Emily Sondering

But in terms of like what... you know, I would say the game is vastly solo developed. And in terms of like what led to that decision. So before this, I've worked in teams for every game I've ever made. And I was working on a game and it never ended up coming out, ended up being canceled. And I was reflecting on some of the failures of that project and why it failed.

And I actually started Lily's World XC as just like my escape from that project I used to be working on. And The main reason I did it solo was honestly, it was just such a weird niche idea. I figured no one else would want to work on this except me. But ultimately, I actually have found a lot of joy in solo developing. Before this, I thought it would never be for me, but I'm really enjoying it.

And I actually started Lily's World XC as just like my escape from that project I used to be working on. And The main reason I did it solo was honestly, it was just such a weird niche idea. I figured no one else would want to work on this except me. But ultimately, I actually have found a lot of joy in solo developing. Before this, I thought it would never be for me, but I'm really enjoying it.

And I actually started Lily's World XC as just like my escape from that project I used to be working on. And The main reason I did it solo was honestly, it was just such a weird niche idea. I figured no one else would want to work on this except me. But ultimately, I actually have found a lot of joy in solo developing. Before this, I thought it would never be for me, but I'm really enjoying it.

I think certain things that I really like about solo dev is actually how fast moving it is. So I thought that... Working with a team would be faster because you don't have to do every single discipline. But for example, in the game that I was working on, let's say we wanted to do a design for the main character. We would have a concept artist do 20 variations of that main character design.

I think certain things that I really like about solo dev is actually how fast moving it is. So I thought that... Working with a team would be faster because you don't have to do every single discipline. But for example, in the game that I was working on, let's say we wanted to do a design for the main character. We would have a concept artist do 20 variations of that main character design.

I think certain things that I really like about solo dev is actually how fast moving it is. So I thought that... Working with a team would be faster because you don't have to do every single discipline. But for example, in the game that I was working on, let's say we wanted to do a design for the main character. We would have a concept artist do 20 variations of that main character design.

And we'd be like, okay, we like the eyes of this one and the ears of that one and the clothes of this one. And then she'd have to do like five more designs based off her preferences. And then this process could take a really long time versus for Lily's World XD. I'm the only artist or main lead artist. Right. And so I thought, okay, um, you know, I'm not gonna, you know, I approve everything.

And we'd be like, okay, we like the eyes of this one and the ears of that one and the clothes of this one. And then she'd have to do like five more designs based off her preferences. And then this process could take a really long time versus for Lily's World XD. I'm the only artist or main lead artist. Right. And so I thought, okay, um, you know, I'm not gonna, you know, I approve everything.

And we'd be like, okay, we like the eyes of this one and the ears of that one and the clothes of this one. And then she'd have to do like five more designs based off her preferences. And then this process could take a really long time versus for Lily's World XD. I'm the only artist or main lead artist. Right. And so I thought, okay, um, you know, I'm not gonna, you know, I approve everything.

I don't have to go through all these rounds of feedback and it actually can lead to creative, creative solutions. So I do enjoy doing art, but I didn't want to do all the art of the main character. So I came up with the creative solution to use my face. So Lily's World XD uses real pictures of the young girl, which are of me as a teenager.

I don't have to go through all these rounds of feedback and it actually can lead to creative, creative solutions. So I do enjoy doing art, but I didn't want to do all the art of the main character. So I came up with the creative solution to use my face. So Lily's World XD uses real pictures of the young girl, which are of me as a teenager.

I don't have to go through all these rounds of feedback and it actually can lead to creative, creative solutions. So I do enjoy doing art, but I didn't want to do all the art of the main character. So I came up with the creative solution to use my face. So Lily's World XD uses real pictures of the young girl, which are of me as a teenager.

And so in a weird way, even though I'm doing everything, the process of approval is so much faster because it's like, Hey, Emily, do you approve this? Yeah, I approve that.

And so in a weird way, even though I'm doing everything, the process of approval is so much faster because it's like, Hey, Emily, do you approve this? Yeah, I approve that.

And so in a weird way, even though I'm doing everything, the process of approval is so much faster because it's like, Hey, Emily, do you approve this? Yeah, I approve that.

can just finish it actually a lot faster, surprisingly. And I think like one big benefit is that You know, I could do playtesting so much easier because it would take so long in my previous team to even get to a place where we felt comfortable enough to have others play the game and then give their feedback. Then, of course, we have to iterate on the feedback.

can just finish it actually a lot faster, surprisingly. And I think like one big benefit is that You know, I could do playtesting so much easier because it would take so long in my previous team to even get to a place where we felt comfortable enough to have others play the game and then give their feedback. Then, of course, we have to iterate on the feedback.

can just finish it actually a lot faster, surprisingly. And I think like one big benefit is that You know, I could do playtesting so much easier because it would take so long in my previous team to even get to a place where we felt comfortable enough to have others play the game and then give their feedback. Then, of course, we have to iterate on the feedback.

But for me, because I'm just deciding it all, I can have so many more rounds of feedback because it's, you know, build, feedback, build, feedback, build, feedback. Like it's so much faster, actually. And I think actually the game is turning out better because I can just... rely on player feedback rather than getting in like five.