The Journey of “The Abandoned Planet”: A Solo Developer, Two Kids, and a Wacom Tablet

Sure thing, let’s dive into the chaos. So, juggling a day job, two hyperactive munchkins, and in the middle of it, I end up birthing this game, The Abandoned Planet. Yeah, right from a cramped corner of my Florida bedroom—which, by the way, moonlights as an office, nursery, and total chaos zone. Imagine this: a Moleskine notebook fighting for space on this tiny desk, with scribbles all over it—like, tiny rooms drawn in, arrows zigzagging everywhere. All while my toddler decides it’s fun to crawl across my laptop. Honestly, what I thought would be a quick year-long project dragged on to a two-and-a-half-year solo dev marathon—coding, drawing, animating, composing. I even made up a kind-of-functioning base-7 number system and my own little alien alphabet for the game journals and subtitles. Why? Who knows.

Every single pixel in this game? Comes from my Wacom tablet. Yeah, I got lost in those details—pixel art, frame-by-frame animation, eerie soundscape. It’s got this charmingly retro vibe—navigating with a four-way D-Pad—but it feels sharp and modern at the same time. Wandering through this alien realm, you crack cryptic runes and collect weird things. It screams 90s adventure nostalgia but with a twist for today’s gamer.

And hey, if you like your pixel art stunning and your UI sleek, this might just be your jam. The game moves like a dream with this nimble navigation setup. Think classic point-and-click stuff: interacting with random items, waking up ancient totems, juicing up forgotten gadgets, and plunging into danger zones. Five acts, 300-plus areas to explore, and yes, haunting little animated cutscenes that sneak up during gameplay.

Oh, and about those voices: it’s fully fleshed out in 11 languages, with English voiceovers, and even this one-of-a-kind alien language.

Alright, slight detour here. The Abandoned Planet stands alone but sorta links into this bigger Dexter Stardust series—Adventures in Outer Space and beyond. All those puzzle twists and alien squiggles connect back to my, let’s say, ‘eclectic’ home-office situation. It kept the whole development process kinda… unpredictable. Craving an adventure that’s more about exploring forgotten worlds and less about typical gaming conventions? Dive into The Abandoned Planet for a weekend escapade. Trust me, it’s an adventure worth taking.