Hello, I’m Simon, the developer behindhttps://store.steampowered.com/app/2959610/Cabin_Crew_Life_Simulator/Cabin Crew Life Simulator. The last time I wrote a devlog was when our game had just launched and unexpectedly received such a warm welcome from the community. It’s only now, nearly a month since my mother passed away, that I’ve found the strength to return to work and write to you again.

But this won’t be a typical devlog. This one is special. I want to share a more personal story with you, what happened behind the scenes, beyond the glow of the screen and the early success of a game built by just two people. It’s about the gaps between updates, and about a mother who supported us wholeheartedly, right up until her final moments.

I’m writing these words—not to seek your sympathy, nor for financial reasons, or anything else.

I’m writing simply because right now, I can’t bring myself to focus on the lines of code in front of me.

In the stillness of the night, tears fall once again, and I just feel the need to write something…

Something for my mother.

To preserve the memories.

To hold on to the moments we shared throughout the journey of making this game together.

Summary

• Cabin Crew Life Simulator is an indie simulation game about the life of airline crew members, developed entirely by just two people my wife and me.

• The game launched in February 2025 after a long development journey and has sold over 15,000 copies to date.

• We did everything ourselves, no investors, no marketing team, and only a very modest budget just enough to cover basic living expenses like rent and food.

We didn’t come from the game industry, and we started fairly late. But we chose to create games because I’ve always loved gaming and programming, and my wife has always supported whatever path I chose. I shifted from a full-time job to part-time, and eventually quit completely to focus on learning to code and building the game. By now, it’s been just under three years since we wrote our very first lines of code. 

Cabin Crew Life Simulator is an indie simulation game that reflects the real-life responsibilities of a flight attendant. Players take on the role of a female cabin crew member, receive daily flight details, and serve passengers. It’s developed solely by me and my wife.

This wasn’t our first project. Before this, we developed a horror game called Taken Soul, inspired by my hometown in Vietnam. We invested almost all our savings into that project, only to experience a painful failure. It received a slew of negative reviews, poor sales, and, worst of all, harsh criticism from the local market. We broke down and cried many times.

That was an incredibly difficult period. I kept asking myself every day: Should I give up and return to my old job, or keep pursuing this uncertain path? What if we failed again? We’d lose everything, no home, no job, no money, and an uncertain future.

During that time, I asked my mother: Should I stop or keep going? She was a primary school teacher, and though she didn’t understand what I was doing, she simply said, “Do what you love. Don’t give up.”

That was all we needed to hear. And so, we picked ourselves up and carried on.

We spent an entire year developing Cabin Crew Life Simulator. Everything from programming, illustration, design, dialogue writing, to voice recording was done entirely by just the two of us. We had no investors, no marketing team, and our game development budget came from the money we received as wedding gifts, as we had no savings left.

I handled all the programming, from the first lines of code that shaped the core gameplay mechanics to preparing the game for release on Steam. My wife took care of the graphics, dialogue content, and community management. She wrote short, gentle, yet meaningful lines of dialogue that gave each passenger and NPC a unique personality. She also responded to every comment and email from players, building our first connection with the community back when no one even knew the game existed.

AI tools also helped us a great deal fixing lines of code, generating cover art, and creating sound assets all at minimal cost.

Despite the overwhelming workload that often seemed impossible, we pushed forward day by day. There were sleepless nights, moments when we had to encourage each other to keep going, rushed meals, and even arguments as rent deadlines approached. But those moments have now become unforgettable memories.

Just a few months before the game’s scheduled release during the final sprint my mother suddenly fell gravely ill. At first, she kept the severity of her condition from me, downplaying the symptoms. It wasn’t until we were nearing the launch that I discovered the truth: she had been diagnosed with end-stage stomach cancer.

Did everything come to a halt?

When we received the devastating news, we made the decision to return to my hometown, where I was born, so we could be by her side and take care of her properly. Leaving the city behind, we packed up our computers, hard drives, cables, and monitors. We set up a makeshift workstation in a small, familiar room in my childhood home right next to my mother’s bed

And just like that, we continued working. No delays. No missed deadlines. No abandoning the project. The pressure was immense, and the workload even heavier but my mother deserved to have someone by her side. Even in pain, she often told me, “I can take care of myself, don’t let my illness disrupt your work.” And I made her a promise that I would honor that.

