I didn’t start this project with a clear plan.
I started it with an itch I couldn’t ignore anymore – That’s where Operation Rising Lion began.

I’m a software and information systems engineering student with a background primarily in web development and software projects. Over the years, I’ve built web applications, tools, and academic projects, worked with backend and frontend systems, and experimented with areas like data processing and machine learning as part of my studies.

Most of my work until now lived in the world of applications, systems, and practical problem-solving – things with clear requirements, defined goals, and familiar development patterns.

That’s where Operation Rising Lion began.

Before Unreal: a browser game and a question

The first version of this project wasn’t ambitious at all.
It was a small browser-based game – simple mechanics, limited scope, something I could finish quickly. It worked. It existed. But it also raised an uncomfortable question:

If I’m already investing time, why am I deliberately keeping myself small?

Unity: a familiar step, and a comfortable one

The next iteration lived in Unity.
I built an early prototype there – basic flight mechanics, rough visuals, placeholder systems. Unity felt safe. I knew my way around it. I could make progress without thinking too hard about the engine itself.

And that was exactly the problem.

At some point, I realized I was optimizing for comfort instead of intent. The project started feeling like another “nice prototype” rather than the thing I actually wanted to build.

Why Unreal Engine 5?

Switching to Unreal Engine 5 wasn’t a rational decision in the classic sense.
It was heavier, more complex, and objectively harder for a solo developer with limited time.

Unreal forced me to slow down, to think about structure, scale, and decisions instead of shortcuts. It made it harder to fake progress – and easier to feel when something wasn’t solid.

Doubts, trade-offs, and honesty

I don’t know if this project will ever become a finished game.
I don’t know how long it will take, or how many wrong turns I’ll make along the way.

What I do know is that I wanted a place to document the process honestly – not just what works, but what doesn’t. The decisions I’m unsure about. The moments where motivation drops. The technical walls I run into without a clear solution.

This journal exists for that reason.

Where things stand now

Right now, Operation Rising Lion is at its starting point in Unreal Engine 5.
No polished systems. No promises. Just a direction, a set of constraints, and a willingness to keep going even when progress feels slow.

This isn’t a devlog meant to impress.
It’s a record of trying to build something real, one step at a time.

If nothing else, I want to be able to look back and say I didn’t stop at the comfortable version.