theaaronstory
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theaaronstory.bsky.social
theaaronstory
@theaaronstory.bsky.social
Long time solo dev working on a psychological horror title.

Check out Deep Sea Claustrophobia: https://theaaronstory.itch.io/deep-sea-claustrophobia

Personal website: https://sites.google.com/view/theaaronstory/
Here's something I thought I wasn't going to make a video about: indie games. It has been on my mind for a while (obviously), but thought nobody would be interested in it. That changed after the topic blew up on Reddit yesterday.

#indiegames #gamedev #funding #publishers

youtu.be/gLEmE-eDGYg?...
Indie games are not what you think, and that's a problem
YouTube video by theaaronstory
youtu.be
November 18, 2025 at 7:14 PM
Sometimes the simplest of things can take the longest. Late after missing deals, but it's here. Exhausted.

A survival rouguelite, ARPG game with a "kitchen-sink" type of open-world/sandbox design, meant for easy play, immersion and lots of replayability.

#gamedev #fundraising #indiegames #business
October 11, 2025 at 8:23 AM
Probably last update on the matter, as 2 submissions came in today, ending a career as a gamedev. Started as a short post, ran out of space so made a blog instead.

#gamedev #indiedev #indiegaming #indiegames #gamedevelopment #indiegamedev #funding #business #publishers

gamedev.net/blogs/entry/...
No more grip
Welp, after several months more, the end has truly come for me and my self-proclaimed gamedev career. I just received two more rejections in
gamedev.net
October 7, 2025 at 5:13 PM
Re-upload as the video got nuked (copyright claim).

Gandalf talks more about how cooked Frodo the Developer is with his shoddy prototype of a game.

#gamedev #indiedev #indiegaming #indiegames #gamedevelopment #indiegamedev #business #investor

www.youtube.com/shorts/iMStS...
Gandalf talks more about how cooked Frodo the Developer is with his shoddy prototype of a game.
YouTube video by theaaronstory
www.youtube.com
September 16, 2025 at 12:05 PM
Quite the fun this, and a bit of a secret as well (can't post that long here). It's an insider joke, explained in the description for the really curious; a heartbroken rant more like this.

#gamedev #indiedev #indiegaming #indiegames #gamedevelopment #indiegamedev

youtube.com/shorts/ZYuNp...
Gandalf reveals what the enemy learnt from Gollum: MVP-Traction! The bane of existence for dev Frodo
YouTube video by theaaronstory
youtube.com
September 15, 2025 at 8:07 PM
September 14, 2025 at 7:44 PM
September 11, 2025 at 8:58 PM
September 9, 2025 at 5:57 PM
Sweeping up the last bits of the story, and sharing how it went with the scouting. Oh and a bonus GIF and the end about a small VFX.

gamedev.net/blogs/entry/...

#gamedev #indiedev #indiegaming #indiegames #gamedevelopment #indiegamedev #funding #business #publishers
Chasing the crumbs
Continuing from last time, because I managed to stumble upon a few interesting bits while I tried to save it all (my career and a project, e
gamedev.net
September 6, 2025 at 6:29 PM
Though to clarify the state of DSC, as I kept seeing incoming traffic, and didn't really stamped the state of DSC all over that I'm no longer working on it. Closer to be embraced!

#gamedev #indiedev #indiegaming #indiegames #gamedevelopment #indiegamedev #solodev

www.indiedb.com/games/deep-s...
DSC Newsletter 30.08.25 - Game over - Deep Sea Claustrophobia
That's it folks. The project is no longer being worked on as explained in the previous post. Bringing you the last update here.
www.indiedb.com
August 30, 2025 at 2:56 PM
So Tom just suggested in a comment that my approach for finding an agent might not be best, but don't know what else I could try; I replied in the link. Thoughts?

gamedev.net/blogs/entry/...

#gamedev #indiedev #indiegaming #indiegames #gamedevelopment #indiegamedev #funding #business #publishers
The audacity of a man
This blog is the continuation of my latest “series” on what could be described as "trying to save one’s career” (playlist). We’ll talk about
gamedev.net
August 22, 2025 at 12:30 PM
New blog post talking about the events of the past few weeks. Back to the classic blog format this time.

www.reddit.com/r/twelfkingd...

