Building your first game is hard, in a week is harder.
Building your first game in a week after losing a developer 20 minutes before production starts?
That sounds impossible.
But that’s exactly what happened.
Despite losing 40% of our development capacity before the project even began, we still shipped our first game. Here’s how production discipline, smart scope management, and an incredible team made it possible.
Watch the Full Devlog
📺 Before reading further, watch the complete story on YouTube:
The Dream That Took 25 Years
For more than two decades, our founder, Frank Salas, dreamed about making games.
Although his professional background was in business, leadership, and remote team management, game development remained a lifelong goal.
Rather than waiting for the perfect moment, he decided to leverage the systems and experience he had already built through his companies and apply them to game production.
That decision led to the creation of our first project.
Meet PaperCut
PaperCut is an office crisis training simulation where players become a new employee dropped into a chaotic workplace.
There are no tutorials.
No hand-holding.
Just one instruction:
“Be Useful.”
Players must:
- Detect problems around the office.
- Investigate before acting.
- Choose the right solution.
- Communicate with their team.
- Receive a performance report card at the end of the day.
What began as a training concept eventually became a real game—and an unforgettable first project.
The Game’s Original Plan
The production schedule was simple:
- Three developers
- One week
- Ship by Friday
The team consisted of:
Tech Lead
A veteran developer with seven years of experience and multiple shipped titles.
Systems Engineer
Responsible for the underlying architecture and gameplay systems.
Gameplay & UI Programmer
- Tasked with everything players would directly interact with.
- Every task had already been planned.
- Every workday was scheduled.
- Every feature was documented.
- Everything seemed ready.
- Until 20 minutes before kickoff.
Disaster Strikes Before Day One
At 7:40 AM, just before the team was supposed to start work, the gameplay and UI developer withdrew from the project.
Instantly, the team went from three developers to two.
More importantly:
- 40% of the available development hours disappeared.
- 100% of the UI work vanished.
- The original production schedule no longer worked.
There was less than 90 minutes to respond.
The game either had to be rescued—or abandoned.
The Game Design Document Saved Everything
Before a single line of code was written, a detailed Game Design Document had already been created.
That preparation became the project’s greatest advantage.
The document contained:
- Core gameplay loops
- Scoring systems
- Room layouts
- Issue families
- Progression mechanics
- Feature priorities
Because every system had already been thought through, the project could be re-scoped quickly.
Instead of panicking, the team made decisions.
Fast.
The Great Rescope
Nearly half of the game had to be cut.
What Was Removed in Game
- Multiple issue families
- Two rooms
- Chain reaction systems
- Advanced scoring systems
- Office health HUD
- NPC behaviors
- Several verdict tiers
What Stayed
One thing mattered above everything else:
The Core Loop
- Investigate.
- Solve the problem.
- Communicate.
- Get graded.
Everything else was negotiable.
The identity of the game survived.
Game Build Week: Day by Day
Monday — Foundations
The team established:
- Player controller
- Core architecture
- Investigation mechanics
By the end of the day, players could move through rooms and solve a complete issue.
Tuesday — Systems and a Major Pivot
The original goal was a WebGL release.
Unfortunately, browser builds became a serious blocker.
Rather than wasting precious time, the team made a difficult decision:
WebGL was abandoned.
Instead, the project pivoted to a Windows desktop build.
The gameplay stayed the same.
The release deadline stayed the same.
Only the delivery method changed.
This decision saved the project.
Wednesday — One Developer Left
The tech lead had always been scheduled to leave after Wednesday.
Now only one developer remained.
A systems engineer who originally wasn’t responsible for UI suddenly had to become:
- UI programmer
- Build engineer
- Gameplay polish specialist
Yet the team reached a critical milestone:
The game could be played from beginning to end.
No additional scope cuts were necessary.
Thursday — Polish
With the foundation complete, the focus shifted to:
- Branding
- User interface improvements
- Visual polish
- Testing
- Balancing
The office environment slowly transformed into something recognizable.
The game finally started feeling alive.
Friday — Ship Day
The message posted to the team was simple:
“Today we ship our first game.”
The response?
“I am ready.”
By Friday evening:
- Music had been added.
- Sound effects were complete.
- Splash screens were finished.
- Builds were uploaded.
- The game was live.
After 25 years of dreaming, the first game had officially shipped.
Three Lessons We Learned
1. A Game Design Document Is Not Optional
For indie developers and non-technical founders, a Game Design Document isn’t paperwork.
It’s insurance.
When things go wrong—and they will—it provides the roadmap needed to adapt.
2. Teams Matter More Than Plans in Game Development
Plans are important.
People are everything.
Great teammates communicate, self-organize, and solve problems together.
Without that collaboration, no schedule or document would have been enough.
3. Shipping Is a Skill in Game Development
Shipping isn’t an event.
It’s a skill.
Knowing:
- What to cut.
- When to pivot.
- What really matters.
These are abilities developed through experience.
And they’re often more valuable than perfect ideas.
What’s Next?
PaperCut was only the beginning.
We’re already working on our next project—a game that has been in development emotionally for more than 25 years.
And this time, we’re aiming even higher.
Need Help Building Your Game?
At Salas Games, we partner with studios, publishers, brands, and creators to bring games to life.
Our services include:
- Contract game development
- Unity development
- Audio and music production
- Game production support
- Technical consulting
- Work-for-hire partnerships
Whether you’re building a prototype or preparing for launch, we’d love to talk.
👉 Contact Salas Games to discuss your project.
Watch the Complete Indie Game Devlog
If you’re an aspiring indie developer, producer, or founder, the full video dives deeper into the production process and shows the actual documents, Slack conversations, Trello boards, and milestones that made this first game possible.