My idea is to create massive outdoor maps that let players zoom in and out with their mouse, giving it a sort of GPS feel. It makes it easy to get an overview of the terrain and really highlights the grand scale of the buildings.
I run a small indie studio in Shanghai. A few days ago, I opened my inbox to find an incredibly professional English resume. The sender had found me through my game’s Steam store page.
At first, I suspected it was just another key beggar or a bot using templates to spam. But after looking through his materials, I realized this was the real deal.
To protect his privacy, I’ll keep it vague: The guy is a total one-man army. He’s proficient in both Unity and Unreal. He can handle UI, databases, and networking, he can even make art and SFX. His resume listed several past Steam projects he worked on with medium and small teams. Even though those games weren't massive hits, he was the programmer, not the marketer, and his technical stack was honestly more impressive than mine.
What touched me was that the email was clearly personalized. He even mentioned RPG Maker (I used it in my previous projects), so this definitely wasn't a copy-paste job. I felt I had to reply.
"Unfortunately, we are a tiny team. Only 2 or 3 full-time members plus some part-timers. We are able to operate smoothly largely because of the lower cost of living in Shanghai, which makes it very difficult for us to afford international staff. Furthermore, we would likely encounter significant complications regarding international payments and taxation if we were to hire across borders. That said, I’d love to stay in touch so we can support each other in the future."
A few days later, he replied again. He ended his mail by saying "God bless you and your studio." I was honestly moved.
The funny (and slightly awkward) part? My current project is actually demon-themed. But you know how it is in Asia, we often treat religious elements as cool fashion items because they feel mysterious.
My question is: What is happening to the game industry right now? As a micro-studio, I never imagined someone this talented would be cold-emailing me through a Steam page.
My entry point into the SMT series was actually Mara. The moment I saw that design, I was floored. All I could think was: Who on earth designed this, and what else have they made?
I eventually discovered the whole series through demon compendium videos. I used to find creature collector games way too easy. I could usually wipe the floor with gym leaders, so I decided to start SMT on Hard. Instead, I was the one getting wiped across the floor by random mobs.
I also love the alignment system in SMT. After watching some lore deep-dives on youtube, I realized for the first time that so many "demons" are actually evolved versions of gods and entities from other mythologies, which has heavily influenced my own game development.
While doing research for my own project, I looked up how some of these demons were depicted in original historical texts; seeing the contrast really makes you appreciate just how incredible the SMT character design truly is.