It’s been a while since I’ve taken the time to write one of these out - fifteen months to be exact 💀💀
Not exactly the plan, but still such an important period of time for me.
I originally disappeared because I went to Japan with the plan to “digital nomad,” working as a developer while traveling the world. Instead of grinding the way I expected, crushing goals and honing my skills, I slowed down… A lot…
Being alone in a country with very few people who speak your language sparked a lot of internal queries. I spent a large amount of my time reflecting, questioning my intentions, and getting painfully honest about my strengths and weaknesses. That clarity changed a lot.
Not long after getting home, I moved to Vegas and I genuinely couldn’t have asked for a better environment. It’s the positive and supportive environment that I’ve needed for years and the first time in a long time where I feel a natural positive motivation rather than relying on some kind of ‘punishing’ accountability.
Shortly after settling in here, I joined an externship (I’d never heard of this before either) through a program called RealXP. Talk about a game changer. Finally, I was working on a game project in a structured, collaborative environment, working alongside people who were just as invested as I was.
Like I do with any new obsession, I put in an ungodly number of hours - including two back to back 22 hour days 💀. Now I’m not unfamiliar to long work days… but unlike previous jobs, where long days left me drained and questioning whether the time was worth it, this felt different. I felt accomplished. I felt acknowledged. And instead of burning out, I found myself genuinely excited to dive straight back into the next project.
Following that, RealXP invited me back for a second stint - this time a completely different project. The work leaned much more heavily into core computer science concepts, the kind of fundamentals people usually encounter while earning a degree. It was challenging in a very different way. This time, my hours were spent pouring through code, reading documentation, and just working to understand what I was looking at. The experience fundamentally reshaped how I think about making games.
By this point, I’m finally starting to feel strong with my skills. The last lingering traces of imposter syndrome starting to fade - right along with the rest of my budget... 🔥💸 My financial runway was getting uncomfortably short, and I needed a short term plan - something to take these skills I’ve built and turn them into something tangible and sustainable.
And then, almost like they could read my mind, RealXP came to me with an idea: the Nugget Fund.
Without getting too deep into the details, it’s a deal that funds me for the next year so I can focus entirely on game development - giving me the time and space to build something properly. Not rushed. Not panicked. A product I know can be successful. I was in disbelief at first, confirming several times that they actually wanted to do this with me.
So here we are… funded for the next year and fully dedicated to making games (ideally more than one). We are taking the next real steps toward turning this from a dream into a reality. Getting funded is already a massive milestone, but I know the real bar is still ahead of me. I won’t truly feel like a game developer until I ship something people can actually buy.
Going forward, I’ll be back to the monthly updates, and they’ll be focused on this game development journey - what I’m building, what I’m learning, what’s working, what’s breaking, and what I’m thinking along the way. I’m also planning on bringing this newsletter public and branching out quite a bit, so the tone may shift over time (fair warning to anyone who’s been here since the beginning 😅). As I’ve mentioned in the past, I know the last thing anyone needs is another email in their inbox, so if this isn’t your thing anymore, there’s an unsubscribe link at the bottom.
For those of you who stick around, I genuinely appreciate the support. It means more than I can easily put into words. I’ve got a lot of ideas, a lot of momentum, and I’m hitting the ground running.
Happy New Year! Here’s to 2026.
And thanks for being here.
-Zack
