I shipped a mobile game. Then I rebuilt it from scratch...

A few weeks ago, I released Shadow Heist, a stealth game about a raccoon thief who slips into houses, shops and offices after dark to steal the loot without getting caught. It was live. It worked. People could download it. But, I wasn't happy with it.

The first version was a 2D game built with Flutter and the Flame engine. Flame got me to launch, and I'm grateful for that. But every time I played my own game, I could see the gap between what was on the screen and what I had in my head. The heists felt flat. The tension wasn't there. So I made a tough decision... I started over.

The new Shadow Heist is a proper mobile game, rebuilt from the ground up with Unity: 🎨 A completely new design. New look, new levels, new HUD, built to feel good in your hand. 🧊 Real 3D. Rooms you can actually sneak through, with light, shadows and depth. ⚡ Much more dynamic. Guards patrol and chase you down, security cameras lock on, lasers pulse on and off. When you're spotted, you run. 🛠️ Six thief tools. A key, a coin to distract, a glue trap, a jammer, a blowgun and an invisibility cloak. 🦝 60 heists across houses, supermarkets, offices, docks, restaurants and factories.

It took time... And an astronomical amount of testing and debugging. That's the unglamorous side of building a game: most of the work is making sure nothing breaks the moment a real player picks it up.

What I learned along the way:

Launching isn't the finish line. It's the moment you finally see your product clearly.

Not being happy with your own work is information, not failure. Listen to it.

The right tool for the job matters. Sometimes the bravest move is to change it, even after you've shipped.

Give it a try! The new Shadow Heist is available now on iOS and Android: 🍎 App Store: https://lnkd.in/eWWfUHhc 🤖 Google Play: https://lnkd.in/ewn72ADR

And this is just the beginning. More is coming soon. 👀 If you give it a go and you like it, don't hesitate to share the love: leave a rating, send it to a friend, or repost this article. For a solo builder, every share genuinely makes a difference.

Thanks for reading, and good luck with your first heist. 🦝

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