iiinova — where your digital self keeps evolving

David makes games - Solo game developer @reiddavi.bsky.social · 12/09/2026

The commander has a new map. Full region, real roads, real obstacles, and live data on every town. Will it be enough to combat the outbreak? #indiegame #solodev #gamedev #zombiegame

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David makes games - Solo game developer @reiddavi.bsky.social · 03/06/2026

I've been building a zombie RTS in public for months without telling you the name. Today that changes. Command the Dead is on Steam. #indiegame #solodev #gamedev #zombiegame

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David makes games - Solo game developer @reiddavi.bsky.social · 25/05/2026

A unit with a destination, will show an arrow indicating their chosen path to that destination. At the moment, movement is done by selecting the individual unit and click on a destination. The radius around the units is noise which is an important game metric.

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David makes games - Solo game developer @reiddavi.bsky.social · 25/05/2026

The units destination are selected independently. In this image, I sent one unit to Bleak Creek, the other to Hollow Glen. The radius around the units is noise which is important game metric.

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David makes games - Solo game developer @reiddavi.bsky.social · 25/05/2026

Early start. Feedback from my devlog flagged that players couldn't tell I was controlling units. Added a path arrow. Simple fix, big difference. Does this read clearly to you? #indiegame #solodev #gamedev

A top-down tactical map showing a zombie outbreak in its early stages. Two army units are visible with a dotted path arrow indicating movement orders. An orders log in the bottom left reads "Secure Reed Bluff, move a unit to the city within the hour." The infection rate is 20% with one active horde on the map.

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David makes games - Solo game developer @reiddavi.bsky.social · 22/05/2026

You have a real time map showing infection spreading, hordes moving, and civilians at risk. No pause button. You issue orders and watch them play out, sometimes too late. The pressure comes from seeing it unravel and having to decide what to save.

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David makes games - Solo game developer @reiddavi.bsky.social · 22/05/2026

Really grateful for the feedback coming out of my latest devlog. Hearing people discuss strategy, information flow, and decision-making under pressure has genuinely helped shape the direction of the game. A lot of work, but absolutely worth it. #indiegame #solodev #gamedev

A helicopter trying to fly with zombies clinging on, and jumping towards it.

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David makes games - Solo game developer @reiddavi.bsky.social · 21/05/2026

That’s part of the inspiration for sure. I like giving players space to observe and adapt instead of micromanaging constantly. But I want the strategy layer to stay very active, ideally the units surprise you because of the decisions you made, not independently of them. I guess its a balancing act.

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David makes games - Solo game developer @reiddavi.bsky.social · 21/05/2026

These are really good ideas. I especially like cheaper units being less predictable, it gives unit quality personality beyond just stats. Scenario-based behaviours could also make battles feel more organic.

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David makes games - Solo game developer @reiddavi.bsky.social · 21/05/2026

That balance is exactly what I'm trying to find. The player should feel like their strategy matters even when units act autonomously. Unit behaviour upgrades are something I'm thinking about, orders that improve how units perform rather than controlling them directly.

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David makes games - Solo game developer @reiddavi.bsky.social · 21/05/2026

My zombie RTS doesn't let you micromanage units. You set the strategy, they execute it. Sometimes brilliantly, sometimes not. Do you want control or do you want to be surprised? #indiegame #solodev #gamedev

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David makes games - Solo game developer @reiddavi.bsky.social · 20/05/2026

Sometimes the best thing you can do for your game is step away from it. Loch shore, pine trees, and a bike. How do you step away from the screen? #indiegame #solodev #gamedev

A mountain bike parked on a sandy shoreline beside a Scottish loch. Pine trees frame the left of the image, rolling hills visible across the water under a blue sky with scattered clouds.

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David makes games - Solo game developer @reiddavi.bsky.social · 19/05/2026

Sometimes a week of work produces this. A log. A timer. Simple on screen, significant under the hood. That's solo dev. That's the iceberg problem. #indiegame #solodev #gamedev

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David makes games - Solo game developer @reiddavi.bsky.social · 18/05/2026

Appreciate that 😅 Trying to remind myself that reworking systems usually means the game’s growing

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David makes games - Solo game developer @reiddavi.bsky.social · 18/05/2026

Yeah, I’m starting to think the trick is building just enough structure to survive the next feature 😅

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David makes games - Solo game developer @reiddavi.bsky.social · 18/05/2026

