Behind Falò
A hobby that keeps shipping
It's just me: a prehistoric developer with more than 25 years of code, old enough to remember Perl scripts in cgi-bin folders. Falò is where I make the games my kids and I want to play.
For years, two things stopped me: time, and the fact that I can't draw. I can build an interface all day, but my drawings are like pizza with pineapple: technically possible, still an abomination. AI tools fixed the drawing part, and they help with the time too.
The ideas still start with me or my kids — a character, a silly mechanic, a place they want to explore — often as a dodgy sketch. I build the ones that still sound fun a week later.
I don't expect to get rich from this: licences and store fees cost more than the games earn. If the ads and the odd purchase cover a gelato with my wife and kids now and then, that's a win. Watching family and friends play something I made is the whole point.
See the tools I use, and why →
iPhone first, then Android and Steam
I started with Apple's SpriteKit, which is why the games out now are iOS only. New games are built in Godot, so Android and Steam are next, with slightly bigger games: less bathroom break, more Sunday lunch.
Small on purpose
Short sessions, clear rules. A game should be finishable.
More on the fire
Several new games are nearly ready, a couple of them with the intensity turned up. Still nothing gory, nothing frightening.
Honest about AI
The ideas and sketches are ours. AI helps with the design notes, drawing, music, voices, translations and code, and nothing ships until I've checked it. Here's exactly what I use →
Now free!
