The Evolution of Protodroid Delta: From Mega Man Fan Game to Published Title

Today marks the highly anticipated release of the indie title Protodroid Delta, a 3D action-platformer developed by solo dev Adam Kareem. Game development is a challenging endeavor, but Kareem took it to the next level by balancing his dream project with a full-time job and raising a family. 'I'm a bit of a poser, you could say, because I don't have any formal background in games,' Kareem says with a smile. 'I was studying mechanical engineering in school and working full-time in tech, but I picked up game development as a hobby because I loved games like Sonic Adventure and Mega Man X.' Kareem's passion for games led him to create fan games based on Sonic and Mega Man, which received positive feedback. However, he soon realized that he couldn't take his fan games to the next level due to copyright issues. 'I decided to remove the barrier of wanting to go commercial with it and just make it my own,' Kareem explains. 'That's where Protodroid came from. It was inspired by the Mega Man series, but I wanted to create a world of my own that I could do whatever I wanted with.' The project gained traction after being picked up by Humble Games as part of its first Black Game Developer Fund in 2020. Kareem ran a successful Kickstarter campaign, raising almost triple his initial goal, which helped attract Humble's attention. 'The Black Game Developer Fund was amazing because it showed that Humble was committed to making a change,' Kareem says. 'They put their money where their mouth was, and it came with no strings attached.' The financial support and guidance from Humble helped Kareem continue developing his game, which features a distinct personality and deliberate character design. 'The characters look deliberately different from the rest of the gaming industry,' Kareem notes. 'I wanted to create characters for folks who seldom see themselves in gaming and sample from different cultures.' A fairer portrayal of women was also an important aspect for Kareem, who made the central narrative conflict about two women and featured female heroes. 'I wanted to invert the traditional portrayal of women in games and make a game that is predominantly female,' Kareem explains. 'I think people resonated with that, and it's an important aspect of the game.' Looking ahead, Kareem acknowledges that his current position may not be sustainable in the long run. 'Something has to give,' he says. 'I'm interested in exploring smaller hobbyist projects or seeing how the game's success changes my fortunes.'