One thing that EXTREMELY helped me is this: DON'T be afraid of fighting your lack of knowledge. If you don't know a specific topic that your game needs, don't be afraid of diving into it to learn. Yes it will probably be hard, you may get stuck and spend days reading articles and boring things about the topic before getting the *understanding click*. In my case, I had to spend an entire week studying AI to be able to create a robust framework for something more complex than the "follow and shoot". I almost gave up on this topic and thought I would fail. Embrace the challenge of learning something new, I promise it will be worth it. Stay strong, fellow devs!
Haha yeah! I face punched this advice, I decided to take on a steam networked server auth game 2 years into game dev. I still don't have a full time job in the industry and I have a severe lack of knowledge, but I will be honest, working on a game your passionate about you can push through any crap that you need to.
I genuinely think fear of tackling something new is the hardest thing about game dev and probably is what makes so many people quit. Always a great reminder that the struggle is normal and you just have to push through it
I've been semi told off for this in professional game dev. People will politely, but frustratedly, ask you to stop trying to figure stuff out on your own and just ask. It's not only common but expected that you recognise -- fast -- when you're out of your depth and just ask. Because 9/10 times, someone two seats away or one Slack message away knows how to do it. It's genuinely a waste of your time (and your teams) to struggle when help is right there. Google shit liberally for sure!
Although I'm not as experienced of a gamedev, I do have a very important advice: avoid premature optimization AT ALL COSTS. If you THINK something is gonna be slow, profile it. Then profile it again. Only then try to optimize. Get it good ENOUGH and put it on backlog. I know most people are not like that but I cannot stop myself from squeezing performance from something that is not even that big of a problem. I have sunk hours into trying different data structures and methods to optimize algorithm. And it can be very demotivating. Focus on making a working game first
I’ve been doing scratch programming for ~10 years and I am just now learning how to program C#. One of my biggest tips is to learn a block programing language first (scratch is the best). It will help you get in the mindset of a programer.
Lol don't, go and learn exactly the tools you need right away, more than that, start producing something from the day one. It all will be shit at first, of course, but the worst advice possible is to delay this phase.
I've using a whiteboard, sticky notes, and magnets, to plan out my game map. Since my game is 2D, instead of doing large scale maps, I focus on one 1080p screen at a time, filling it with detail, and then connecting the scenes together.~
Great video. I would add that in addition to inheritance you should mention that as often as possible you should favor composition over inheritance, especially in a Component Based Engine (CPE) like Unity. I'm actually working on a video for this very topic.
I have another piece of advice: READ DOCUMENTATION. I see a lot of developers reinventing the wheel for things they could have easily implemented through an existing solution if they just read the documentation for it. It also helps massively for debugging when you're using a new system. I find a lot of people on the Unity forums getting angry about some feature that doesn't exist, meanwhile I'm sitting there like "what are you talking about it's literally the second page on the documentation!" In my opinion: the best developers read more than they reinvent. Even if you do decide to create your own solution, it's good to see what exists out there to get inspired, as well as to better understand what makes your solution special (other than "I know best").
Awesome Vid mate! I wish a vid like this existed when i started gamedev 10 years ago haha. I personally use these tips a lot in my own Open World game I am currently working on.!
This vid definitely makes wish I had friends to speak to. Good advice nonetheless, hopefully I'll figure out this coding stuff and actually make a working thing.
