Tomas Sala, the creator of the construction simulator Bulwark Evolution: Falconeer Chronicles, shared his solo development experience and offered advice to his colleagues in a podcast with Thomas Brush.
Bulwark Evolution: Falconeer Chronicles
According to him, a crucial aspect of success is the ability to realistically assess a game's commercial potential. "If the game won't make money, then it's not worth working on. That's the harsh reality," Sala emphasized.
He recommends setting clear and measurable success criteria early on so as not to "drag a dead horse" later—meaning to avoid working on a project without prospects.
Another principle Sala stands by is working quickly. "I create my games in two years. That's my goal: less than two years for large, visually impressive projects. Spending six or seven years on development is just foolish," he explained. In his view, long-term projects are difficult to finance, especially if the developers rely on revenue from game sales.
Finally, his last piece of advice is to be able to let go of failures and learn from them. "You can't turn a blatantly failed project into a hit. If a project isn't working, you need to let it go and move on. That doesn't mean the time was wasted—you've gained valuable experience that will be useful in the future," the developer asserted.