As a Full Time Game Developer failure is always an option and I think it's also the most likely outcome. Which is why it's important to understand your own risk tolerance and what the worst case scenarios might be. For me, given my life, I am ok with the worst case scenario being I spend all my funding and am left with the experience of being a full time dev. But your context might be different so don't worry, there is nothing wrong with doing game dev as a hobby. If you'd like to support me and my work more please consider checking out Hexagod: store.steampowered.com/app/3059390/Hexagod/
Exactly!!! I'm so glad you brought this topic up because it's been on my mind for a long time. The fact that the worst case scenario isn't actually that bad makes this whole gamedev dream journey completely bulletproof. You'll fail. Good. You'll succeed. Perfect! And it's also one of the main reasons I've embarked on my own journey of a gamedev, and if I don't succeed, whatever. The fact that I actually tried and gave it a proper shot outweighs the potential losses a thousand times over. Thank you so much for this video, you're doing great! ❤❤
I am approaching my 41st year in my current job. I wish, when I was younger, I had the drive and the guts to do what you're doing. I love trying to develop games. I suck at it, but I keep trying, and I keep (hopefully) improving. I wish I could do it full time, but that's just impossible for me. I hope you succeed. You have the right mindset and that's half the battle. :)
Hey man i dont usually comment on your videos but I do watch them often and the honesty and tenderness you are showing lately is so beautiful and insipiring, I love that you treat this work of passion that games are as a deeply personal thing because they really are, for me at least. Keep it up!
Hey there, I'm glad my videos have resonated with you. IMO how we choose to spend our lives is deeply personal and important to talk about openly. My goal is to figure out how to live my best life possible and I think that is my new goal for my channel. To share that journey though the lens of game development. Good luck out there!
I have been failing for the past 4 years, BUT i never gave up, and I'm finally shaping my own project and I'm for once getting somewhere I'm happy with my skills i have a small group of people who are hyped to see my project Failling is part of the experience of game development, if anything it just makes you stronger if you keep on going. Glad you're still going aswell! 🎉🐝 Your channel has helped me a ton, whenever i need that spark of motivation i watch a video of yours that i haven't watched yet and boom i get right back to work, I've learned that i feed my brain gamedev content I'll just be a lot more excited to work on something even if its the most tedious task ever.
You hit the bull's eye. I have been wanting to make games since before my teens, and I am over 50... In fact, I learn to program BASIC and Z80 to make games (long time ago...), but never did more than several prototypes in the 80s. I am probably going to face the last 10-15 years of my professional career, but still want to make games. And yes, have a family, kids, expenses, and a full-time job as senior developer (if I don't lose it in the next layoffs wave). So, yes, aversion to risk and fear of failure have stopped me to dedicate to games. Anyway, it is something I still want to make and I will keep the flame alive. In fact, making games today is probably easier than ever. For now it is just a hobby that I want to make it grow. I just need to keep the passion, consistency and perseverance. Keep it up! Cheers!
I also started on the Z80 but I did make so games then and over the years. Always the entire stack. Godot is the first time I have tried someone else's engine and I have just finished my second game with it. Small stuff (1-3 week gameplay) but it's solo dev on the side. Nonetheless, Godot is good enough if you use VSCode as an external editor. Word of caution, though. The last few days have been very difficult on the community due to some tyrannic ideologues taking over Godot on X and Github. A bunch of people are being banned, censored, canned, etc. This will end well. Give Defold or another engine a look.
That sounds like a dream. I got laid off a few months ago. I've been learning about gamedev for the last couple of months and I like it a lot. But I will have to go back to work soon because I need money. I don't own a home and have other obligations. Also, I live in a HCOL area and can't move at the moment. I am so tired of working for random companies developing boring software that I don't care about.
Wish you luck! I've just started learning Godot a week ago, and I started learning coding only 2 years ago. So game development is just a hobby for me, but it is a dream hobby! I'm not that young anymore and I already work as an IT teacher, and I have no intentions on quitting my job, I love it, (I've become a teacher only 3 years ago) however making games and coding can only benefit my qualifications in my job. So it is a dream for me, a young and fragile dream. In any case I know the secret of being a good game dev, a good programmer, or a good anything - the rule is "don't quit." Don't quit when it becomes too hard, don't quit when it becomes too easy or boring, just keep the flame burning. And that is what I'm going to do! Even as a hobbyist. As I said it is a mysterious dream yet, but I bet I'll get the hang of it, as much as it is possible. I won't quit. I wish you a very happy time coding your dream games!
