Top Tips for Solo Game Developers from the creator of PlateUp! and more

To create a whole game by yourself is no mean feat, but does that stop solo developers? Absolutely not! We’ve seen time and time again that a small team does not mean a compromise on quality. Countless solo developed indie games have now become household names to millions of players, ConcernedApe’s Stardew Valley, LocalThunk’s Balatro, and Toby Fox’s Undertale to name a few.

We chatted with some of the solo devs we work with here at Yogscast Games to get their insight on what it's like to create a whole world entirely by yourself. The good bits, the challenges, and what they would recommend for anyone who’s interested in joining the solo dev life.

PlateUp!, created by solo dev Alastair Janse van Rensburg, has been a huge global hit.

Source: PlateUp!

Yogscast Games was introduced to PlateUp! after Alastair submitted it to the Tiny Teams festival back in 2021. The Yogscast’s own Briony and Kirsty could not stop playing it and, well, the rest is history. Four years later, PlateUp! has sold over a million copies on Steam alone as well as being released on Nintendo Switch, Playstation 4|5, and Xbox Gamepass. Now, with the help of a small team, PlateUp’s success continues. We talked to Alastair about his experience of being a solo game developer.

What do you love most about being a solo dev?

My favourite part about being a developer is announcing new content to people. During pre-launch playtests, people would leave a message in Discord saying they'd run into a bug, and I'd reply saying the bug had been fixed and the patch was already live. People really appreciate that connection between developer and player, and I think it's something that can't be maintained in the same way as the size of a team grows.

What are the biggest challenges about being a solo dev?

The hardest thing about working alone on something is whatever has been lurking on your to-do list the longest. Without a team, the only person who will ever complete that task is you; even if that means having to learn a whole new skill to get it sorted. Having to keep coming back to difficult problems over and over is really draining, especially when it's something entirely outside your normal skillset. I found this a lot with bug fixing on really finicky problems. It often feels like you're just pushing things around a bit and never really goes away!

What are your top tips for solo game devs like yourself?

Solo development is about making the most of your time. You have to consider not just how much effort it'll take to add something, but how much time it's going to take to maintain and update that throughout development as your project evolves. For instance, PlateUp doesn't have art to show how to make recipes, it just uses plain text. It might have been relatively straightforward to get the art in place, but then the work required to add another dish goes up, and making a small tweak to a recipe needs the art re-doing. As that kind of work builds up, the design of the game becomes more static and responding to feedback becomes much harder.

Teams are faster at making content but slower at making decisions. As a solo developer, you should play to this strength as much as you can. By keeping your design as dynamic as you can, you're better placed than anyone else to react to how the game feels, and what your playtesters are saying. You should make sure everything you do preserves that. If you can't adapt quickly to how your game feels to play, you're giving up your biggest advantage. I've found that players are really forgiving for a lot of janky things if they're having fun with the rest of it, so focus on the best parts of your game and just make sure the worst parts stay out of the way.

Rhell: Warped Worlds & Troubled Times created by SlugGlove is another solo dev indie gem.

Source: Rhell: Warped Worlds & Troubled Times

Alice, otherwise known as SlugGlove in the game development world, has been developing Rhell: Warped Worlds & Troubled Times for just under two years. Rhell: Warped Worlds & Troubled Times is an adventure puzzle game where you play as a sassy sage who collects runes in a semi-open world to create millions of combinations of spells which will help her uncover the mystery of why everyone has disappeared. There’s a fabulous demo out on Steam if you want to try it out.

What do you love most about being a solo dev?

For me I love love looooooooove when I have an idea and I get to just make it. The whole process of thinking of a thing that would be cool in my game and then going through the full process of designing it, drawing it, coding it, implementing it, testing it, feels so satisfying and fun to be involved in every aspect of. I love solo development as I get to have the joy of creating things in whatever part of my games I choose to make next.

What are the biggest challenges about being a solo dev?

Identifying my limits. While I love to learn new things and develop my skills, I think it is also helpful to recognise your own limits and area that you probably wont do well with. For me I dont think you will ever see me attempt to make a realistic looking game because I just dont have the art skills developed in that area to pull of a realistic style. But that isn't a bad thing! Once you can find your limits it helps in the overall process of making games and helps to focus your time in what you can do, instead of wasting it on projects that just arnt possible.

What are your top tips for solo game devs like yourself?

Have fun and be yourself! Really though, I think the best thing you can do as a solo developer is to chase your passions and what exactly it is about games that YOU enjoy. And personally I think the best projects are the ones that the developer has a passion and joy for, so as a solo developer chasing that joy and finding the kind of games and projects that you enjoy making the most is essential.

Another tip I would say is to find what you do best. Most solo devs kind of do everything but I feel each developer has their strong points (mine is probably making toony cute art). If you can find your particular niche and focus on that when developing then it can help your games stand out and feel more unique to you as a developer.

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We’d like to give a big thank you to Alastair and Alice for taking time out of their busy development schedules to share their knowledge. You can pick up PlateUp on the platform of your choosing now, and Rhell: Warped Worlds & Troubled Times is heading towards PC launch in early 2026 so keep your eyes peeled for that one (go on give it a wishlist).

If you’re a solo developer out there working on a game, full time, part time, or squeezing it into precious free time then we applaud you. Keep it up—you’re doing a great!