Seattle Indies Spotlight: Renee Gittins – Studio Head, Stumbling Cat

Join us and Creative Director Renee Gittins for a retrospective on her recently released title Potions: A Curious Tale. Renee has been a member of the Seattle Indies community since its early days and has been developing Potions for almost as long. From a successful Kickstarter campaign to her professional life taking her across the country and finally back to her home here in Seattle where she was able to finish development on the game and release it early this year.

Sign up here: https://www.meetup.com/seattleindies/events/303336024/

Potions: A Curious Tale is an adventure-crafting game where your wits and ingenuity are your greatest weapons, and combat is not always the answer. Play as Luna, a young witch who overcomes obstacles with the potions she brews.

Renee’s journey developing and releasing the game was no less fraught with challenges and obstacles to overcome and you will get a chance to hear all about how she managed to succeed on her quest against great odds.

Learn more about Renee in this recent interview we conducted with her and join us tonight for the rest of her story.

What inspired you to become an indie developer?

I originally started my journey in indie development because it was the only path available for me in game development. As a self-taught programmer with little professional experience, I had to forge my own path. Once I started that journey, I found so many friendly peers, inspirational stories, and joy in having a high impact on the games I worked on. 

What is one great lesson you have learned in your time as an indie developer?

Empathy towards your peers, your teammates, your players, and yourself will allow you to be a better game developer than any amount of study or other efforts. You cannot make a good game if you cannot see a situation from another perspective. You cannot survive making a game if you are cruel to yourself. 

What is the one piece of advice you would share today with your younger self before you started your career as an indie developer?

Rapid prototyping is far more effective than detailed planning. Create, share, assess, and rework. 

How has the game developer community had an impact on your career?

Without the support and advice of other game developers, I simply would not have a career in game development. Even a decade later, I am still astounded by how welcoming, supportive, and kind developers are towards each other. One of the reasons I am so passionate about giving back to both current and the next generation of game developers is because I have been so lucky to have been uplifted by others in my journey in the games industry. 

I have received leadership mentorship from countless industry veterans, marketing advice from indie peers, specialized discipline knowledge from teammates, and heartwarming support in my endeavors from other industry members. I am truly proud to be part of this wonderful and caring community. 

What is something interesting and unexpected that people would be surprised to learn about you?

Oh, gosh, there are so many aspects of my life that people who know me professionally might not be aware of: I am an avid gardener and cook; I’ve been raiding in the same WoW guild for 17 years; I have played countless sports competitively under the mentorship of my Olympian father. 

However, I think that people would be most surprised to learn that I was in Army ROTC in college and left the program only a few days before I would have been bound to the military for the next 11 years of my life. At the time, it was a reasonable path to pay for my expensive tuition for my engineering degree. I ultimately decided that it was not the ideal route for myself due to the limited opportunities available for military engineers and determined it would take me less time to pay off my student loans in the workforce than to see out my military obligations. 

I am very glad I made the choice to leave the program or else I likely would not be a game developer today!