Fuck, yeah bro push through. I’ll be quitting my job soon after I release my game and make my millions you gotta be positive. You gotta be affirmative if you gotta believe in your passion just do it man you got my support that’s for sure. As long as you don’t end up in the street, you should be good.
Thank you very much for these insights. I started with game dev a little over a year ago, and I knew I would be doing it as a hobby for the foreseeable future. Since I can only work 35h/week at my day job anyway, I have about 15 - 20h a week to dedicate to the hobby. That's a fair amount of time to learn. For me, self-employment is out of the question for the time being. But I still set a clear goal of what I want to achieve in the next 6, 12, 18, 24 months. Even though these goals may need to be adjusted in the future, they are achievable goals that provide a roadmap to keep me on track. And failure in my case means, not having given it a try.
God I hate the saying "Failure is not an option" as if it's some kind of motivational quote. If failure is not an option, why the heck are you doing it then ? It's not inspiring, it's irrational. It should be ok to fail, specially in a creative media like video games, cause it's when you take risk that you do anything interesting. So yeah, great video.
I played the demo on my steam deck and was able to complete it. But the controls were clunky and at one point I had to remap controls in order to hold shift to sacrifice a card. Additionally some of the text was really small to read. My 2 cents would be to spend the time to figure out verified steam deck support prior to release (if that wasn't already the plan). Then you also get the bonus perk of the game showing up in the store under the "great on deck" page
Well I am happy to hear you were able to play it at all. I have spent exactly zero effort on controller support, but that is indeed a plan to add before release. Thanks for testing it out. Cheers!
My story would be just the opposite. I'm in debt and I don't own anything. It is hard just doing game development as a hobby. I work 60 hours a week on average as over-the-road truck driver. When I do work on a game project, it is in the truck while on the road. I went to school on and off while majoring in computer science from 1997 to 2009, but I never finished with a Bachelor's. I ended up going to truck driving school in 2010. My initial goal in obtaining a CS degree was to get into game development. I know now that I don't need a degree to create games and it is easier today than ever before to make games. I have made bad financial decisions that forces me to keep working as a truck driver until I pay off my debts. As for responsibilities, I have a 6 year old Miniature Schnauzer; no wife, no kids, no house. Even with all of this said, I still have game ideas that I am going to work on, no matter what.
I'm about to be unemployed and have been wondering if this is an opportunity for me to make a game. I've got money saved up and live a fairly cheap life, but the idea of making a game and not knowing how well it will sell, if it gets to that point, is scary. Maybe that means I'm too risk averse right now or I just need to save up more money to feel comfortable about doing it.
Wow, I'm glad the YT algo showed you this video. Sorry to hear about this twist in life, but like you said could be an opportunity. My only advice it to go with your gut. Good luck with whatever direction you decided to head in and once you head in that direction know you can always change the decision either way. Cheers!
I only fail if I stop I don’t tie success into how many people download my game or how popular . Success for me is finishing the project nothing more. Anything past that is a bonus
Technically its not that harb but just making something that iant a shitty protorype done in few hours is the hard part. Or getting the performance that you want out of godot physics (alternatives don't support mobile or would not run on my toaster)
Maybe if it were the right type of sponsorship with a brand that I actually like. Last video I was specifically mentioning that I had reached out to one of those apps in the past to see if they would sponsor me, but I mostly mentioned it to show that that video was unbiased. Plus a sponsorship from one of those apps would have felt right since they are all apps that I actually use. Right now, most of the sponsorship offers I get don't feel like they would fit for me, instead I rather sponsor my own videos with my own products (i.e. my games).
As a Full Time Game Developer failure is always an option and I think it's also the most likely outcome. Which is why it's important to understand your own risk tolerance and what the worst case scenarios might be. For me, given my life, I am ok with the worst case scenario being I spend all my funding and am left with the experience of being a full time dev. But your context might be different so don't worry, there is nothing wrong with doing game dev as a hobby.
If you'd like to support me and my work more please consider checking out Hexagod: store.steampowered.com/app/3059390/Hexagod/
You only fail if you stop trying. And if you learn something then it's not really a failure!
You're killing it - keep it up
"I do have cats" and right on cue, Karl jumps into view :)
I wish I could say we rehearsed that.
