Fix Stories: From hobby dev to full release — Droplet: States of Matter after seven years

Seven years in spare time — and the moment Droplet finally hit 1.0

This is part of Fix Stories — dev-authored journeys published on Fix Gaming Channel. For another long-form creator journey, read This May Be Anti-Inspirational. It Worked Anyway.

Story

My name is Karl “Krayfishkarl” Ast. I am a hobbyist solo developer, and I created the 3D platformer Droplet: States of Matter, a game heavily inspired by the classics from the late 1990s and early 2000s. It was released on Steam on September 30, 2025 after seven years of development. The game’s primary mechanic revolves around switching between water, ice, cloud and plasma forms across different environments. You play as Droplet and his sister Molly-QL to explore a vast, unique world and to meet a variety of colorful characters inspired by scientific puns.

While I’ve developed free browser games on my website for years, Droplet: States of Matter was my first ever commercial release. It is the game that I always wanted to make, and it is the type of game I would have certainly enjoyed had I grown up with it. There’s that common indie game developer advice to make many smaller games before making a big game, and that’s exactly what I did. I felt ready to tackle the “big game”.

Use ice form to freeze a path across a lava-filled cavern.

My goal was to make a fully-fledged 3D platformer in the spirit of beloved games like Super Mario 64, Spyro the Dragon, Banjo-Kazooie and Crash Bandicoot. That also meant including as much content as a typical game from that era might have. When I mentioned that I was a solo developer, that meant that I created virtually all aspects of the game. I am the programmer, game designer, music composer and modeler. I even did most of the game’s voice acting. It goes without saying, but this was no easy feat.

A whimsical scene up in the clouds with colorful characters and platforming ledges.

While I have a background in computer science, I am virtually self-taught in all other disciplines. I heavily relied on YouTube tutorials and various Internet forums. The primary tools I used to create Droplet: States of Matter were Unreal Engine 4 for the game itself and Blender for the 3D models. I wanted give the game a distinct look, so I drew most everything from scratch, inspired by the style of my childhood doodles. I mainly used the Unreal Marketplace for textures and materials, heavily modifying them with unique color schemes. And for the music, I used FL Studio. I incorporated samples and VST’s from the same era of those classic games for an authentic retro feel. And the title screen theme features full lyrics written by yours truly and synthesized with Vocaloid.

Droplet: States of Matter — Official Trailer

Droplet: States of Matter

Release: September 30, 2025

Genre: Action, Adventure, Indie

Developer / Publisher: Krayfish Entertainment

Platforms: PC (Windows) — Steam

Perseverance was one of the biggest takeaways from my experience working on Droplet: States of Matter. It was going to be my biggest game to date, and I knew it was going to take a while. I worked on this game entirely within my spare time as I had a full-time job to pay the bills. I spent at least one to two hours every day working on this game, sometimes more on weekends. Part of why it took so long was that I made multiple passes at areas I had already created to make them as good as I could get them. I could have very easily released this game as far back as 2020, but I would not have been very happy with it. That was why I opted for an early access release in 2021 so that I would have the chance to improve it based on feedback.

Droplet: States of Matter saw its full release at the end of September of 2025. Next to titans such as Hollow Knight Silksong, Pac-Man World 2 Re-Pac and Final Fantasy Tactics – The Ivalice Chronicles, it was admittedly difficult standing out. Even though this game had a very quiet release, it was always my goal to make something that I would personally be proud of. On that front, I believe I succeeded.

I was more than happy to find out that the people that played my game had nothing but praise for it. Among the reviews I got were over how much heart it had and how much it reminded players of their childhoods. The level design and clever puzzles were received really well. Seeing people genuinely get so much enjoyment out of my game was more than I could ever ask for.

A stylized forest scene with a waterfall and Molly-QL.

So, I have to wonder. What happens next? Well, I think the best course of action is to continue experimenting. I would like to explore ideas for a new IP and perhaps make a different type of game. I’m keeping it close to my chest for now, but I am hoping to show off something in the near future! Either way, now that I have some experience in releasing a game, I would like to use what I learned from the development of Droplet: States of Matter to continue iterating and improving upon my work.

Although I achieved one of my greatest goals of making the dream video game I always wanted to, I only now feel that my game developer journey is truly beginning. The next chapter of Krayfish Entertainment waits to be written.

Links

Website: krayfishentertainment.com

Steam: Droplet: States of Matter

Press Kit: Krayfish Entertainment — Droplet Press Kit

YouTube: Krayfishkarl

Twitter/X: @krayfishkarl

BlueSky: krayfishkarl.bsky.social

Discord: Join the Discord

SoundCloud: Krayfishkarl

Byline:
Karl “Krayfishkarl” Ast
Lead Developer
Krayfish Entertainment

I have been making games as a hobby since 2005. I’m a jack of all trades doing all the coding, art and music to bring colorful, imaginative worlds to life.

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Edited and published by Ronny Fiksdahl, Founder & Editor-in-Chief of Fix Gaming Channel.

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