1. Who are you?

Hi, I'm Mauricio Wolff. I am a 20 years-old PR student from Brazil.

2. When did you start programming games, and how many hours did you spend learning?

I started learning python in March this year because I was bored in quarantine. I took 2 courses on python, so maybe 80 hours of studying? I then discovered Unity and participated in two game jams with my friend. However, as I didn't know anything about c#, I stayed in the design part of the games.
I was determined to learn c#, so I watched a four-hour long video on the basics of it. It was a lot easier since I already knew the programming logic from python. Moving on, I then decided to start a solo project, a little infinite runner, to put my learning into practice.

3. What tools, programming languages did you use to develop the game?

I used the Unity Engine, which works with C#.

4. How do you define your game?

Here's my pitch: Pipo's on the Run is a game about a cat endlessly running through roofs. Jump on chimneys and avoid weather vanes in this
cute pixel art game.

5. Game playability?

It's a 2d infinite runner.

6. Is it totally free or is it paid?

Totally free available on Itch.io at 4maumau

7. What advice do you give to the programmers that begin in this world?

Start small. For sure a 2D infinite runner is not as exciting as GTA V, but the truth is you won't be able to solo develop a GTA. And, the best part of game development is when people play your game. The worst and hardest part, though, is finishing your game. But you have to do it, otherwise, no one will play your game.

8. What were your most difficult challenges?

Motivation is the cause of death in almost every personal project. To avoid abandoning my game I set 2 rules to myself: I had one week to finish the project, and I could not start another before this one was finished.
I totally failed the first rule (shipped the game 4 months later). As I knew almost nothing about Unity and C#, it took me a while to get used to it, and at the end of the first week, I just had the movement done. But I stick strictly to the second one, it's so tempting to start a side project, especially when your main one is in a tough part. But starting a side project will only lead to not finishing the main one, and to starting yet another side project that is now more exciting than the current one and this goes on and on.

9. Do you have any future projects?

Yes, I plan on developing a 3D top-down shooter.

10. What do you know now that you would have liked to know in your early days of game development?

I think I still am in my early days of game development. But if I had to stress one thing to my past self is the importance of playtesting. My first game was incredibly hard because I didn't playtest with other people.

11. How many people are developing your game and what do they do?

For the most part, I was solo developing. A friend made the music for me, and I found a person on Reddit who was offering to do sound effects.