Today marks the one year anniversary of Potato Thriller! On this exact day (almost exact day) last year (June 22, 2016) I released a special version of the game originally called "Potato Thriller Steamed Potato Edition" on the Steam store. As an independent game developer, this marked a major milestone for me personally. I know that this game isn't perfect and it definitely is not for everyone but, it is a project that is very special to me and it is something that I am very proud of. This game marked many first for me. For example, this is my first game on Steam, this is the first game that actually got me feedback and criticism from players, this was the first lengthy game I ever made and so on. The list goes on and on.
With that said, I think the biggest one for me was that this was the first game I made that was actually being seen by people and played. which means everything to me as a developer and it is the most awesome thing. And I want to clarify that I am not trying to make it sound like I am saying "oh a lot of people bought this game and I made a ton of money, look at me i'm a successful game developer har har har" - This isn't what I am trying to say at all. Honestly, I barely made anything off the game. But I don't want to get into that stuff. This post isn't about money or success or bragging rights or anything like that.
What I mean is that, as silly and stupid this game was, people actually gave it a chance. I created a game, I put it out there and it was given a chance to just be a thing in the world of video games. Or I guess I should say the indie game scene and for that I am so grateful. The game got a lot of love from many fans while at the same time received a ton of hate from just as many people. And I am grateful for that. I think it is every artist's dream not to have their work loved by everyone, but to have people notice their work, critique their work and so on. Potato Thriller was that project that did that for me.
Anyway, this is starting to become a messy blog post and just me rambling, but from the bottom of my heart I want to thank all of you out there who have supported me as a game developer, took interest in my work, sent me some feedback, gave me criticism and so on. I want to thank all the people who gave Potato Thriller a chance, all the players of Potato Thriller, all you YouTubers and Streamers who covered the game on your channels, game journalist who wrote reviews and articles, people who did fan art, the people who reached out to me with messages telling me how much they enjoyed the game and so on. I am truly grateful. You are all awesome and are the reason I stay motivated to continue creating games and other stuff. I appreciate each and every one of you.
Happy Birthday Potato Man!
I can't believe that it has been a full year since I released this game. Time really does fly by. It's funny because looking back at Potato Thriller a year later, I am starting to see the many flaws the game has and why many people hated it. I see some bits of the game and face palm at my own work and say to myself "I can't believe I did that" or "why did I think it would be a good idea to put this in the game?" Again, it wasn't the perfect game. I understand how it came across as amateurish and low quality to some people. I'm not disagreeing with anyone. However, it is still something I am proud of. It shows me as a developer from a certain point in time. I really did put in a lot of work and effort into the game and made it the best I could possibly with the skill set level I had.
With that said, I am truly passionate about creating games. It is something that I love doing and want to keep doing. I really do care about delivering unique memorable gaming experiences and I am constantly working hard to improve. Over the year I feel like I have really matured a lot as a game developer and really am starting to take creating games more seriously. That doesn't mean I won't make my games silly and stupid anymore, they can still be silly and stupid, but at the same time need to have a certain level of quality to them.
Looking to the future!
It has been a full year since Potato Thriller has been out on Steam and it has also been a full year of silence. I haven't published anything new at all after Potato Thriller. However, this doesn't mean I haven't been working on anything. I have been developing a couple of different projects actually and I look forward to sharing them sometime in the future. Thanks for reading and more updates soon!
