It’s been 10 months. Yes, 10 months. Since the last time I wrote… and I was on such a good roll.

What happened in 2025? Why did I disappear for 10 months? Well, the short version is the usual one: I’ve been overwhelmed.

But I’ll try to explain a bit more.

Studies

I already mentioned that I started a degree in Video Game Design and Development. From January to June, I had two exam periods, and honestly, I had to put almost everything else aside to focus.

The first round of exams, for 7 subjects, was in February, and it all went well. Better than well. I passed all my subjects with very good grades.

The next round of exams was in June, and I passed all of those too. All 8 subjects, and with good grades.

So, this crazy year has at least helped me get a year and a half of my degree done at once, leaving me with another year and a half to go (since I have a full year of credits transferred). Although I’m not going to repeat this madness; I’ll slow down and finish the rest over 2 years.

Work

I’ve kept up my usual work as a developer and consultant. I’m a freelancer, and for most of the year, I’ve been lucky enough to have some international clients who provided enough well-paid work to balance with university.

I also had the chance to work for a month with Veryo Studio on their project, APES TD. Unfortunately, though, I had to be honest with myself and tell them I couldn’t continue. On one hand, it was really poorly paid, and on the other, it was impossible for me to juggle my other job, my studies, and the rest of my life.

At the end of the summer I lost some of those international clients and I was a bit fucked up. But a month later I was working with new clients so… a bit stressful but all good.

The project of the year

As if that wasn’t enough, at the beginning of the year, an idea hit me hard again. A Padel video game. I started playing Padel about 3 and a half years ago. Back then, I went crazy for it and got completely hooked. Padel has that effect; it’s addictive, it gets you hooked.

As a true gamer, the first thing I asked myself once I was totally hooked was, “How can I keep playing Padel at home?” The answer is obvious: with a video game. But that video game didn’t exist, which seemed like an absolute sacrilege to me.

Back then, my experience in video games was still minimal, but of course, years later, having made several games and participated in many related projects (on top of studying for my degree), I felt I had enough experience to go for it.

It all started the way I usually start things: shutting myself away and prototyping quickly to see if it made sense, if I could do it, and if I could manage it on top of everything else I had going on. The answer was a hard-won, resounding yes. But I managed to pull it off, and in May, I attended the Padel World Summit, a B2B Padel trade show where I was able to present the game to several industry professionals and get feedback.

Well… the game. It was a pretty rough demo. But the idea was there. And people liked the idea. A lot. From that point on, it was a matter of doing things right and focusing.

I’m going to talk a lot more about this project in the next post. But to finish summarizing, after the trade show, I had my exams. When they were over, I was able to focus on rethinking the game, planning the road ahead, and formalizing not only the company, Krokanti Games, but also the final and definitive name for the Padel video game: Padel Rivals.

The summer has been tough, intense, but fruitful. I’ll tell you all about it in the next post.

I’ll try not to be gone for so long again!