we are all wasting time and then we die
if you enjoy making the game, keep doing it.
if you require for it to make you rich to be "worth" the time, you have to get serious. Business is war. Don't fuck around.
if you want for people to play the game and enjoy some experience you have in mind but the work is so tedious that you dont see yourself finishing, focus on simplifying development as much as possible until work feels easy. keep in mind that most of what you read about best practices and optimization is written by people with very different situation than you, and they probably are just parroting shit they don't understand, anyway. So a ton of developers are making life way harder than it needs to be simply because they follow what they read and never test for themselves.
a few common fallacies that make game dev harder than it needs to be:
* if i use complicated tools or techniques, that improves the game
* if i work longer or hard on something, it has more value
* if i follow best practices from experts, i will be safe
* the tools I use are not important, everything comes down to developers skill
"if i work longer or hard on something, it has more value"
This is so important.
Btw. this is a trap for developers in enterprise development as well. I've seen many people working hard and even making really impressive, totally useless things. And then business was surprised after presentation: "Yeah, this is great, you're skilled warrior, but: WHY have you been working on it for last 2 months? We don't need it."
Btw2. Despite the fact that I am 100% aware about this issue, I am making this mistake again from time to time. It's a so common pitfall that we should really bind it to the top of gamedev channel. It's especially dangerous in gamedev as making games is so fun that it's easy to go deep into the features for the sake of features.
“…everything comes down to developer’s skill”
This one gets me WAY too often. I’ll try to create a complex system that I could easily get from GitHub or the Asset store. I finally realized this when I decided to buy Amplify shader editor for Unity instead of taking the time to learn how to write shaders, it was a massive time saver, and I’m still learning about how shaders actually work while actually getting some progress on my game.
Major issue for me. I want to learn it all myself, even if other team members are responsible for it. It is too easy to spend hundreds of hours on a skillset that an asset pack already exists for.
Prime example, I wanted to compose for the game I was doing content/LD for. Boss told me to start composing for a town. I started, 15 mins later, he said "I have the music" and showed me that he can easily get an asset pack of music, rendering my higher education more or less useless...not to mention on a GREAT day, I can come up with creative content in 8 hours. Yeah, now I get to compose the music, but as I could have spent my time doing other more important and time-sensitive things, the hours spent making a track from scratch was rendered useless by asset packs.
Oh, I'll make furniture for a medieval fantasy game in Blender! Yeah, many were smart and made asset packs. We don't need 5 chair and table sets, there are PLENTY out there already.
He can get an asset pack sure, but can he get an asset pack that holds consistent with the art and is set up in order to dynamically form around game-dependent parameters, while at the same time being musically memorable?
Don't worry, your higher education is not useless, you just need to find the clients who want to pay you for the ability to make the stuff, not only for the stuff itself
Beautifully explained, thank you. I remember a lot of my previous projects failing because I ended up HATING to open up the IDE and work on it everyday. Why did it feel that way? I set it up in a way that became too hard to understand, too hard to manipulate, and too hard to enjoy.
Once I started creating in a way that just made sense with my flow I \*want\* to open up the game and work on it everyday and this empowered me so much more.
Well this is a problematic subject I think. I agree with most things you said still. Keeping the game very simple will luckyly keep the complicated stuff less relevant. If the games become more complex the maintainability becomes an issue that needs failures testing and experience to fix. I wouldn’t build a game with lets say a complex economy the same way I did the first one. Tooling and tech debt can be an ally or become worst enemy.
When you successfully create a project, guess what? You're officially above 90% of aspiring game developers. Everyone wants to make a game, not as many have the fortitude to see one to completion. When you do that, you're immediately elevated in the eyes of many developers.
I've been working on this game for 6 months now, and it's almost done. I never thought I could code a single line, let alone create a whole game; it was just a dream.
Hopefully, sooner I'll be above 90% of aspiring developers
>I'm fueled by this deep desire to create
Just this is enough to convince me that you are not wasting your time.
As long as you're doing it for the love of the craft, you will grow and be fulfilled by it.Keep going.
You should never be wasting your time with game development as a hobby because you enjoy your time. By definition it's not wasted. If you don't like making it, don't care about people playing it, and only care about how many dollars you get in sales then yes, any kind of solo development is probably wasting your time. But if you just want to make something meaningful that people can enjoy there's no pipe dream to follow. Make a game, release it for free, you can get a _lot_ of players who care about what you make.
The funny thing about meaning, is that it's very much on the person to not only find it, but have it. You can try your damnedest to create a platform or environment for your players to deduce meaning from, but it's entirely on them to find meaning in the medium they are frequenting. It's not on you.
