From Solo Dev to Viral Hit: Building “Paddle Paddle Paddle” with Photon Fusion
If you’ve ever tried making a multiplayer game, you know how messy it can get. Servers, lag, syncing players, weird bugs that only show up online. For a lot of indie devs, that’s the point where a cool idea quietly dies.
But not for Mateo, a 23-year-old solo developer. With no formal background, no studio, and a random idea that hit him in the shower, he built Paddle Paddle Paddle, a chaotic and laugh-out-loud multiplayer game that’s blown up on Twitch and sold over 120,000 copies.
His not-so-secret weapon? Photon Fusion, the networking engine that let him spend time making the game fun instead of fighting with the tech.
We chatted with Mateo about how he pulled it off, what he learned about multiplayer along the way, and why keeping things simple can make all the difference when building games people actually want to play together.
Key Takeaways for Developers
- Multiplayer doesn’t have to be hard. Tools like Photon Fusion handle networking so you can focus on gameplay and creativity.
- Start small and iterate. Even a basic multiplayer prototype will teach you the fundamentals.
- You don’t need a big team. One developer with the right tools can create something millions enjoy.
- Don’t worry about netcode. Build something people love to play. Fusion can handle the rest.
- Multiplayer is about connection. The best moments come from players interacting, not just competing.
Mateo, you built Paddle Paddle Paddle entirely on your own, and it’s a full multiplayer game. How did that journey start?
It started pretty randomly. I got the idea while taking a shower and remembered a paddle boat trip with my brother where we just couldn’t stay coordinated. I thought, “This would make a great multiplayer game.” That chaos, that need for teamwork, and the frustration — that’s what I wanted to capture. I started working on it a few months later and taught myself everything as I went along.
Many developers find multiplayer to be the hardest part of making a game. How did you handle that as a solo dev?
Honestly, I was scared of it at first. Networking always felt like this huge, complicated thing that only big studios could get right. But when I started experimenting with Photon Fusion, it just clicked. Fusion handled so much of the hard stuff for me, like synchronization, lag compensation, and keeping all players in sync, so I could focus on gameplay and design. It really felt like having a silent teammate who handled all the networking in the background.
How did Fusion fit into your workflow?
It was surprisingly smooth. I could test multiplayer locally, tweak interactions, and instantly see how it behaved online. The documentation and community support made it easy to learn as I went. What I loved most was that I didn’t have to write complex networking code. I could just build gameplay and let Fusion handle the rest. It let me move fast, and as a solo dev, that’s everything.
Paddle Paddle Paddle took off fast. How did multiplayer play into its success?
Multiplayer is the reason it blew up. It’s the kind of game that’s just more fun with friends. Streamers love it because every session turns into chaos and laughter. Someone’s always rowing the wrong way. If the multiplayer hadn’t been stable or smooth, that experience wouldn’t have worked. Fusion made it possible to deliver that fun without worrying about servers crashing or players getting desynced.
The game started as a co-op experience, right? How did it evolve from there?
Yeah, at first it was meant to be a simple co-op game. But as more players joined in and the game started to get popular, I got a lot of requests. People wanted to race against their friends. A versus mode came up again and again in the feedback form and on Steam discussions, so I decided to build it. I really care about what the community wants, and this was clearly something players were excited about.
Adding a whole new mode sounds like a big step. What was it like implementing that technically?
It was definitely tricky. For a gamemode where each boat is controlled by one player, Host Mode was not the best solution since clients have to predict and wait for the synced position and rotation of their own boat and this delay killed the experience. In the Photon Discord server, I stumbled across Shared Mode – where each player / client simulates collisions and physics of their boat separately.
I modified a lot of my code and decided to go for this approach: If a boat is owned by 2 players, it runs via Host-Mode but if a boat is handled by only one player, I switch to Shared Mode to make input and physics instant. It took me a few sleepless nights and days to get it done but the first playtest with 3 of my friends showed that this approach was PERFECT for my case! We enjoyed the racing mode a lot and I’m sure that this gamemode will be a very cool addition to the Game soon!
What would you tell other indie developers who want to make their first multiplayer game?
Don’t let networking scare you. Start small, even a simple co-op prototype will teach you a lot. With tools like Photon Fusion, you don’t need to build the entire backend from scratch. Once I realized multiplayer could be this accessible, it completely changed how I think about making games.
Any final thoughts?
Multiplayer connects people in ways single-player games can’t. Watching players yell at each other to “Paddlefaster!” has been the best reward ever. Without Fusion, I probably wouldn’t have even tried making it multiplayer.
Mateo’s journey with Paddle Paddle Paddle shows what’s possible when the barriers to multiplayer are removed. With Photon Fusion, even a single developer can build experiences that bring people together. Moments of chaos, laughter, and connection that only multiplayer can deliver.
At Photon, we’re proud to power the creative energy of developers like Mateo, and we can’t wait to see what you’ll build next.
Ready to build your own successful multiplayer game? With Fusion and Quantum by Photon, it’s never been easier to integrate cutting-edge multiplayer features into your project. We offer the industry’s most advanced tools, comprehensive support, and everything you need to get started – from downloadable samples to detailed documentation.
Take the first step today – download Fusion or download Quantum and start building. If you’re looking for in-depth assistance, join our Gaming Circle, where you can connect directly with our developers and get expert guidance throughout your journey.
Visit us on YouTube, BlueSky, X and LinkedIn or create a free Photon account and visit our Discord. We can’t wait to see what you create! For more developer insights and news make sure to check out our Photon Blog.
Your multiplayer success story starts here!
