Bertan Orgun

Our Steam page is finally LIVE! Sovereign Hand : The Last Enclave is a roguelike deckbuilder where city-building meets turn-based tactical defense. We’re joining #DeckbuildersFest tomorrow & Next Fest in June! Please Wishlist to support us: store.steampowered.com/app/4642260/So… #indiedev

Early 2000s game graphics had a serious soul. Max Payne with those trippy nightmare sequences or Enter the Matrix with the green tinted fog. Resolution was low, but the atmosphere had this unique, cinematic vibe that modern ultra realism just cannot replicate

Perfectionism is a disease in game dev. You chase the perfect vision in your head, but time, energy and skills can’t keep up. That gap is what kills most projects.

@RuneZapGames You are the real pixel art vet

@orgunbertan And a lot harder to produce than I remember from when I was doing it in the 90s :)

Journey of pixel art is wild. Born out of hardware limits in the 80s, perfected in the 90s, survived the 3D era, and now completely dominating the modern indie game scene in 2026. Pixel art never died

@Lynchosenpai06 Nothing wrong with liking mainstream games, everyone has preferences. But looking down on indie and pixel art titles as simple or easy to make is wild. That is the exact attitude I am calling out here

@orgunbertan wouldn't say they're tourists tho Everyone has the kinds of games they enjoy most. Some people get so much enjoyment from shooters or sports games that they don't really feel the need to branch out. It doesn't mean they're dismissing other genres, they've just found what clicks

We call them Game Tourists. They only play mainstream stuff like FIFA, COD, and Fortnite, and then think every other game, especially 2D, is simple or easy to make. They have no idea. There is a whole world of indie, pixel art, and creative games out there

@Satior420 Big difference between just liking AAA games and being someone who looks down on indie or pixel art titles. Calling a small game simple or not a real game just shows you have no idea how game development actually works. I am talking about them

@orgunbertan What do we call those who avoid the big ones and look for the little titles then?

Tech gets more powerful, yet we still go back to less is more. There is something special about saying a lot with simple sprites, limited colors, and clever design. That is exactly why retro inspired games still feel so good in 2026

@Dravekor I used to think the exact same way. But working with a strict theme actually gives you a fun direction. It creates some great creative chaos

@orgunbertan Good luck. I never went to any game jam. I don’t like to be told what I should make 😂👀

Entering Kenney Game Jam on July 17th. First time ever making a game with Godot. It is the perfect chance to see what we can actually create under a tight deadline

@bitculture Figuring out tools and setting up systems always feels like moving in slow motion. But those slow days are exactly what make fast progress possible later. Trusting the process is everything. so true

@orgunbertan In my experience, a bunch of days that feel like slow progress are the ones that enable the days that feel like fast progress. Like, setting up systems and tooling can feel slow if you're a more aesthetic driven person, but those things set you up to efficiently iterate later.

Discipline doesn’t always mean fast progress in creative work. Some days you make big leaps forward. Other days you move at a snail’s pace. But both days matter in the indie dev journey

Indie devs waste years looking for better engines and tools. In reality, the best stack is the one you already know and actually ship with

Hideo Kojima’s Boktai is peak UX creativity. A Game Boy Advance cartridge with a real sunlight sensor. Your gun only charged with actual sunlight. You had to go outside to play.

@Panmet_Artist Also, It lets you set your own revenue share, even 0%. I think that’s a big advantage

@orgunbertan The most logical thing to do is to start assembling a team of like-minded developers, animators, musicians, etc. 🤔

Itch.io feels special. Weird and experimental games can still reach people without any pressure. I love indie spirit.

Build your game for months, post it with zero followers, and hope it gets discovered. Classic indie marketing struggle.The real first step is posting anyway

You plan your game development thinking everything will go smoothly. Then reality hits and things don’t go as expected. Everyone experiences this once, and then we learn to plan better

Do something every day, even if it’s just 1%. Celebrate the small wins. Don’t treat yourself like a bad employee. This is the real indie game dev advice we all need

@orgunbertan It's okay; it'll all be worth it in the end. 🥲

Indie devs are the new normal. You code, create the art, do the sound design, handle marketing, edit trailers and build the Steam page then burn out all by yourself. Welcome to indie gamedev.