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If i havent played trapped 1-5, am i going to understand trapped 6??

If the game is longer, will a save mechanic be implemented?

you seem like a good dude, hope you find success! I'm also an indie developer

Working part time so I can make time to create a game that will hopefully kickstart my game dev career. We startet with four people three years ago, now its only two of us remaining with a freelancer or two once in a while. We have some government start-up funding but I never paid myself because my co-founder has a child and I can live off my part time job just fine. This weekend we will put out the game to be wishlisted on steam while visiting a comic con with a indie game booth. As the only unity developer on the team I feel immense pressure to make the game work but its also my first big project and I don't have any industry experience. After the prototype I redid most of the code as we got a better grasp of what the game will be and what requirements my code has to meet. But honestly I'd love to restart a third time like you did with your ninja game. It's horrible. Next iteration my code will be perfect! :D We will release spring next year but if I am being completely honest I don't see us making the money we need to fund another game, but quitting now would be a waste too. While we were searching for a publisher I made a smaller game by myself that can be released next year too. I heard the stat that 90% of studios close after their first launch so my goal right now is to stay focused until we have two games under the belt and then I can call it a day and be still in the 10% :D (as if that would mean anything). Good luck everybody with your games :)

you worked in programming for years and you STILL had difficulties building your own game_ fuck... what is left for me!?

Trapped 6 is looking amazing.

Looks smooth as silk, dude.

So excited for this! Thanks for the unique look into the development!

Im so excited to watch this after physical therapy!!!

Super cool

Play the Trapped series from 20 years ago on Newgrounds: www.newgrounds.com/series/trapped

I'm in a pretty similar boat.

My critique for this vid would be to add some passive music. This is a great video, very sobbering. Wish you luck m8.

Happy birthday! I turn 30 in about 2 months.

good luck bro

I too work on my game. But I am not working on a minor game, but a big one. It's a space combat/exploration game that spans the entire observable universe. A lot is already done, and I work on it full-time since earlier this year. It basically has a new technology for multiplayer - a global single realm with a scalable server cluster. The logic took me 2 months, and it took another 2 months to test and bugfix it. The focus will be combat - that is what has to be fun. Customization, mechanics and most math is already done. Currently I am working on moon and planet textures and shaders. I am quite familiar with shaders now, but there is always more to discover and learn. For example I made a shader for planet rings which have a shadow solely based on a float parameter which is the radius of the planet they are around. Next I'll experiment with some effects to make planets "sparkle" to make them look more alive. There will be no 3rd person walking around part, because the focus is on space ships and interactions. It will also be PvE focused (coop or solo), and PvP has low priority... it will come later, if at all. Graphics quality is of lower priority, but overall design is very important. Meaning it must be the right graphics with the right sound.

keep up the good work, I hope to start making gaes soon myself

Stick with it man. One question - how do you graduate from a computer science degree and not know what a state machine is? :D

I am very mentally spent from my personal projects so I'm gonna keep it short, gonna sub cuz I know how it is to do gamedev with a small team in a tight situation, tho specifically subbing since I don't see many people talking about game maker, so take it with a grain of salt but I think you have a big opprotunity here with that, usually people can makeit, if you can be there first for something that other people are looking for cuz its not oversaturated as much as other stuff I belive you can do it if you just actually get yourself together and keep going.

I sibbed because that was the most real video I've seen on game dev. Most other RUclips are all about "Make a game in 20 minutes! I'll show you how!" or "I went from zero to hero and made my game in 30 days with NO CODE! I'll show you how!" 🙄🙄 It's nice to hear from a real person who talks about the real challenges and not sugar-coating everything. I have less resources than you, I don't have a degree in computer science, I don't have savings to live off for any extended amount of time, I have to work and that makes it even more challenging. And thanks for talking about Gamemaker, it's seem the most "intuitive" for someone like myself who has no programming background. I tried all the rest but GM just "clicks" for me.

