleborn @bumbleborn.com · 22h

During my second college course (which had a lot more game dev) I watched Indie Game: The Movie.

I know that film draws a bit of ire from folks but for me it was like a lightning bolt to brain. If I just focused, put everything into making games, I could one day make something like that!

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bumbleborn @bumbleborn.com · 22h

I started playing with macromedia flash as a teen instead of going to school (I was a "troubled child" and had a 47% attendance in school).

Then I got into a basic college course where I did 2 hours of game design a week. It was actually just following 3DS Max tutorials but it was a start!

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