I completely agree about the having a team part. But one thing y’all gotta keep in mind is that DONT GET A TEAM WHO DOESN’T WANT TO MAKE THE GAME YOU WANT TO MAKE. I once teamed up with a guy who wanted to make mobile games to make a game I really wanted to make but the game never saw the light of day. The other one won’t keep you accountable if he doesn’t care about the project. Team doesn’t make anything better if you aren’t all excited about the game. After going thru the valley of despair part around 50 times solo in one way or another, I may finally be able to actually make a full game, and keep myself accountable and motivated solo.
1000%. I worked with a team once, and we worked pretty well together, but some of us didn't want to make the game that others did and we eventually disolved. Considering in most circumstances, you have to start with only passion to motivate you, anyone on the team must also be passionate about the kind of game you're going to make or people will become disinterested. It's for this reason I've decided to do it alone until I have money to pay others, because money is a dependable motivator for people who don't have the same passion for the game you're making.
I am finally ready. I may not have a team but I will use assets, whether its particles or sounds. I made 5 games and 2 on steam. I think I learned from my mistakes. My goal is to sell 1000 copies. Good luck to all of us game devs =)
Pick a program, get serious about learning it. Join communities. Learn, communicate, be grateful, encourage others. Show that you are serious. Have something to show. Plan your shit. Schedule it out. Keep relationships as clear and simple as possible. Be patient. Do not worry about other groups and teams and other programs unrelated to what is in your hands. Move forward carefully and with purpose. Again, have a plan. Accept whatever happens and be positive. Get others excited
Agreed with every point you made bro, specifically as a solo game dev, i can totally totally relate to having a friend/team while making a game. It will not only speed up the process but also keep you mentally sane. Unfortunately in my decade of experience, I haven’t found a single dedicated person who shares same passion as me.😅
I really want to create a great game and I do think i have an amazing skill in story writing and knowing what will work. But i can’t do art and I am not a developer. I really want to create a team but people usually don’t even want to listen to the ideas I have. And they are amazing…
@@Ayoubboul6081I would pick art or programming and start practicing/going through a course. People want to make something great but we all have stuff we are excited about. If you don’t have a skill set that will help the majority of the grind and assets needed to finish something it’s harder for people to consider bringing you on and giving you that much creative control. If you can do art and talk about all these interesting lore ideas and what is going to happen in a practical way then a programmer may love to work with you because they can’t make assets themselves. Like I’ve done music my whole life and I have spent years learning to draw (still not great lol) but I’m focusing on code and letting my friend do art as much as he can because I want to contribute as much as possible to completing the game and making it good. I can do assets here and there and have fun making the music when there is time for that but this is a game not an album or book. It’s making an idea a reality and ideas don’t take as much long term work. Find how to contribute more and you will find a team that lets your writing skill demonstrate their worth.
I needed this! PERFECT TIMING. I wanted to learn game dev on the side, I am a working software engineer/web developer and wanted to learn game dev to destress
that's exactly what i needed, i was floating with ideas and random levels of motivation not knowing what i should do until one of my friends linked me this video, ofc i needed a roadmap, silly me 365 days from today i will see where i got :"D
@@tobeymaguire647 well, pleasure to talk to you mr tobey, big fan ( in the ceiling) , so, i got back to uni , two days after the comment, new semester, bouga bouga i have to do around 4 projects for uni and the game, fell into content hell where i had so many ideas that are either too big for the budget and too advanced for me as beginner, bigi baw baw , i decided to put all ideas into one folder and work on a parkour fps game with some nasty mechanics, i am still in the camera controls and animations :3 ( learning blender now cause i cant find what i need ) sorry for the long answer TL;DR : done just basic stuff, busy with uni
Thanks for making this video. I really like the approach you've chosen in this video. To encourage people to GET TO WORK and SHIP the first game as good as possible. Focus on the essentials and avoid being FIXATED on the little details or parts of the gamedev that are not really important for now. I'd encourage people to take on this challenge and follow THE WHOLE steps in this video! I know I will. 💪
Just got into gamedev while at the same time i also learn to do 2D and 3D art (generalist) and coding (C++ and Python). One of my siblings might join me and hopefully some of the friends as well but even if i end up alone, i think this is a good time to get into this no matter how difficult it might sound as i also have a full time job. The positive about that is that i can finance myself for whatever i need to buy for all of this so no need to think negatively. Unreal Engine installed and its time to start the very ambitious but hopefully successfull journey :D
Would suggest for your first game to aim low, you can always improve on it later on, but don't just decide to make WOW 2.0 or something. Get basic understanding how things work, what to do and what not to do and how entire process from start to finish should go. Make a flappy bird 2.0 d^.^b
@@aryabratsahoo7474 Practice is key :D Studying fundamentals of art is something what i always recommend tho, theory and practice of this is something a lot of people are missing or even skipping and then giving up sooner or later.
@@aryabratsahoo7474 That's not really an excuse tho or a reason to not try it out. There are more than enough extremely popular games (cough cough Minecraft) which are fundamentally simplistic and have been made by people without any artistic skills. Visuals hardly gets into top 10 reasons why people would want to play your game.
Hey, Bridges & Docks in the intro! That's awesome! There's some great advice in this video. I definitely tried to get the Steam page up for my new game ASAP. Keep up the great vids!
Great video! I am very much looking forward to that Steam page video, as that is something I find very daunting still. I've never actually done it yet and I know I should, but also finding a "screenshot worthy" point in development has also proven hard for me to define. As always, appreciate all of the insight that you guys are providing!
Take a screenshot and post it, asking other people what it is. If they get the gist of it, you have a screenshot worthy portion of the game. Who cares how it looks now, if you will be updating it later. Just getting the ideas across is all that matters.
If possible, i would recommend that you do the prototyping stage in a gamejam. Every reason to not feel bad if the idea fails, every reason to throw away the horrible codebase if the ideas has potential.
Thank you for this; a great roadmap. If I were to make one addendum, it would be one small but significant pre-2024 step: by December 31st, 2023 - tell someone (at least one person you know: a friend, relative, co-worker...) "I will be releasing a game by the end of 2024." It's a step that I never really liked to do - but I cannot argue with results: where I see the most successes in my life is in the places where I have established a sense of accountability. When all else fails that is what will get you through the dry times, the times where things seem difficult. Where I haven't made myself accountable: those are the areas where I've been most prone to failure.