Adding 4-player local sounds like a serious undertaking. Glad you made it through the rewrite

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David makes games - Solo game developer @reiddavi.bsky.social · 18/05/2026

Moving from prototype to game and the architecture is starting to push back. Anyone else hit that wall where the code that got you started becomes the thing holding you back? #indiegame #solodev #gamedev

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David makes games - Solo game developer @reiddavi.bsky.social · 18/05/2026

Most plans fail in the first hour. Your job isn't a perfect plan. Your job is to still be standing when it falls apart. That's the commander fantasy at the centre of my zombie RTS. #indiegame #solodev #gamedev

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David makes games - Solo game developer @reiddavi.bsky.social · 12/05/2026

My latest video is live. I'm building a zombie RTS where you're the commander, not the soldier. 72 hours to stop the outbreak before it spirals. Is this a game you'd play? #indiegame #solodev #gamedev www.youtube.com/watch?v=PVal...

youtube.com

I'm Building a Zombie RTS Where the Army Actually Wins

YouTube video by David makes games

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David makes games - Solo game developer @reiddavi.bsky.social · 12/05/2026

Some days the code flows. Today it stuck. Spent the session hunting a bug that was killing my orders log display. Found it. Fixed it. Back on track. #indiegame #solodev #gamedev

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David makes games - Solo game developer @reiddavi.bsky.social · 11/05/2026

#gamedev truth: Some days you're a coding wizard. Other days you're proud you remembered to save your file. Both days matter. The wizard days get the glory, but the showing-up days build the game. Consistency beats intensity every time. Progress is progress. #solodev #indiedev #indiegame

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David makes games - Solo game developer @reiddavi.bsky.social · 11/05/2026

Most zombie games put you on the ground. My zombie RTS puts you in the operations centre. 72 hours. Can you do better than every army in every zombie movie you've watched? Full devlog drops Tuesday. #indiegame #solodev #gamedev #zombie #ZombieRTS #zombiegame

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David makes games - Solo game developer @reiddavi.bsky.social · 10/05/2026

Thinking about Steam capsule design early. Clean, simple — just the soldier on yellow. No title treatment yet. Is this the kind of image that stops the scroll on a storefront? #indiegame #solodev #gamedev #zombie #ZombieRTS #zombiegame

Illustrated, black and white soldier on a biohazard yellow background.

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David makes games - Solo game developer @reiddavi.bsky.social · 06/05/2026

Good dev day ✔️ Brain dump complete ✔️ Now it’s just me, a quiet path, and some well-earned downtime. 🌳🎮 #indiegame #gamedev #solodev

A small road going through a tunnel of trees in the summertime

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David makes games - Solo game developer @reiddavi.bsky.social · 06/05/2026

Feeling like you don't deserve your gamedev wins? Maybe you're exactly where you need to be. Your path doesn't have to match others. Your timeline is your own. Stop comparing. #indiegame #gamedev #solodev

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David makes games - Solo game developer @reiddavi.bsky.social · 04/05/2026

Building a zombie RTS where you're the commander, not the soldier. I went NORAD style —easier to build solo and fits the fantasy. Does it sell the concept or get in the way? #indiegame #solodev #zombiegame

A tactical display showing a zombie outbreak in crisis. 21 active hordes in red spread across the map, 37% infection rate, one army unit remaining. Cities are losing population. The situation is deteriorating.

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David makes games - Solo game developer @reiddavi.bsky.social · 04/05/2026

Place your units on a city and civilians flock to you for protection. A horde shows up — they scatter. Horde gone — they return. Nobody told them to do this. It emerged from the rules. The game is starting to feel alive. 🎮 #gamedev #indiegame #solodev #zombie #zombies #zombiegame

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David makes games - Solo game developer @reiddavi.bsky.social · 03/05/2026

Didn't program this. It just happened. Refugees cluster around army units for protection. When a horde appears they scatter. When it's gone, they return. Simple rules. Emergent behaviour. This is what I'm building toward. #gamedev #indiegame #solodev

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David makes games - Solo game developer @reiddavi.bsky.social · 02/05/2026

Shipped procedural map generation this week. Every game is a different theatre. 🗺️ Zones, roads, rivers, crossing points — all generated, all affecting gameplay. No two containment scenarios are the same. #ScreenshotSaturday #gamedev #indiegame #solodev

#screen of zombie outbreak prototype game where urban centres, urban density zones, roads, rivers and crossing points are procedurally generated. An Army Unit engages a horde in an urban city called Price Landing. The map is littered with hordes attacking refugees. All units are represented as discs.