What’s up man! Game dev and calisthenics man here too! Let’s make those gamer gainz!

Hey there, I really empathize with you. I didn’t allow myself to dive into professional game development until I was 36. You mentioned that this is your dream game, but also that you’re aiming for financial success. If financial success is your goal, there are a few key things you should focus on: 1. Research Profitable Genres: Investigate which genres are financially successful but not oversaturated. For example, Metroidvania games are in general an oversaturated, making it a challenging market. 2. Develop a Strong Hook: Be able to describe your game in one compelling sentence that makes people want to play it immediately. 3. Prototype for Fun: Create a prototype to test if your game is fun. At this stage, don’t worry about polished code, visuals, or assets-just focus on gameplay mechanics. 4. Establish an USP (Unique Selling Point): Ask yourself, why should people play your game instead of any other game? A strong USP makes your game stand out and easier to market. Without these elements, a game won’t naturally market itself, making it much harder to gain traction. I do like your hook-ninjas and zombies-but while fun, it’s not a particularly unique theme. That could make it difficult to stand out. I can see you’re working hard, and that’s admirable! But I’d recommend doing more research to refine your approach. Also, just to clarify, a vertical slice is different from a prototype. A vertical slice showcases a small, polished portion of your game, as if it were complete. It doesn’t need a lot of content, but everything included should reflect the final product’s quality. Hope this helps and good luck with your game development journey!

Not sure what to think about it ... I would say it will be hard to sell the game, even with extremly detailed 2d graphics. I would suggest every beginner or who is returning after a very long break to use Unreal, it's in my opinion the most beginner friendliest engine ... sure it could be in some cases an "overkill", but it's better to have the option to make more than using an engine than is small but lack of many useful features. Just watch a handful short tutorials (Gorka got many good ones), install Unreal (4 or 5, both are good tools), use the third person template that comes with the engine, find some neat assets and start to make small games with blueprints. Btw, I think no matter what engine is someone using or game someone is making ... it will will be hard to earn money with it, because we are now at the point that we got just in a single year over 15000 new releases.

Web Dev here, not a Game Dev, but I can relate in a lot of ways. I have made 2 websites outside of my job and they are both super simple and they are for friends/family. I really want to make more websites outside of work and be able to grow and flex my skills, but time management and working alone make things really difficult. Thank you for sharing this story and I wish you the best of luck going forward!

Going into indie game dev is like asking yourself to put in hundreds of hours into something incredibly difficult and frustrating, knowing that you will most likely never make a dime of profit. I'd recommend only go into it as a passion project with the expectation of it as hobby that is not profitable. You have to really just like doing it or be driven af.

Subscribed! There's something very real about this video so I want follow your journey! I've worked full time as a solo game dev for almost 10 years so I thought I'd just share some advice! 1. There are hundreds of thousands of games and almost all of them make no money This is a "the winner takes it all" business. You won't survive if your games are mediocre. In order to survive, you have to make games that are in the top 10%. There's no luck in getting there, if people on the internet don't seem interested in your game, it's not bad luck with the algorithm, it's because your game isn't marketable. 2. Don't compare your game to old successful games Every year the rules change. It's not enough for a game to be as good as last year's hit game, it has to live up to the expectations of today. When a game makes the rounds in the media and here on youtube, a lot of devs get inspired and make similar games. This saturates the market and makes the bar for entry much higher. This means that, if you want to make that type of game, your game has to stick out and be better than all those new releases. 3. Explore niche genres I've had a few successes in this industry and all of them has been when I found an under served niche. If you can find a small niche where the top performing games makes you think "I can do that but better", you can make it truly big. These niches are out there but they can be hard to find. However, most people look only at the most prominent genres when deciding what game to make, missing the golden opportunities that are out there, waiting for someone to come along. 4. Make games that are unique but similar to other games If your game is too similar to other games, it will get lost in the masses. If your game is too unique, people won't be able to tell what kind of game it is and just skip it. A good medium is when someone can say, it's like game X but with X. "Oh, it's like pokemon but with guns" or "oh, it's like PUBG but you can build towers". 5. This is my most important advice: Check out Chris Zukowski I tell this to everyone that is about to release their first game on Steam. You HAVE to watch Chris Zukowski's talks here on youtube. He is the no 1 expert when it comes to releasing successful games on Steam. Just go watch him! Preferably everything he has! He will tell you everything you need to know And don't forget to have fun! Good luck on your journey!

