I was talking with Emmanuel (funpause owner) yesterday about the importance of having a forum. He objected that since he makes prevalently casual games, he thinks that his customers would find a forum quite useless.
Instead for software houses like mine who makes complex games, definitely not casual (like UBM or Magic Stones) having a forums can really help.
Help both you and other players/customers.
You first as developer: as you may know if you’re a programmer, there’s always a very well hidden bug somewhere in the code, and more people can test and easily report it (like in a forum). I fixed many bugs thanks to comments of people in forums. I also post there if “that bug XX was already fixed in version 1.31” so even other people who have same problem can just take a look and find a solution for their problem.

Yes it happened again!!! I can’t stop playing it!! the improvements over the previous game are incredible!! even if is more difficult to play. The shards thing is quite annoying to be honest, I kept dying in a zone called “Weiling Caves” and every time I tried to search it back, I just died again! 🙂
Luckily after 72h of real time they disappear…
In the meanwhile, Magic Stones is featured on Apple.com and I’m very pleased of that 🙂 not only casual games need recognition!!

Had tough days lately, with the release of Magic Stones and … cats. Is really hard to mantain concentration while 4-5 cats roam freely through the house, jumping, screaming, crashing things.
My girlfriend just don’t understand how is hard to mantain concentration and work in such conditions. She wants to help the cats because they’re ill, weak, outside is cold, etc. But I suppose we need money to live (and to feed the cats).
How I am supposed to get money without working? this sucks, when you work at home people think that you’re always no holidays doing nothing.
Is a really common thing, other developers told me that they have same problem, maybe not with cat but with kids or simply their wife.
Instead of being grateful that we can stay together, girlfriends and wives usually break our balls. Is so hard to find someone who understand you completely! not that in this particular case is so difficult…hope things will get better.

Some days are really strange. Today I came back home (to my parents home) after 2 weeks in my new house (about 2h of driving). I was just arrived, eating some delicious “Lasagne” made by my mother, when my brother came home in a hurry because he had to play a match of 5-a-side soccer (that small version of soccer known in Italy as “calcetto”).
I decided to go playing, so I could see again some old-friends. It was a strange sensation. Just 4 years ago, I was seeing them all weekends when we were going out to have fun (and maybe drink too much!).
Now I saw them after 2-3 months, a long time. Still I felt happy and we did the usual jokes, even if I noticed that the time has passed. One of them was talking about the joy of having a son… I think he is ready for that himself 😉
Then played the match as Goalkeeper (I usually play that role), and when I came back home and checked the mail – surpirse- sold a copy of my game “The Goalkeeper”!!!
Now that’s what I call a coincidence…!

Many newbies ask this question: my answer is “as soon as you can”.
Seriously, there’s absolutely no reason to delay. If you’re still living with your parents, that’s the best situation ever.
Later if you go living on your own, you’ll realize how easy is to waste whole morning or afternoons for “trivial tasks” like going to town, cleaning the house, etc.
So if you aren’t engaged, live with your parents, I’d say it’s the ideal situation to start your indie business!