I know nothing about programming or engines . One thing I'm really good is at storytelling most of i spent thinking about making movies and writing them. So what should be the first game i should make?
Try a visual novel with an engine such as Ren'Py. It will be the easiest way to make a first game, it's made for writers, but you can still add different basic game mechanics to your games. -M
Thank you so much for this video. It's helping me think about big picture while I work on the details. I'm implementing a game idea that I haven't seen anyone do but will be fun and innovative (in my opinion, but I'll no for sure when i get lots of feedback on how it sucks). My ideas for my game are very ambitious... too ambitious to think about realistically let alone implement in a reasonable time frame as a solo developer. So I'm focused on one thing at a time and then the next thing each day. This video showed me the value of subscribing to your channel. Thank you.
Great content! We are currently working on something new. Your video is incredibly helpful and insightful. Thank you! Wish all Devs happy 2024 and lots finished projects :)
I'm going to do it "for realsies" this time! I started working on a game with Unity a few years back, but I think I might try Godot this time around. Thanks for the videos! I've subscribed and will be watching for new content!
I really want to create a great game and I do think i have an amazing skill in story writing and knowing what will work. But i can’t do art and I am not a developer. I really want to create a team but people usually don’t even want to listen to the ideas I have. And they are amazing…
You could make some sort of discord event of this; like a new years resolution tracker. A room to check in with each other, a room to talk about our projects and offer/ask for help.
Great information as always! I'm really looking forward to the "How to Make a Steam Page" video (I am about halfway through my first one at the moment)
I really want to create a great game and I do think i have an amazing skill in story writing and knowing what will work. But i can’t do art and I am not a developer. I really want to create a team but people usually don’t even want to listen to the ideas I have. And they are amazing…
Intuitively I've been moving in the right direction. But I've been wondering how far off the path I'd gotten. Seems I'm not that far off. So that makes me feel better. Trying to get it Steam worthy... so I'm looking forward to the Steam vid. Thanks. Great vid.
Thanks for the road map. I am completly new in GameDev but I'll try to acomplish this. Have you a roadmap or a Project management guide for Every step you need to do... for example Week 1 - Characters Week - 2 Sound design 3.-Music, 4.-Animation, etc. etc.
I made a small platformer for my uni senior project in UE4, and despite the fact UE definitely has a lot of "manual" vibes in its environment, i still think its what i want to make my big "debut" title on. I've been watching, learning, and pre-designing for years because I want my first game to fully encompass my experience and knowledge of every aspect of games, but its also led me to the valley of despair many times being solo. I don't want to bring anyone else in because 1. its not my fulltime job and 2. I feel I need total control with my own timeline or else it won't be what I want it to be. I've planned out like 3 games over my time of meditation, but for my first one I think I'm going to go with a nice free mobile roguelike game (mobile-focused, maybe multiplatform for steam, idk) that has unintrusive rare ads and some QoL micros for revenue. then with that money i can hopefully make a real epic rpg that doesn't look like one dude made it.
Apparently once you setup your steam page for the first time steam promotes it more then usually. Another developer in their video "top 10 mistakes I made as a game dev" mentioned that one of their mistakes was to setup steam page too early (missing a lot of wishlist) but you mentioned in the video to set it up as early as you can even if you have only 1 screenshot.
In my opinion, I don't really agree with what he mentions; even at 6:40, making games is all about learning and having fun and then using that experience in your next game; if you are an artist, try to learn the hard programming part of the game dev scene as it only benefits you, and that's vise versa for game developers.
Though I know I would never be able to get even a basic game done in any way you described, I do agree with this way of thinking and wish I could be this proactive.
Thanks for showing the way. After watching the video, I decided to switch from a multiplayer co-op game to a single-player one, but you have to control two characters (switch between them). See you in April.
This is awesome, and I deffinately will take inspiration from it. Though I'm going to be using a custom engine(or godot*), and already have my plan for the new year. I'm effectively setting up my year like a college semester, including some actual courses like Harvard CS50. I need to up my coding game, because I finally got to the programming part of making my engine, and was so lost in C++ that I couldn't continue. 2/7 columns this year are going to be for programming and mostly learning C++, with some blender, C, and Python stuff as well. *1/7th is to finish some knowledge I needed. I still have my heart on fixing someone else's Unity tutorial, fixing the spaghetti code, and making a proper tutorial for that project. Then going to convert that, and another game I was making based off of a CodeMonkey tutorial, to Godot. I will then work on godot for that game until my game engine is functional enough to convert both those, then finish and publish the second game.
Bro...what about HARDWARE? What PC build,especially a Budget one would you have recommended for a 3d game development? I'm asking bc. I'd have loved to try making a Cod-like story driven game,because I have a story I'd LOVE to tell,especially in 3d and also one that involves war,so that's what i meant with COD-like...ty in advance❤ Edit: I have a 2012 pc and want to upgrade,not only to play newer,but make my own games,bc. my current PC was a beast but now it's a shadow of it's former self that can't pull much and has to play on low settings and almost always crashes...so PLEASE could you make a video on what budget friemdly hardware,one could get that would also allow one to play and especially make games on...tky in advance again✌️
8:29 but I want to make a VR game! There is no game out there that allows me to shoot a 50. cal machine gun in vr and I want to. Some behind the lines ww2 sniper/ambush game would be my dream game!
I always tend to overcomplicate my code and make it as clean/abstract/oop as possible. This, like you mentioned, does not get me far. It gives me great robust systems to use in my game, but now I'm stuck with all these great systems and not a good game idea to use them in.
Im currently working on a stealth based game that takes mechanics from some of my favorite games. The story is basic. But a snippet so far. "You play as jack, a rogue agent with the purpose of taking down the rest of your agency who have turned into a terrorist organization with the hopes of releasing a bio weapon that will kill off 80 percent of the world's population
This is a great video. I would add one step: IF you are working solo, before releasing the demo on steam let some people play it. You need to see the game through the eyes of another players to be able to get rid of bugs that you are not seeing and overall polish the game in the right direction.
At 13:49 it says planned release date is Q1 2024. What if we make Q1 2025 relase date and run out of time? Do you must relase the game? Should you relase the game as early access to show it's still not complete but you delivered by the time you promised? Can you change the release time aka delay it? What if you don't do anything, will Steam get mad and delete your steam page? Also at the right side there is a 'developer' and 'publisher' what are those means? it means you made the game and you marketing it, supporting it? Should you make a new Steam account for it or you can go with your 'main gaming' account? Im looking forward for the steam setup page in depth video.
