#GDC
#GDC2026
#GameDevelopersConference
#GameDev
#GameDevelopment
#IndieGameDev
#GameDeveloper
#MakingGames
#IndieStudio
#StudioBuilding
#IndieGames
#BuildInPublic
#GameIndustry
#DevCommunity
#IndieCommunity
#GameCreators
One thing I’ve learned from starting a game studio:
The hardest lessons usually show up after you begin.
Here are 3 things I wish I understood earlier.
#FounderLife #IndieStudio #GameDev
#GDC
#GDC2026
#GameDevelopersConference
#GameDev
#GameDevelopment
#IndieGameDev
#GameDeveloper
#MakingGames
#IndieStudio
#StudioBuilding
#IndieGames
#BuildInPublic
#GameIndustry
#DevCommunity
#IndieCommunity
#GameCreators
Excited to attend the Game Developers Conference this year.
Always interesting to step outside the day-to-day work of development and talk with people across the industry about how studios are evolving.
#GameDev #GDC #StudioBuilding
Midway through pre-production.
This stage is mostly conversations, iteration, and tough decisions about scope and direction—but those choices shape everything that comes next.
Quiet progress, but important progress.
#GameDev #IndieStudio #BuildInPublic
#GameDev
#IndieGameDev
#GameDevelopment
#IndieStudio
#StartupJourney
#FounderLife
#StudioBuilding
#Entrepreneurship
#BuildInPublic
#BehindTheScenes
#DevLog
#CreativeProcess
#IndieGames
#IndieCommunity
#DevCommunity
Names carry meaning.
When I started this studio, I wanted the name to represent how we plan to build.
Here’s the story behind Kato.8.
#GameDev
#GameDevelopment
#IndieGameDev
#IndieStudio
#IndieGames
#StudioBuilding
#StartupJourney
#FounderLife
#BuildingInPublic
#Production
#GameProduction
#DevLife
#MakingGames
#GameBuild
#Milestone
#NextPhase
#ProgressUpdate
#Momentum
#BuildInPublic
#OpenDevelopment
#DevLog
The groundwork is done.
We’re entering production — turning plans into playable work and conversations into systems.
This is where the real build begins.
#IndieGameDev
#GameDev
#GameDevelopment
#IndieStudio
#GameStudio
#StartupJourney
#FounderLife
#EntrepreneurLife
#BuildingInPublic
#DevLog
#BehindTheScenes
#BuildInPublic
#CreativeProcess
#FromScratch
#SmallBusiness
#CreatorJourney
#BusinessTok
#FounderPerspective
#CreativeLeadership
#StudioBuilding
#Entrepreneurship
#BuildInPublic
#Transparency
#OpenDevelopment
#DevLog
#IndieGameDev
#GameDev
#GameDevelopment
#DevLife
#FounderLife
#SoloFounder
#BuildingInPublic
#IndieStudio
#StartupJourney
#StartupLife
#WearingManyHats
#EarlyStage
Building a studio largely solo means wearing every hat: development, planning, communication, marketing.
Keeping audiences updated takes time.
But not updating breaks trust.
Finding the balance is part of the job.
#Leadership
#CEO
#FounderLife
#ExecutiveLeadership
#LeadershipMatters
#StartupJourney
#StudioBuilding
#BuildingFromScratch
#Entrepreneurship
#StartupLife
#IndieStudio
#GameDev
#GameDevelopment
#CreativeLeadership
#DecisionMaking
#Accountability
#LongTermThinking
#Leadership
#CEO
#FounderLife
#ExecutiveLeadership
#LeadershipMatters
#StartupJourney
#StudioBuilding
#BuildingFromScratch
#Entrepreneurship
#StartupLife
#IndieStudio
#GameDev
#GameDevelopment
#CreativeLeadership
#DecisionMaking
#Accountability
#LongTermThinking
Tough decisions as a CEO rarely feel good in the moment.