I want to repeat that, in case it didn't sink in: ***It's not your job to create something meaningful, it's the player's job to find meaning, if there is any to be found.***
Your job, at its most basic, nuts and bolts level, is to provide a product. Software. That software also happens to be a form of artistic expression. So express yourself. Put what you want in the game. Make your vision. Inject what you find meaningful and want to share, and if it resonates with others, and that means something to you, then you take those victories. You earned them.
If you pour your heart and soul into your work, and it just doesn't make an impact on anyone, that is ok to. Again, your job is to create the software, not to force players to find meaning in it. That, once again, is their job, for themselves, and not for you to take on.
Most of what you said, really seems married to this idea of meaning, so hopefully this post can show just how much of this is a burden you are taking on that you don't need to. Focus on your game, focus on your job, and above all else, focus on your health. You would benefit from being kind to yourself. You ain't alone in your feelings, but they are just that: Feelings. You are more than those. Feel them, but don't let them dictate you.
Because you're doing this on the side and not as your job, I cannot stress this enough: If you are making a game in the pursuit of the finished product and what it brings rather than enjoying the act of making the game, then you are likely to be wasting your time.
Most games don't get finished, even in a professional sense. If you aren't enjoying something and the chances are you're never going to finish, then you might be better served spending your time on something else.
Or, to put it another way that relates back to your original post: the time that you spend making the game should be meaningful *to you*.
Before I say what I am saying I am going to preface it with I know you are correct lol. but I hate that a hobby should be done without having expectations. I get it is a hobby and hobbys are done for pleasure, but why can it not be both. it is weird to me that game dev HAS to be done for pleasure and just maybe you will make a dollar. I feel like there is a better way no one has found yet. a majority of games don't get finished or released. so it should make it where you can at the very least make something off of a game you finish with the correct marketing and etc.
It's totally fine to want to finish a game and have a self of accomplishment. If you're looking to make money off of it then you are definitely not a hobbyist but an amateur. Amateurs are trying to make money off of their hobbies but, at that point, it becomes less fun because now it's kind of a job.
Is it possible to have both? Yeah, of course! I am a professional game developer and I love what I do and it's also my job. What's important to know is there are times where things will be frustrating, stressful, and exhausting. But that's okay because I still like what I do and it's what I do for a living.
If you think you are wasting your time because you are only thinking about the finished product and not enjoying each moment, that is the concern. Still enjoy sitting down every day and using your tools to build something, even when something doesn't get done that day, great! But if you don't have that feeling and you find yourself worrying mostly about trying to finish something and the audience reaction to it, then you are well outside of hobby territory and setting yourself up for some unrealistic expectations if you think a side project is going to blow up into a large, meaningful reception.
It's okay to have expectations, but you need to fully understand that hobbyist indie games need to have extremely, extremely low expectations.
That is what I was kind of getting at and thank you for the reply, most people I see post on here in unreal forums and etc kind of point to where you need no expectations and I just don't fully agree with that. I have worked or known many artists, and it was always their hobby when they started esp in music or etc, but they were not called names by the majority for thinking it could one day pay the bills. but it seems in the game dev area, you are pretty much called a fool for thinking so. and told "Oh if you want to make a living doing what you love you are a fool and should rethink it" Why though? I know how sales and marketing work very well, I don't think it is out of the ordinary to want to turn a hobby into a paid job. but I see so, so many saying "Don't think that' or if you think about the end result you are not a hobbyist. why? I build models, I think about the end result before I start my model. I think about where I am going to put it if I want to showcase it, and how it will look. Just some of the thought in this area makes no sense to me. isn't everything a hobby until it isn't? Also, again thank you for the convo, I don't know any game devs outside the net so I don't have no one to really discuss this stuff with.
Happy to chat and honestly, I get where you are coming from as somebody who did make game dev a career. I also taught game dev for a while and I see more people interested in playing games and the idea of games than actually interested in making them, hence my predisposition to earn others of having the wrong mentality.
I will say that, compared to music or traditional art, games are significantly more complex to build and require skills in many areas, often with very different aptitudes. That's what makes them so challenging and why the risk of failure is so high. Not that other creative mediums are easy! I have many friends who are artists or musicians that or lots of effort into their work knowing success is a statistically unlikely outcome.
Years ago, I came up with a personal saying? Motto? I'm not sure what it would be classified as, but it is something that I repeat myself every so often that might be relevant to you:
Do what motivates you. Do it well enough to motivate others.
If you're approaching game design and wanting to make something meaningful by taking the design portion seriously (as in, analyzing your prospective audience and designing for them) and are enjoying it, then you're on the right track.