I'm chronically addicted to watching other people build games instead of doing it myself, not that I don't want to or can't, video essays about game design and devlogs are just so satisfying, fascinating and entertaining to watch and by the time I snap out of my binge, it's already past midnight. However whenever I do start messing around in the game engine or code, I get equally hooked into it. It's just a matter of what's easier to start, obviously watching youtube videos, I know I really shouldn't watch youtube before continuing my projects but I can't help it. I tell myself it's so I can get in the mood for programming but I'm perfectly aware that's not the case and I could just start typing something to get in the mood but the self awareness ain't gonna stop me from checking out my youtube recommended and from knowingly getting hooked into another youtube binge. Like it's literally 3am for me right now, god help me and all I've done in 4 hours is mess around with extensions and shortcuts, didn't actually write any code but I did watch youtube the whole time. I want better self control but at the same time I don't because youtube is just so entertaining. Then my other problem is every time I sit down to do some game development, either a friend tells me to hop on the game (which I only accept like 20% of the time) or suddenly need to go to the toilet, I don't know why, If I try to resist I'll struggle to concentrate but if I do go, I just sit on my phone for like half an hour. Don't laugh, this is a serious issue, have the same problem with work, I can be at home all day and not need to go but as soon as I'm outside and busy, all of sudden I need to go. Really weird topic to bring up so I do apologize, tbf it is kinda funny though. It's like cod timing but it's in real life and instead of dying it's needing to sh-- None of this is that serious, I still learn something everyday which was my goal going into game development, I don't feel the need to rush anything, it's just a hobby, though I could probably use an actual career and not just retail/hospitality, idk i will see how things go in a few years i guess
Have you considered installing one of those Chrome extensions that lets you block sites entirely or at certain times of the day? Anything you can do to add "friction"/make it more complicated to start watching TH-cam would likely be helpful. If you live at home or with roommates you could also ask someone to check in on you every so often to help keep you accountable. And don't even take your phone to the bathroom :P
Hi! Great video, I saw in your "how much i made from my commercial game" video that you said you were going to add online multiplayer to the game. did you ever get around to that, or do you think that it's a lost cause at this point? Thank you, and keep up the grind, you'll blow up someday 👍
No, I tried again, but I just really couldn’t get it working with the messy code of that last game, and I really wanted to move on at that point so I’ve just been working on my new project since then, thanks for the kind words!
BUT I WANT TO MAKE A MMORPG AS MY FIRST INDIE GAMEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEeeeeeeeeeeeeeee am getting into programming and will be looking to learn networking first but ye, mmorpg is my main goal :(
My advice: Using pre-existing ideas/code/assets does not mean you aren't a real developer. Don't reinvent the wheel just to say you did it yourself. Use every tool available to you and swap things out LATER once the game is functioning.
Sorry didn't watch the video but thought I would chip in as a newbie gamedev youtuber - aspiring gamedev TH-camrs should make videos based on trends, not what they personally want to make - that's what I think is likely to lead to bigger TH-cam success. If you're in it to make games this might not make sense but if you want to grow on TH-cam then you need to make videos that people want to click on.
it's why I'm only just making games now - started by making kids content based on kids trends and now make games based on those same trends. Moving out of the trends is proving to be difficult but I am at least making games now.
Here's my advice: Number #1 Learn in depth and really understand and start with the basics. There are a ton of videos how you can create great games with assets and AI-tools really fast and easily. You can't. You can create really simple or really shit games fast and easy. There is no and there will never be a time when you can create a game as great as those games that inspire you by once in a while typing "make me a game like Hades" into chatGPT. Number #2 Play demos. Lot's of demos. Play and enjoy all the janky, clunky mechanics and the not so well working menus and minor details that would never exist in a reasonably tested AAA game. Only playing Hades, Cross Code, Hollow Knight and other amazing indie titles gives a totally wrong impression what you can expect from yourself. Ground your expectations. Gamedev is hard, but it's not magic. Everyone is cooking with water.
![2 Years Of Indie Game Development! [ULTIMATE DEVLOG]](http://i.ytimg.com/vi/rMzSMrwoDEw/mqdefault.jpg)
![2 Years Of Indie Game Development! [ULTIMATE DEVLOG]](/img/tr.png)
amen.
hiii
@@Dorbellprod hi dorbee
The legend
@@AIAdev ur a potato and you know it
One thing that EXTREMELY helped me is this: DON'T be afraid of fighting your lack of knowledge.
If you don't know a specific topic that your game needs, don't be afraid of diving into it to learn. Yes it will probably be hard, you may get stuck and spend days reading articles and boring things about the topic before getting the *understanding click*. In my case, I had to spend an entire week studying AI to be able to create a robust framework for something more complex than the "follow and shoot". I almost gave up on this topic and thought I would fail. Embrace the challenge of learning something new, I promise it will be worth it. Stay strong, fellow devs!
Haha yeah! I face punched this advice, I decided to take on a steam networked server auth game 2 years into game dev. I still don't have a full time job in the industry and I have a severe lack of knowledge, but I will be honest, working on a game your passionate about you can push through any crap that you need to.
