Re:Solo Programming (Score 1)

So I had a hand in the games industry some years back. It was a soul crushing thing to be sure. Particularly if you bought into the belief you needed to be part of the AAA titles that all the publishers seem focused on. However there are many stories of small shops making some very fun games. One thing I always argued with people about was the trap that having to have that "perfect" game. I saw many folks in decision making positions waste huge amounts of time on pursuit of that high end graphics experience never bothering to ask themselves in their games were any fun. For every huge production massive team title there is a Flappy Bird that is entertaining just as many people.

If you are passionate about something you think will be fun to play consider building it in the simplest way possible to deliver the elements of what you think makes it fun. It doesn't need to have photo realistic graphics or the best ever physics. Chasing that "as real as real life" experience is missing the point. Humans are easily amused, don't forget that key element. A couple of clever and/or creative folks can create games that will engage folks even if they aren't "high end". Heck, I'll still waste an hour playing pong if I am bored.

If you are going into game development to make tons of cash and have an amazing challenging software engineering experience you should rethink your choices. I don't think the majority of game developers are finding the experiences today very rewarding.