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G-001 · Featured Project
SyncGammon
Async multiplayer backgammon — play on your schedule, not theirs.
• Live Soon·2026·iOS · Android · Browser
About
SyncGammon is an async multiplayer backgammon game built for people with actual lives. Start a match with a friend and play whenever it suits you — make your move between meetings, during your lunch break, or on the couch after dinner. Nobody has to be online at the same time.
A match can run for days or weeks quietly in the background. When it’s your turn, you get a nudge, take a look at the board, roll the dice, and move. Simple as that. And if your opponent is the one dragging their feet? You can always poke them.
Features
Customize your experience with skins: swap out board designs, dice sets, and checkers to make the game feel like yours. New looks are available through the in-game shop. The game is completely free to play — no paywalls, no subscriptions. Buy cosmetics if you feel like it; ignore the shop entirely if you don’t. Either way you get the full game.
Status
Currently in final development and testing. Launching soon on iOS, Android, and in the browser — play on whatever device you have at hand.
G-002 · Project
Pet Fusion City
A cozy city-building and management game where you create a vibrant town full of fused pets.
• Paused·2026·Unity · Mobile
About
Pet Fusion City is a cozy city-building and management game where you create a vibrant town full of fused pets. Players combine different animals into unique creatures, build shops, parks, and production facilities, and optimize the flow of their city while the pets gather resources, complete tasks, and bring the town to life.
The core idea: a cozy but addictive match-three mobile game where you’re not just clicking colorful tiles. You hatch pets, give them homes, and later fuse them into stronger companions that help you progress further.
All images are concept mockups. No actual in-game screenshots yet.
Status
Early Development · Currently paused while other projects take priority. Target Release: TBA.
D-003 · Devlog
A Change of Direction
Why I paused Pet Fusion City, what I am building instead, and how I am making this journey sustainable.
Jul 2026·~5 min read·journey
It has been around six months since I went all in as an indie developer. The journey has been more complicated and demanding than I expected, but it has taught me that following a plan matters less than listening to what genuinely gives me energy.
Pet Fusion City Is Paused
Pet Fusion City is paused, and I will not release it in its current form. It was not a bad idea; it taught me a lot about planning a product and building something on my own. But my motivation was no longer where the project needed it to be. Forcing it simply because it was the original plan would not lead to my best work.
The exploration phase of self-employment deserves more honesty. Sometimes the productive choice is to pause, reflect, and choose a direction that feels right again.
Rediscovering What I Love to Build
I rediscovered how much I love building small, practical tools and automations. I enjoy finding repetitive steps, making workflows simpler, and creating something useful for a real personal need. That is where my focus is moving for now: useful tools, workflow automation, and discovering the products that grow naturally from them.
Rethinking Content Creation
I also underestimated how much time and energy high-quality long-form videos take. To keep things sustainable, I am scaling those back for now and sharing lighter, more immediate updates through Instagram stories and shorts. I want social media to feel like a personal diary for progress, lessons, wins, and setbacks – without every post becoming another huge production.
The Ups and Downs Are Part of It
Self-employment has brought plenty of ups and downs, along with lessons about products, business, and managing my own time. The meaningful connections with other developers and creators have made a huge difference. Changing direction is not failing; it is part of finding the work I can keep showing up for.
Come Along for the Next Chapter
Twitch remains the best place to find me live in coworking sessions, while Instagram is where I will share quicker updates and behind-the-scenes moments. Thank you for following this journey and being part of the community.
– Mathias
D-002 · Devlog
The First Real Steps Into My Game Project
Going from “I quit my job” to actually building my first serious mobile game.
Feb 2026·~10 min read·project
You made it back here – welcome to my second devlog on this website. In Devlog #1 I told you how I quit my safe job, moved with my family, and officially started my journey as a full-time indie game developer on January 1st, 2026. Today, it’s less about the past and much more about what actually happened since then: my first serious mobile game project, the tools behind it, and how it feels to live this new indie-dev life day by day.
The First Weeks as a Full-Time Indie
The biggest change compared to my old life? There’s no 9-to-5 structure anymore, no boss, no automotive emails piling up – just me, my PC, my tools, and this big goal of paying my bills with games.
Financially, things are pretty intense right now. I currently live completely off my savings and what comes in from Twitch – subs, donations, all the little bits of support from the community. There is no side job and no freelance work quietly stabilizing things in the background. That’s honestly scary sometimes, but it’s also exactly the kind of pressure that reminds me every morning why I chose this path in the first place.
What makes all of this feel possible is you. Every follow, every message in chat, every bit of support doesn’t just feel like money on an account – it feels like you saying: “Hey, keep going, we believe in this journey.”
Pet Fusion City – My First Big Project
After Devlog #1, one big question was still open: What will be my first real game as a full-time indie?
