Is Agile Still Worth It in 2024 For Solo Game Devs?
Is Agile Still Worth It in 2024 For Solo Game Devs?
Solo game developers often feel overwhelmed. You’re the designer, programmer, artist, marketer, and everything in between. Traditional Agile methodologies, designed for teams, can feel like overkill and actually decrease productivity.
The good news? Agile principles can be adapted for solo use. The key is to focus on structured habits that promote iterative development and built-in reflection, without getting bogged down in bureaucracy.
The Problem with “Agile as a Team” for Solo Devs
Full-blown Scrum with daily stand-ups (to yourself?), sprint planning poker, and extensive documentation is counterproductive for a one-person team. It creates overhead that takes away from actual development time. The result? Feeling more stressed and less productive than before.
Many solo devs fall into the trap of “waterfall” development without realizing it. They plan everything upfront, spend months coding, and then discover that their initial assumptions were wrong. Iterative development is key to avoiding this.
Agile for One: A Simplified Approach
Agile at its core is about responding to change and delivering value incrementally. Here’s how to adapt core principles for solo game development:
1. Short Sprints (or Focused Weeks)
Instead of multi-week sprints, try focusing on weekly goals. What’s the single most important thing you can accomplish this week to move your game forward?
Example: Instead of “Implement Combat System,” try “Implement basic player attack animation and enemy health bar.” Smaller, achievable goals provide a sense of accomplishment and keep you motivated.
2. Kanban for Visibility
A simple Kanban board (even a physical one) can provide a visual overview of your progress. Use columns like “To Do,” “In Progress,” and “Done.” Break down larger tasks into smaller, manageable chunks and move them across the board as you progress. Tools like Trello, Asana, or even a whiteboard work well.
3. Solo Retrospectives: The Power of Reflection
This is where the magic happens for solo devs. At the end of each week (or sprint), take 30 minutes to reflect on what worked, what didn’t, and what you can improve.
Ask yourself:
- What did I accomplish this week?
- What challenges did I face?
- What could I have done better?
- What will I focus on next week?
4. Journaling: Context is King
Don’t just jot down notes; create a game dev journal. This isn’t about writing a diary, but about documenting your design decisions, technical challenges, and thought processes.
Why journaling? Because memory is unreliable. You might think you’ll remember why you made a particular design choice, but weeks or months later, those details become fuzzy. Journaling provides context.
For example, document:
- Why you chose a particular art style
- The challenges you faced implementing a specific game mechanic
- The feedback you received (and from whom)
Avoiding Common Pitfalls
Scope Creep
This is the biggest enemy of solo devs. It’s easy to get excited and add new features, but always ask yourself: “Is this essential for the core game experience?” Ruthlessly cut anything that isn’t.
Over-Planning
Don’t spend weeks planning every detail of your game before you start building. Plan just enough to get started, then iterate and refine as you go.
Context-Free Feedback
This is crucial. Showing your game to friends and family is great for motivation, but their feedback can be misleading if they don’t understand your design goals. Their suggestions might make sense in isolation, but could clash with the overall vision of your game. Journaling helps you filter feedback through the lens of your design principles.
Example: Your friend suggests adding a crafting system because they like crafting. But if your game is focused on fast-paced action, a crafting system might slow down the gameplay and dilute the core experience. Your journal will remind you of this.
Turn Reflection Into Action
Documenting your retrospectives is just as valuable as the process itself. Refer back to past retrospectives to identify recurring problems and track your progress over time. This information is crucial for continuous improvement.
Ready to bring more structure to your solo game dev process? Start tracking your progress, stay consistent with those devlogs, and finally organize your creative process. Check out our game development journal tool to help you structure your reflection and keep everything organized: Game Dev Journal