I started making games in game maker when I was like 11. I'm 25 now and have still never "finished" a game. I moved to Japan and am working full time as a game programmer for a studio you've probably heard of, and yet I still feel like finishing a game is just an impossible task. It's ridiculous. Seeing these proprietary AAA game engines from the inside just increases my distress.
"Headache after headache" - that's just so right. Been into indie-hobby solo gamedev for the last 5 years, accomplished two games, made a bit of money (not enough to cover even 25% of dev expenses). It just takes ALL your free time. Sometimes I am thinking like "Why on earth am I doing it?" But it seems that I just can't help but to create worlds. Starting the 3rd game...
"I wanna make a game" is the same as "I want to make a movie". I think everybody would love to make some big thing for people to enjoy, but the reality of making these things is a long learning process, and a lot of time to get anywhere in the industries.
It's all about wearing a bunch of different hats. The thing is, for every hat you wear, there are new challenges and frustrations and milestones that look soo big that you'll never achieve them. It is hard, and some courses do marketing that says "making your own game is easier than you think" just to make a bunch of ppl underestimate the challenge. It is not impossible, to be honest, it is pretty possible, a lot of ppl did it, but the most important part of the process is to have a good planning, and a huge amount of discipline to follow it.
9 years game dev here, thank you for your understanding words. You will be surprised that, nowadays if I meet anyone at a gathering, I won't mention I make games unless the topic gets to it. I'm used to people don't understanding what I do.
Man, I remember when I first started doing graphic design work. Didn’t even know the difference between JPG and PNG or raster and vector, etc. But I kept going and learning until these things became second nature to me. Eventually other questions become easier to answer because I already have other answers that help solve it. Knowledge builds upon knowledge. You just have to keep learning and working at it. You won’t get to that point by quitting at your first question.
I tried getting into 3D and level design. I found out that it requires having artistic ability plus understanding how a game engine works. If you dont have artistic ability, it will be very hard. If you don't have knowledge about the game engine and its limitations then it will be even harder. Combine the two and you're just looking at failure.
Bro that was depressing and motivating...I can feel your pain when I just started editing my gameplay videos....and that's what I think of everyday that I want to make a game...I don't know how will it end
Hey, 3 year update! Here's how you can get started making games yourself.
A prof once said to me : " The more you study a complicated subject, the easier it gets". But most of us give up early
There is a reason why companies put a whole team on it... a lot of respect for the indie game developers!
I started making games in game maker when I was like 11. I'm 25 now and have still never "finished" a game. I moved to Japan and am working full time as a game programmer for a studio you've probably heard of, and yet I still feel like finishing a game is just an impossible task. It's ridiculous. Seeing these proprietary AAA game engines from the inside just increases my distress.
learning to make games feels like trying to learn 5 languages at once
"Headache after headache" - that's just so right. Been into indie-hobby solo gamedev for the last 5 years, accomplished two games, made a bit of money (not enough to cover even 25% of dev expenses). It just takes ALL your free time. Sometimes I am thinking like "Why on earth am I doing it?" But it seems that I just can't help but to create worlds. Starting the 3rd game...
I just had one of that Situations today:
"I wanna make a game" is the same as "I want to make a movie". I think everybody would love to make some big thing for people to enjoy, but the reality of making these things is a long learning process, and a lot of time to get anywhere in the industries.
It's all about wearing a bunch of different hats. The thing is, for every hat you wear, there are new challenges and frustrations and milestones that look soo big that you'll never achieve them. It is hard, and some courses do marketing that says "making your own game is easier than you think" just to make a bunch of ppl underestimate the challenge. It is not impossible, to be honest, it is pretty possible, a lot of ppl did it, but the most important part of the process is to have a good planning, and a huge amount of discipline to follow it.
I KNOW ITS HARD, but the feeling you get when the result comes is just awesome
I started age 32, self taught, got my first programming gig working on unreal and unity age 34.
9 years game dev here, thank you for your understanding words. You will be surprised that, nowadays if I meet anyone at a gathering, I won't mention I make games unless the topic gets to it. I'm used to people don't understanding what I do.
Man, I remember when I first started doing graphic design work. Didn’t even know the difference between JPG and PNG or raster and vector, etc. But I kept going and learning until these things became second nature to me. Eventually other questions become easier to answer because I already have other answers that help solve it. Knowledge builds upon knowledge. You just have to keep learning and working at it. You won’t get to that point by quitting at your first question.
The way I like to think of learning any subject is there are 3 stages:
I started learning game programing last year and it's overwhelming. Make a full game on your own is a true test of resilience and strength of will.
As professional programmer I know exactly why it's so hard.
I had the same kind of challenge to lern how to make games , and now i'm working at Ubisoft and also making my Own MMO RPG part time.
I tried getting into 3D and level design. I found out that it requires having artistic ability plus understanding how a game engine works. If you dont have artistic ability, it will be very hard. If you don't have knowledge about the game engine and its limitations then it will be even harder. Combine the two and you're just looking at failure.
Oh I can so relate.
Bro that was depressing and motivating...I can feel your pain when I just started editing my gameplay videos....and that's what I think of everyday that I want to make a game...I don't know how will it end