You can change the release date without issue until 2 weeks before launch (we changed ours to Q2 2024 since this video was made). If you change it closer to launch, you need to send a support request through Steam, and they will change it for you (we had to do this for Forge Industry). Developer and Publisher will be the same if you're self-publishing. It's mostly for larger games funded by a publisher, so you can see which publisher is publishing the game, standalone from the developers. You should set up a new Steam account, and then link your personal "gaming" account to the business one as a developer. -M
I know how important the like button is, but im torn between liking this awesome content and endorsing the use of the "jif" pronunciation. Ill leave the like, for now... ahhahaah.
One thing that is such a barrier and keeping me from starting a project, is the mystery of which system comes first. Should I make the save system first? Or focus on levels? Or should gameplay mechanics come first?
2 years ago i wanted to make a game, since all i can do is code, i team up with 2 of my friends who can draw, and the other working on sounds related stuff. you guess it, they quit halfway since they deemed this project as 'unprofitable'. alas i do still want to make games, but i still need to work to live. i chose the latter...
I can't draw, I am familiar with coding but really bad at creating my own code, no audio experience ... But interesting in learning how these things work
I would like to make a metroidvania but mostly because it seems like it would be easy. Like he said though, if it actually is easy for an individual, the market will be saturated. Those two things are more than just correlative. A channel about making games seems genius. Becoming the VidIQ of a similar concept is an amazing idea. I haven't seen enough of your content to know if you're successful in doing so but it sounds like it could lead to limited competition success.
Looved your pep talk! I have designed my entire space in 3D 18 storeys over and underground 2 years full time work. Hi how to find and write e-mails to an influencers?
Ok. Sounds on spot and I agree with you. But can you explain something to me? I am a musician and recently got into game dev. I am still learning coding in C# and considering that I only have up to 2h a day max due to my job and family with 2 small kids, I am aware that I can't cover all of the aspects of a game. So I can maybe cover coding (and I have my prototype running) and music is no prob, but art and meshes - hard flop. I have decided simply to use store assets for my game and even reached out saying "What if I ever decide to release the game with your assets?" witch the answer was "No prob". Is there any legal road block for witch I can't simply use store assets or is it just frowned upon dev. community? I can understand that any serious game studio will not want to use bought assets for their games, but for solo indie devs that is, well at least in my case, undoable. Can you launch your game on Steam with bought visual assets?
Absolutely! There's nothing wrong with using marketplace assets, that's the whole point of them. Some examples of (successful) games all made with the same assets: - store.steampowered.com/app/1159290/The_Bloodline/ - store.steampowered.com/app/1330000/Stolen_Realm/ - store.steampowered.com/app/1591520/Clownfield_2042/ - store.steampowered.com/app/1241100/POLYGON/ - store.steampowered.com/app/787040/Perfect_Heist/ I can keep giving examples, a lot of Forge Industry's model are assets as well, only the very unique, key pieces of the game were custom made D models. So don't worry about it, in the end it's only developers who recognize those models, not your players. -M
@@bitemegames Thank you so much for answering my question. I have a ton more to learn about gamedev and once I am done with some basic mechanics (witch might be really soon because I am almost done) and I feel like I am stuck beyond repair I just might take you up on this coaching offer. I will prob need help cleaning out my code and implementing all. In the same spirit, If you find yourself in need for a musician let me know :D
I'm stuck in the prototyping stage because I'm trying to keep asset requirements low but every fun prototype will require me to make a stupid amount of assets. Unless some AI comes out that will make assets for me or I get an inheritance from an uncle I didn't know I had, I'm kind of screwed?
is it still worth to use unity? do they still charges u for money? i wanna delve into android game dev using python but havent found any clear direction as to how and which ide/frameworks tool to start with. need some help here X(
thanks! but a question, so we can bring on our steam page anytime we want ?! and steam doesn't care about how long it takes that the game be ready for publishing?!
you something I wanna do, I wanna actually build my game with someone cause I know personally I lack in the 3d Modelling department, but I just have no clue how to outreach, and just offer 50/50 or something to the modeller and we share ownerships and etc. how do you do this?? how can I find someone with the dream but won't just ask for upfront payment, cause honestly I can't afford it its already a risk for me
so..in july, we upload the vertical slice (10 to 15 min) to steam page as early access? How do I know when the vertical slice is ready to be published? ( let's say I pick a horror game.. What would be the slice start and what would be the end?)
Vertical slice is meant to showcase your main mechanics and gameplay loop. I don't know anything about your game, but assuming you have a monster lurking around - show how the monster works. Show how the players interact with the environment. - Does it go to investigate loud sounds? Show that. - Is it scared of light? Show that. - Are there multiple monsters with different weaknesses and strengths? If you can't show it, at least mention it somewhere (in-game text, steampage, in your talks with a potential publisher, or on your kickstarter page if you're going for crowdfuding etc.) - Can the players interact with objects (hide somewhere, close doors, pick up key objects to progress through the game)? Show that. - Do the players have an objective they have to accomplish while avoiding the monster? Show that. - Probably the most important thing is to show how your game differs from others. What is the hook that makes YOUR game worth playing? After all, if it's literally the same as an already released game, why would the player want to wait for your game if they can play something that already exists? Etc. Most typically, a vertical slice is a single level/stage of the game. It can be much shorter than the target (i.e: if you intend your levels to last 30 minutes, but you don't have everything ready, you can boil it down to 10-15 minutes for the vertical slice). It needs to be as long as it takes for the player to get into the level, do objectives while avoiding the monster, and (presumably) escape or defeat it in the end. That's a good vertical slice.
Insanly great video really has me inspeared! Which I never released a game past alpha before even though I release builds of "two" fully playable TT games monthly but I can't call them done or in beta not even the one that is 4 years in development becuase it's not ready and won't be ready not till atleast another year at this pace... But then again my idea of beta for my games is done but not completely polished... then do even heavier playtesting in beta and polish and then be done... But this video makes me want to actually finish a game... I've done it with youtube video series, art and a novel but never a game... So next year may be the year. Though I would prefer to spend 3 months in each pahse of dev pre-alpha, Alpha, Beta and finish and it's also on itch.10 and with RPGmaker so no big deal if I release it late I've been support all my games that long so I'm good for that.
