A solo developer’s long road to a game that finally has a real shot
This is part of Fix Stories — dev-authored journeys published on Fix Gaming Channel.
How it started
I am Ofer, the developer of Golel.
Golel is a tick/turn-based, first-person RPG.
It allows you to use the environment and mobility-focused talents to combat enemies, all in tickbased/grid-based fashion.
It is inspired by games like classic Rogue likes, Eye of the Beholder or Lands of Lore.
Tick-based means, every action you take, the enemies take an action at the same time. Similar to how original rogue was like, but without the proc gen.
I am 40+ years old from Israel.
The first time I learned to code was about 15 years old, when I went to a C course during summer, before I went to a new school where you study computers.
After finishing the course, I wanted to practice what I learned, and I thought the best way to do that is write a computer game.
I always loved computer and console games(SEGA, not Nintendo).
One of the very first games I played was Karateka on Apple II.
Since 16 years old, I have tried to make games and also sell them online. I might have quite a few games. All of them were failures financially.
One of the big issues is that I always liked doing things on my own, as a solo dev. In addition, I didn’t learn properly how to design good games, and how to bring them into production value that people like.
I have participated in HTMAG courses and Discord, and that is what allowed me to learn how to make more marketable games, and also allowed me to see how a game needs to be designed to look professional and not just someone’s first game.
After joining HTMAG, I did two games that were also financial failures. And only the current game, Golel, shows a chance for success.
Golel — Gameplay / Trailer
Gameplay / trailer footage.
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The previous game, Burial Stone, which is kind of similar to Golel, was released with only 512 outstanding Wishlists.
Golel already have more than 9000 Wishlists, and the release is only in Q2 2026.
Golel
Release: Q2 2026
Genre: Indie, RPG
Developer / Publisher: Ofer Rubinstein
What I did wrong? I didn’t bother to listen to others enough. But not just anyone, people with proven record of success, of analyzing who is successful. Not everyone’s advice is good, but also not listening to anyone’s advice is bad.
Before you take on long, tedious gamedev projects. Make sure you have learned how to design and market games. For that, you should do very small game projects(a few months) so you will see the theory in practice, getting feedback from real players and play testers.
A slime enemy fills the corridor, forcing close-quarters decision-making.
Fire and falling embers create a hostile, ritual-like environment.
An undead enemy advances near a chapel under torchlight.
It is very important that you see a few hundred people play your game and record it on video.
You cannot understand how players play your game without watching them play it. Only then you will understand how varied and how players really play it. How much attention they have an etc.
Also, be careful of demoralizing “advice” and comments.
Early in my solo dev “adventure”, there were people, also from “Established” competitions and other indies, that were saying very demoralizing things. The things they said weren’t even true, but they were quick to spew negativity.
Maybe they projected their own frustrations.
But on the other hand, make sure to not brush off those who give you good advice, and explore what they are saying. Don’t take it as is, but be open to take action to verify if what they say is true or not.
Hopefully, I will be able to be a real independent solo dev soon, and not just keep making unsustainable financial failures.
Ofer.
Related reading
- Golel on Steam
- Golel — Gameplay / Trailer (YouTube)
- Fix Stories — Dev-authored stories on Fix Gaming Channel
Written by Ofer Rubinstein
Edited by Ronny Fiksdahl, Founder & Editor of Fix Gaming Channel.
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