#gamedev #indiedev #indiegaming #indiegames #gamedevelopment #indiegamedev #funding #business #publishers
From the twelfkingdoms community on Reddit
Explore this post and more from the twelfkingdoms community
www.reddit.com
August 21, 2025 at 7:27 PM
The thinking was to document the arduous journey, the same way as in the previous video, in hopes that people could learn about how the industry works, and what obstacles you might encounter.

#gamedev #indiedev #indiegaming #indiegames #gamedevelopment #indiegamedev #funding #business #publishers
July 30, 2025 at 9:01 AM
An unintentional follow-up to my previous video, as things are turning out to be quite ridiculous, along with trying to bring back a dead project.

#gamedev #indiedev #indiegaming #indiegames #gamedevelopment #indiegamedev #solodev #funding #business #publishers

www.youtube.com/watch?v=ot9a...
Can we bring back the dead? Not this one, the other one! #gamedev
YouTube video by theaaronstory
www.youtube.com
July 29, 2025 at 5:58 PM
A few people already told me how they're going through similar issues in their lives, and are in a rough patch. And that they appreciate me sharing mine.

#gamedev #indiedev #indiegaming #indiegames #gamedevelopment #indiegamedev #solodev #funding #business #publishers
Sharing the realities I faced during these last couple of years, and my thoughts on what it feels like chasing publishers for a living: Fighting to make games and value.

#gamedev #indiedev #indiegaming #indiegames #gamedevelopment #indiegamedev #solodev #funding

www.youtube.com/watch?v=XLaY...
The realities of being a solo developer for 5 years
YouTube video by theaaronstory
www.youtube.com
July 5, 2025 at 11:24 AM
Sharing the realities I faced during these last couple of years, and my thoughts on what it feels like chasing publishers for a living: Fighting to make games and value.

#gamedev #indiedev #indiegaming #indiegames #gamedevelopment #indiegamedev #solodev #funding

www.youtube.com/watch?v=XLaY...
The realities of being a solo developer for 5 years
YouTube video by theaaronstory
www.youtube.com
July 4, 2025 at 12:14 PM
In case you've missed it, there's a short story of some conspiracy set in the depths of the Atlantic. Follow the link below!

#gamedev #indiedev #casual #horror #psychological #freedemo #indiegaming #indiegames #submarine #earlyaccess #gamedevelopment #indiegamedev #retro #psx #lowpoly #solodev
June 28, 2025 at 8:44 AM
Dusted off my pen, and spent a day or two coming up with a better story for the game as the ending was kind of hanging in the air. A short story masked as an update!

#gamedev #indiedev #horror #indiegames #solodev #earlyaccess #casual #submarine #freedemo #spoilers

www.indiedb.com/games/deep-s...
DSC Newsletter: Rewriting the story and other bits - Deep Sea Claustrophobia
The story behind DSC has been partially rewritten as the end was lacking and needed some love. You can read about it here and some of the spoilers. Also sharing a test for a new capsule.
www.indiedb.com
June 27, 2025 at 6:11 PM
Took a better screenshot to show it's really under Dune, not just saying things! 🙂 Happens on this small screen sometimes...

#gamedev #indiedev #horror #indiegames #solodev #earlyaccess #casual #submarine #freedemo
June 20, 2025 at 12:39 PM
Wow, soo, thank you for Gamespress.com for hosting Deep Sea Claustrophobia on their page! Very nice of them! Just noticed it coming online, and it's right below Dune awakening! 😄

#gamedev #indiedev #horror #indiegames #solodev #casual #retro #earlyaccess #submarine #psx
June 20, 2025 at 12:33 PM
Back to the long form of blogging this time, talking about my current progress with procgen, and more importantly about values in gaming as it keeps popping up on my radar. Enjoy!

#gamedev #indiedev #horror #indiegame #freedemo #earlyaccess #submarine #casual

www.indiedb.com/games/deep-s...
DSC newsletter 16.06.25 feature - Deep Sea Claustrophobia
DSC newsletter about starting to work on a procedural terrain generator and expanding a bit more on the story of the industry from the previous article, talking about values.
www.indiedb.com
June 19, 2025 at 7:54 PM
A new build has been released, mixed in with some casual blogging about how things are going, so expect a little bit more out of this one, and not just a quick list of things. Cheers!

#gamedev #indiedev #horror #indiegame #freedemo #earlyaccess #submarine #casual

www.indiedb.com/games/deep-s...
Build update June 16th news - Deep Sea Claustrophobia
New version update for the build, and bunch more goodies. Bit longer article as well.
www.indiedb.com
June 16, 2025 at 7:34 PM