I Thought Making a Mobile Game Would Be Easy — I Was Wrong

When I started this journey, I honestly thought making a mobile game would be relatively simple. I’m trained as a computer scientist. I understand code, logic, and problem-solving. So I figured, how hard could it really be?

About five weeks ago, I decided to challenge myself with a simple question: Could one person create a fun, polished mobile game from scratch?

I didn’t start with a massive plan or a big team. I started with one clear intention, to create something joyful. Something simple, fun, and emotionally positive.

That idea eventually became Karmo. The character is called Karmo because the entire game revolves around karma, every choice you make has a consequence, and Karmo reflects that journey.

At first glance, Karmo feels simple. A small character, clear rules, intuitive controls. And that was intentional. I wanted a game that felt accessible and uplifting. What I didn’t fully understand at the beginning was how much work hides behind “simple.”

Programming Is Only the Beginning

Yes, there is a lot of coding. Gameplay logic, input handling, scoring systems, progression, performance optimization, bug fixing, over and over again.

What surprised me the most is how quickly the codebase grew. So far, the project already contains over 50 different scripts, and that number will likely keep increasing. I genuinely thought I would end up with maybe 15 or 20 at most.

But it didn’t take long to realize that programming is only one part of the puzzle.

Mobile game development quickly became a constant balancing act between technology, design, and emotion.

Animations alone turned out to be a challenge. Making Karmo feel alive, happy, sad, calm, stressed, required far more iteration than I expected. Timing, easing, transitions, and subtle visual feedback matter more than any single line of code.

Then there’s the UI. Menus, overlays, game over screens, level transitions, responsiveness across different screen sizes. Everything has to feel natural, readable, and fast, especially on mobile.

Testing, Tweaking, Rebuilding

One of the biggest surprises has been how much time goes into testing.

A feature that works perfectly in theory can feel completely wrong in practice. A difficulty curve that seems fair on paper can suddenly become frustrating. Sometimes a tiny visual detail is the difference between something that feels okay and something that feels right.

So you test. You adjust. You break things. You rebuild them.

Again and again.

And this is all before you even think about sound design, polish, performance, and platform requirements.

Why I Kept Going

Despite all of this, or maybe because of it, I never lost sight of why I started.

I wanted to make something that makes people smile. Something that feels good to play. Something honest.

Karmo slowly became more than just a technical challenge. The character started reflecting the journey itself, reacting to success, failure, patience, and mistakes, much like the developer behind the game.

What I’ve Learned So Far

Mobile game development is not “easy.”It’s layered, demanding, and deeply creative.

But it’s also incredibly rewarding.

Five weeks in, I have more respect than ever for solo developers and small studios who manage to ship polished mobile games. There is an enormous amount of invisible work behind every smooth interaction.

This journey is far from over, but Karmo already represents something important to me: the joy of building, learning, and pushing through the hard parts to create something meaningful. And that, more than anything, is why I keep going..

What’s Next for Karmo

As Karmo continues to grow, I’ve started shaping a clearer plan for what the full game will include, and what still needs to be built.

The current vision is a structured experience with 10 handcrafted levels, each designed to gradually increase difficulty and introduce new patterns and challenges. Once all levels are completed, the game will unlock Endless Mode, where difficulty keeps scaling and only skill, focus, and calm decision-making determine how far you can go.

This approach allows the game to feel welcoming at the start, while still offering a long-term challenge for players who want to master it.

Animating Karmo — A New Challenge

One of the next big challenges is animation.

Right now, Karmo already reacts emotionally during key moments, such as Game Over, Level Complete, and the start of a run. Those animations are working well, but they mostly happen outside the core gameplay loop.

Next week, I plan to take on something much harder: bringing Karmo to life during gameplay itself.

Whether that means subtle movement, breathing, small reactions, or micro-animations, I’m not entirely sure how far I’ll get, and that uncertainty is part of the challenge. Animation is a completely different discipline, and making it feel natural without distracting from gameplay is harder than it looks. I’ll see how far I can push it.

The Invisible Work Behind a Mobile Game

Another realization that keeps growing stronger is just how much work exists outside of gameplay itself.

There’s still a long list ahead:

• Integrating ad systems correctly and responsibly

• Making sure the UI and layouts feel right on different screen sizes

• Polishing transitions and feedback

• Testing endlessly to remove friction

• Ensuring performance stays smooth and stable

None of these things are flashy, but all of them are essential.

Mobile games live and die by polish, and getting that polish right takes time, patience, and a lot of iteration.

Still Going, Still Learning

What started as a simple challenge has turned into a deep learning experience.

I now understand why so many people underestimate mobile game development, and why those who do it well deserve real respect. Every “simple” interaction is the result of dozens of decisions, tests, and revisions.

There’s still a lot left to do. There will be setbacks. Some ideas will work, others won’t.

But Karmo keeps moving forward, one step, one animation, one line of code at a time.

And that’s the journey I want to share.

Closing

In the end, there’s one simple thing that tells me I’m on the right path.

Every time I play Karmo, it puts me in a better mood. And when my grandchildren play it, they smile, laugh, and ask to play again.

Seeing that reaction, that joy, reminds me why I started this challenge in the first place. Not to prove anything. Not to rush a release. But to create something genuinely positive.

If Karmo can make people feel a little happier, a little calmer, even for a short moment, then that’s already more than I could have hoped for.

And honestly, that’s all you can really ask for.