Indie Mobile Game Development Journey (Unity, C#)

How It Started

When I was younger, I was obsessed with mobile games and had this dream of becoming a game developer. Unity seemed like the perfect tool – it was fun, creative, and I could actually build something people would play. So I invested $25 in a Google Play developer account and dove headfirst into game development.

What I Built

I taught myself everything from scratch. I learned C# specifically for Unity (back then it was running on Mono), picked up Blender for 3D modeling and animations, and even created all my game music using piano keys and digital audio tools. I designed the UI, built level systems, created stages – basically every aspect of the games.

I published two games: “Arkhadium” and “Stack It!” – both casual puzzle games that I thought had potential. The development process was incredible; I was creating something entirely my own, from code to graphics to sound.

The Reality Check

Here’s where I learned some tough lessons about the mobile game industry. My games didn’t get the downloads I hoped for. As an indie developer without any marketing budget or publisher backing, competing against casual hyper-games was nearly impossible.

I discovered that unless you’re backed by a publisher, it’s extremely difficult to monetize mobile games effectively. Publishers typically want huge cuts of revenue, control over ads and monetization, and sometimes demand significant changes to your game. For an indie developer, you’re basically giving up creative control for a small percentage.

What Happened Next

After realizing these industry realities, I gradually lost interest in mobile game development. I switched my developer account to my main Gmail, and over time, my games were removed from the Play Store due to inactivity. Recently though, I found them still available on APKPure, which was honestly exciting to see.

I also created game music that I uploaded to SoundCloud under “MiralyonGames” – unfortunately, that account got closed due to inactivity, but those tracks were some of my best creative work.

What I Gained

Even though the commercial side didn’t work out, this project taught me C#, introduced me to 3D modeling with Blender, and gave me experience with complete project lifecycle management. Most importantly, it showed me that I enjoy building technical solutions and creating tools that solve real problems – which eventually led me toward the automation and technical support work I do today.

Technologies Used: Unity, C#, Blender, Digital Audio , UI/UX Design, Google Play Console