Developer’s Log, Chapter 1: Trials, Errors, and Outdated Engines

By the Creator of The Advent and Planet Postmoderna

Introduction

Every indie developer has their “origin story”—the scrappy beginning before the tools get good and the vision becomes clear. For me, those early years were shaped by experimentation, persistence, and many discarded platforms. If you’re trying to build your dream game from scratch, I promise you’re not alone in hitting walls before finding the right path.

Trials, Errors, and Outdated Engines

Before Unity and Atavism became the foundation of The Advent, I explored platforms like the Multiverse Engine, Hero Engine, Esenthel,  Vastpark, Second Life, and CryEngine.   We even considered Entropia Universe’s Partner Planet program (using CryEngine). However, many of these early options lacked support, had insurmountable costs, learning curves, or were not a proper fit. For example, the Entropia route would’ve required a $2 million investment—far beyond what I could afford as a solo developer, even with my team of global volunteers.

Some platforms showed promise but were ultimately abandoned by their creators, leaving developers like me in limbo. Others had communities that faded away or lacked essential features to support multiplayer RPGs. These false starts weren’t failures; they were lessons in resilience. Each setback clarified what I didn’t want: to rely on others who could pull the plug on a dream at any moment (or drain me dry with monthly subscription fees). I needed tools I could control.

During these struggles, I realized how important it was to own as much of the creative and technical pipeline as possible. I didn’t want to be tied to a toolset that might disappear overnight or be challenging to maintain. That realization pushed me toward solutions with active development and strong user communities, eventually leading me to Unity and Atavism, an MMO plugin for Unity.

You have to say there is something said about “God’s Timing.”   Many ask why I have been working on this so long.  Well, it’s hard work for one, especially if you are going it alone.  Thankfully, in the early years, I had a lot of volunteers to help me out.  Secondly, the tools that exist today (like Artificial Intelligence) did not exist back in 2008-2014 when I began working on this.  AI makes it possible for me to do things today that I could have only dreamt of (like helping to generate code and quick concept art).   It’s good to be skilled at describing what you want and have AI spit it out or help you work through your ideas.  Maybe it was meant to be, that I had to wait until now to make this significant progress.

Lessons Learned

  • Don’t chase platforms—chase stability. It’s better to work with a reliable engine than to bet everything on flashy graphics or steep learning curves.
  • Stay within your budget.  Enough said on that other than using what you can afford and meets your needs.
  • Every failure is progress. Learning what doesn’t work is just as important as finding what does.
  • Control matters. Indie devs don’t have the safety net of big studios, so building on dependable foundations is essential.
  • Be patient.  As the saying goes, “Rome was not built in a day.”

What’s Next?

In Chapter 2, I’ll dive into how I began shaping the world of Argus—from alien biomes to ancient temples—and how my love of sci-fi and mythology inspired every design choice. If you’ve ever tried building a universe from scratch, you’ll want to stick around.

🌀 Want to read the prologue? Start here with “A Dream and a Determination.”

🚀 Follow the journey: planet-postmoderna.com | Wishlist The Advent on Steam

Content Disclosure: ​

This article includes content generated with the assistance of AI tools.