The Solo Dev Diary [Remastered] - Gaming Podcast
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What inspired Emily to become a solo game developer and how did she get started?
Hello, fellow gamers, and welcome to the Video Gamers Podcast. Stardew Valley, Braid, Minecraft, Undertale? Some of the most iconic games ever, but they all have one thing in common. They were made by a solo developer. How does one accomplish such a feat? How can one person make a game without the help of an entire studio? Do they truly Have to know how to do art, music, coding, and more? Well, we're about to find out in this episode, but first, some introductions are in order. I am your host Josh, and joining me, he likes solo cups, Han solo, and the anime solo leveling? It's it's right.
That's a lot of solos, man.
I I I didn't know where to go on this one, right?
That's fine. I'm just the Lone Ranger. Live a solo life.
Those are those are all great things though. I I have not seen solo leveling, but I hear it's really good. Who doesn't love a good solo cup? And Han Solo, man. He's you know, he's a scoundrel. Goat,
yeah. Yeah.
And joining us, she is a solo developer with multiple titles on her resume who has shared the joys and the challenges of developing games on her social media. It's the one and only Emily Saundering.
Hello, yes, I'm super excited that you guys have me here today and what an epic intro.
Well thank you. We try, we try. You know, we gotta set the set the tone of the the podcast here too. Uh Emily, thank you so much for joining us. We are really excited to chat with you today, you know, about what it is like to, you know, be the only person making a video game and and kind of what is involved in that. We've we've been doing a series of talking with people from all over the gaming industry, voice actors. Uh we, you know, we even talked to a gaming psychologist, which was really cool. We've talked with Animators, AAA studios, independent studios, and stuff like that. But we have not had the opportunity to talk to a solo developer. And so we are super excited to have you on with us. Um, and if you could, uh, just so our listeners can kind of get to know you a bit more, um, you've been a solo dev for a little while.
Um, you are currently working on a game, and you actually have another game that is out on Steam that actually Actually, it has a really good rating that I'd love to talk about a little bit. Um, but can you tell us a little bit more about your prior work and uh and what you do?
Yeah, so hi, I'm Emily. I am a Los Angeles based game developer and game dev creator. You might know me from game dev videos I post on Instagram and YouTube under the name Saundering Emily. I also previously did make a game called A Taste of the Past. It is on Steam and has over a hundred and twenty thousand plays, which was really exciting. That's
awesome.
Um, and now I am working on my first horror game, Lily's World XD. It's the first time I'm going solo, and the premise of the game is you investigate a young girl's computer. It's set in the early 2000s, so you do things like chat on aim, go through your cringy blog, you have uh I recreate friendster in my game. Everything seems normal until someone realizes you're not Lily. Ooh. And then uh s creepy dark things happen.
This is awesome. So we're gonna get into uh Lily's World XD here in a little bit 'cause I am very curious about what it is like to kind of, you know, come up with the concept of a game, approach it. The early two thousands was a lot of fun. Um, like you said, you know, days of MySpace, aim and all that stuff as well. So
Dude, yeah, I wanna say just just watching that stuff and I see that aim window pop up and I'm like Oh my gosh. Am I in like Am I in like eighth grade again? Like what is happening right now? Oh oh Ryan, you just dated yourself by the way. Oh yeah, no, I know. Yeah, I'm old.
So it so Emily, is it safe to say that as a game developer, um, that you are a gamer yourself? Do you play a lot of games? Is this just a passion that you have for creating them, or do you actually you know, are you a gamer?
I definitely am a gamer. I feel like it w strange to make games without playing them. It's like writing a book without reading books or making movies without watching them.
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Chapters
8 chapters
1
What inspired Emily to become a solo game developer and how did she get started?
0:12–6:27
2
What are the biggest challenges and benefits of developing a game completely on your own?
6:27–13:52
3
How did Emily’s previous projects (like A Taste of the Past) lead to the creation of Lily’s World XD?
13:52–20:59
4
What is the core gameplay concept and story behind Lily’s World XD?
20:59–28:29
5
How did Emily build a large social‑media following and use it to promote her games?
28:29–35:24
6
How does Emily handle bugs, stress, and perfectionism while solo‑developing?
35:24–43:07
7
What practical advice does Emily give to aspiring solo developers on where to start?
43:07–49:33
8
How does Emily measure the success of a game beyond sales and reviews?
49:33–57:22
Speakers
1 identifiedMore from Video Gamers Podcast
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