Focus on the game and the devlogs. Skip the tutorials. Those are a distraction from finishing the game. Get some playtesters so you can get feedback as you go. Replace the negative self-talk with positive. I can't wait to see your progress!

Boy oh boy, I'm here wondering what is going on with me not finishing any game I make...

Idea - how to get creative energy to finish the game! Make a demo. Connect with an audience by asking an electronic store for a little space where you can sit and let costumers test your game. You could make a deal with the store of promoting a laptop by showcasing your game on. On your table you can have a qr-code pointing to your RUclips. Will you go for it? 😊

I relate very much to your story man.

I dont have an idea for how to make the game unique, but I do think sometimes doing game jams help. Take your project and mutate it for a game jam in a huge way, and don't keep those changes. It lets you prototype a different branch of the game that might be more interesting.

I recommend making a Patreon, it seems like a lot of people connect with your story and might be able to support you!

1:15 Hey cool you used my thumbnail. I did all that from scratch in Photoshop using reference screenshots from the game so they’d be nice and crisp and clean. EDIT: Except the logos on the bottom. That was just a lot of cropping them out as carefully as possible.

Why do I need to join your discord server to play the demo? As a general rule - you should be making it easier for me to be exposed to your game, not harder.

Wow, didn't expect to see this in late 2024. I left a review of Trapped 5 in 2018 with the question if Trapped 6 will ever release (and you responded too; that it would come out some day). It was true after all, I guess? :P

looks fun. has too much health tho imo

I wish you the best! I'm in similar situation to you. I still have some years before 40s but I'm getting there. I work has a programmer at a video game company full time, but I would like to make my own games, my own mistakes, having success and failure, but by my own doing. It's been 10 years of prototyping and saying this one I'll release it, but like you motivation is hard and nothing is getting finished, I'll jump into a new idea instead of finishing one.

My biggest mistake is turning game dev into a full time job instead of a hobby. It was never reliable for paying the bills Now it has been almost 2 years since I did game dev I switched careers and ready to make games for fun again

i actually though that your voice was strange and for some reasom maybe i havent noticed that in earlier videos

awesome sauce, dude! I'm 43 and I started actual programming about the same time (8th grade-ish) on an Apple ][E and C-64 and in high-school, programming on the TI-85 calculator. Good luck with your journey. Us mid-late 90s-era game developers are not in abundance in this industry, so it's important we help each other out because life is hard outside of game dev, and especially when you hit 40, your back will let you know just how old 40 is. lol. Anyway, from 1 solo dev to another: I wish you all the successes and hope game dev brings you the fulfillment you're looking for.

Ok 👍

Ive been working on my indie game now in gamemaker for 3 years, I also think gamemaker is underrated. Funny enough Im also doing a similar project. Good luck!

I was being silly in this video. I don’t actually talk like that. Lol

nice!

Good luck, fellow solo indie dev!

lol

Just had a look at the vids on your channel.... I think the greenscreen on the thumbnail is why I clicked your last vid. I'm so used to seeing "clickbait" thumbnails, yours stood out because it was less edited. TBH These are the only 2 I've watched, overedited/clickbait turns me off clicking

If you want playtesters. You need to find your target audience. Most devs are not going to be your target. Perhaps try asking a local school/collage if you can set up your game in the lunch room and let anyone play who wants to