Helvengard #001
From Player to Developer

My name is Roger, and this is how Helvengard started.

For a long time, I was just playing games. Like everyone else. And I enjoyed it. But over time, something changed.

Many games started to feel the same. The loops were similar, the mechanics were familiar, and even though they were well made, they didn’t feel new anymore.

At some point, I asked myself a simple question:
Why do I only consume games instead of creating one myself?

That thought stayed with me.

The real starting point came unexpectedly.

In 2020, during Corona, everything stopped. My projects were paused, my schedule was suddenly empty, and for the first time in a long time, I had time.

Not just a few hours, but weeks and months.

And I knew immediately:
This is the moment.

I didn’t overthink it. I didn’t plan everything in advance.

I just started.

I installed Unity.
I tried Unreal.
I tested different tools and explored what was possible.

There was no clear direction. No roadmap.

Just curiosity.

My first “game” was extremely simple. A small character that could move around, interact with the world, and react to basic input.

Nothing impressive.

But it was mine.

And that made all the difference.

That moment changed something for me.

For the first time, I wasn’t just playing a game.
I was building one.

And even though it was small, it showed me something important:

I could actually do this.

Not perfectly. Not efficiently.
But I could start.

Looking back, this was one of the most important steps in my entire journey.

Not because of what I built, but because I made the decision to begin.

No pressure.
No expectations.
Just starting.

Of course, starting is only the first step.

Very quickly, I ran into the next phase: learning, experimenting, and trying to understand how everything really works.

And that’s where things became more complicated.

That’s where everything really started.