Solo dev makes sophisticated sim Manor Lords using Unreal Engine

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Inspired by a swathe of classic strategy games like Stronghold: Crusader, Knights & Merchants, and Age of Empires, and fueled by a love of video game development going back to his primary school years, Greg Styczeń set off on what would become a nearly seven year journey to (mostly) single-handedly create a robust real-time strategy city builder.

Manor Lords is a medieval strategy game that dives deep into the intricacies of city building, sweeping tactical battles, and social hierarchy. Due out on April 26, the Hooded Horse published game managed to attract millions of wishlists and the attention of major gaming publications.

We sat down with developer Styczeń to discuss how RPG Maker 2000 got him into development and eventually led him both to Unreal Engine and his first “serious” game. He also talked about the impact receiving an Epic MegaGrant had on the game, and some of the important lessons he learned as a solo dev along the way.

Read the full story, which ran on April 25, on Unreal Engine.