RVGaming

For nearly 20 years, I worked as a software programmer, building systems, solving problems, and honing my craft. I'm a gamer just like all of you. I am also a self-taught graphic artist. For so long, I have enjoyed games from behind the gamepad. But deep down, I always carried a dream  to create video games. Life, however, has a way of pulling us in different directions, and that passion sat quietly on the backburner.

Everything changed last September when I lost my job due to health issues. Shortly after, I received a diagnosis that turned my world upside down: lymphocytic leukemia, a type of cancer. Battling cancer and facing an uncertain future was daunting, but it also gave me time to reflect on what truly mattered to me. I decided to embark on this journey to be a gamedev. If not now, when?

In december, while undergoing treatments, I found a spark of hope in an unexpected place: the AI revolution. Advances in technology were making game development tools, assets, and resources—such as art and music—more accessible than ever. Making games alone once seemed an insurmountable task, it now felt within reach. I know that AI is not popular in some gamedev communities. But as small gamedevs, it gives us an edge against big AAA studios. So I advocate the open use of AI: if you use it, tell the public how you used it and let them decide if they want your game or not.