How do solo devs make an entire game themselves? M
How do solo devs make an entire game themselves? M
So, the question seems vague but I will elaborate.
I’m a software developer, but I don’t do games; yet I have an urge to try and make something.
It just seems so overwhelming, I know I want to make a game where the main character is a cat and you have to complete missions, but where do you even begin. Where does the art come from? How do you refine your idea, if all you know is you want a cat game? How do you choose an engine? Do you just start with the basics and get a cat walking around and see what comes next? If you can’t hash out the idea then so you have a right to even try and make a game? Is it best to follow tutorials to get used to making games? I feel the answer to that is no as before I become a software developer, tutorial hell was a thing and I realised I needed to make things for me to actually learn.
Sorry for all the questions, this was just a stream of thought.
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Just like anything else, one chunk at a time.
You can start with a story and build the game off of that, or you can start with the gameplay and build up from there.
Sometimes you just have to start, and see where it goes. Pick an engine and start building something, don't be afraid to throw it all out and start over from what you've learned so far. Make a game that has some of the elements you want to use and try it out, then throw it out and make a different game with other bits. Start small and work up.
The biggest problem is thinking it has to be perfect to move on to the next part.
You can commission art, or you can buy some models and just use those.
You can also just build everything from the ground up, but it would be hard to do that for your first project.
Thanks for the reply.
This makes a lot of sense, particularly I am drawn to the “start building something” and the way I interpret this could be making some basic platforms at different Z Axis’s and work on the movement for the cat, then throw it out (well keep it saved somewhere to look back to) and work on something else, like the environment or whatever. Then hopefully this will inspire other ideas and the game will grow from there.
I am going to start and see how we progress. Thanks again.
If you need inspiration PirateSoftware has some good pieces on getting started with game programming and regularly runs game jams.
Thanks. I’ll check that resource out.
I don’t write games but a lot of people that do often say something similar. Do play tests for the concept/mechanics.
This way you don’t spend time/energy and resources on art and assets that won’t be used, etc.
Similar to a minimal viable product in regular dev or, perhaps a better analogy, technical demos.
You want to write a site or app that fetches API data for GPS, calendar and Weather and show them together? You don’t start with the UI. You start with:
- Can I get the GPS coordinates
- Can I call another API and get the weather for those coordinates?
- Can I get the coordinates or other info for some future location?
- Can I send that to get the weather?
Once you know you can and that it “works” you build around it.
So like you said. I have boxes, and this other box (or static PNG of a cat) moves around them and when I move this way it drops the box down on another box.
Does that work? Does it feel “fun” to arrange them? No, it feels tedious or can’t get the collision right? Then let’s try a different angle or taking the part that did work and iterating on it.
This also leaves you open to random bugs that end up being “fun” when you lean into them.
Game Makers Toolkit has some good videos on his journey making “Mind over Magnet”. Here’s the playlist.
https://youtube.com/playlist?list=PLc38fcMFcV_uH3OK4sTa4bf-UXGk2NW2n
There’s also PirateSoftware whose entire stream is devoted to “go and make games”
Thanks for this. This will be very useful. There is so much to learn, and honestly that’s what keeps me not sad all the time. I never really care if I drop a hobby and move into something else as it’s the journey that I find pleasure in.