Great video! I understand that timing the release with the Steam Next Fest (I think it’s in October) helps the exposure and wishlists. Maybe someone more experienced can confirm this?
Festivals were actually cut out somewhat of this video, it didn't fit the flow well but you are correct. The demo by July also allows you to join Tiny Teams, which is another great festival to get wishlists. -M
So you said to drop the prototype if it's coded poorly and don't try and use it for a foundation for a full game, but what if you've been working on a prototype using good coding methods that can be used as a foundation for the full game? Because I find that the dark night of dev for me happens when I'm coding something I've already coded again, and restarting a project kills the project. If I have to throw out the prototype and start again, I'll never get that second version started.
I assume you'll have spent more than a month on your prototype at that point. When starting a prototype, you shouldn't worry too much about planning things like a class/domain diagram, because you don't know yet what parts you will actually need, and which you wont. If you've spent only a month on the prototype, focusing on fun instead of coding projects, it will be much faster to just take all you've learned, and rework it into a new project, making correct use of interfaces, inheritance, seperation of concerns, monobehavior,... compared to having to refactor everything down the line if you keep using the same codebase. It sucks up front, but it sucks even more if you can't ignore it and you're already half a year down the development cycle. -M
@@bitemegamesThanks for the advice. I think it's because I can't just rapid prototype with bad code. I naturally use class/domain groupings with proper inheritance and patterns as I build the prototype, so it's only a small step up to a working project base. I could prototype faster if I didn't, but I do prefer refactor over restarting.
Even tho its important, i dont think that being good at art or programming is that important if you want to learn. I dont know nothing about coding and even tho im good at arts i dont know how to use blender or digital arts,BUT i want to learn the ropes and make my dream game.
If you already know the basics of programming, Godot is probably your best bet. If you have 0 programming experience, Game Maker Studio 2 will be a pretty good entry assuming you're making a 2D game. -M
Hi you said do not use custom engine what is that. I planed to use Raylib cuz after 5 years fo unity i have to fight for every fps. I should probably try unreal but i feel like a framework will be just fine for me i have done same amount of work with Love2d in 2 years than unity in 5 years. I hope framework dont go in the category of custom engine XD
Because we are planning on releasing a game in a year. If Unity is really killing you FPS wise, I am very curious about your scope/game idea, as thing like ECS exist as well which can massively improve performance. You're just not releasing a game start to finish in a year if you're using a custom engine, since you'll be rewriting too many things from scratch. If you see gamedev just as a hobby project, you can definitely go with custom engine, but if you want to go commercial, you really need the support an engine gives you in being able to do rapid prototyping and not having to rewrite everything from scratch. -M
I find your accent fascinating, is this a normal Vlamish accent? You sound very German to my English ears. Do you use the American pronunciation of "route" just to annoy French speakers? Semi-serious question - I can just about cope with Americans doing it, but it sounds really weird for a European.
So, this is actually a bit of a funny reason I feel. I was raised bilingually (father English, mother Dutch), by 100% native Flemish parents, although my father spoke German, Dutch, and French fluently as well. The English he learned was through his work so without a really distinct accent. I grew up watching a lot of English RUclips as well back in 2010, so a lot of my "Americanism" came from there. You're definitely not the first to comment on my accent, it throws off a lot of people, some feel I'm Swedish, Austrian, German, or South African even. -M
Great video! I always wanted to make a game but my friends are not entirely sure about it or not interested. If anyone here in the comments is interested in teaming up let me know.
![I.N "HALLUCINATION" | [Stray Kids : SKZ-PLAYER]](http://i.ytimg.com/vi/n5B5q1Hwt_U/mqdefault.jpg)
I completely agree about the having a team part. But one thing y’all gotta keep in mind is that DONT GET A TEAM WHO DOESN’T WANT TO MAKE THE GAME YOU WANT TO MAKE. I once teamed up with a guy who wanted to make mobile games to make a game I really wanted to make but the game never saw the light of day. The other one won’t keep you accountable if he doesn’t care about the project. Team doesn’t make anything better if you aren’t all excited about the game. After going thru the valley of despair part around 50 times solo in one way or another, I may finally be able to actually make a full game, and keep myself accountable and motivated solo.
Big true. I worked with my friend on project once... it didn't go past first phases of development because our ideas were very divided.
This is a roadmap to become a gamedev, not to make a game.
@@daze8410 How are you going to become a gamedev without making a game? I don't understand how your reply adds to the conversation in any way.
1000%. I worked with a team once, and we worked pretty well together, but some of us didn't want to make the game that others did and we eventually disolved. Considering in most circumstances, you have to start with only passion to motivate you, anyone on the team must also be passionate about the kind of game you're going to make or people will become disinterested.
It's for this reason I've decided to do it alone until I have money to pay others, because money is a dependable motivator for people who don't have the same passion for the game you're making.
@@KhroMcKrakken I'm in the same situation, and we went through the exact same thing haha. Glad to hear I am not alone :)
Best of luck.
I am finally ready. I may not have a team but I will use assets, whether its particles or sounds. I made 5 games and 2 on steam. I think I learned from my mistakes. My goal is to sell 1000 copies. Good luck to all of us game devs =)
i like your forward approach and that you dont give a fuck that LEGO is a trademark.. lol.. do you want to chat? im a scrappy gamedev too..
@@boohoo5419 that was just a fan game lol
@@CloudlessStudio what kind of game are you going to make?
@@jontay4199 I’m working on an FPS Roguelike :)
Best of luck :) I hope to get to that point myself. Such a steep learning curve lol.
Pick a program, get serious about learning it. Join communities. Learn, communicate, be grateful, encourage others. Show that you are serious. Have something to show. Plan your shit. Schedule it out. Keep relationships as clear and simple as possible. Be patient. Do not worry about other groups and teams and other programs unrelated to what is in your hands. Move forward carefully and with purpose. Again, have a plan. Accept whatever happens and be positive. Get others excited
Excellent advice!
fkn hell this comment is amazing! thanks!
Agreed with every point you made bro, specifically as a solo game dev, i can totally totally relate to having a friend/team while making a game. It will not only speed up the process but also keep you mentally sane. Unfortunately in my decade of experience, I haven’t found a single dedicated person who shares same passion as me.😅
I think part of that is you call it a passion. But what is it? How hard are you looking if you don't even mention what you are passionate about?
