[{"content":"What is Somerled Creative? Hi, I\u0026rsquo;m Rick. I created Somerled Creative back in August of 2023 as a freelance software development and consulting agency. I\u0026rsquo;ve spent over 15 years working as a software engineer participating in all sorts of software projects big and small. From ecommerce to ad distribution networks and even in massive ERP systems, I\u0026rsquo;ve seen it all.\nThe reality of adult life is spending less time on what you love, like reading books and playing video games, and far more time working on other people\u0026rsquo;s projects. With this venture, I hope to spend more time with the best people in my life and working on projects that excite us.\nThis new pursuit means a new era for Somerled Creative, a transition away from general software engineering to a focus on becoming a small, family-operated game development studio.\nThe fact is, my kids, my wife and I love playing video games together and we have some ideas of our own about what family friendly games could be. We hope to be able to bring our ideas to life by creating fun and entertaining interactive experiences.\nThe Mission Our mission with Somerled Creative is to provide high-quality, family-friendly, human-made video game experiences - free from subscriptions, microtransactions, and heavy-handed messaging.\nWhy This Site Exists Using social media and this website, we hope to share our development journey through development logs, tips and tricks, thoughts and lessons related to game development, and announcements about our work. If you\u0026rsquo;re interested in learning more about our journey or about our work, we hope you will find value in our content.\nWhat You\u0026rsquo;ll Find Here We see this website as a way to connect with our community and to, hopefully, offer valuable insights and resources for fellow game developers and players. You can expect to find any of the following types of content here:\nAnnouncements and updates Technical implementations and tutorials Development workflows and best practices Architectural patterns and design decisions Code samples and reproducible documentation Godot Engine tips and tricks The Tech Stack We like open and accessible software. In fact, we run Linux-based operating systems on all of our workstations. Each machine represents a collection of personal preferences, workflows, and tooling.\nOur games are built upon the wonderful Godot Engine (v4+) using GDScript, GLSL, and C++/GDExtension. We hope to one day contribute back to the Godot Engine but for now we are grateful for its capability and permissive license.\nAdditionally, we include the following fantastic software in our toolbox:\nGitea for version control and source code management. NextCloud for online collaboration and file storage. Blender for creating 3D models and animations. Krita for creating game assets and animations. Penpot for creating game UI and prototypes. Undoubtedly, we will be adding more tools to our toolbox in the future.\nLooking Ahead As we embark on this journey, we hope to produce video game experiences that you find immersive, engaging, and enjoyable. We intent for our games to be supported entirely by embedded ads. However, we hope that players who prefer an ad-free experience will purchase a small one-time removal fee - no subscriptions, no microtransactions.\nWe\u0026rsquo;ve already started on our first planned project called Polliwog Hop, which we intend to release by end of Summer 2026.\nCover image via Pixabay\n","permalink":"https://www.somerled.dev/posts/somerled-creative-sets-sail/","summary":"\u003ch2 id=\"what-is-somerled-creative\"\u003eWhat is Somerled Creative?\u003c/h2\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eHi, I\u0026rsquo;m Rick. I created Somerled Creative back in August of 2023 as a freelance software development and consulting\nagency. I\u0026rsquo;ve spent over 15 years working as a software engineer participating in all sorts of software projects big and\nsmall. From ecommerce to ad distribution networks and even in massive ERP systems, I\u0026rsquo;ve seen it all.\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eThe reality of adult life is spending less time on what you love, like reading books and playing video games, and far\nmore time working on other people\u0026rsquo;s projects. With this venture, I hope to spend more time with the best people in my\nlife and working on projects that excite us.\u003c/p\u003e","title":"Somerled Creative Sets Sail"},{"content":"Who We Are Somerled Creative is a small, family-operated indie game development studio founded in August 2023. Originally established as a software consulting agency, we transitioned to game development in 2026 to focus on what we love: creating interactive experiences that families can enjoy together.\nWe\u0026rsquo;re a team of developers, artists, and designers who believe games should be fun, accessible, and honest. Every project we create reflects our values and our commitment to quality over quantity.\nOur Mission We create high-quality, family-friendly, human-made video game experiences. Our games are free from subscriptions, microtransactions, and heavy-handed messaging. We believe in transparent monetization: our games are supported by embedded ads, with a simple one-time fee to remove them. No tricks, no recurring charges, no dark patterns.\nOur Approach We build games using open-source tools and technologies, primarily the Godot Engine. We embrace accessible software that respects user freedom. Our development philosophy prioritizes clarity, reproducibility, and community contribution.\nWe share our journey through technical devlogs, tutorials, and documentation. Whether you\u0026rsquo;re a fellow developer or a curious player, we hope our content provides value and insight into the game development process.\nWhat We\u0026rsquo;re Building Our first project, Polliwog Hop, is planned for release in Summer 2026. It represents our vision for family-friendly gaming and will set the foundation for future projects.\nYou can follow our progress through our devlog posts and project updates.\nThe Team Rick Project Manager Governance / Planning Engine Developer Rayshe'L Visual Art Director 2D/3D Modeling Animation Rigging Cara Engine Developer Shaders / Physics Code Optimization Hyrum Sound Designer Soundscapes / SFX Engine Developer Get In Touch Interested in our games or want to follow our development journey? Connect with us:\nFollow our devlog for technical insights and updates Check out our projects to see what we\u0026rsquo;re building Visit us on GitHub Subscribe to our RSS feed We\u0026rsquo;re always happy to hear from fellow developers, players, and anyone interested in indie game development.\n","permalink":"https://www.somerled.dev/about/","summary":"\u003ch2 id=\"who-we-are\"\u003eWho We Are\u003c/h2\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eSomerled Creative is a small, family-operated indie game development studio founded in August 2023. Originally\nestablished as a software consulting agency, we transitioned to game development in 2026 to focus on what we love:\ncreating interactive experiences that families can enjoy together.\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eWe\u0026rsquo;re a team of developers, artists, and designers who believe games should be fun, accessible, and honest. Every\nproject we create reflects our values and our commitment to quality over quantity.\u003c/p\u003e","title":"About"},{"content":"Explore the games and projects we\u0026rsquo;ve developed using the Godot Engine. Each project represents a unique learning journey and technical implementation.\n","permalink":"https://www.somerled.dev/projects/","summary":"\u003cp\u003eExplore the games and projects we\u0026rsquo;ve developed using the Godot Engine. Each project represents a unique learning journey and technical implementation.\u003c/p\u003e","title":"Projects"}]