From Idea to Game: The Origins of Roam The Backrooms
When CoolPuzzler first imagined Roam The Backrooms, the concept was simple: a multiplayer horror experience where players navigate endless yellow halls. But unlike other games in the genre, he wanted to add a twist—mapping and documenting the Backrooms while fighting to survive. That unique vision gave the game its identity. As he explains:
"Now, players can't just run away - they have to document and collect data under pressure, or they fail. And to my knowledge, no other Backrooms game has approached it this way."
CoolPuzzler
Indie Game Developer
The Challenge of Going 3D Solo
Before Meshy, development felt like a constant uphill battle. CoolPuzzler relied on Unity's basic cubes and hand-made animations. Even simple character rigs took hours, slowing down progress to a crawl.
"Before I found Meshy, I didn't really make 3D models at all. I used Unity defaults - mostly cubes - and animated everything by hand. That process was extremely slow. Rigging and animating a single character could take me hours. When I made a basic player model and wanted to animate it, I just didn't have the time to do it manually."
CoolPuzzler
Indie Game Developer
As a solo developer, he faced the same question many indie devs do:
How to create a 3D world without the time or budget to master traditional modeling pipelines.
Discovering Meshy
Everything changed when he stumbled upon Meshy's YouTube channel. At the time, he was still experimenting with an earlier project, but when starting Roam The Backrooms, he decided to fully integrate Meshy into his workflow.
"At the time, I was trying to build a dungeon-style horror game called Eternal, but I was a noob at game development and it was extremely unoptimized. I picked up a few game development books, started fresh with a new idea - and decided to integrate Meshy into the process."
CoolPuzzler
Indie Game Developer
Rigging, animating, and modeling—tasks that once felt impossible—suddenly became approachable. More importantly, he could focus on creativity and gameplay, not just technical hurdles.
"What I needed was simple: rigging, animating, and modeling. Meshy offered all three."
CoolPuzzler
Indie Game Developer
Building the World with Meshy
Meshy quickly became central to his process.
"Every part of Meshy has been helpful, but the rigging, modeling, and animation features have been the most impactful. Using the Meshy/Blender plugin has sped up exporting and importing significantly, which made each iteration much faster."
CoolPuzzler
Indie Game Developer
From the hazmat suit player model to the eerie bacteria monster, Meshy enabled him to bring unique designs to life. The bacteria monster, in particular, started as a 2D image. Using Meshy's Image to 3D feature, it evolved into one of the most distinctive entities in the game.
"After fixing the texture and refining the rig, it became one of the most distinct creatures in the game - and it still looks better than anything I could've created by hand."
CoolPuzzler
Indie Game Developer
Without Meshy, CoolPuzzler admits he likely would have stuck to a 2D sprite-based game. Instead, he's now building a full-fledged 3D multiplayer horror experience.
Designing New Systems with Meshy Assets
One of the most ambitious features CoolPuzzler is building into Roam The Backrooms is a DNA and vitals system. Unlike traditional survival horror mechanics, this system requires players to scan and document hostile entities while being hunted.
The gameplay loop is deliberately tense: a taser can briefly stun a creature for about fifteen seconds, but scanning DNA takes around ten. That leaves players with a razor-thin margin of safety, forcing them to make tough decisions in real time—risk a scan under pressure, or run and regroup.
As CoolPuzzler puts it, the goal isn't just to scare players, but to immerse them in the role of a scientific explorer:
"Meshy makes this possible by giving me detailed, animated models that support immersive interaction—not just generic AI enemies, but subjects that players will study, scan, and record."
CoolPuzzler
Indie Game Developer
This focus on documentation and survival transforms encounters into something more than jump scares. Each entity becomes a mystery to decode, adding a layer of strategy and discovery to the Backrooms experience.
Creative Inspirations Behind the Game
While building the DNA system, CoolPuzzler drew inspiration from other horror games and online creators. He cites Escape the Backrooms by Fancy and the atmospheric short films by Kane Pixels as key influences. But rather than replicate what others had done, he asked himself a simple question:
“What can I do differently?”
The answer was clear—make the Backrooms more than just a place to escape. By combining mapping, documenting, and surviving, Roam The Backrooms pushes players into a world where every choice matters and every encounter reveals new fragments of its strange ecosystem.
A Workflow Transformed
Behind the scenes, Meshy has been equally transformative. What once took hours of tedious rigging or weeks of modeling tutorials now happens in a fraction of the time.
"Using Meshy has easily sped up my development by 200%. Without Meshy, I would have had to watch hundreds of modeling and animation tutorials, each taking hours of my time. Now I'm building more 3D content every week, and it's completely changed what I thought I could do as an indie dev."
CoolPuzzler
Indie Game Developer
Playtesters have noticed the results. Several remarked that they expected the game to take two to three years, and were shocked to see how far along it already is. With Meshy accelerating asset creation, CoolPuzzler can focus on building systems and gameplay that feel fresh.
What's Next for Roam The Backrooms
Currently, the project is about 10% complete. Multiplayer systems are already in place—the most technically challenging part—and the focus has shifted to expanding gameplay depth.
"I'm currently focused on creating the DNA system, adding new entities, and polishing multiplayer features. Mapping will become more advanced, with tools for documenting vitals, DNA, and more."
CoolPuzzler
Indie Game Developer
Meshy continues to play a role in every stage. Each week brings new characters, refined textures, and environments that flesh out the ever-expanding labyrinth.
Final Thoughts
Looking back, CoolPuzzler reflects on how Meshy shifted the trajectory of his project.
"Meshy didn't just speed up my workflow—it opened the door for the game in the first place. It took me from 'maybe I'll do this in 2D' to 'I'm building a multiplayer horror game with animated 3D characters, solo!'"
CoolPuzzler
Indie Game Developer
For indie developers who dream big but lack the time or budget for traditional 3D workflows, his advice is simple:
"If you're an indie developer without the money or time to learn complex 3D tools from scratch, I'd recommend Meshy in a heartbeat. It's made a huge difference for me."
CoolPuzzler
Indie Game Developer
Roam The Backrooms isn't just another Backrooms title—it's a testament to what one person can build with imagination, persistence, and the right tools.
You can follow CoolPuzzler's development journey and even join his community of playtesters and fans on Discord.
If you've ever dreamed of becoming an indie game developer and want to build your own project without getting stuck on 3D assets, now's the time to try Meshy AI!
