Indie Game Development: Tech Choices and Workflows
Indie game teams often work with tight budgets and short timelines. The tech choices you make in the early days will ripple through every sprint, so pick a stack that fits your team’s skills and your game’s scope. A simple, well-supported setup speeds prototyping and reduces maintenance debt. Engine choices matter, and there are practical options to consider: Unity: friendly for beginners, huge asset store, solid 2D and 3D support, C# scripting. Unreal: top-tier visuals, strong physics, but a steeper learning curve and bigger builds. Godot: lightweight, open source, fast iteration, with GDScript or C# options. A custom engine: offers full control, but needs more in-house work and long-term support. Languages and tooling shape daily work. For rapid iteration, C# in Unity feels forgiving; C++ in Unreal gives power and control; Godot’s GDScript is approachable for small teams. Plan a small set of build and automation scripts for asset checks, scene validation, and deployment to test devices. This keeps people focused on gameplay, not plumbing. ...