I'll look it up. I tried making a kids game using a java framework called JPCT some years ago but it turned into a second job and I had to stop. I wrote a world construction tool (basically a static entity placement tool persisting to XML). I wrote a demo called "Werdy's World" that used the kit and had a character implementing collision and movement physics - it could run around, do back flips, jump etc.
http://www.jpct.net/projects.html. 4th to last project on the page. The harsh reality of art creation and animation in Studio3D hit me like a brick. I spent maybe 60 hours developing various animations for that primitive little character. Mostly making adjustments for vector errors on the body while animating the skeleton. Hugely frustrating.
Indie game development is a very risky venture - especially if you're going to do it alone.
But the world of solo development has changed tremendously throughout the years. I know this for a fact, because I've been failing to make countless games since I was in my early 20s - and the level of improvement in terms of tools, free or paid assets, distribution, marketing - and so on - is staggering.
For instance, I once spent ages developing my own "dungeon crawler" engine - and I didn't really know what I was doing. I couldn't really find any documentation, so I just sat down and played a couple of my favorites until I figured out a way to do it.
It worked, but it was a MAJOR pain in the ass, using dozens of wall segments that I had to splice together with pixel perfection - and drawing them in the correct sequence, depending on player position - and so forth.
What I spent a few months creating back then, and this was with XNA and C# (both of which are not THAT old) - I could easily create in less than a day with Unity and I could make it look great by paying, say, 10$ for assets.
Obviously, the key is to set a realistic goal.
Personally, I give myself a 50/50 chance that I will be able to sustain development for about a year with this game.
That's somewhat optimistic, but it's within the realm of the plausible.
But I've planned for this - and I can sustain myself for around 4 years - earning zero profit.
Meaning, I don't really need to succeed the first time around. I do need SOME kind of recognition or sales though - and from there, I hope to reach a sustainable stage.
I think many indie developers go about it with too high expectations - and a lot seem to focus on it as a way to make money, rather than as a way to be happy doing what you love.
Making money is very different from making games, in my opinion.
When I look at Steam - and I watch Indie developers talking about making games - I'm not really seeing games. I'm seeing attempts to establish a business venture - mostly by emulating past successes - or attempting to play the market.
A lot of it seems to be about ego, and not the passion or any kind of real talent.
There are exceptions, of course - but I think it's unrealistic to make it big unless you have a knack for appealing wide.
