Why I Started Gimped Hero Games

On December 15, 2023, I officially founded Gimped Hero Games, LLC. This is the story of why—and how I’m building a sustainable indie game studio without publishers, VCs, or compromise.

The Problem with Traditional Game Development

For decades, indie game developers have faced an impossible choice:

Get a publisher - Lose creative control, give up revenue share, hit arbitrary milestones
Seek VC funding - Sacrifice equity, pressure to scale quickly, exit-focused thinking
Self-fund - Work a day job, develop at night, burn out trying to do both

All three paths lead to compromise. Your game becomes less “yours” and more “what will sell.”

I wanted a fourth path.

The Decentralized Infrastructure Thesis

What if you could generate sustainable income by contributing to the infrastructure of the future internet?

That’s the bet I made. Instead of seeking traditional funding, I started operating nodes for decentralized networks:

The Numbers

My current monthly infrastructure revenue: $120

My monthly studio overhead: ~$750

The goal is to be net-zero by the end of the year so that I can work full-time on games I’m passionate about, without external pressure.

The Networks

I currently operate:

Infinity Rising File Nodes - Hosting decentralized game files
Iagon Storage Nodes - Distributed cloud storage
World Mobile AirNodes - Telecommunications infrastructure
Cardano Stake Pool - Coming soon

Each network rewards node operators with tokens. As these ecosystems grow, so does the value—and my runway.

Why “Gimped Hero”?

The name is personal. It reflects being an underdog, someone who doesn’t have all the resources but refuses to give up.

In games, a “gimp” build is considered suboptimal—but in the right hands, with the right strategy, it can still win. That’s this studio. I don’t have a team of 50 or a $10M budget. But I have vision, determination, and a model that works.

What I’m Building

My first game is ManaBat, an isometric action RPG that combines:

Secret of Mana’s elemental companions
Dynasty Warriors’ epic horde combat
Kingdom Under Fire’s strategic depth

More importantly, it’s a game that maximizes player choice and agency. A living procedural world where your decisions echo across 1000 in-game years.

The Long-Term Vision

Gimped Hero Games isn’t just about me. It’s about proving a model:

Anyone with vision, a decent PC, and willingness to learn can now build sustainable creative projects through decentralized infrastructure.

We’re at the beginning of a creative renaissance. The gatekeepers are losing power. Decentralized networks are democratizing infrastructure.

Indie developers no longer need to compromise their vision to survive.

What’s Next?

I’m documenting this entire journey publicly:

Weekly dev logs on Twitter and this blog
Transparent revenue/expense breakdowns
Infrastructure setup guides for other creators
Open discussions about what works (and what doesn’t)

If I succeed, great—maybe it inspires others to take this path.

If I fail, at least the documentation will help someone else avoid my mistakes.

Either way, we learn together.

Join the Journey

This is just the beginning. Subscribe to the newsletter if you want to follow along. I promise:

No spam, just real updates
Behind-the-scenes prototyping
Honest reflections on what it takes

Let’s build something timeless.

— Seth