@@Salmacream deep
I really want to create a great game and I do think i have an amazing skill in story writing and knowing what will work. But i can’t do art and I am not a developer. I really want to create a team but people usually don’t even want to listen to the ideas I have. And they are amazing…
@@Ayoubboul6081I would pick art or programming and start practicing/going through a course. People want to make something great but we all have stuff we are excited about. If you don’t have a skill set that will help the majority of the grind and assets needed to finish something it’s harder for people to consider bringing you on and giving you that much creative control. If you can do art and talk about all these interesting lore ideas and what is going to happen in a practical way then a programmer may love to work with you because they can’t make assets themselves. Like I’ve done music my whole life and I have spent years learning to draw (still not great lol) but I’m focusing on code and letting my friend do art as much as he can because I want to contribute as much as possible to completing the game and making it good. I can do assets here and there and have fun making the music when there is time for that but this is a game not an album or book. It’s making an idea a reality and ideas don’t take as much long term work. Find how to contribute more and you will find a team that lets your writing skill demonstrate their worth.
this is THE year, good luck to everyone. quality value video by the way!
I started on my first game about a week before this video. Perfect timing, and I keep coming back to it for refreshers. Thank you guys
I needed this! PERFECT TIMING.
I wanted to learn game dev on the side, I am a working software engineer/web developer and wanted to learn game dev to destress
Quick info, you don’t destress but still lots of fun
that's exactly what i needed,
i was floating with ideas and random levels of motivation not knowing what i should do until one of my friends linked me this video,
ofc i needed a roadmap, silly me
365 days from today i will see where i got :"D
You've got a good friend! I'm looking forward to seeing your store page in April ;) -M
It's been a month. Did you do anything?
@@tobeymaguire647 well, pleasure to talk to you mr tobey, big fan ( in the ceiling) ,
so, i got back to uni , two days after the comment, new semester, bouga bouga i have to do around 4 projects for uni and the game, fell into content hell where i had so many ideas that are either too big for the budget and too advanced for me as beginner, bigi baw baw , i decided to put all ideas into one folder and work on a parkour fps game with some nasty mechanics, i am still in the camera controls and animations :3 ( learning blender now cause i cant find what i need )
sorry for the long answer
TL;DR : done just basic stuff, busy with uni
Thanks for making this video. I really like the approach you've chosen in this video. To encourage people to GET TO WORK and SHIP the first game as good as possible. Focus on the essentials and avoid being FIXATED on the little details or parts of the gamedev that are not really important for now. I'd encourage people to take on this challenge and follow THE WHOLE steps in this video! I know I will. 💪
Ok guys! Challenge accepted! 2024 will be the year! Lets do this!
Send me your Steam page in April! -M
Likely the best game development roadmap I've ever seen on RUclips. Thank you!
Just got into gamedev while at the same time i also learn to do 2D and 3D art (generalist) and coding (C++ and Python). One of my siblings might join me and hopefully some of the friends as well but even if i end up alone, i think this is a good time to get into this no matter how difficult it might sound as i also have a full time job. The positive about that is that i can finance myself for whatever i need to buy for all of this so no need to think negatively. Unreal Engine installed and its time to start the very ambitious but hopefully successfull journey :D
Would suggest for your first game to aim low, you can always improve on it later on, but don't just decide to make WOW 2.0 or something. Get basic understanding how things work, what to do and what not to do and how entire process from start to finish should go. Make a flappy bird 2.0 d^.^b
My problem is pretty much: I can code stuff, but 3d modelling and 2d arts is where I suck.
@@aryabratsahoo7474 Practice is key :D Studying fundamentals of art is something what i always recommend tho, theory and practice of this is something a lot of people are missing or even skipping and then giving up sooner or later.
@@aryabratsahoo7474
That's not really an excuse tho or a reason to not try it out. There are more than enough extremely popular games (cough cough Minecraft) which are fundamentally simplistic and have been made by people without any artistic skills. Visuals hardly gets into top 10 reasons why people would want to play your game.
@@Zripas You are right, i have to experiment with some game ideas anyway tho :D
I'm excited to watch your forthcoming video on Creating A Steam Page - great topic and super important!
Hey, Bridges & Docks in the intro! That's awesome!
There's some great advice in this video. I definitely tried to get the Steam page up for my new game ASAP.
Keep up the great vids!
This is really a brilliant video. Lots of good info here. Thanks for sharing. Power to the indies.
Great video! I am very much looking forward to that Steam page video, as that is something I find very daunting still. I've never actually done it yet and I know I should, but also finding a "screenshot worthy" point in development has also proven hard for me to define. As always, appreciate all of the insight that you guys are providing!
Take a screenshot and post it, asking other people what it is. If they get the gist of it, you have a screenshot worthy portion of the game. Who cares how it looks now, if you will be updating it later. Just getting the ideas across is all that matters.
If possible, i would recommend that you do the prototyping stage in a gamejam. Every reason to not feel bad if the idea fails, every reason to throw away the horrible codebase if the ideas has potential.
Thanks for all the nice information😉
Thank you for this; a great roadmap.
If I were to make one addendum, it would be one small but significant pre-2024 step: by December 31st, 2023 - tell someone (at least one person you know: a friend, relative, co-worker...) "I will be releasing a game by the end of 2024." It's a step that I never really liked to do - but I cannot argue with results: where I see the most successes in my life is in the places where I have established a sense of accountability. When all else fails that is what will get you through the dry times, the times where things seem difficult. Where I haven't made myself accountable: those are the areas where I've been most prone to failure.
I know nothing about programming or engines . One thing I'm really good is at storytelling most of i spent thinking about making movies and writing them. So what should be the first game i should make?
Try a visual novel with an engine such as Ren'Py. It will be the easiest way to make a first game, it's made for writers, but you can still add different basic game mechanics to your games. -M
Thank you so much for this video. It's helping me think about big picture while I work on the details.
I'm implementing a game idea that I haven't seen anyone do but will be fun and innovative (in my opinion, but I'll no for sure when i get lots of feedback on how it sucks).
My ideas for my game are very ambitious... too ambitious to think about realistically let alone implement in a reasonable time frame as a solo developer. So I'm focused on one thing at a time and then the next thing each day.
