The year is coming to an end. And what a year it has been! 2023 has been one of the most intense years of my life.

This adventure began 9 months ago, just after the birth of Félix, when I realized I needed to change my life and be happy myself to later teach him to be happy too. This means stopping working out of inertia and working on something that truly fulfills, motivates, and ultimately pleases me. Earning less? Yes, probably. Are there jobs? Yes. Will I have a job? Complicated, but not impossible.

It’s a difficult path with no guarantees of success, and that’s why I keep reminding myself to enjoy precisely that, the journey.

After this spiel, which is just a reminder of why I got into this mess, what have I achieved during 2023 as a game developer/generalist?

Learned

• Infinite YouTube videos about different topics
• Unity Essentials Pathway
• Junior Programmer Pathway
• AR Mobile Development Pathway
• Creative Core Pathway
• 40 hours course of Unreal Engine
• Started a Blender course (in progress)

Read

• Level up your code with game programming patterns
• Learning C# by Developing Games with Unity 2021

Games Developed

• Space Invaders
• Space Race
• Jet Fighter
• Pong
• Oh My Shape!
• Lost Lands
• Unreality
• AR Sandbox

Plans for 2024

2024 is going to be a key year for my development as a professional in the video game industry. I want to push and accelerate. Without crashing. Without burning out the engine. But moving forward.

To start, I will finish the Blender course and publish a virtual reality game. With these two things, I’ll close a small cycle of my roadmap, and this will allow me to prepare some GDDs on various game concepts.

Learning Blender and being able to create my own models, characters, animations, and rigs opens up possibilities like creating assets and packages that I can try to commercialize and distribute. Either to gain some renown and some economy.

Regarding the games I want to make in 2024:

• A virtual reality game with a closed story, post-apocalyptic. Use of weapons, physics, and some puzzles. It won’t be a long game, but well done.
• A “silly” virtual reality game with the possibility of porting to PC and mobiles. When I say silly, I mean a very well-made game with a silly theme that could go viral if moved well. I already have the idea.
• A multiplayer game about quick fights. Simple, with physics, focusing on gameplay and beautiful arenas. For PC and will try to port it to mobile.
• An idle game. Still to be defined, probably for mobile and monetizable.

Apart from those three as “main” games, I do not rule out collaborating on other games, game jams, and even making small games like Space Race, Pong, Space Invaders, or Jet Fighter to continue practicing and beefing up the portfolio.

Lastly and to be defined both points and not being entirely sure if I will carry out these points:

• Officializing an indie studio, creating the website, and the games would go under its label.
• Creating a YouTube/Twitch channel? about Unity, Devlogs, tutorials… ?

So, yes, crazy year ahead. Let’s do it!

Before saying goodbye to the year, I want to thank two people.

To Félix. I didn’t know it and couldn’t imagine it, but you are the best thing that has happened to me, and every morning you smile at me and recharge me, and I can continue on this path.

To Marisa. Without you, I would be lost.

I love you.

Happy 2024.