I built Buzzsaws & Brightstars alone — design, code, sound, marketing, everything. Not because I had to, but because I wanted to understand the full arc of making something from nothing.

The idea started with a simple question: what if the most satisfying part of an arcade game wasn't the score, but the tension right before you lose?

I chose iOS because that's where I could reach real players fast. I chose a minimalist aesthetic because I didn't want to hide behind complexity. And I chose to ship it — not to perfect it, but to actually put it in people's hands and watch what happened.

The result reached Top 20 in New Zealand and Top 100 in Canada, Australia, and a handful of other markets.

Every design decision had a reason, and every reason had a constraint. That tension is where the game actually lives.

The core loop went through eleven iterations before it felt right. The original concept had players managing multiple resources at once, but playtesting showed it was overwhelming.

Visually, I leaned into high-contrast silhouettes and a limited palette of gold, cream, and deep black. This made the game readable on small screens and gave the animation room to breathe.

Sound design came last, but it ended up shaping the feel more than any single visual element.

Buzzsaws & Brightstars shipped, charted, and then quietly taught me the most important lesson of my design career.

The game reached Top 20 in New Zealand and Top 100 in Canada, Australia, and several other markets — small numbers by big-studio standards, but meaningful for a solo project.

More importantly, it changed how I lead design teams. I now know exactly what it feels like to be the person who has to say "this is good enough to ship."

I'd build it again. Not the same game — but the same way.