This video showed me the value of subscribing to your channel. Thank you.
This video is amazing and perfect timing.
Great content! We are currently working on something new. Your video is incredibly helpful and insightful. Thank you! Wish all Devs happy 2024 and lots finished projects :)
Thanks for the design doc and help getting started!
I'm going to do it "for realsies" this time! I started working on a game with Unity a few years back, but I think I might try Godot this time around. Thanks for the videos! I've subscribed and will be watching for new content!
I really want to create a great game and I do think i have an amazing skill in story writing and knowing what will work. But i can’t do art and I am not a developer. I really want to create a team but people usually don’t even want to listen to the ideas I have. And they are amazing…
Love this video! Ramping up my game dev in 2024!
You could make some sort of discord event of this; like a new years resolution tracker.
A room to check in with each other, a room to talk about our projects and offer/ask for help.
Beautifully done!
Thanks for all the hard work and honest content!
Great information as always! I'm really looking forward to the "How to Make a Steam Page" video (I am about halfway through my first one at the moment)
This video comes to me at the perfect time. Thanks. We see in April´s Steam Page.
I really want to create a great game and I do think i have an amazing skill in story writing and knowing what will work. But i can’t do art and I am not a developer. I really want to create a team but people usually don’t even want to listen to the ideas I have. And they are amazing…
Great video, Marnix! Thx for sharing your experience.
Loved your video, super organized!.
Intuitively I've been moving in the right direction. But I've been wondering how far off the path I'd gotten. Seems I'm not that far off. So that makes me feel better. Trying to get it Steam worthy... so I'm looking forward to the Steam vid. Thanks.
Great vid.
Thanks for the road map. I am completly new in GameDev but I'll try to acomplish this. Have you a roadmap or a Project management guide for Every step you need to do... for example Week 1 - Characters Week - 2 Sound design 3.-Music, 4.-Animation, etc. etc.
We kind of have a more week by week roadmap in this video: ruclips.net/video/AmiI0M6_3DM/видео.html
-M
I made a small platformer for my uni senior project in UE4, and despite the fact UE definitely has a lot of "manual" vibes in its environment, i still think its what i want to make my big "debut" title on. I've been watching, learning, and pre-designing for years because I want my first game to fully encompass my experience and knowledge of every aspect of games, but its also led me to the valley of despair many times being solo. I don't want to bring anyone else in because 1. its not my fulltime job and 2. I feel I need total control with my own timeline or else it won't be what I want it to be. I've planned out like 3 games over my time of meditation, but for my first one I think I'm going to go with a nice free mobile roguelike game (mobile-focused, maybe multiplatform for steam, idk) that has unintrusive rare ads and some QoL micros for revenue. then with that money i can hopefully make a real epic rpg that doesn't look like one dude made it.
Apparently once you setup your steam page for the first time steam promotes it more then usually. Another developer in their video "top 10 mistakes I made as a game dev" mentioned that one of their mistakes was to setup steam page too early (missing a lot of wishlist) but you mentioned in the video to set it up as early as you can even if you have only 1 screenshot.
In my opinion, I don't really agree with what he mentions; even at 6:40, making games is all about learning and having fun and then using that experience in your next game; if you are an artist, try to learn the hard programming part of the game dev scene as it only benefits you, and that's vise versa for game developers.
Though I know I would never be able to get even a basic game done in any way you described, I do agree with this way of thinking and wish I could be this proactive.
Thanks for showing the way.
After watching the video, I decided to switch from a multiplayer co-op game to a single-player one, but you have to control two characters (switch between them).
See you in April.
Good decision, looking forward to your page! -M
This is awesome, and I deffinately will take inspiration from it. Though I'm going to be using a custom engine(or godot*), and already have my plan for the new year.
I'm effectively setting up my year like a college semester, including some actual courses like Harvard CS50. I need to up my coding game, because I finally got to the programming part of making my engine, and was so lost in C++ that I couldn't continue. 2/7 columns this year are going to be for programming and mostly learning C++, with some blender, C, and Python stuff as well.
*1/7th is to finish some knowledge I needed. I still have my heart on fixing someone else's Unity tutorial, fixing the spaghetti code, and making a proper tutorial for that project. Then going to convert that, and another game I was making based off of a CodeMonkey tutorial, to Godot. I will then work on godot for that game until my game engine is functional enough to convert both those, then finish and publish the second game.
I’m starting as soon as I get my laptop back! IM EXCITED
Sometimes I feel like these videos are directed at me. I'm now on track to make my first solvent game. Thank you for your hard work on these videos.
Bro...what about HARDWARE?
What PC build,especially a Budget one would you have recommended for a 3d game development?
I'm asking bc. I'd have loved to try making a Cod-like story driven game,because I have a story I'd LOVE to tell,especially in 3d and also one that involves war,so that's what i meant with COD-like...ty in advance❤
Edit: I have a 2012 pc and want to upgrade,not only to play newer,but make my own games,bc. my current PC was a beast but now it's a shadow of it's former self that can't pull much and has to play on low settings and almost always crashes...so PLEASE could you make a video on what budget friemdly hardware,one could get that would also allow one to play and especially make games on...tky in advance again✌️
8:29 but I want to make a VR game! There is no game out there that allows me to shoot a 50. cal machine gun in vr and I want to. Some behind the lines ww2 sniper/ambush game would be my dream game!
I always tend to overcomplicate my code and make it as clean/abstract/oop as possible. This, like you mentioned, does not get me far. It gives me great robust systems to use in my game, but now I'm stuck with all these great systems and not a good game idea to use them in.
Im currently working on a stealth based game that takes mechanics from some of my favorite games. The story is basic. But a snippet so far. "You play as jack, a rogue agent with the purpose of taking down the rest of your agency who have turned into a terrorist organization with the hopes of releasing a bio weapon that will kill off 80 percent of the world's population
Great video👍
This is a great video. I would add one step: IF you are working solo, before releasing the demo on steam let some people play it. You need to see the game through the eyes of another players to be able to get rid of bugs that you are not seeing and overall polish the game in the right direction.
At 13:49 it says planned release date is Q1 2024. What if we make Q1 2025 relase date and run out of time?
Do you must relase the game?
Should you relase the game as early access to show it's still not complete but you delivered by the time you promised?
