Written by PJ H
Translated by Jessie C.

Like most people, Kira Fu is a game and comic lover. He now is a father of a two-year-old kid and also the developer of Roll Turtle. The story going to begin is about a salaryman without the experience in game industry but transfer to an independent developer.

Two years ago, before his baby kid was born, Kira was a steady office man who has watched the same scene out of the window for ten years. However, after the baby came to the world, he started to rethink the meaning of life. He recalled the video games that he once has devoted to since he was a child. “May the workload and the baby keep me further away from games? Maybe I can strike a balance between interest and work if I start developing games by myself.”

At that time, the movies Kira watched, the books he read and the songs he listened were all about realizing dreams, for example The Secret Life of Walter Mitty by Ben Stiller. Every coincidence in life told him—now is the time.

The Developer’s Journal Is The Proof of Patience

After leaving the corporation, he deeply knew that becoming an independent developer should put efforts much more than perfunctory. Therefore, he regulated himself to write a developer’s journal “Kira’s Game Note” on blog every week, sharing his experience with other developers.

Writings journals helped him trace back the thoughts. For instance, it reminded him that the Roll Turtle was inspired by the story The Tortoise and the Hare, and the character Baby Turtle in the game was inspired by his kid. The inspiration from the family made Roll Turtle a heartwarming game.

In addition, Kira also updated the game’s development process on the foreign forum GameSalad. “I want to know the opinions from other teams, so I use Google Translate to help me understand and start the discussion with them.” After about seven or eight months, the COO (Chief Operating Officer) of GameSalad left a comment on the discussion.  He invited Kira to join Casual Connect, an assembly for independent developer held in Singapore.

“Though the App is made by myself independently, I bring my family to the exhibition with me. Even though it’s tired and also delays the development process, attending the exhibition with my family is the most beautiful experience in my life.” he said. On the exhibition, the players’ feedback and the recognition from the award both made him more confidence with Roll Turtle and his family.

He is a developer with much carefulness. There are plenty of details should be taken care of even then making an Universal App. Take UI for example, the settings on the iPhone and iPad should be different to fit in the action of palm and thumb. You need to change the direction of one arrow so it could be more convenient to the users. In Kira’s opinion, the non-independent developers often have to sacrifice the details to reach the high efficiency. “Because I’m a independent developer, I can fully focus on every detail and enjoy the process.” said Kira.

Nothing is More Important than Mental Construction

Roll Turtle is a single player and “pay once” game.  The players take adventures in five different worlds and chapters. Kira emphasized that “Roll Turtle is not a Baby Game, even though it looks very cute. Some players say that Roll Turtle is a cute game with dark soul.” At first, Kira planned to spend half or a year to finish developing the game. However, he has already written 108 journals till the game was published on the App Store this May. Although the game had been revised for lots of times, he still suffered from insomnia before the game was formally published. He’s afraid that the game couldn’t meet the players’ expectation.

Things didn’t go well at first. Roll Turtle only sales well for a week. Kira was frustrated due to the result. “I focus much on the competitors flaws at that time. Why there are plenty of games can be on the chart even though they’re not on the list of “Apps We Love” in the App Store? Some games’ qualities and details are not so good as well. Is Roll Turtle failed?”

Frustration Makes Me Understand: It’s the Best Decision in My Life

After he started to pay attention to the positive comments from the players, he saw the light in the dark.

Roll Turtle became “Apps We Love” on App Store and The Best Game of the Month on GameSalad right after released. It also received foreign players’ and medias’ praise. To a game developer without any experience, that is a great recognition. Though Kira hasn’t gained the feedback from money, he confirmed his passion for game development. “Never did a work ever tore me down to such sadness. Therefore, I want to keep on.”

To Kira, deciding to become an independent developer was not an easy decision while he still had the burden of kid and mortgage. However, his wife’s words made him here. “Just do it.” she said to him. Every time when he looked at his working environment, a writing desk beside a dining table and the photo which is taken during the time that he and his family went to the Tokyo Game Show, he would remember the reason why he decided to become a independent developer.

“In the two-year journey of development, I take adventures with my family. The memories and love throughout the time are treasures beyond money and anything else. Perhaps, after five or ten years my kid begin to have internet in games, I hope the first game that captivates him is the one made by me. I then will proudly share with him my developing experience rather than how much money I make.

A job can occupy most of the time of one’s life. Kira’s dream is to make a living by creating games, and the Roll Turtle is his first step. Hope the story of independent game development can give you some courage to try your own.

“Do you like games? I sincerely like them. To all the developers on the road, when you are at loss, just don’t forget your initial passion.” said Kira.

中文版連結

• 《Roll Turtle》開發旅程：因為痛苦，我知道這是我人生最棒的決定