The timing of Carl showing up was perfect, like your summoned him by simply saying “cat”
Thats great way of thinking about anything, not just about making games. For me failing it`s never trying
also, I don`t care if you fail
Exactly!!! I'm so glad you brought this topic up because it's been on my mind for a long time. The fact that the worst case scenario isn't actually that bad makes this whole gamedev dream journey completely bulletproof. You'll fail. Good. You'll succeed. Perfect! And it's also one of the main reasons I've embarked on my own journey of a gamedev, and if I don't succeed, whatever. The fact that I actually tried and gave it a proper shot outweighs the potential losses a thousand times over.
Thank you so much for this video, you're doing great! ❤❤
Good luck! Cheers :)
I am approaching my 41st year in my current job. I wish, when I was younger, I had the drive and the guts to do what you're doing. I love trying to develop games. I suck at it, but I keep trying, and I keep (hopefully) improving. I wish I could do it full time, but that's just impossible for me. I hope you succeed. You have the right mindset and that's half the battle. :)
Hey man i dont usually comment on your videos but I do watch them often and the honesty and tenderness you are showing lately is so beautiful and insipiring, I love that you treat this work of passion that games are as a deeply personal thing because they really are, for me at least.
Keep it up!
Hey there, I'm glad my videos have resonated with you. IMO how we choose to spend our lives is deeply personal and important to talk about openly. My goal is to figure out how to live my best life possible and I think that is my new goal for my channel. To share that journey though the lens of game development. Good luck out there!
I have been failing for the past 4 years, BUT i never gave up, and I'm finally shaping my own project and I'm for once getting somewhere I'm happy with my skills i have a small group of people who are hyped to see my project
Failling is part of the experience of game development, if anything it just makes you stronger if you keep on going.
Glad you're still going aswell!
🎉🐝
Your channel has helped me a ton, whenever i need that spark of motivation i watch a video of yours that i haven't watched yet and boom i get right back to work, I've learned that i feed my brain gamedev content I'll just be a lot more excited to work on something even if its the most tedious task ever.
Good luck on your journey and I've happy to hear I've helped keep you going. :)
@@Aarimous Thankyou :D!!!
Thank you for sharing. I love your genuine talks. Thank you!
Well said - and timely in my little corner of the universe. Thanks for your continued genuineness on your channel :)
You hit the bull's eye.
I have been wanting to make games since before my teens, and I am over 50...
In fact, I learn to program BASIC and Z80 to make games (long time ago...), but never did more than several prototypes in the 80s.
I am probably going to face the last 10-15 years of my professional career, but still want to make games.
And yes, have a family, kids, expenses, and a full-time job as senior developer (if I don't lose it in the next layoffs wave).
So, yes, aversion to risk and fear of failure have stopped me to dedicate to games.
Anyway, it is something I still want to make and I will keep the flame alive.
In fact, making games today is probably easier than ever.
For now it is just a hobby that I want to make it grow.
I just need to keep the passion, consistency and perseverance.
Keep it up! Cheers!
I also started on the Z80 but I did make so games then and over the years. Always the entire stack. Godot is the first time I have tried someone else's engine and I have just finished my second game with it. Small stuff (1-3 week gameplay) but it's solo dev on the side. Nonetheless, Godot is good enough if you use VSCode as an external editor.
Word of caution, though. The last few days have been very difficult on the community due to some tyrannic ideologues taking over Godot on X and Github. A bunch of people are being banned, censored, canned, etc. This will end well. Give Defold or another engine a look.
I love your content - these "diary entry" vids are SO in sync with where my mind has been.
Really appreciate the honesty and context. Hearing people say the same stuff over and over without any nuance gets really old.
That sounds like a dream. I got laid off a few months ago. I've been learning about gamedev for the last couple of months and I like it a lot. But I will have to go back to work soon because I need money. I don't own a home and have other obligations. Also, I live in a HCOL area and can't move at the moment. I am so tired of working for random companies developing boring software that I don't care about.
Wish you luck! I've just started learning Godot a week ago, and I started learning coding only 2 years ago. So game development is just a hobby for me, but it is a dream hobby! I'm not that young anymore and I already work as an IT teacher, and I have no intentions on quitting my job, I love it, (I've become a teacher only 3 years ago) however making games and coding can only benefit my qualifications in my job. So it is a dream for me, a young and fragile dream. In any case I know the secret of being a good game dev, a good programmer, or a good anything - the rule is "don't quit." Don't quit when it becomes too hard, don't quit when it becomes too easy or boring, just keep the flame burning. And that is what I'm going to do! Even as a hobbyist. As I said it is a mysterious dream yet, but I bet I'll get the hang of it, as much as it is possible. I won't quit. I wish you a very happy time coding your dream games!
