Game development is a notoriously complex beast. From the initial conceptualisation and planning to the grind of sourcing assets and the sheer slog of writing code, it is an exhaustive process. It demands not just time, but a level of mental and physical fortitude that would break the average person.

And yet, here is someone attempting the impossible dream of solo development while battling a herniated disc that makes simple movement a torture. Meet DreamDart, the developer behind the deck-building roguelike Pathogen, who pushes through waves of agony to build their game. I sat down with the developer to understand why one would embark on such a path under circumstances that sound like a living nightmare.

DreamDart reflects on a past life as a regular office worker, always striving to do their best. They would pour themselves into their work long after the clock stopped ticking. However, when the body finally sounded the alarm, DreamDart had no choice but to resign, which is when they finally turned to the long-held dream of studying game development.

The dream was short-lived, however, as a severe herniated disc struck. For six months, DreamDart was essentially confined to a bed, unable to sit or stand without excruciating pain. When the disc flared up, it felt like a spike being driven into the spine, accompanied by radiating pain down the legs. "I thought I might die without leaving anything behind," DreamDart shared, adding, "The fear of that regret pushed me to start making a game in the genre I love most."

Bedridden, the development process was agonizingly slow. Lying in one position for too long invited sleep, while the tension in the neck and shoulders made it impossible to keep working. Strong medication caused indigestion, and the side effects of steroids triggered rhinitis, making it hard to breathe. With insomnia thrown into the mix, DreamDart could barely manage five hours of work a day.

Initially, DreamDart worked with a small desk perched over the bed. Later, they invested in a specialized bed-desk to accommodate a tilted keyboard. When the pain in the neck and shoulders became unbearable, they swapped the keyboard for a microphone, utilizing voice recognition to input code. "I looked into various tools like smartphones, but nothing comes close to a keyboard for coding efficiency," DreamDart recalled.

Despite these trials, DreamDart continues to polish the game. The developer name, DreamDart, symbolizes the ambition to reach a target. "I've always loved the word 'dream' since I was young; I believe human progress is driven by those who chase them," they explained. "DreamDart means a dart flying toward the target of a dream."

Pathogen is a deck-building roguelike inspired by pathogens. Players are kidnapped by a bizarre entity and forced to play cards for their lives. The title literally means 'pathogen', and DreamDart notes, "It was a name chosen to reflect both the horror concept and the developer behind it."

The game opens in an eerie space featuring five Petri dishes and hands that look like they have been infected by a zombie virus. You have seven turns to reach a target 'Essence' score. Each card has tags, effects, Essence, and HP. Essence acts as the card's attack power, while HP determines how many turns it remains on the board.

Players can place up to five cards on the field, with no limit to the number of cards played per turn. Take 'Luca', the basic card, which has 1 HP and 1 Essence. It possesses the 'Origin' tag, meaning it vanishes from the field after just one turn. More powerful cards require 'sacrifices'. For instance, the 'Glyph Whale' requires two sacrifices but boasts three tags, 20 Essence, and 5 HP.

The rules differ from your standard deck-builder, and with 196 cards in the demo alone, there is a learning curve. "I designed the tutorial to introduce cards gradually," DreamDart says. "Listening to exposition is boring, so I designed it so a 'wraith' delivers short lines, followed by player interaction to introduce the world-building."

Early cards have 1–5 Essence, which works fine when the goal is 50 or 100 points, but once the requirement hits 1,500 or 8,000, you hit a wall. Success depends on the synergies of tags and the 'relics' you acquire during the run.

Tags act as set effects. The 'Origin' tag is easy to find early on, providing extra Essence at the end of the turn. The 'Greed' tag triggers when you have three or five pathogens on the field, tripling the score of the highest-value pathogen. Cards summoned via sacrifice usually carry two or more tags, offering far more potent effects.

Relics add another layer of power. Some offer shop discounts or flat Essence bonuses, but the ones that increase 'multipliers' are the game-changers. Since multipliers are applied to the final sum, they are crucial for clearing late-game hurdles.

DreamDart emphasizes the 'joy of reaching high scores' by building the perfect deck. "As you level up, new card packs and enhancement content unlock, along with new crafting recipes," DreamDart added. "Acquiring relics that scale over time early on is key to clearing the game."

Pathogen isn't just about tight mechanics; it delivers a chilling narrative. The story follows the revenge of a 'wraith' who was a test subject. In a fictional imperial nation, criminals were subjected to torture disguised as supernatural military research. Now, the wraith has kidnapped the doctors—including the player—to extract Essence as part of a twisted experiment.

Between stages, cutscenes offer glimpses into the cruel experiments. You'll encounter scenarios like a death marathon where only ten survive, a 'press the button' dilemma, or a variation of the trolley problem. "There was no story initially, but people asked why the Essence was being extracted," DreamDart said. "I was inspired by the StarCraft 2 campaign where you choose between saving citizens or purifying the area, and decided to add event stories."

The journey hasn't been smooth. Beyond the back pain, DreamDart faced the hurdles of solo development and a lack of prior experience. "I wasn't a programmer or a graphic designer, but after three months of coding study, I jumped in," DreamDart said. "I drew all the graphics myself, so I made sure the rules were fun and satisfying to play."

A demo for Pathogen is currently available on Steam, with an Early Access release targeted for this November. The game is roughly 70% complete. "They say for many indie developers, the first game is the last," DreamDart remarked. "We are desperate for the interest of players. If you play the demo and like what you see, please add it to your wishlist."