I decided to make John Is Dead about six months before graduating from college.

I have just completed my one-year contract as an elementary school tutor. I was unable to apply for a second year as I was graduating from college during the middle of the academic year. I was already done with both my major and general education requirements. My remaining classes were easy and all online.

No job and easy classes meant I had a lot of free time. What was I going to do?

I normally spend my free time writing novels. I have written four so far and dream that one of my novels will get published someday. Six months wasn't enough time to write a novel, so I needed a different medium to work on. As I'm also an avid gamer, writing for a videogame felt like a nice change of pace.

I also made this game as a portfolio piece for my resume. The job market is tough, and I wanted something I could finish and share. Novels can take years to publish—if they get picked up at all. With games, especially on platforms like Itch.io, you can just upload them and let people play.

Overall, I'm glad I made John Is Dead. Sure, it took me over 150 hours of work that I could have spent doing anything else. But it also taught me so many new skills, like how to improve on pixel art or writing for a visual medium. It also made me reflect on my writing goals and where I want to go. Now that I'm on the job hunt, the world is my oyster.

Even if no one plays it, I know I did something cool. And sometimes, that’s enough.