24-year-old Rakib Hasan Bulbul, a BBA graduate from Daffodil International University and the founder of indie game studio BusyBee Games, recently launched the demo version of his upcoming game, Not Easy, on Steam. Designed and developed by Rakib alone, Not Easy is a 2D platformer published by Red Bean Games. The game was brought to life and coded using the open-source Godot game engine, while the art was done on Aseprite, a pixel art and sprite editing tool.
Platformers, as a genre, were heavily popularised in the earlier days of video gaming through the likes of Super Mario, Sonic The Hedgehog, etc. Not Easy follows similar formulae — simple mechanics filled with 60 levels of increasing difficulty, traps, and obstacles. It is the player’s job to collect keys while progressing up each level without being wiped out.
In an exclusive interview with The Daily Esports, Rakib talked about other platformers that inspired Not Easy. “When I was a kid, I used to play Bounce on my dad’s old Nokia phone, and that simple yet engaging experience, plus the thrill of navigating those tight spaces, stuck with me,” he said. “Another game that deeply inspired me is Super Mario Bros. — a classic platformer that most of us grew up playing. The sense of discovery, challenge, and nostalgia from those games is something I wanted to recreate to take players back to that era when platformers were straightforward but required skill and timing.”
Rakib’s journey was anything but easy, as is the case for any game developer, let alone indie developers. Having a full-time job and also being responsible for every component of the game, burnout was his constant companion.
In his words, “As a solo developer, you're responsible for everything – from art creation, programming, and level design, to brainstorming new concepts, implementing features, and squashing bugs. The constant pressure to excel and innovate can be overwhelming, often leading to frustration and loss of motivation. This is why many indie games remain unfinished.”
However, Rakib also shed light into a major lifting force throughout his development process: his wife, Fariha. In fact, Not Easy was one of the many unfinished projects gathering dust on Rakib’s hard drive, and his wife was the one who nudged him to take up the task again. Moreover, she also helped design the 60 levels in the game.
Not Easy’s demo version can be found on Steam for free right now, with a full launch set for November this year. Regarding the launch, Rakib wishes everyone to try out the game for themselves and wishlist it if possible.
“Not Easy is now in the final stage of development, with many bugs already fixed. This journey had a lot of ups and downs, and required a lot of perseverance. There were many days when I struggled with bugs, spent hours polishing features, or fought through mental fatigue. But my passion for creating something special for the community kept me going. So I am excited for you all to try out Not Easy.”
Ayaan is the Chief News Editor of The Daily Esports.
