Physical Form is a solo developer who’s a long-time partner of GameDistribution. He mainly focuses on creating football games like Penalty Shooters and Fiveheads Soccer, but occasionally challenges himself by developing puzzlers such as Detective Loupe or racing games like Hoon or Die.
We sat down with him to discuss the joys and challenges of game making, how he navigates the industry as a solo developer, and his advice to starters.
GD: Thanks for taking the time to chat with us! Could you introduce yourself and what you do?
Vlad: My name is Vlad Marinkovic, I’m actually an electrical engineer by trade but my childhood dream was to make games and tell stories – so here I am! I’ve worked in engineering and marketing, and I finally found my way to doing things I love most. I’ve been working as a game developer for almost fourteen years, making around a hundred games. Most of them were just experiments, but some of them have garnered quite the number of gameplays by now! Nowadays I mostly focus on making football games, like Penalty Shooters.
GD: You’ve been a partner for a while – how did you find out about us?
Vlad: In the very beginning of GameDistribution, back in 2017, I was looking for a new way to distribute my games. I tested it out with a couple of games and stayed on. GameDistribution really grew, I’ve seen some peers from the flash game era pop up in the catalog as well, which is great.
GD: What was your first game development experience like?
Vlad: My first gamedev journey was in the 90s, but that was nothing serious. It did help me learn about machine languages and programming. I really started making games once I’d settled down with my family, but it wasn’t difficult to switch from one computer language to another. I experimented with mobile games but eventually went back to web games, which I feel are more approachable for indie developers like me.
GD: How do you manage creating games as a solo developer?
Vlad: I purchase my assets – like 3D models and music – because I’m not a jack of all trades. It limits you in a way, but I managed to find my way to adapt them to my games and my vision. The game should be playable and enjoyable even without professional assets in my opinion, so I focus on gameplay first. But of course, good assets are a must have. When I make a game, I sketch it out and in later phases of development I switch them out with final ones.
GD: What was it like to experience the success of Penalty Shooters 2?
Vlad: When the game gets published it feels special, and you can’t really control what happens after. To some degree, you can influence the marketing and spread, but going viral is something that happens. The game starts to lead its own life from there. I got some really special reactions from players across the world, telling me about their personal experience with the game, like someone playing it every single day.
GD: When designing a new game, how do you go about working on your idea – what does a brainstorming session look like for you?
Vlad: Very easy and simple – I think about the topic of my game first. Let’s say it’s football. I then figure out the gameplay loop, which could be focusing on one segment of the sport, like penalty shooting. What’s important to me is to get the feeling of the game, so the main gameplay loop is easy to pick up and play. It’s a bit different for every single game, but you have to get the hang of what the base look and feel should be like.
GD: What would your advice to novice developers be? Any important things to look out for? Any favourite programmes you work with?
Vlad: Making games is a beautiful job, but it can be difficult. You’ll need to invest time in it, and stick with it. Learn how to be flexible, find your way within multiple tools because game development keeps changing. The programming basics are important, so don’t overlook those! Learning from books is still the way – a background in maths, programming and physics can be very helpful, I use my knowledge of these fields every day. When you start working on games, play around with free tools to see what they’re like. Godot is an example, and Unity is another good one. To use Unity, you need to learn C# so it can be a steep learning curve. Even if you don’t end up using the engine, you’ll still have learned C#!
If you’re brave enough, you can check out the subreddit Destroy My Game, where people will give their brutally honest opinion on your ideas or builds. But if I’m honest, I haven’t dared submit my games there myself just yet.
GD: Having a look at different tools and getting a feel for how they work can be a challenging experience, but definitely one worth the time. You’ve used various tools throughout your career as well, and recently swapped out Unity for Construct 3, which you used to work in before. Why did you switch back?
Vlad: I used Flash back in the day, but switched to HTML5 when that became the next big thing. I worked in Unity for a few games, but found out I don’t feel entirely at home with the engine. The projects quickly become too cumbersome for me personally – it can be great for AA or even AAA games, but the export and mobile performance aren’t ideal – at least, when I tried it.
Construct’s exports are lighter and easier to work with for me. I’m a 2D man, but I’ve been experimenting with 3D assets recently and Construct is adding more options for this style as well. You need to explore the new things in life, and game engines and styles are absolutely a part of that.
GD: We heard you’ll be at Gamescom this year – what are you most looking forward to?
Vlad: To meeting industry peers in real life, especially those I haven’t seen in a while. It’s a good opportunity to get to know each other better, both in terms of work and life. I would be glad to answer any questions and meet new people. If you would like to have a chat at Gamescom, please add me on LinkedIn and shoot me a message to arrange a meeting!
GD: What can we expect from you in the near future?
Vlad: I’m changing my pace of making games – currently I’m trying to move toward four or five full titles a year. There might be a switch from football to something else, just to keep it interesting for myself. I’m preparing for the European football championships, but I am also planning something creative and wacky at the moment. Quentin Tarantino inspired me to create content I would love to enjoy myself. You’ll have to wait and see!
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Thank you for your time, Vlad! We’re looking forward to your future games.