Here's how it began...

Here's how it began...

I've wanted to make games and eventually build a studio for as long as I can remember. Games have been a constant in my life, and game development became the natural next step.

The idea of forming Amorphous Arts became real in early 2024. I had made plenty of attempts over the years, but something clicked for me during that period. Watching waves of layoffs across the industry made it clear that waiting for the "right" opportunity was not a plan. If you aren't granted an opportunity, you create one.

Those layoffs also reinforced something else: people do not lose their value because a company cuts its headcount. Their talent, experience, and creativity are still there.

At the same time, I felt a growing pull toward games made with intention and personality. I believe more players are seeking those kinds of experiences and that indie games will continue rising to meet that demand.

So I started researching what it would actually take to form a studio, and my wife and I began taking the steps to make it real.

The first decision: solo developer or team?

I had two paths in front of me:

A) Go solo
B) Build a team

I understand why many developers go solo. Managing people takes real skill. Everyone brings different needs, communication styles, schedules, and strengths. Layering that on top of the work required to ship a game is no small undertaking.

A team also demands flexibility, compromise, and structure. Still, I chose option B, and I don't regret that choice.

Choosing our path deliberately

At first, I considered recruiting under a revenue-sharing model. After doing the research, I decided that a noncommercial, attribution-only project was the right starting point for us. It allowed our first team to collaborate freely, build meaningful portfolio work, and learn how to operate a studio without the pressure of a direct financial stake before we were ready for it. Game development is an iceberg, and I wanted us to learn the ropes deliberately before taking on that kind of complexity.

The early days

In the beginning, we organized development into focused teams: Development, Art, Audio, Narrative, and Design. Together, we voted on what to make and landed on a walking simulator, an ambitious, story-driven first project for a new studio. We learned an enormous amount about asset planning, pacing, and what a narrative-heavy game actually demands from a small team.

We also learned a great deal about tooling and workflow along the way. These were valuable lessons about matching the engine to the team's iteration speed and pipeline needs, and they now directly shape how we choose our tools.

Course correction

As development continued, we made the decision to condense our original vision into a smaller, more achievable gameplay loop with a realistic timeline. That's how the project became Running Horror, a name that, honestly, still makes me laugh when I think about how we landed on it.

It took nearly two years to ship, and every bit of that time taught us something we couldn't have learned from tutorials or planning documents.

What Running Horror taught us

Running Horror was our proof that persistence pays off. Here are some of the biggest takeaways:

• Scope can be deceptive. Even a carefully scoped game can grow in unexpected ways, so we've built in more checkpoints to catch that growth early.

• Asset planning matters from day one. Content-heavy games need a clear, realistic plan for what can be achieved with the available skill sets.

• Tooling should match the team. The best engine on paper isn't always the best fit for your current team and workflow.

• Iteration speed is everything. Fast feedback loops prevent small mistakes from becoming large ones.

• Clear scope empowers creativity. Artists do their best work when they have a clear list of what's needed and the freedom to bring their own style to it.

• Structure is a foundation, not a finish line. Teams and leads set the stage for effective collaboration, but staying closely connected to the day-to-day work is what keeps a project moving.

• Grit matters more than perfection. Consistency and the willingness to push through the learning curve got us further than chasing a flawless first project ever could have.

Where we are now

Making Running Horror taught us so much about craft, collaboration, and leadership. Every step of that climb was worth it.

Since then, we've completed multiple game jam entries, and we're preparing to begin development on our first commercial title this year.

This blog will document that journey: what we build, what we learn, and how we continue growing as a studio.

-Cogz