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| (Image Source: Enduins/SmellyFrog) |
SmellyFrog, a local solo indie game studio, recently received Best Student Game for Froggo's Adventure: Drifting Sky at Indie Game Award 2026, organized by Taipei Game Show. Solo developer Shane stated that he first started game development in elementary school, creating numerous small game projects on his own, and now has ten years of experience. He admitted that he was surprised when he first learned of the nomination, and everything only felt real during the award ceremony. Seeing players personally engage with and enjoy his work at the Winner’s Pavilion during Taipei Game Show was the most joyful and unforgettable moment for him. Set to graduate this year, Shane revealed that he will take this recognition and his work to continue challenging for the next award.
As a solo developer, Shane handled all game design, programming, art, and music/sound effects for Froggo's Adventure: Drifting Sky entirely by himself — an incredible workload. He expressed that the game was born from a desire to use a simple 2D platformer as a foundation to experiment with more unconventional approaches, hoping to bring players an unforgettable adventure. The inspiration for the game’s scenes came from landscape paintings and concept art he enjoys browsing online, eventually giving birth to the imaginative stage of "a floating island lifted by a giant tree". Shane emphasized his hope that the game scenes would possess a certain "yearning", much like the feeling of "I really want to go there and explore" that he gets when seeing a great painting; he hopes the environments and backgrounds in the game can bring players the same excitement. As for choosing a frog as the protagonist, the reason was quite simple. He laughed and said, "Because I like frogs and think they are cute!" This is also why the studio's name is “SmellyFrog”. Completing a project of this scale alone as a student, Shane admitted that the biggest challenge was setting an appropriate "scale" for the project. During the process, he often felt that his development skills could not keep up with what he ideally wanted to achieve, but he always wanted to see his original vision through. His goal is to make Froggo's Adventure: Drifting Sky into a game that "feels like it can never be finished". Amid the tug-of-war between schoolwork, life, and development, Shane emphasized that he always puts "life" in the most important position, not only not rejecting invitations from friends but also constantly paying attention to his academic progress and health.
Regarding the motivation for entering Indie Game Award 2026, Shane joked that it was "to avoid limiting myself to a small circle." He admitted to being socially anxious, but by participating in the Taipei Game Show event series, he could take the opportunity to see games made by developers from all over the world. At the same time, it provided an additional "deadline" to force himself to push forward with development. Facing his future career development, Shane's passion for game development has not diminished in the slightest. He firmly stated that because he loves making games, regardless of the outcome, there is a very high probability that he will try to join the game industry in the future.