Fuck, yeah bro push through. I’ll be quitting my job soon after I release my game and make my millions you gotta be positive. You gotta be affirmative if you gotta believe in your passion just do it man you got my support that’s for sure. As long as you don’t end up in the street, you should be good.
wish you all the luck!
I failed many times too. But I will only REALLY fail, when I stop trying. We won't ever give up, friend!
Thank you very much for these insights.
I started with game dev a little over a year ago, and I knew I would be doing it as a hobby for the foreseeable future. Since I can only work 35h/week at my day job anyway, I have about 15 - 20h a week to dedicate to the hobby. That's a fair amount of time to learn. For me, self-employment is out of the question for the time being. But I still set a clear goal of what I want to achieve in the next 6, 12, 18, 24 months. Even though these goals may need to be adjusted in the future, they are achievable goals that provide a roadmap to keep me on track. And failure in my case means, not having given it a try.
Sounds like you have a good mindset given your life and risk tolerance. Good luck with you game and I can't wait to play it some day. :)
This is something I like to think about. I personally could never become a full time artist.
It's awesome that you've got that past experience and are ok with failure. I hope it doesn't come to that though.
God I hate the saying "Failure is not an option" as if it's some kind of motivational quote. If failure is not an option, why the heck are you doing it then ? It's not inspiring, it's irrational.
It should be ok to fail, specially in a creative media like video games, cause it's when you take risk that you do anything interesting.
So yeah, great video.
Keep the pep talks coming!
Failure will eventually lead to success
I played the demo on my steam deck and was able to complete it. But the controls were clunky and at one point I had to remap controls in order to hold shift to sacrifice a card. Additionally some of the text was really small to read.
My 2 cents would be to spend the time to figure out verified steam deck support prior to release (if that wasn't already the plan). Then you also get the bonus perk of the game showing up in the store under the "great on deck" page
Well I am happy to hear you were able to play it at all. I have spent exactly zero effort on controller support, but that is indeed a plan to add before release. Thanks for testing it out. Cheers!
My story would be just the opposite. I'm in debt and I don't own anything. It is hard just doing game development as a hobby. I work 60 hours a week on average as over-the-road truck driver. When I do work on a game project, it is in the truck while on the road. I went to school on and off while majoring in computer science from 1997 to 2009, but I never finished with a Bachelor's. I ended up going to truck driving school in 2010. My initial goal in obtaining a CS degree was to get into game development. I know now that I don't need a degree to create games and it is easier today than ever before to make games. I have made bad financial decisions that forces me to keep working as a truck driver until I pay off my debts. As for responsibilities, I have a 6 year old Miniature Schnauzer; no wife, no kids, no house. Even with all of this said, I still have game ideas that I am going to work on, no matter what.
I mean, if you make games people want to play, you'll be fine.
I'm about to be unemployed and have been wondering if this is an opportunity for me to make a game. I've got money saved up and live a fairly cheap life, but the idea of making a game and not knowing how well it will sell, if it gets to that point, is scary. Maybe that means I'm too risk averse right now or I just need to save up more money to feel comfortable about doing it.
Wow, I'm glad the YT algo showed you this video. Sorry to hear about this twist in life, but like you said could be an opportunity. My only advice it to go with your gut. Good luck with whatever direction you decided to head in and once you head in that direction know you can always change the decision either way. Cheers!
There are never perfect conditions, keep that in mind
I only fail if I stop I don’t tie success into how many people download my game or how popular . Success for me is finishing the project nothing more. Anything past that is a bonus
👍
Nobody beat ninja gaiden 2 on the first try… it took A LOT of failure… But ultimately… VICTORY ✌️
Technically its not that harb but just making something that iant a shitty protorype done in few hours is the hard part. Or getting the performance that you want out of godot physics (alternatives don't support mobile or would not run on my toaster)
I Think every game starts as a shitty prototype. It is turning into a polished gameplay from that shitty thing that is hard
I only fail if I give up time to make my 500th game!!! 😎
Hey buddy I'm new here
Bro
Take sponsorships
You looked for them last vid
No shame
Maybe if it were the right type of sponsorship with a brand that I actually like. Last video I was specifically mentioning that I had reached out to one of those apps in the past to see if they would sponsor me, but I mostly mentioned it to show that that video was unbiased. Plus a sponsorship from one of those apps would have felt right since they are all apps that I actually use. Right now, most of the sponsorship offers I get don't feel like they would fit for me, instead I rather sponsor my own videos with my own products (i.e. my games).
Just want to warn you.
Leave Godot, it's not worth it
What's wrong with Godot? It seems to work just fine.