Failures as an Educational Game Developer—And What I Learned

Developing an educational game is tricky. It’s not just about making a fun game. It’s not just about making something educational. It’s about balancing both—and that’s where things get messy.

Looking back, I made some big mistakes. Here are the ones that hit me the hardest:

1. Mixing Up Too Many Concepts

I had too many ideas. Too many mechanics, too many learning goals, too many layers of complexity. And instead of simplifying, I kept adding. The result? A game that felt overwhelming. Instead of something clear and engaging, it was a chaotic mix of concepts that even I struggled to frame properly.

2. Not Building a Community Early On

This one’s huge. I didn’t seek player feedback early enough. I was so deep in my own head, designing and refining, that I didn’t realize:

➡️ I was making too many assumptions.
➡️ I had no real validation.
➡️ I was solving problems that might not even exist.

And the worst part? Without early community engagement, I was completely alone in the process. If you don’t bring in players from day one, you’re basically building in the dark.

3. The Challenge of Framing: “It’s Not Learning, But It Is”

One of the hardest things was how to position the game. I wanted people to know it was educational, but I also knew the word “learning” scares people off.

A colleague of mine once ran a workshop, but instead of telling people, “You have to do this task,” she simply framed it as a game—and suddenly, everyone was engaged and excited. Just by calling it a game, the perception changed.

But on the flip side, there’s another problem: People who underestimate games entirely. Some think gaming is just mindless entertainment and fail to see how much depth and real learning can happen through play. I’ve learned so much from games myself, so balancing these two perceptions—making sure the game feels fun and valuable at the same time—is a real challenge.

4. The Solo Founder Problem: Not Asking for Help

Another massive mistake? Trying to do everything alone.

I never really found someone to partner up with. But honestly? That’s on me.

When you don’t ask for feedback, when you keep thinking up this big, complicated monster of a project in your head, it becomes impossible to communicate. No one else can step in because, well… they don’t even understand what you’re building.

And that’s when you fall into the ideology trap—you create this vision so deeply in your mind that it becomes your own little world. But the longer you stay in that world, the harder it gets for others to join you.

The Fix: Go Back to Day 0

Here’s what I’ve learned: If you feel lost, overwhelmed, or stuck—go back to the beginning.

• Strip everything down to a super obvious, ultra-simple MVP.

• Write one clear description of what the game actually is.

• Get people involved immediately.

Because once you rebuild from simplicity, you can actually start including people. And when people are part of the process, they help shape the game into something real, something playable, something that actually works.

So yeah, I’ve failed a lot. But I’ve also learned that failure isn’t the end—it’s just the point where you realize what has to change.