Ryan Portelli

Since at a young age I always loved gaming on the Playstation. I was also always curious on how games and movies were created so I used to love watching documentaries and "behind the scenes" on how they were made. This is what mostly got me interested in becoming a game developer. Unfortunately I did not have the opportunities to study since at that time everything was limited, and no job wanted to hire me related to programming due to not having qualifications, so I took an un-related job while I mostly started reading online and watching tutorial videos to learn more about game development.

I am the founder and solo developer of Steelkrill Studio so I mostly do everything by myself. I do believe a beneficial trait that you can have is being creative and to not be afraid to try new things and express your opinions. Also keeping motivation at all times as the road to becoming a game developer is not an easy task and can become stressful and overwhelming at times.

I started Steelkrill Studio just as a hobby as I wanted a name to go by - but at that time I mostly just created 2D assets while was still learning more about proper game development. I created and released my first game after 5 years of reading and learning online by myself which then I took the opportunity to also see how things work when it comes to releasing a game. I did not want to create an ambitious game that I was never likely to finish so I wanted to start small, that is why I started working on a simple game that still took me months to create, but it was fun and I enjoyed doing it! At that time I was working a full-time job in an unrelated industry so I was very exhausted and had lots of sleepless nights coming after work and trying to finish the game.

This highly depends on each individual as everybody has his own definition on what is a great game, for me I do believe a interesting story while also having a fun gameplay are both vital for having a great game. A game that have a strong story that can make the players feel attached to it, and feel the need to continue playing to see how the story unfolds.

I love all type of genres when it comes to developing games, however since I am a big horror fan I am more invested in creating psychological and survival horror games.

Firstly everything starts from an idea - this part involves basically brainstorming ideas on paper, seeing what may work and what may now and then moving on to creating sketches or prototypes to test those ideas out which will then evolve the simple idea to a game. After this I mostly love to write a story so I can move on with, as this really helps out to see where your game will go and from there onward - the developing cycle starts.

Thank you so much! This is an honor as I would have never though that I will do something that I really love and enjoy and get awards for it. It is a feeling that I cannot describe.

This gives me motivation to continue working harder and also helps us in getting more recognized among the other talented developers within the industry.

The hardest part especially with being a solo indie developer is that you have to do everything by yourself and you have to always mentally prepare yourself to maintain motivation. The competition is very hard, especially when you are comparing yourself to bigger teams with other amazing talented artists. With all that being said, creating a game alone takes a lot of time and can be stressful at times. Being an indie developer means you are not only creating games, coming up with new ideas, creating environments, story ideas etc. But you will also have to eventually learn other things. Marketing, promoting your game, testing it out, support and all the other things that come with it. The ‘job’ won’t actually be finished after you created the game. It will just be starting because of all the other things you need to do related to marketing your game (especially) on a budget, trying to get your game out there and a lot of other aspects. Being an indie developer you have to mentally prepare yourself for every outcome, as this takes a toll on some people especially if a game does not meet expectations after you have been working on it for years. I saw it happen with a lot of other developers unfortunately, who had to give up their dream because of this and it also did happen to me at one point. You just have to keep pushing forward. Despite all this, there are also a lot of advantages. One of them is that creating games makes me happy and I do feel that is a very important role when it comes to doing a job that you love!

Malta is an amazing country that have lots of history and stories about it - this eventually also helped me when getting ideas for creating my games. Also I wish to thank the Maltese population for their big support that they have shown me in these last couple of months.

I am very excited to see where indie games are heading, as now they are becoming more mainstream. Before, it was all TRIPLE-A studios that were making the headlines and that's basically it, but now we have indie games competing with bigger companies which is amazing since a lot of creativity comes from indie games.

1. The players and their feedback, I love how players can share the feedback and help as one community. 2. Other indie developers are are more then willing to help out with whatever you need. 3. The variety of games that we currently have, which there is almost a game for everybody's taste.

Read online and watch videos about game development to improve your skills as there is where I mostly learned everything. Watching movies, reading about other cultures and such can also gives you ideas on what to create next. Do not take any ambitious projects, instead start small and try to learn your way up as you will eventually get there within time. It took me about 5 years to create and release my first game which I had to self-learn, sometimes the fastest way is not the right way. Also networking with other indie developers helps a lot, as the community is very strong and they can always provide feedback and help each other out.

The gaming industry is growing day by day, especially when it comes to indie games. We are at a time where many creative ideas are being made in games and I am very excited to see what we will have especially now where we are in the virtual reality-era.

My parents that worked hard jobs all their life to try and provide us with the best even though life was not that easy at the time. They always told me to follow my dreams, and that inspired me to always work hard and to try and pursue my dreams even in tough situations. My family and fiancee gave me huge support especially when I made the decision to leave my full-time job to pursue my dream in becoming a game developer.

Always keep pushing forward and don't give up on your dreams. Don't mind what others tell you about your dreams as everybody have their own different dreams. It's not going to happen overnight and it may never happen, but if you are doing what you love - then you are at least one step closer to success.

I would really like to take the time and thank everybody for your support, it's been a great journey and I hope to always try to bring you the best that I can. Thank you so much from the bottom of my heart! You are all amazing.