Can you change the release time aka delay it?
What if you don't do anything, will Steam get mad and delete your steam page?
Also at the right side there is a 'developer' and 'publisher' what are those means? it means you made the game and you marketing it, supporting it?
Should you make a new Steam account for it or you can go with your 'main gaming' account?
Im looking forward for the steam setup page in depth video.
You can change the release date without issue until 2 weeks before launch (we changed ours to Q2 2024 since this video was made). If you change it closer to launch, you need to send a support request through Steam, and they will change it for you (we had to do this for Forge Industry).
Developer and Publisher will be the same if you're self-publishing. It's mostly for larger games funded by a publisher, so you can see which publisher is publishing the game, standalone from the developers.
You should set up a new Steam account, and then link your personal "gaming" account to the business one as a developer. -M
Thank you for your clear responses!@@bitemegames
Thanks, it's wonderful video 🎉
I know how important the like button is, but im torn between liking this awesome content and endorsing the use of the "jif" pronunciation. Ill leave the like, for now... ahhahaah.
One thing that is such a barrier and keeping me from starting a project, is the mystery of which system comes first. Should I make the save system first? Or focus on levels? Or should gameplay mechanics come first?
Gameplay mechanics first, levels next, save system use an asset, don't reinvent the wheel. -M
2 years ago i wanted to make a game, since all i can do is code, i team up with 2 of my friends who can draw, and the other working on sounds related stuff.
you guess it, they quit halfway since they deemed this project as 'unprofitable'.
alas i do still want to make games, but i still need to work to live. i chose the latter...
I can't draw, I am familiar with coding but really bad at creating my own code, no audio experience ... But interesting in learning how these things work
I would like to make a metroidvania but mostly because it seems like it would be easy. Like he said though, if it actually is easy for an individual, the market will be saturated. Those two things are more than just correlative.
A channel about making games seems genius. Becoming the VidIQ of a similar concept is an amazing idea. I haven't seen enough of your content to know if you're successful in doing so but it sounds like it could lead to limited competition success.
Looved your pep talk! I have designed my entire space in 3D 18 storeys over and underground 2 years full time work. Hi how to find and write e-mails to an influencers?
Talked about the process in a video: ruclips.net/video/BcHwGdGBp9k/видео.htmlsi=IvO_1UJ37H8IEGpI&t=110 -M
Good video, I’ll look into getting started tomorrow when I wake up. What is best for a beginner? Game maker or unity?
Do you know how to program already? If not, go for Game Maker, otherwise Unity. -M
this time!, for realsies lol. thanks for this vid.
Ok. Sounds on spot and I agree with you. But can you explain something to me? I am a musician and recently got into game dev. I am still learning coding in C# and considering that I only have up to 2h a day max due to my job and family with 2 small kids, I am aware that I can't cover all of the aspects of a game. So I can maybe cover coding (and I have my prototype running) and music is no prob, but art and meshes - hard flop. I have decided simply to use store assets for my game and even reached out saying "What if I ever decide to release the game with your assets?" witch the answer was "No prob". Is there any legal road block for witch I can't simply use store assets or is it just frowned upon dev. community? I can understand that any serious game studio will not want to use bought assets for their games, but for solo indie devs that is, well at least in my case, undoable. Can you launch your game on Steam with bought visual assets?
Absolutely! There's nothing wrong with using marketplace assets, that's the whole point of them.
Some examples of (successful) games all made with the same assets:
- store.steampowered.com/app/1159290/The_Bloodline/
- store.steampowered.com/app/1330000/Stolen_Realm/
- store.steampowered.com/app/1591520/Clownfield_2042/
- store.steampowered.com/app/1241100/POLYGON/
- store.steampowered.com/app/787040/Perfect_Heist/
I can keep giving examples, a lot of Forge Industry's model are assets as well, only the very unique, key pieces of the game were custom made D models. So don't worry about it, in the end it's only developers who recognize those models, not your players. -M
@@bitemegames Thank you so much for answering my question. I have a ton more to learn about gamedev and once I am done with some basic mechanics (witch might be really soon because I am almost done) and I feel like I am stuck beyond repair I just might take you up on this coaching offer. I will prob need help cleaning out my code and implementing all. In the same spirit, If you find yourself in need for a musician let me know :D
I'm stuck in the prototyping stage because I'm trying to keep asset requirements low but every fun prototype will require me to make a stupid amount of assets. Unless some AI comes out that will make assets for me or I get an inheritance from an uncle I didn't know I had, I'm kind of screwed?
is it still worth to use unity? do they still charges u for money? i wanna delve into android game dev using python but havent found any clear direction as to how and which ide/frameworks tool to start with. need some help here X(
It's free until you make 200k/year then it's like $180/month and 2.5% of revenue
A small correction. Stardew Valley sold in around 20 million units, if not more at this point..
thanks! but a question, so we can bring on our steam page anytime we want ?! and steam doesn't care about how long it takes that the game be ready for publishing?!
you something I wanna do, I wanna actually build my game with someone cause I know personally I lack in the 3d Modelling department, but I just have no clue how to outreach, and just offer 50/50 or something to the modeller and we share ownerships and etc. how do you do this?? how can I find someone with the dream but won't just ask for upfront payment, cause honestly I can't afford it its already a risk for me
Thank you!
so..in july, we upload the vertical slice (10 to 15 min) to steam page as early access? How do I know when the vertical slice is ready to be published? ( let's say I pick a horror game.. What would be the slice start and what would be the end?)
Vertical slice is meant to showcase your main mechanics and gameplay loop. I don't know anything about your game, but assuming you have a monster lurking around - show how the monster works. Show how the players interact with the environment.
- Does it go to investigate loud sounds? Show that.
- Is it scared of light? Show that.
- Are there multiple monsters with different weaknesses and strengths? If you can't show it, at least mention it somewhere (in-game text, steampage, in your talks with a potential publisher, or on your kickstarter page if you're going for crowdfuding etc.)
- Can the players interact with objects (hide somewhere, close doors, pick up key objects to progress through the game)? Show that.
- Do the players have an objective they have to accomplish while avoiding the monster? Show that.
- Probably the most important thing is to show how your game differs from others. What is the hook that makes YOUR game worth playing? After all, if it's literally the same as an already released game, why would the player want to wait for your game if they can play something that already exists?
Etc.
