About the project
Colony is a building survival multiplayer game created entirely by a single developer in Unity engine. The project was developed over two years and gathered several thousand wishlists on Steam. The game combines survival mechanics with base building in a multiplayer environment. Despite significant community interest, the project was ultimately shelved due to scope being too large for a solo developer.
Project information
Client
Personal project
Platform
Desktop application
Status
Completed
Development time
2 years
Year
2021
Technologies used
Check out the stack I used for this project
Frontend
Backend
Tools
Key features
Multiplayer with multi-player support via Unity Netcode
Complex base building system
Survival mechanics (resource gathering, crafting, survival)
Procedurally generated world
Steamworks integration (wishlists, achievements)
3D models and environments created in Blender
Optimized network code for smooth experience
Steam store page with thousands of wishlists
Challenges
- 1
Real-time synchronization of buildings and game world between players
- 2
Performance optimization for a vast open world
- 3
Creating all content (3D models, animations, sounds) as a solo developer
- 4
Managing project scope equivalent to a full team
Solutions
- 1
Unity Netcode for GameObjects with authoritative server
- 2
LOD systems, object pooling, and chunk-based loading
- 3
Modular asset pipeline with Blender for efficient content creation
- 4
Iterative development with regular community feedback
Results
Several thousand wishlists on Steam
Positive feedback from the gaming community
Valuable experience in multiplayer game development
Realistic scope management assessment for solo projects
Development timeline
From analysis to deployment - how the project evolved
Prototype and core mechanics
Basic survival mechanics, player movement, resource system
Building system
Building system implementation, snap-based base construction
Multiplayer
Unity Netcode integration, world synchronization, lobby system
Content and polish
3D models, animations, sounds, UI, and game content
Steam integration
Steamworks SDK, store page, marketing, wishlist gathering
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