I genuinely think fear of tackling something new is the hardest thing about game dev and probably is what makes so many people quit.
Always a great reminder that the struggle is normal and you just have to push through it
I've been semi told off for this in professional game dev. People will politely, but frustratedly, ask you to stop trying to figure stuff out on your own and just ask. It's not only common but expected that you recognise -- fast -- when you're out of your depth and just ask. Because 9/10 times, someone two seats away or one Slack message away knows how to do it. It's genuinely a waste of your time (and your teams) to struggle when help is right there. Google shit liberally for sure!
My advice: Press Clear in the console. Ignoring warnings and errors is a skill. Overlaping UV's 🥶🥶
lol
Although I'm not as experienced of a gamedev, I do have a very important advice: avoid premature optimization AT ALL COSTS. If you THINK something is gonna be slow, profile it. Then profile it again. Only then try to optimize. Get it good ENOUGH and put it on backlog. I know most people are not like that but I cannot stop myself from squeezing performance from something that is not even that big of a problem. I have sunk hours into trying different data structures and methods to optimize algorithm. And it can be very demotivating. Focus on making a working game first
I’ve been doing scratch programming for ~10 years and I am just now learning how to program C#.
One of my biggest tips is to learn a block programing language first (scratch is the best). It will help you get in the mindset of a programer.
That is good advice for people struggling to learn code, I also started with block coding in hopscotch
Lol don't, go and learn exactly the tools you need right away, more than that, start producing something from the day one. It all will be shit at first, of course, but the worst advice possible is to delay this phase.
I've using a whiteboard, sticky notes, and magnets, to plan out my game map. Since my game is 2D, instead of doing large scale maps, I focus on one 1080p screen at a time, filling it with detail, and then connecting the scenes together.~
This was nicely put together, and all were very good tips!
Lots of great general advice. Some tips which you usually only pickup through experience. Also, I saw me :)
I don't like how the first tip is pretty much just "touch grass", I feel grossly called out LMAO
This is super useful, thanks for making such helpful video!
Wow bro great vid and thx for making this vid, ima defo use this advice for my channel. 😘😘😘
yay!
Lovely tips dude! (Including my own, of course). Very nice video :)
Great video man! I'm currently stuck in a project right now so it's really helpful to hear all these takes
Love the rock paper scissors tip, simple concept that helps to really dig into game balance without over complicating it
Great stuff, but now I want to make an overly-polished Rock-Paper-Scissors
Excellent set of tips! I should look into keeping to some of these more.
8:57 Super Mario 3D World Piranha Creeper Creek
buh buh buh... BUH
Great video. I would add that in addition to inheritance you should mention that as often as possible you should favor composition over inheritance, especially in a Component Based Engine (CPE) like Unity. I'm actually working on a video for this very topic.
Thank you for the tips. This will help me develop my games at much better efficiency.
- Dan
Awesome video thx a lot !
I have another piece of advice: READ DOCUMENTATION.
I see a lot of developers reinventing the wheel for things they could have easily implemented through an existing solution if they just read the documentation for it. It also helps massively for debugging when you're using a new system. I find a lot of people on the Unity forums getting angry about some feature that doesn't exist, meanwhile I'm sitting there like "what are you talking about it's literally the second page on the documentation!"
In my opinion: the best developers read more than they reinvent. Even if you do decide to create your own solution, it's good to see what exists out there to get inspired, as well as to better understand what makes your solution special (other than "I know best").
Awesome Vid mate! I wish a vid like this existed when i started gamedev 10 years ago haha.
I personally use these tips a lot in my own Open World game I am currently working on.!
no way he
This will help a lot
This vid definitely makes wish I had friends to speak to.
Good advice nonetheless, hopefully I'll figure out this coding stuff and actually make a working thing.
