Jennifer Goto - Software Engineer turned indie dev

So you were previously a software engineer in mobile games. What made you decide to leave your job and start your own career in indie game development?

I've always wanted to make my own indie game since I graduated college. I majored in computer science, but took a couple of game design courses during my time there. I guess those were my first "real" games that I made, but I loved game development ever since. Eventually, I ended up working at a mobile games studio as a software engineer and learned so much during my ~4 years there. When the pandemic hit, I re-evaluated a lot of what was important to me, as I'm sure many others did. I ended up leaving my job to prioritize my mental health and to figure out what I wanted to do next. A lot of people asked me if I was finally going to do my own indie game, since they knew how much I wanted to do so. Timing wise, it seemed ideal, so I decided to make the leap and I have absolutely no regrets since making that decision!

How has your experience been so far as an indie developer? The good and the bad?

Being an indie developer has its ups and downs, but for me personally, it's the most fulfilling work I've done so far. There's truly no other feeling that can compare to being able to work on a project that you're passionate about. Having full creative freedom, ability to set my own schedule and goals, and decide what I want to work on are all things that I am grateful for everyday. It's been almost two years since I went indie, but I'm still so excited to be working on Love, Ghostie.

While I love what I do, it's still work. It certainly makes it easier that I love what I do and that motivates me to push through those tough times, but there are still going to be a lot of "bad" days. There have been several times where I had to be 100% focused on the business side of things so I wasn't able to work on the game at all. Other tasks like marketing or social media are parts of game development that we often overlook. They can be extremely tiring and it's very easy to burn out. It can also be pretty demotivating if your social media posts aren't performing as well as you liked. It's really easy to take that personally, but I've learned that you need to detach yourself from your social media as it's not a reflection of your own self-worth or work.

Because games take so long to make and there's always more to do than can be done, it's very easy to get overwhelmed. At these times, it's very important to step back and focus solely on the next milestone. Looking at the overall picture will almost certainly be overwhelming and anxiety-inducing, but when you have small/achievable milestones to hit, you'll find yourself making much more progress than you initially thought you could.

Indie game development is such a rollercoaster. Some days I'm so proud of what I'm building and other days I can feel a little hopeless if there's a bug or design flaw I can't figure out or if I had a playtest that didn't go as well as I expected. But those times are temporary, and in those moments, it's important to step back, take a break, enjoy other hobbies, and come back with a fresh mindset.

What advice would you give women looking to leave their careers to start their own studios?

Put yourself out there, connect with other developers, and don't be afraid to ask for help! I'm actually a huge introvert and before going indie, I barely posted on social media. I really had to push myself out of my comfort zone, but I'm so glad I did! I met some amazing people through social media and got to meet so many others who are also on the same indie dev journey. The indie game dev community is one of the friendliest and most supportive communities I've seen. So many people are willing to share their experiences and advice to help out others, and it really has made my experience so much better.