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David makes games - Solo game developer @reiddavi.bsky.social · 15/04/2026

Spent the morning merging an architecture refactor. Spent the afternoon watching in-game refugees disappear for no reason. Solo dev is just this, repeated. #solodev #indiedev #gamedev

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David makes games - Solo game developer @reiddavi.bsky.social · 14/04/2026

Ending the day with a walk 🚶‍♂️ As a solo game dev, I wrapped up a big chunk of refactoring today. It’s the kind of work that rarely gets seen, but it was essential to make prototyping at scale actually possible. Not flashy—but foundational. #solodev #indiegame #gamedev

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David makes games - Solo game developer @reiddavi.bsky.social · 14/04/2026

Hordes don't chase randomly. They follow noise. Move and you attract attention. Fight and you attract everything. #indiedev #gamedev #solodev #godot #RTS

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David makes games - Solo game developer @reiddavi.bsky.social · 14/04/2026

"Refactoring only gets noticed if its not there"... 100% true. Thanks for sharing.

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David makes games - Solo game developer @reiddavi.bsky.social · 14/04/2026

6am start. Blinds open, coffee on the desk, nobody else awake yet. Spent the first hour refactoring a component architecture. Nobody asks for this work. Nobody sees it. The game just gets harder to break. #indiedev #gamedev #godot

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David makes games - Solo game developer @reiddavi.bsky.social · 13/04/2026

In every zombie movie, the army shows up. And the army fails. Working on a prototype. A zombie outbreak RTS on a NORAD-style tactical display. You're the commander, not the soldier. Can you do better than the army? #indiedev #gamedev #godot

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David makes games - Solo game developer @reiddavi.bsky.social · 11/10/2025

I spent the last year making games I wanted. Time for a reset! Going back to the drawing board to build simple prototypes people might actually enjoy. First up: a casual space mining concept. Just experimenting for now! 🚀 #GameDev #IndieDev #ScreenShotSaturday

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David makes games - Solo game developer @reiddavi.bsky.social · 15/07/2025

Game development is hard, making it a business even harder, but both pale in comparison to keeping your glasses fingerprint free. That is an unsolvable problem. 🤓 #solodev #indiegame #indiedev #gamedev

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David makes games - Solo game developer @reiddavi.bsky.social · 10/07/2025

Mountain biking in the highlands. Good for the heart, mind and creative juices. #indiegame #indiedev #gamedev #solodev

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David makes games - Solo game developer @reiddavi.bsky.social · 09/07/2025

Struggled for months to come up with a good idea for my second game. A few days in the Highlands with the family and boom, I've come up with probably my best idea yet. Collecting my thoughts now but pretty happy. Fresh air is good for the mind. #solodev #indiegame #gamedev #indiedev

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David makes games - Solo game developer @reiddavi.bsky.social · 08/07/2025

In Braemar for two weeks. Fortunate to have a family cottage here. Every year we spend at least two weeks in the Highlands. This place recharges the batteries and gets the creative juices flowing. That's my boy. I can only dream of having long curly locks. #indiegame #indiedev #gamedev

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David makes games - Solo game developer @reiddavi.bsky.social · 04/07/2025

#Solodev life: You are the artist, programmer, designer, tester, marketer, and therapist (mostly to yourself). Some days you feel like a renaissance master. Other days you feel like you're drowning in your own ambition. But it's your beautiful mess. #indiegame #indiedev #gamedev

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David makes games - Solo game developer @reiddavi.bsky.social · 03/07/2025

The brutal truth: I know consistency is everything. I preach it. I believe in it completely. And I still fail at it regularly. The gap between knowing and doing is where most indie dreams go to die. Bridging that gap daily. #indiedev #gamedev

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Reposted by David makes games - Solo game developer

Matt Cane @matt-cane.bsky.social · 03/07/2025

I made it, now I need to find you lovely game developers and artists to follow! #gamedev #indiedev #gameDevelopment #indiegamedev #devlog #unrealengine #solodev

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David makes games - Solo game developer @reiddavi.bsky.social · 02/07/2025

Second indie game project and I'm still learning the same lesson: consistency isn't about being a machine. It's about being human and showing up anyway. Even when your code is messy and your motivation is MIA. #indiedev #gamedev

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