I'm chronically addicted to watching other people build games instead of doing it myself, not that I don't want to or can't, video essays about game design and devlogs are just so satisfying, fascinating and entertaining to watch and by the time I snap out of my binge, it's already past midnight. However whenever I do start messing around in the game engine or code, I get equally hooked into it. It's just a matter of what's easier to start, obviously watching youtube videos, I know I really shouldn't watch youtube before continuing my projects but I can't help it. I tell myself it's so I can get in the mood for programming but I'm perfectly aware that's not the case and I could just start typing something to get in the mood but the self awareness ain't gonna stop me from checking out my youtube recommended and from knowingly getting hooked into another youtube binge. Like it's literally 3am for me right now, god help me and all I've done in 4 hours is mess around with extensions and shortcuts, didn't actually write any code but I did watch youtube the whole time. I want better self control but at the same time I don't because youtube is just so entertaining. Then my other problem is every time I sit down to do some game development, either a friend tells me to hop on the game (which I only accept like 20% of the time) or suddenly need to go to the toilet, I don't know why, If I try to resist I'll struggle to concentrate but if I do go, I just sit on my phone for like half an hour. Don't laugh, this is a serious issue, have the same problem with work, I can be at home all day and not need to go but as soon as I'm outside and busy, all of sudden I need to go. Really weird topic to bring up so I do apologize, tbf it is kinda funny though. It's like cod timing but it's in real life and instead of dying it's needing to sh--
None of this is that serious, I still learn something everyday which was my goal going into game development, I don't feel the need to rush anything, it's just a hobby, though I could probably use an actual career and not just retail/hospitality, idk i will see how things go in a few years i guess
Have you considered installing one of those Chrome extensions that lets you block sites entirely or at certain times of the day? Anything you can do to add "friction"/make it more complicated to start watching TH-cam would likely be helpful.
If you live at home or with roommates you could also ask someone to check in on you every so often to help keep you accountable. And don't even take your phone to the bathroom :P
Hi! Great video, I saw in your "how much i made from my commercial game" video that you said you were going to add online multiplayer to the game. did you ever get around to that, or do you think that it's a lost cause at this point? Thank you, and keep up the grind, you'll blow up someday 👍
No, I tried again, but I just really couldn’t get it working with the messy code of that last game, and I really wanted to move on at that point so I’ve just been working on my new project since then, thanks for the kind words!
@@ButWhyLevin I respect it. Your new games look very cool as well 🔥
@@ButWhyLevin yeah, it's much easier if you design for multiplayer from the beginning
Make an MMO
BUT I WANT TO MAKE A MMORPG AS MY FIRST INDIE GAMEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEeeeeeeeeeeeeeee
am getting into programming and will be looking to learn networking first but ye, mmorpg is my main goal :(
I want to become a game dev TH-camr but idk how this is perfect
Yes
My advice: Using pre-existing ideas/code/assets does not mean you aren't a real developer. Don't reinvent the wheel just to say you did it yourself.
Use every tool available to you and swap things out LATER once the game is functioning.
maybe if there were 10 tips i would watch
very epic
Sorry didn't watch the video but thought I would chip in as a newbie gamedev youtuber - aspiring gamedev TH-camrs should make videos based on trends, not what they personally want to make - that's what I think is likely to lead to bigger TH-cam success. If you're in it to make games this might not make sense but if you want to grow on TH-cam then you need to make videos that people want to click on.
it's why I'm only just making games now - started by making kids content based on kids trends and now make games based on those same trends. Moving out of the trends is proving to be difficult but I am at least making games now.
Wow...
Hey Levin I love your videos! I've released a game on steam and would love to collaborate with you! What's the best way to get in touch?
unreal engine casually being way better than unity
none of those advices where util, BIG DISLIKE, waste of time...
Here's my advice:
Number #1
Learn in depth and really understand and start with the basics. There are a ton of videos how you can create great games with assets and AI-tools really fast and easily. You can't. You can create really simple or really shit games fast and easy. There is no and there will never be a time when you can create a game as great as those games that inspire you by once in a while typing "make me a game like Hades" into chatGPT.
Number #2
Play demos. Lot's of demos. Play and enjoy all the janky, clunky mechanics and the not so well working menus and minor details that would never exist in a reasonably tested AAA game.
Only playing Hades, Cross Code, Hollow Knight and other amazing indie titles gives a totally wrong impression what you can expect from yourself. Ground your expectations. Gamedev is hard, but it's not magic. Everyone is cooking with water.