So, amidst the whir of a standing fan, the scent of medicine, and the beeping of an oxygen machine, Cabin Crew Life Simulator was released in mid-February 2025. There was no celebration, no champagne, no launch video. Just the three of us: my wife, my mother, and me.

• Day 1 Sales: $10,000

• Week 1 Sales: $59,000 

• Month 1 Sales: $105,000 

It wasn’t because the game was some massive success. It was because people welcomed it. Because someone actually played it felt the world we had poured ourselves into. The warm reviews, the shared screenshots of in-game cabins, the kind, encouraging messages these were gifts far more valuable than any revenue we earned.

The early success of Cabin Crew Life Simulator wasn’t groundbreaking. But it was enough. Enough to pay for hospital fees, for medication for the care my mother needed. Every copy sold wasn’t just income to us; it was another glimmer of hope that maybe she could recover. 

I truly believed this game had given us a chance to be by her side, to hold onto something greater than despair. Developing a game while caring for a terminally ill loved one… that’s a kind of hardship we hadn’t fully understood until we lived it. The doctors told me her condition was incurable, that she might not have much time left. It felt like my brain was stretched tight like a violin string, constantly pulled between fear, exhaustion, and quiet heartbreak. Yet sometimes, I felt a strange kind of peace just knowing she was there, resting behind me.

That was also the first time I learned about morphine, a powerful painkiller I had to prepare for her, sometimes spilling it on my keyboard as I rushed to ease her unbearable pain. Because of this, not everything went as planned. Some updates were delayed. Bugs went unfixed longer than we intended. New features didn’t release on time. We know some players were disappointed, and I blamed myself. I blamed life, for piling on so much all at once.

Time passed. And no miracle came. My mother’s condition worsened. She could no longer eat or drink, and the pain tormented her daily. None of the medication helped anymore. She passed away on a beautiful morning, June 18, 2025. Her eyes closed slowly with one final breath, and she left us as she had lived: quietly, gently, never a burden, never a worry, and finally free from pain.

After everything, we still sit in front of our screens revisiting every line of code, every sketch, every piece of old dialogue. We’re continuing to develop and refine the game. Cabin Crew Life Simulator will take flight again, bringing new journeys and opening new horizons, places where we believe my mother is still cheering us on, just as she always did.

I will always remember her final wish, though in her last days, she could barely speak:

“If one day life becomes better for you, do charity work. Help those who have it harder than you. Good fortune will find you.”

Mom, please rest peacefully. I will carry out the promise you made me swear to keep. I’ll live in a way that continues your legacy. We will keep moving forward, not just for our own dreams, but to share love and compassion the way you always did. Even if the profits from this game are modest, I will dedicate every bit of it to helping those in need, right here in our village, the place where you lived, gave everything, and raised me day by day.

We’ll work and give our all for that goal. And as for luck, it doesn’t need to find me anymore. Because being your child was the greatest luck of my life.

After everything, as all the memories gradually settle down, we only have a few words we want to share with you all. If you are an indie game developer facing many difficulties, or simply someone feeling discouraged or unhappy in life, please always remember these things:

We started from passion, not from talent or existing foundations. You don't need an office or modern equipment to achieve your dreams. Instead, start today, with everything you currently have.

Work or family? Happiness or money? No matter how difficult life gets, learn to balance everything. Don't let chasing one thing inadvertently cause you to lose other precious things. When my mother fell ill, many people advised me to stop working and focus entirely on taking care of her. But my mother was different she always told us: "Children, try your best to work, for your own future." And then, we chose to bring both family and work together. So that we could be by our mother's side while continuing to nurture our unfinished dreams. To this day, we don't regret that choice.

I am fortunate to have my Mother, who has always been there to watch and encourage me, even when I failed or faced difficulties. I am also grateful to my wife for always being my companion and supporting me throughout this journey. Therefore, always keep someone by your side who can care for and encourage you to keep going on the difficult path, whenever you feel tired or discouraged.

Thank you, Mom. 

Thank you, my wife. 

Thank you to all of you the players, the game developers, those who live with all their hearts ♥️

https://store.steampowered.com/app/2959610/Cabin_Crew_Life_Simulator/