Work · alternatives · 2026
24 alternatives to 6 months ago I quit my job to pursue indie dev. Here is our first game
A Drift is a game developed by an indie developer who left their job to pursue game creation full-time. Launched in March 2013, the game attracts players interested in casual gaming experiences. The developer created… Below are 24 products that do a similar job, ranked by how close each is in meaning and then by launch-day votes. 6 months ago I quit my job to pursue indie dev. Here is our first game launched in 2013; newer entries below may have overtaken it.
- 1AF
I've seen some interests in (simulation) video games here on HN so I thought I'd share a short version of our story. More than 6 years ago, me and my friend from university were playing around with an idea of making a game we always wanted to play. We worked on it on weekends but the progress was quite slow, especially due to so many dead ends and wasted effort. Eventually however, we solidified our direction and decided to take the risk to resign from our well paid SWE jobs and work on it full time. It took more than a year but yesterday we have finally released it on Steam:…
2022 · its alternatives →
- 2IG
I was at FB/Meta from late 2013 to early 2023, mostly working in the compiler/runtime spaces. I got hit in the spring 2023 layoff wave. I immediately started making games in my newfound free time (a lifelong interest, and I even worked in AA(A?) back ca. ~2000), and in October 2023 I stumbled upon the idea of a roguelike pachinko/plinko game inspired by Luck Be A Landlord. Things snowballed quickly, I started talking to publishers, then worked like crazy through all of 2024, almost the hardest I've ever worked in my career, and launched the game in December 2024. It's sold…
2025 · its alternatives →
- 3

2021 · apps.apple.com · its alternatives →
- 49D
2025 · 90s.dev · its alternatives →
- 5

- 6AG
2018 · mind-circus.org · its alternatives →
- 7IS
2012 · ektomarch.com · its alternatives →
- 8

A racing-puzzle-adventure indie game for mobile
2020 · apps.apple.com · its alternatives →
- 9
%%30%30: A Game▲608%%30%30 Game: Don't touch the trees! (Thanks, Chrome dev team!) - szhu/3030
2015 · github.com · its alternatives →
- 10

I'm a Unity 3D refugee, certified expert, started in 2005 when it was a two man-band with Joachim and David. I've been lucky enough to make a good living out of Unity with my own consultancy over the years making data visualisation applications (Wind Energy) and innovation projects (Visualising accounting data for Wolters Kluwer etc.). Godot is pretty amazing in my opinion. Wrote this game over a few days and was productive in Godot basically instantly. I couldn't get up and running in Unreal despite trying a few times. It's my ambition to start a niche agency developing 80's style games of…
2023 · lfgslots.com · its alternatives →
- 11IN
2021 · indiedevs.net · its alternatives →
- 12IB
2014 · play.google.com · its alternatives →
- 13

Modd.io is a collaborative game editor that runs in browser. It's kind of like Figma for game dev. We made this engine low-code and multiplayer-first, so developeres can quickly prototype casual multiplayer games. I hope some of you guys will find this useful. Would love to hear feedback also. Thank you. Engine Demo: https://www.modd.io
2023 · github.com · its alternatives →
- 14

A 100% free knowledge base for your startup
2018 · drift.com · its alternatives →
- 15

I've been spending a lot of my spare time over the last year creating this little racing game. It's built in PICO-8, which is a really fun “fantasy retro console” that's been mentioned on HN several times. The console has strict limits and I wanted to see how far I could push them The source code for the game is over here: https://github.com/maxbize/PICO-8/tree/master/Driftmania. It's a bit of a mess, but I'm happy to answer any questions on it or development of the game. Cheers! EDIT: For those not familiar with PICO-8, there's only a few inputs: arrow…
2024 · frenchie14.itch.io · its alternatives →
- 16
Drift▲144An open-source Gist and pastebin alternative
2022 · drift.maxleiter.com · its alternatives →
- 17GD
2025 · reprobate.site · its alternatives →
- 18

It took me 20 months to develop it in my spare time. I used Unity game engine, I did not have any game dev experience before. It was more complex that I thought at the begining, I spent lots of time on promotion, marketing, founding company, learning about the legal aspects of different parts, for example music. Some parts were easier than I expected. Unity makes it very easy to build for all three operating systems (Win, MacOs, Linux), I am not sure why more game devs are not using this possibility. I also like working on Steam as distribution system. It is not exactly easy for a newcomer,…
2022 · store.steampowered.com · its alternatives →
- 19

2015 · forums.toucharcade.com · its alternatives →
- 20MA
hi all, I've always wanted to make my own game, but couldn't afford a thousand-dollar adobe (flash+photoshop) license. I'm not a talented programmer, have no degree in CS. But I understand some elements of design. So I got me a copy of ImpactJS, and after about 5 months of steep learning curve (at least for me), I managed to come up with a game. I also integrated it with a highscore and badge system, similar to what you get at Kongregate. You need to login with Google/OpenID to earn badges/scores. link is: http://www.hotbazooka.com/privatejoe hope to hear some feedback/questions from you guys!
2011 · hotbazooka.com · its alternatives →
- 21

Game development used to be something I dabbled in and off, and despite having chosen to major in Computer Science to follow a career in the field, I never managed to establish any consistency with it. So I relegated this aspiration to the realm of pipe dreams, something whose idea I preferred to the actual process of doing it, and I continued working as a software engineer. This only changed after a disruption to my job: the fintech I worked for got acquired by a big traditional bank and we were absorbed into their ranks. Long story short: it wasn't a culture fit. After six months, I…
Mar 2026 · cauldron.itch.io · its alternatives →
- 22

Trickle is the first AI agentic canvas for vibe coding, with built-in image and video generation, AI models, database, and design to help you build and launch production-ready apps and websites.
2025 · dodge.trickle.host · its alternatives →
- 23FM
Inane commentary and development progress by Tom Horn
2013 · cannonade.net · its alternatives →
- 24AP
2019 · purdone.com · its alternatives →
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Ranked by how close each launch is in meaning, then by votes. Prices were read from each product’s own site when checked and can change. Refine with your own description →