Quest Arrest Physical copies & merch

 Feel free to pick up a physical copy of the game here:

www.theretroroomroo.bigcartel.com

         To start, I'd like to say I am making this post for educational purposes. To let current and future beginner developers know that they can accomplish their goals and make the game they dream of making, just as I have. This is the story of how I developed my first game and did a physical release for the Gameboy.

          I would like to give a brief history of my game development experience. I started around 2013 with Unity. I created a few 3d demos, one being a space game and another being a stupid little zombie AI system. Nothing that panned out.  I was quite overwhelmed  with the entire concept, so overwhelmed that I walked away from game development for a few years. In that time I started programming microcontrollers with my dad as a hobby and made some successful small projects.  I came back to game dev with a different attitude. I wanted to finish a game. I wanted to make something with a start, middle, and end. It didn't matter to me what the game was about, I just needed to know what the definition of fun was, and to create a game from that. The process turned into something much more challenging than that, but being armed with that sort of attitude I was able to start my project for my first game Quest Arrest.  I always loved the point and click Police Quest games as a kid, but the genre was outdated, so I decided to make a game with the style inspired in the same ways, but a much different playing type. An RPG.

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       The development of the game was a huge educational process for me. To understand how a game even works fundamentally was a lot larger than what I could have anticipated. It gave me a huge new appreciation for developers of all types. The challenges they face and trials they go through to make something for others to have fun. This is a very cool thing to do, and while the process does come with some monetary gains sometimes, I still believe that to bring joy to others is what a game developer has in mind when creating a game. At least that was my mindset by the time I was done with my game Quest Arrest for Gameboy. I enjoy the process all the way through and I think that it is important to note, do things you enjoy doing. Not every part of the process is fun, but recognize what you enjoy about the process and understand what you love to do within game design. In the future you might team up with others. With that being said, game design is not exactly what you would think it is. A lot of people go in thinking that it is relative to playing games, but the process is much different hahah. 

        I finally finished development after a long 9 months of work and education. I WAS FINALLY DONE.  I gave the game away completely for free. Let as many people play it as wanted . It actually is still hosted as free on my itch profile. I later ported the game to PC and Android and the feeling had never been better. I finally created a game and released it. The reception was good. I am so grateful for the retro gaming community and their response. I could never as for a better community. I did it!!! I created a game! Something even I enjoyed to play, much less others. I had accomplished my goal of making a game and it was time to make physicals. Physicals were a second goal on my list.

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     I always thought that making physical copies of a game would be easy.. Slap some art onto some cases and start selling. It didn't really pan out that way, as I am learning a lot of things in game design are deceptive in this way. They seem like something straight forward and easy, but turn out to be a real pain. I teamed up with my good friends @BudgetNostalgia and he designed a really cool cover art design as well as sticker art for the carts themselves. The art was inspired by other Gameboy games, with that we wanted it to fit right in with the others on the shelf for collectors. The next step was designing a cool manual. Each page needed to be useful for informing the player on how this game works. How the controls work. The universe and how you fit into that universe. Maps and hints. Thank you notes. All of the things that you would expect to see in a manual. Designed methodically with perfect dimensions by BudgetNostalgia , I finally had the print files for manual.

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           Now to find a way to get these physically created. I began by buying a flash device and a few knock off Mario and Pokemon carts. I ripped the stickers off and dove right into using this flashing device to put my game on these carts. The software was slightly outdated, but it was relatively easy to sync the device with the carts and dump my rom. InsideGadgets provided me with the flashing device for about $40. I finally was able to see my game on physical hardware for the first time.  It was a life changing feeling. This was the moment that I knew. This is it, I am making this game.  I needed a manufacturer for each part of the process. The carts. The stickers on the carts. The inserts. The  manuals. The boxes themselves all needed to be created perfectly by dimensions of which match other Gameboy games. After finding some good people to work with I ended up printing 100 complete in box copies of my game. It was quite expensive and I, as most developers, am quite broke. It came as a surprise that all 100 copies of the game sold out in 1 day and I was absolutely baffled. I still am. The support that I have received and continue to receive has inspired me to greater heights and I cannot thank the community enough for showing me that I CAN do this.  I can follow my dreams of being a game developer. I CAN make a game. I CAN make physicals and guess what?!?! SO CAN YOU! If I can do it, so can you.  

        In conclusion,  I have since be so inspired by all those in the community that supported my dreams to do game development. The Quest Arrest saga is just getting started. I have started created other games as well that I am really excited to share, but I learned a world from releasing my very first physical game. The process was unbelievable and if you are planning to do it my advice is this, it's going to be very challenging ALL the way through the process, but in the end it is very worth it to even release just a digital game. The feeling of accomplishment is massive and you will never regret making a game. Put your heart and soul into your projects and they will come out the best that you can do. That's all that needs to be done, is the best that you can do. You will always grow and get better. There were times when I wanted to give up. Times when I thought this process was above me, but I rose above those feelings and accomplished the goals that I set my mind to. You can do the same thing. I am now working on multiple new bigger projects and I will continue chasing my game development dreams.  I have also since restocked the Quest Arrest store and added merch! Thanks so much for reading my story, I definitely hope it helps you find your way in your development path. 

 Feel free to pick up a physical copy of the game here:

www.theretroroomroo.bigcartel.com

or play for free here:

https://theretroroomroo.itch.io/questarrest

Thanks again for reading my story!  I hope it helps you accomplish your goals and dreams