Left To Rot developer Tarba Paul Cornel “It’s trial and error until you find success”

For Romanian solo dev Tarba Paul Cornel, his journey has been driven by a deep love for storytelling. “I’ve been into game development since I was eight, completely self-taught,” he says, reflecting on how his passion evolved from a childhood hobby to a full-time pursuit. While the dream of becoming a movie director didn’t pan out, game development became the perfect outlet for his creative ambitions. Though the work can be stressful, Cornel emphasizes that “the end product may not be perfect, but I always infuse it with passion.”

The independence of solo development comes with both freedom and responsibility. “The biggest advantage of being a solo developer is the fact that you have full quality control over your products,” Cornel explains. However, this path is not without its pitfalls. “Like the fact that your game does not reach the audience you want all the time.” Still, Cornel remains motivated, driven by an intrinsic love for the craft. “I believe I was made for this, and I can’t see myself do something else.”

Why did you become a solo developer?

“I’ve been into game development since I was eight years old, completely self-taught. Initially, it was just a hobby as my ultimate dream was to be a movie director. Well, that didn’t quite pan out, but my love for storytelling found its way into game development. I’m a solo developer, so it gets stressful at times, and the end product may not be perfect, but I always infuse it with passion.”

What are the biggest advantages of working solo?

“I think the biggest advantage of being a solo developer is the fact that you have full quality control over your products and you can work a lot on yourself and on your ways of how to develop a game. No stress, you work on the project you wish without someone interfering with your idea.”

And the biggest pitfalls?

“Probably the fact that your game does not reach the audience you want all the time, but it’s a matter of trial and error until you find success. I hope it will be my turn.”

What’s your creative process?

“I must be honest on this one, I’m not the most original guy, I love taking stuff from other games that I love and reimagine them on my own. I combine outsourced existing ideas with my own and the final product is what arrives from it. It also depends on the type of game I’m planning to create. Sometimes ideas come while I listen to music on my way to the gym, or when I’m alone looking around and collecting my thoughts.”

How do you stay motivated through (years of) development?

“Motivation isn’t real, I don’t believe in it, I believe I was made for this, and I can’t see myself do something else. I love making games, I am never bored or ’losing motivation’. For me this process is therapy while sometimes it is burning my brain, haha!” 

Will you ever work in a team or is it only solo for you?

“I plan to work alone on my games, of course I don’t say no to some outside help such as modeling or other services to speed up the process a tiny bit. I used to work as a lead developer on a small indie game company in Romania, Constanta. It was a fun experience, but sometimes also a nightmare.”

How did you get the idea for Left to Rot?

“I had the idea of Left to Rot for a while, from around 2022, but I never had a clear vision. I was switching a lot between different ideas, concepts and made the mistake of announcing it a bit earlier than expected. Maybe it’s not the most original game out there, but it is what people love, right? Don’t we all love a cool ghost hunting game? For me video game development is also to challenge myself on different ideas. Especially now I am working to implement speech recognition, a quite unique feature in video games nowaday. And, if marketed correctly, it could be so big.”

How do you finance the development of the game?

“The game is financed from my own money that I made from my previous games. No outsourced funding.”

What’s the biggest lesson learned from this project?

“Sometimes it’s necessary to temper your expectations and stay grounded. Don’t jump on big ideas that you won’t be able to tackle, and stick to those that you’re capable of doing. That way you can evolve consistently.”

The toll on your mental health can be quite high as a solo developer. How do you deal with that?

“Yes, I had trouble with intrusive thoughts, and such. The real therapy for me is the gym, and doing sports. Trust me, you’ll feel amazing after working out and finding out that your intrusive thoughts have disappeared. So my tip is, If you feel at the edge, just please try, try going to the gym!”T