Hello, everyone!

The long-awaited update 0.8.6 is finally here! It took a while, but it’s out now, bringing various changes and fixes. What follows is a brief story of the journey and a glimpse into what’s next.

How I Started Developing TTA

Honestly, it’s pretty simple. I wanted to make games, explored different approaches, and eventually had to start somewhere. I was really into strategy games at the time and decided that creating one as my first project was a great idea (spoiler: it wasn’t). Before that, I had tried following YouTube tutorials to make an online shooter, but I quickly lost interest.

There were several attempts to start working on TTA. The first was more about entering game development, gaining experience, experimenting with initial ideas, and just creating something. Over time, I started the project anew, incorporating the best parts of my earlier work. That’s when things started to take shape—there was the first map, the first countries, early interactions, and even an editor. The idea was to create a game just for experience.

Later, I shared my progress with a friend, who offered to help with the design. We formed a tiny team of two first-time game developers. Eventually, the game became somewhat playable, and we started thinking about publishing it. We came up with a plan for core features to implement before release. After completing the necessary work, we chose platforms, uploaded the game, and then focused on fixing bugs and adding new features.

But as a few more versions came out, it became clear that the initial plan had long-term drawbacks. The codebase was awful—fixing and optimizing it became increasingly difficult. Some parts had to be rewritten from scratch, while others were so deeply intertwined that rewriting them was almost impossible. Consequently, the code accumulated workarounds and quick fixes.

At one point, I realized that version 0.8.6 would be the last for TTA. After taking a break, I revisited the project with a fresh perspective and confirmed that too many issues needed fixing, some beyond my ability. With a heavy heart, I decided that version 0.8.6 would mark the end of this TTA iteration.

The game is still playable and offers fun, but some bugs might remain unresolved. Nonetheless, the original goal—to gain experience—was achieved. For a first project, the game turned out decent, and I learned a lot. However, the lack of a solid initial plan for releasing the game proved to be a misstep. Despite that, I’m thrilled it garnered views and downloads—thank you all so much! Special thanks also to the friend who helped with coding early on, like drawing province and country borders.

What’s Next?

After deciding to move on from TTA, I explored new ideas and started working on a simple football career simulator. At the time, there weren’t many similar games for mobile, and making a mobile game was my main goal. The result was straightforward but fun—perfect for killing time. It stayed intentionally simple, though some features had to be omitted to maintain that simplicity.

This project also allowed me to experiment with online features, using Unity’s built-in tools. I implemented cloud saves and a leaderboard for career trophies. Once it felt complete, I considered the project finished—it met the goal of being simple and functional. I didn’t plan to publish it widely; it was more of a personal project.

Next, I briefly considered creating a football manager game, but the motivation didn’t last long. I decided to take a break from development.

A New Idea: A Game Rating App

The idea emerged over time. A friend told me he keeps a notebook where he rates games he’s played, using a 10-point scale. At first, I thought about doing the same but found it dull. Instead, I made an Excel file with three rating parameters that combine into an overall score. That’s when the idea of creating an app first appeared. I initially dismissed it but revisited it later when I reopened the file. This time, I decided to go for it.

Currently, I’m working on this app. It has both offline and online access. With an account, users can share their ratings in a global game leaderboard or save them for personal use. Offline, you can rate any game, but uploading to the global leaderboard requires the game to be on a predefined list (still small for now). The app also allows viewing ratings by user ID.

In the future, I plan to keep improving this app. I’d also like to revisit the idea of a football manager game for mobile and work on a new strategy game while avoiding past mistakes—but these are just plans for now.

That’s it for now. Thanks to anyone who read all the way through! This post was meant to go up on the 31st or 1st, but I’m a bit late. Happy New Year to everyone! 🎉

(The text may contain errors as it is done with the help of a translator)