Indie Game Lunch Hour Why Passion Beats Spite in Game Development
9 snips
Nov 19, 2025 
Omar Samir, an indie game developer known for leading Super Buff HD and crafting horror titles, delves into the heart of game creation. He emphasizes that passion, not spite, should define projects, sharing his journey from coding in Unreal to securing over $300,000 for Cairo: Otherscape. The discussion touches on overcoming challenges like publisher collapses and the importance of positive creative vision. Omar also shares insights on balancing passion with market demands and how to redesign disliked game mechanics for fun.
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Early Crash Course Into Game Dev
- Omar started learning Unreal Engine immediately after high school and learned by joining jams and projects.
- He then worked on Hide or Die as a level designer and community manager, experiencing a rocky launch and sunset.
Publisher Deal Turned Disaster
- Omar signed with Dijirati Publishing after a strong pitch but the CEO died two days later and the company imploded.
- The publisher cut marketing and made problematic PR, leaving Omar to finish Super Buff HD amid chaos.
Game Succeeds Despite Chaos
- Despite the publisher turmoil, Super Buff HD released to strong critical reception and a high Steam rating.
- The game later got accepted for AGDQ 2026 and was listed by Kotaku among top boomer shooters.