Most typically, a vertical slice is a single level/stage of the game. It can be much shorter than the target (i.e: if you intend your levels to last 30 minutes, but you don't have everything ready, you can boil it down to 10-15 minutes for the vertical slice). It needs to be as long as it takes for the player to get into the level, do objectives while avoiding the monster, and (presumably) escape or defeat it in the end. That's a good vertical slice.
@@KubinWielki Tks for the attention..
Thanks .
Game development could be much better if 3d creation tool were more comfortable.
Insanly great video really has me inspeared! Which I never released a game past alpha before even though I release builds of "two" fully playable TT games monthly but I can't call them done or in beta not even the one that is 4 years in development becuase it's not ready and won't be ready not till atleast another year at this pace... But then again my idea of beta for my games is done but not completely polished... then do even heavier playtesting in beta and polish and then be done... But this video makes me want to actually finish a game... I've done it with youtube video series, art and a novel but never a game... So next year may be the year. Though I would prefer to spend 3 months in each pahse of dev pre-alpha, Alpha, Beta and finish and it's also on itch.10 and with RPGmaker so no big deal if I release it late I've been support all my games that long so I'm good for that.
Great video! I understand that timing the release with the Steam Next Fest (I think it’s in October) helps the exposure and wishlists. Maybe someone more experienced can confirm this?
Festivals were actually cut out somewhat of this video, it didn't fit the flow well but you are correct. The demo by July also allows you to join Tiny Teams, which is another great festival to get wishlists. -M
when would you start making issues on your gitlab?
Pretty much immediately, having things like "figure out inventory mechanic" can already work as an issue, it doesn't have to be code related. -M
Can someone direct me in a good location where i can hire teams that can work on games, animations, art, sounds etc.?
“I’m not gonna kill you if…”
Yeah, wasn’t worried about that.
Having a team... the final boss of Game Dev.
Hey how about zoombie Shooter games which has story mode
the get a friend is the hardest part(
Any new devs looking to team up?
Check out our Discord, in the #looking-for-partners channel: discord.gg/WSus22f8aM
-M
If you are a coder then find a graphics designer partner. If you are a graphics designer then find a coder partner. It'll be worth it.
The new year is comming upon us??💀
So you said to drop the prototype if it's coded poorly and don't try and use it for a foundation for a full game, but what if you've been working on a prototype using good coding methods that can be used as a foundation for the full game?
Because I find that the dark night of dev for me happens when I'm coding something I've already coded again, and restarting a project kills the project. If I have to throw out the prototype and start again, I'll never get that second version started.
I assume you'll have spent more than a month on your prototype at that point. When starting a prototype, you shouldn't worry too much about planning things like a class/domain diagram, because you don't know yet what parts you will actually need, and which you wont.
If you've spent only a month on the prototype, focusing on fun instead of coding projects, it will be much faster to just take all you've learned, and rework it into a new project, making correct use of interfaces, inheritance, seperation of concerns, monobehavior,... compared to having to refactor everything down the line if you keep using the same codebase.
It sucks up front, but it sucks even more if you can't ignore it and you're already half a year down the development cycle. -M
@@bitemegamesThanks for the advice. I think it's because I can't just rapid prototype with bad code. I naturally use class/domain groupings with proper inheritance and patterns as I build the prototype, so it's only a small step up to a working project base. I could prototype faster if I didn't, but I do prefer refactor over restarting.
2D ftw
If i could get someone to provide the art for me I'd like to make a game like bloody trap land.
What's the game at @1:05? and @5:53
store.steampowered.com/app/821250/Flotsam/ -M
Thanks!
Even tho its important, i dont think that being good at art or programming is that important if you want to learn. I dont know nothing about coding and even tho im good at arts i dont know how to use blender or digital arts,BUT i want to learn the ropes and make my dream game.
whats a good starter game engine
If you already know the basics of programming, Godot is probably your best bet.
If you have 0 programming experience, Game Maker Studio 2 will be a pretty good entry assuming you're making a 2D game.
-M
@@bitemegames thank you so much mister M
Very wise words
Hi you said do not use custom engine what is that. I planed to use Raylib cuz after 5 years fo unity i have to fight for every fps. I should probably try unreal but i feel like a framework will be just fine for me i have done same amount of work with Love2d in 2 years than unity in 5 years. I hope framework dont go in the category of custom engine XD
Because we are planning on releasing a game in a year. If Unity is really killing you FPS wise, I am very curious about your scope/game idea, as thing like ECS exist as well which can massively improve performance. You're just not releasing a game start to finish in a year if you're using a custom engine, since you'll be rewriting too many things from scratch.
If you see gamedev just as a hobby project, you can definitely go with custom engine, but if you want to go commercial, you really need the support an engine gives you in being able to do rapid prototyping and not having to rewrite everything from scratch. -M
Sevens!
...eights? -M
13:35 this man just commited a crime
Yeah, this year im gonna, I swear..
I think i am gonna, spent the first mounth learning the Godot Engine
I'd also like to meet someone who could do 3d graphics and animation so i could make a 3d horror game about the appalachian mountains
Go learn blender
@@devinkipp4344 I don't have the time to learn a new skill currently
@@clark509 that's fair
I find your accent fascinating, is this a normal Vlamish accent? You sound very German to my English ears. Do you use the American pronunciation of "route" just to annoy French speakers? Semi-serious question - I can just about cope with Americans doing it, but it sounds really weird for a European.
So, this is actually a bit of a funny reason I feel. I was raised bilingually (father English, mother Dutch), by 100% native Flemish parents, although my father spoke German, Dutch, and French fluently as well. The English he learned was through his work so without a really distinct accent. I grew up watching a lot of English RUclips as well back in 2010, so a lot of my "Americanism" came from there.
You're definitely not the first to comment on my accent, it throws off a lot of people, some feel I'm Swedish, Austrian, German, or South African even. -M
anyone notice the amount of copycat videos of the same topic that came out after this one?
Came to this video simply to do the exact opposite
You came to this video 😢
@@rdotfinanceandnewsnot my proudest fap
AHHHH! I deleted it as soon as you said "Delete it", oh the horror 😢
16:51 Please make him stop!!
Great video! I always wanted to make a game but my friends are not entirely sure about it or not interested. If anyone here in the comments is interested in teaming up let me know.
Check out our Discord, we've got a whole channel dedicated to helping people team up! -M