Ben Kimble - FullStack Alchemist
Who Am I?
I'm a full stack developer who builds indie games, websites, and extended reality apps/experiences. I transmute ideas into products, and help other passionate developers to level up their skills. Everyone has a story to tell, but not everyone has the means to tell it. My goal is to help people summon those dreams into reality and use my abilities to change their lives. If you're looking for help making some magic, or just looking for some advice to start your journey, let's connect!
I Bring Your Ideas to Life
What I Can Do For You
Indie Game Development
Developing and releasing a good game is a long, stressful process. It requires a lot of skills from very different disciplines, and the idea of learning everything you'll need to build your dream game can be overwhelming. If you want to skip all that stress and have someone build it for you, I would love to step in. From planning to release, I've got you covered.
Extended reality (XR) Development
Extended Reality apps and websites can be hard to conceptualize and even harder to build. Augmented and Virtual Reality come with their own unique challenges that require a unique set of skills. Whether you're looking to build a game, a guided experience, or a VR website, I can help you transmute your dreams into (extended) reality.
Landing Pages & Websites
Building an online presence can be tough. When you need to bring awareness to your business or product, a website is one of the first things on the list. I've built tons of websites for service-based businesses, game studios, and standalone games and digital products. All of my web work is custom-made, using modern frameworks and languages to give you maximum flexibility and performance, and minimal headache.
Unique Properties
Why Choose to Work With Me?
Quotes You Can Count On
Feature-Based Pricing
Full Transparency - Know What You're Paying For
-
Know Up-Front How Much You'll Pay
-
No Hourly Rate - No Surprises
-
No Massive Deposits for Projects
Never Have to Ask "Where Are We"
Transparency and Collaboration
-
Clear and Honest Status Updates Every Step of the Way
-
I Actually Listen to your Feedback
-
Design-Before-Code Approach Ensures We're Building the "Right Thing"
-
Access to Project Management Tools to Make Tracking Easy and Transparent
-
Easy Communication via a Dedicated Discord Channel
Dedication is a Talent All On Its Own
Passion for My Craft
-
I Build With Growth and Scalability in Mind
-
Software Architecture is One of My Specialties
-
I Deliver High-Quality, Intentional Results
-
I'm a Craftsman, and Take Pride in Quality
-
No Hacky, Thrown-Together Projects
-
No Gray-Area AI Generation
I've Got It Down to a Science
You're Working with an Actual Software Engineer
-
I have a degree in Software Engineering
-
I've Taught Over 3,000 Developers About Game and Web Development
-
I've Worked Directly with Large Companies Like Amazon, Spotify, and Mapbox
-
I have almost a decade of experience building software and leading teams of engineers
There's No Such Thing as a Painless Lesson
Serious XP
-
I've Been Helping Clients Since 2017
-
I've Built Products From Scratch Generating over $400,000 in Revenue
-
I've helped clients build everything from small gamified to-do apps to complex project management systems for government compliance
-
I Developed One of the First High-Quality Proof-Of-Concept Blockchain Game Demos
-
I Built and Exploratory AR App for Ant-Man and the Wasp: Quantumania for Members of the Marvel Special Effects Team
A Quick Look At
My Process
Everyone has their process. If you choose to work with me, here's a rough outline of what the process will probably look like so you know what to expect. This is an overview, and depending on the type and complexity of what you need done, some of these steps might be combined or skipped altogether.
01
Discovery
When we start working together, I'll invest some time to comprehend the product requirements, user workflow, and experience. This helps me make sure I understand what we're building, the outcomes that you're looking for, and how I can best help you achieve your goals. This phase is always free.
02
Proposal
Based on the information gathered during discovery, I'll come up with a plan and proposal for the project. This includes mapping out the project's phases, generating a list of deliverables, estimating the time it will take for each phase, and outlining how I'll approach your project. Again, this phase is about finding the best path forward for your project, and is (obviously) always free.
03
Design UI/UX
It's important to make sure we're building the right thing. A design-first approach is extremely helpful in understanding requirements and making sure ideas have been communicated properly. It also helps to decide if changes to the feature list are needed before active development begins. During this phase, I'll make sure we're on the same page and get you designs for what we're going to build together. I'll also get you access to a dedicated channel in my Discord server so you can have an open communication channel with me.
04
Architecture
During this phase, I build out the foundation for your project. I'll plan out the architecture, determine if any third-party equipment or services are required, and work with you to make sure you're comfortable with those choices (if applicable). I'll also set up the project in my project management software and get you access, so you can have transparency on where the project is at from the start. This stage also involves setting up version control and collaborating with you to identify a continuous delivery and testing platform that aligns with your project's requirements.
05
Development
During this phase, I'll do the actual building of your project. I'll build it out according to the pre-existing milestone plan and keep you in the loop with weekly updates. We foster open communication channels through frequent planning meetings, product reviews, and progress reports to ensure that we are building the solution together in accordance with your expectations.
06
Quality Assurance
During the building phase, we'll be constantly testing everything to make sure it works well and meets your expectations. Once the building is done, we'll run a comprehensive final QA test to make sure it's all good prior to delivery.
07
Data Migration
During this phase, I will assist in migrating data from your existing systems into your newly built solution, if applicable.
08
Delivery
The final phase involves delivering the completed product to you. After the product release, I'll monitor its performance and make necessary adjustments through patches and updates until it is completely stable and reliable. I am committed to ensuring ongoing success and providing future feature development services to support our clients.
FAQ's
Most developers and dev shops have an hourly rate they charge. They charge this regardless of the output of those hours, and it can breed a lot of distrust between them and the client. It also puts a lot of risk on the client and their budget. Sometimes developers run into bugs, or things take significantly longer than they thought they would, and an hourly rate can result in huge (bad) surprises.
Hourly Rates can also tempt developers to work slower to increase billable hours, and that puts an unfair burden on the client. To avoid all of this, along with many other issues that come from hourly billing (timesheets, proof of hours, etc.), I opt to not charge by the hour. Instead, I charge for the overall output. Whether it takes me 40 hours or 120 hours, your deliverable will cost you $x. I take on the risk, and you get a dependable, fair number that you can budget for with no surprises. And as a bonus for me, I don't have to worry about a timesheet.
If you want to learn more about why hourly rates aren't a great fit for software development, there's an amazing book by Jonathan Stark that you can look into, called "Hourly Billing is Nuts".
Testimonials
Here's what some people I've worked with have said about me.
"Ben is a brilliant full stack developer. When it comes to development, I know I can trust him to not only develop a working application, but also make great architecture decision and produce clean and maintainable code."
- Celine L.
"The level of professionalism and knowledge Ben has for software development is astonishing. Ben is always suggesting creative and effective solutions to problems we run into while building out solutions. I would recommend Ben and the expertise he brings to the job over and over."
- Jacob L.
"Ben holds himself to a high standard and this is reflected in his work as it is of the upmost quality. Ben is tech agnostic and regularly switches between languages / platforms with ease. I recommend Ben for any development projects, both big and small."
- Chris L.
"Ben has diligently maintained a high level of code quality, even when he was working alone on our project. Before I read into his history, I thought he had ten years more experience than he does."
- Sean M.
"Ben put out one of the best, most in-depth game development courses there is. He has a way of making tricky concepts seem simple. I thought game development was too hard before learning from him."
