Anatomy of a Failed Project

This is the development log for Aegis: Infinite, a retro-style arcade runner inspired by MMORPG healing mechanics, now available on the App Store and Google Play. The entries of this log were written over the course of multiple years, spanning from 2022 to 2024, with most of the development time occurring during 2023. The game was built entirely from scratch, including the engine, visual art, music, and sound effects. Aegis: Infinite was publicly released in March of 2024, and the source code for the game is freely available on GitHub.

The original premise of the series was to pinpoint the exact reasons why all of my personal projects seemed to fail, so that I could learn from those mistakes. While the entries are very technical, extensively thorough, and overly wordy, they also contain helpful anecdotes regarding my experiences in the video games industry, the larger tech industry, and my personal projects. I do my best to provide links to any external references that I make, in order to provide context to the reader.

In addition to the technical content of the series, these entries also contain deeply personal feelings, reflecting on my individual struggles with depression, anxiety, self-doubt, burnout, and grief.

My hope is that these entries can shine some light on the process of a video game development for readers looking to broaden their knowledge or dive deeper into specific areas. I do not claim to have all of the answers, but I try to mention when I'm outside of my comfort zone.