One octopus, one computer, far too many ideas.

Hello, I am Aykan. Syoo Games is a one-person indie game studio: the design, the code, the art, the sound choices and the page you are reading right now all come from the same desk. I live in Turkey, and I am currently working on two games.

Why one person?

Staying small is a deliberate choice. In a studio this size the distance between an idea and a prototype is very short - when I want to try something, I do not wait for anybody's approval, I sit down and try it. The trade-off is obvious: you have to learn every part of the job, and nothing can be left for someone else to handle. To me that trade is worth it. I move slowly, but I know exactly what I am building and why.

Why a devlog?

Most games are assembled behind closed doors for years and then revealed all at once. I wanted to try the opposite. I write about the prototypes, the ideas that did not work, the save system that kept breaking and the problems that eventually got solved, in the order they happened. That does two things: it keeps a record of my own decisions, and it leaves an archive where somebody doing similar work can find out how a particular problem was handled.

None of it is polished. When something fails I write that down too, because that is what development actually looks like.

Who is Syoo?

Syoo is the studio mascot: a red-orange, eight-armed, extremely curious octopus. Not a bad symbol for a one-person studio - somebody trying to hold eight things at once.

Say hello

Questions, feedback, "this page is broken" messages: all welcome. Have a look at the devlog, and if you like something there, write to me.