Sometimes it’s choosing focus over excitement.
Sometimes it’s saying no to something promising.
Sometimes it’s protecting long-term stability over short-term momentum.
The responsibility is the weight and the privilege.
#Collaboration
#CreativeCollaboration
#TeamWork
#CrossDiscipline
#GameDev
#GameDevelopment
#IndieGameDev
#IndieStudio
#GameTeams
#StudioBuilding
#StartupJourney
#FounderLife
#BuildingFromScratch
#StudioBuilding
#StartupJourney
#FounderLife
#BuildingFromScratch
#CreativeProcess
Strong collaboration creates trust.
Trust creates clarity.
Clarity creates better work.
That chain matters more than any single tool or feature.
#GameDev
#GameDevelopment
#IndieGameDev
#IndieGames
#IndieStudio
#StudioBuilding
#StartupJourney
#GameBusiness
#IndieBiz
#CreativeStartup
#GamePublishing
#PublisherRelations
#PublishingDeals
#IndiePublishing
#CreativeLeadership
#FounderPerspective
#GameIndustry
#Leadership
Publishers can be great partners but only at the right moment.
If a studio doesn’t yet know its identity, audience, or production realities, a publishing deal can create pressure instead of leverage.
Alignment beats acceleration.
#NoAIArt
#HumanMade
#ArtistSupport
#SupportArtists
#EthicalCreativity
#GameDev
#IndieGameDev
#IndieGames
#IndieStudio
#GameArt
#CreativeProcess
#CreativeIntegrity
#ArtAndDesign
#HumanCreativity
#MadeByHumans
#CreativeCollaboration
#DevCommunity
#IndieCommunity
#PeopleFirst
Being able to spot AI-generated art is quickly becoming part of visual literacy.
As tools evolve, so does the responsibility to know when something is machine-generated versus human-made, especially in creative industries.
That awareness informs how we choose to build.
#NoAIArt
#HumanMade
#ArtistSupport
#SupportArtists
#EthicalCreativity
#GameDev
#IndieGameDev
#IndieGames
#IndieStudio
#GameArt
#CreativeProcess
#CreativeIntegrity
#ArtAndDesign
#HumanCreativity
#MadeByHumans
#CreativeCollaboration
#DevCommunity
#IndieCommunity
#PeopleFirst
There are a lot of tools available right now, but not all of them align with how we want to build.
For Kato.8 Studios, that means choosing not to use AI-generated art and instead prioritizing human creativity and collaboration from the start.
It’s a deliberate decision.
#Leadership
#CreativeLeadership
#FounderMindset
#LongTermThinking
#SustainableDevelopment
#IndieDev
#IndieCommunity
#DevCommunity
#CommunityDriven
#PeopleFirst
#PreProduction
#GameProduction
#GameDesign
#EarlyDevelopment
#CreativeProcess
#ProductionPipeline
#Collaboration
#CreativeCollaboration
#TeamWork
#CrossDiscipline
#GameTeams
#Traction
#Momentum
#ProductValidation
#BuildingInPublic
#BuildInPublic
#EarlyStage
#IndieStudio #GameDevelopment #BuildInPublic#GameDev
#GameDevelopment
#IndieGameDev
#IndieGames
#IndieStudio
#GameStudio
#GameDevLife
#StartupJourney
#StartupLife
#StudioBuilding
#Bootstrapped
#FounderLife
#BuildingFromScratch
#CreativeStartup
Pre-production starts now.
It’s not the flashiest part of game development, but it’s the most important—clarifying direction, aligning the team, and making sure we’re building the right thing before scaling.
Looking forward to sharing progress as we go.
#StudioBuilding #StartupLife #BuildInPublic
Building a studio has made one thing very clear:
You can grow without having traction. Teams, plans, and activity don’t automatically equal validation.
Traction is earned, tested, and listened to—and that’s where our focus is right now.
