Limit Theory developer Josh Parnell opens up about life as an indie and facing mental health problems
Josh Parnell is an independent game developer who first rose to prominence in 2012, when he successfully Kickstarted Limit Theory, his procedural-generation-heavy space sim project, to the tune of $180 000 USD. Since then, however, development has been rocky. Famously, in 2015, Parnell vanished from the public eye for six months, reappearing with an announcement that he had been suffering from severe mental health problems, and had returned to his parents' home and sought treatment. He spoke to GamesIndustry.biz about the struggle of staying sane in indie development.
"I was living alone in a cabin in the mountains of Tennessee, which is very peaceful, and that's why I wanted to develop there - but, you know, it's also a good place to go crazy, because you're alone all the time, just coding," he told us. Developing solo - despite the impressive sum raised by the Kickstarter campaign, the only parts of the project he has outsourced are the music and sound effects - Parnell was isolated when the wheels began to fall off the bus.
On mental health in independent games development.
