A New Adventure

Breaking out of the box

Most people start their first devlog with a story about a childhood dream or a deep passion for art. My story is a little different.

For a long time, I have felt like I was living in a box. I spent a lot of my time watching other people take risks, find their footing, and build something for themselves. If I am being completely honest, my main driver right now is envy. I was tired of being the spectator. I was tired of seeing everyone else take the chances I was too afraid to take myself.

That feeling eventually turned into a question: "Why not me?"

Haunted Raven Studios is my answer to that. It is my way of breaking out of that box and finally putting my own work into the world. I am not just here to make a project. I am here to prove that I can be more than just a witness to other people’s success.

The reality of the start

Breaking out of the box is the exciting part, but staying out is where the actual work starts. Right now I am in the foundation phase. I have officially moved from just thinking about this to handling the paperwork, LLC filings, and the boring administrative side of running a studio.

The biggest hurdle so far has not been the code or the art. It has been the mental shift. Balancing a full-time job while trying to build a future is a constant tug of war. I do not have a team of developers or a massive budget to hire out the work. I also do not have the luxury of spending years learning every single nuance of coding from scratch before I even begin.

Because of that, I have decided to use AI to assist me with the code.

For me, this is a matter of necessity. It is the tool that allows a solo developer with a day job to actually get a project off the ground. It is not a shortcut to avoid the work, but a way to bridge the gap between having an idea and actually making it function. I want to be up front about that from day one because I want this devlog to be an honest look at how a project like this actually gets made.

My goal for these logs

My goal with these devlogs is simple: accountability. By putting this out there, I am making a promise to myself and anyone reading that I will not just disappear.

I want this to be a space for transparency. I am going to share the ugly prototypes, the failed ideas, and the lessons I learn along the way. If you have ever felt stuck or wondered what it actually looks like to build something from nothing, I hope you will follow along.

Let's see if I can build something worth the risk.

- WolverineFire