From Darknet to Ironstrike: A 12-Year Journey in Indie Game Development

Back in 2014, E McNeill made waves by releasing the first complete VR game designed for Gear VR headsets, heavily inspired by cinematic portrayals of cyberspace. In his innovative strategy game, players take on the role of hackers navigating the “Darknet” to earn virtual bitcoin while hacking into computing nodes to bolster their arsenal of electronic weaponry.

During its initial development in 2013 and 2014, the value of a single bitcoin hovered around $1,000. Fast forward to January 31, 2025, over a decade since the game’s inception, and bitcoin’s worth has rocketed to over $100,000. If McNeill had invested in five bitcoins back then for $5,000, today, he’d be sitting on a small fortune of $500,000 in bitcoin. Yet, as McNeill candidly admits, he never bought any bitcoin.

Instead, McNeill has dedicated the past 12 years to carving out a path as an indie game developer. He launched the first full VR game for the Gear VR and has gone on to create various VR titles compatible with most current consumer VR headsets. Reflecting on his journey, McNeill said, “There was a fleeting moment when I felt on top of the world, like I’d hit the jackpot, but that moment has passed. If I’d jumped on the bitcoin bandwagon as discussed at the beginning of our interview, things might be different now. Yet, having sustained this career for 12 years already is nothing short of a miracle. If I could go back and tell my younger self that I’d keep this dream alive for at least 12 years, I would’ve seen it as a dream come true.”

Before McNeill took a well-earned break, Don Hopper booted up Darknet: Remastered on Quest, alongside McNeill’s latest action titles, Ironstrike and Ironlights. Over a leisurely hour-long chat with the developer, Don played through each of the games in the background.

Eventually, McNeill joined Don to impart some magic-casting skills and combat strategies. He guided us through a quick tutorial on both Ironstrike and Ironlights, explaining his thoughtful design choices in weapon handling for his VR creations. We’d like to thank YouTube viewer Arlen for contributing questions during our session. You can view the entire hour-long, time-stamped conversation with McNeill below.

Just last week, we sat down with the developer behind Airspace Defender and Tablecraft in a similarly deep discussion. Over the coming weeks, we’re excited to bring you a schedule packed with developer interviews focusing on upcoming or freshly released games.

During our stream, we explored just three of McNeill’s games, hopping from Darknet: Remastered to Ironstrike, and concluding with Ironlights. To delve deeper into his full repertoire, visit his official website.

We look forward to reconnecting with McNeill in the months to come.