For a long time, I had a roguelike idea in my head – something closer to what I personally love to play. But the deeper I went into planning and the reality of “I need to make a living from this,” the clearer it became: I need a project that’s not only creatively exciting, but also business-wise at least somewhat realistic.
That’s how Pet Fusion City was born. The core idea: a cozy but addictive match-three mobile game where you’re not just clicking colorful tiles. You hatch pets, give them homes, and later fuse them into stronger companions that help you progress further.
Business Reality: Money, Assets & Priorities
When you live off savings and Twitch income only, every expense suddenly feels very real. I quickly realized I need to give every euro a clear “job”: What actually pushes the project forward – and what’s just a shiny distraction?
Right now, my biggest spending buckets: streaming & video quality (part of the job since Twitch funds the work), assets & art (buying and adapting rather than spending months on “decent” art), and hardware & setup stability.
My Daily Toolbox – The Tech Stack
Game Engine – Unity: The editor is intuitive, and coming from Java/C# made the transition feel natural.
Coding – VS Code: Free, integrates nicely with Unity, and IntelliSense makes writing code more pleasant.
Graphics – Affinity: Familiar, has the tools I need, and most importantly: no subscription.
Recording & Editing – OBS + DaVinci Resolve: A strong but budget-friendly content pipeline.
Organization – Notion: Design docs, ideas, to-do lists, calendars – everything in one connected workspace.
If I had to summarize the last weeks in one sentence: I’ve been laying foundations. I committed to Pet Fusion City, locked in my tool stack, and defined a resource strategy. That might not sound as flashy as “I finished 20 levels,” but without these decisions, any feature I build would rest on shaky ground.
What’s Coming Next
In one of the next devlogs, I want to dive deeper into the actual gameplay: How does the match-three feel? How do the pets work? What does a typical day in the game look like? On top of that, I’d love to show more of the real day-to-day as a full-time indie – not just the highlights, but also the days where nothing works.
Thank you for reading. Every click on this devlog, every minute in my streams, every comment under a video – all of that tells me I’m not walking this path alone.
– Mathias
D-001 · Devlog
How Did I Get Here?
My journey to becoming a self-employed indie game developer.
Jan 2026·~8 min read·journey
You did it! You’re officially reading my first ever devlog on my website. This post marks the official start of something new for me – my journey to become a self-employed indie game developer, someone capable of paying all the bills by doing something I truly love.
Where I Came From
Born in Munich in the early 90s, I count myself as part of “Gen Y” or the Millennials. My childhood was unique – no internet, yet surrounded by gaming technology. The Game Boy was always with me and my friends, and gaming was already a huge part of my life.
My parents would say the typical “go play outside” phrases, and that’s exactly what we did. Me and some friends sat outside in the sun with our Game Boys, playing Pokémon, Zelda, or whatever games we had.
What Happened Later
By the age of 16, I went to a technical college with my best friend Lukas – someone who would play an important role later in this story. The first days at college came and went, and I quickly noticed this programmer in my class talking about technical stuff. Somehow, we didn’t match at first sight – I was in a “hardcore” rapping phase, and there was Aaron, with his long blonde hair and heavy metal look.
But what was he even talking about? Why did he know so much about programming? I was curious, we started talking, we laughed, and we became friends. Aaron became my first programming mentor. I started learning scripting languages, then C, and soon my whole life revolved around coding and gaming.
After College
All of us graduated and went to university. After about two years, Lukas quit. He smiled and said, “I realized university isn’t for me. I’m becoming self-employed and will eventually live off that with ease.”
I, still shocked, heard my parents’ voices: “You need a safe job!” So I finished my bachelor’s degree and started working as a test engineer in the automotive industry.
The Itch in My Head
After close to 8 years in the automotive industry – constantly testing software, with almost zero time for innovations. The message I always received was: “You can program that toy later.” But every tool they called a “toy” saves enormous time.
I started programming tools secretly to boost my team’s productivity. Then there was a burnout. Then a sort of depression. My work felt uncomfortable. For someone who loves coding, problem-solving and game design, that felt like a cage.
Several calls with Lukas (yes, he’s now living off his self-employment) encouraged me: “You just need to try and figure it out. Otherwise, you’ll never know.”
The Ultimate Restart
August 2025: I quit my job. My wife, our son and I packed our bags and we emigrated from Germany.
January 1st, 2026: I officially started my journey as a full-time indie game developer.
And here we are. This is where this devlog and this indie game studio truly begin.
Looking Ahead
This chapter of my life will be exciting and amazing! Thanks to my friends Lukas and Aaron, who were key figures in my life and shaped my path as a game developer.
Huge thanks to everyone reading this – every single one of you is a silent supporter of this indie game developer’s journey.
