From Side Project to Ad-Free Gaming Platform: Our Journey Building SeaGames

Hi, Indie Hackers community,

I’m Leo, the founder of SeaGames.com, a free online gaming platform with ad-free games and an AI-powered game creator. I wanted to share our journey of building SeaGames, the challenges we faced, and what we’ve learned along the way — hoping it might help or inspire others in this community.

Why We Started SeaGames?
The idea for SeaGames came from a simple frustration: most online game platforms are riddled with ads, pop-ups, and paywalls. We wanted to create something purely fun and accessible, where anyone could play games instantly without distractions — and even create their own games using AI.
Starting as a small side project, we focused on two main goals: Free and ad-free experience — no interruptions, no hidden fees.
Empowering creativity — letting users not just play games but design them easily with AI, even if they have no coding skills.

The Challenges We Faced
Building a platform like this wasn’t easy. Some of the hurdles included:
Technical challenges: Integrating AI tools for game creation and ensuring smooth gameplay across devices.
User acquisition: As a small indie project, reaching players without a marketing budget was tough.
Retention: Keeping users engaged in a crowded market of online games.
Each challenge forced us to learn fast, iterate, and prioritize user experience above everything else.

What We’ve Learned
Some key lessons from our journey:
Community matters: Early feedback from friends, family, and small online communities helped shape features.
Transparency builds trust: Sharing our progress and being honest about setbacks encouraged people to engage with the platform.
Small wins add up: Every small improvement in gameplay, UI, or AI features made a measurable difference in user satisfaction.

Looking Ahead
Our goal for SeaGames is not just to provide a fun, ad-free gaming experience, but also to create a platform where creativity meets play. We want to empower anyone — from casual players to aspiring game creators — to explore, create, and share games freely.

How Indie Hackers Can Help
If you’re an indie developer, AI enthusiast, or gamer, we’d love your feedback! Here’s how you can help:
Try out SeaGames and let us know your thoughts on gameplay and the AI game maker.

Share ideas for new game types or features.
Spread the word to friends or fellow creators who might enjoy building games with AI.
Check out SeaGames here: https://www.seagames.com

Thanks for reading and for supporting indie projects! We’re excited to learn from this community and continue improving SeaGames together.