Why I’m Writing the Learning Stories Series
As a game developer, I’m constantly learning from others. Whether it’s watching a GDC talk, reading a postmortem, or hearing someone break down what went right and wrong in their launch, I’ve always found immense value in learning from real-world stories. But I often found these kinds of stories in video format, and I don’t always have the time to sit down and watch a video. Most of the time, I watch things without sound. I wanted to share these stories in written format, where people have the choice to quickly check a summary or read through all the details.
That’s why I started the Learning Stories series.
📘 What is a Learning Story?
A Learning Story is more than a recap or a case study. It’s a carefully told story that combines facts, quotes, and personal reflections to help us learn through someone else’s experience. Think of it as a narrative-driven postmortem that focuses not only on results, but the human journey behind a game.
These articles aren’t meant to glorify success or prescribe a formula. Instead, they highlight how complex and personal indie game development is, and why we can all learn something useful by following along with someone else’s path.
❤️ Why This Matters to Me
I’m building my own game studio, and like many indie devs, I wear a lot of hats. I code, design, market, write, and engage with the community. That makes it easy to get overwhelmed or feel like I’m behind. But whenever I hear about someone else’s development journey, especially when it includes the setbacks and doubts, it reminds me I’m not alone.
These Learning Stories are my way of making sense of the landscape, learning along the way, while also contributing something helpful to others walking the same road.
🚀 What to Expect
Each post in the series will focus on one developer or team and cover:
- The backstory and motivation
- The development process
- Key decisions and turning points
- Marketing, launch, and sales
- Lessons learned (with numbers where possible)
Some stories will be about big wins. Others will be more about the struggle. But all of them will offer real insights we can apply to our own path.
Thanks for being here. If this resonates with you, I’d love for you to follow along. You can read the first story in the series, about David Wehle and his game The First Tree, or suggest whose story I should tell next in my discord!