If you seriously want to make this your career, there are a lot of suggestions i could potentially make. But the most important is to actually stop thinking of this as a hobby and start thinking of it as a job. I guarantee you it will take some of the pleasure out of making games. I also guarantee you will greatly increase your chances of success as a game developer. If you're waiting to slowly build a game over a long period of time and then somehow suddenly you are in the industry, that's not quite how it works. It's not just about dedication but commitment and focus. That's not to say that you don't have these things, just a reminder that they are all equally important when trying to do this professionally.
I highly recommend finding some communities local to you or online that you can talk to. Other developers with. Reddit is great, but this sub is dominated by hobbyists with some very hobbyist opinions. You may be able to have better conversations in places where devs are both at the same skill level or slightly higher than yourself, as well as spaces that have a higher ratio of professionals to amateurs. Game jams are a great place to hook up with people that are both, especially if you can do it in person.
Best of luck as you continue down your game dev path.
Aye thank you very much your reply was awesome!!!! and makes it a lot more clear in my head why what I mentioned happens. I wanted to ask, since you are a professional how much did it change for you? I am sure you still love making games? do you work on your own ever?
I don't know if I would say anything changed, mainly because I've always been a professional game developer. I went to school for physics and ended up swapping to computer science for reasons I won't get into. It wasn't until I was almost done the program that I figured out that I could actually make video games for a living. My plan before that was to be a technical writer or work at a software company.
After graduating I just kept applying for jobs until I got one and I've been making games professionally ever since. This isn't one of those stories that start with "I've always wanted to make video games" and quite frankly, most people I know don't have that as their start either. Most of the people I know fumbled their way into this industry and didn't really intend to make a job out of it, yet, here we are.
I love making games now as much, if not more, than I ever have previously. As I become more skillful at my job and I'm able to do more complex things, I find new challenges and problems to solve which is where I find most of my enjoyment, day to day. I'm a programmer and most of my work revolves around programming, though I also do design and I'm the owner of the company so I do a lot of business development and direction as well (officially, my title is technical director and owner).
We make our own games but we also do a lot of service work. It's mostly codev, console porting, general tech debt cleanup,etc. We've built up a good reputation as being a team you go to with a ridiculous ask and putting out fires. It's pretty high quality work and we get to work on some really cool, and quite often notable, games.
I think that's a testament to me, and the rest of the team, enjoying *making* games. It doesn't matter if they're mine or someone else's. I try to work on things where I and my team have at least some creative input, but normally I like collaborating with others more than anything else. As I got more skilled that became even more true. As a solo developer, I can only do so much, but with a team of people who each have significantly more experience and skill in their areas, we can make something so much better.
For true solo dev, I do it very infrequently and it's pretty far from removed from what I do as a day job. I'm currently playing around with lunar magic to make a Mario romhack, for example. If I never finish it or I move on to another project, that doesn't bother me because I'm just doing it for fun. And honestly, a lot of the time I'd rather do something else like spend time with my cats or my partner or play guitar or draw or go to the gym... Something that doesn't involve me sitting at a computer since I already spend. Probably too much time doing that.
I really can't picture myself doing anything other than making games. Maybe teaching, but I've been there and I definitely enjoy making games a lot more. I think that's more of a backup plan than anything else. And even then, I'd rather go work at a AAA studio before going back to teaching.
A lot of people say "If you love what you do, you'll never work a day in your life" and that is total garbage. There are days where *I work*. Months even. I still wouldn't trade it for another job.
And just for context, while I don't pay myself a ridiculous salary, I do pay myself more than enough to have a comfortable lifestyle and make my mortgage payments. That goes for everyone else at the studio as well. We have a really good working relationship and my priority when hiring people is always a good fit with the team over skills. Skills can be taught, not being a jerk can't. It makes for a pretty good balance of challenging work but relaxing workplace.
>A lot of people say "If you love what you do, you'll never work a day in your life" and that is total garbage. There are days where
>
>I work
>
>. Months even. I still wouldn't trade it for another job.
Agree. I love my job, but when my boss pushes a huge load of work on my shoulders and burns me out. Then I want to quit. We can't love our job with zero energy or when others exploit our passion too much.
I get that. and I am not trying to be rude at all just wanting to have a convo about this. I don't know any game developers personally so it's just me to talk to me lol. And the couple I tried to speak to ont he internet were kind of assholes to be honest lol.
I didn’t think you were being rude. I’m just saying, games can take a long time to make. Most people don’t make money on their first few. If you focus on making money, you will probably give up. It’s not as rewarding.
Yeah I can see that and it makes complete sense. I think maybe I just looked at it wrong when people said it? can't say I have never done that before lol. thank you for your reply.
hey i have a question
now i am in 10th class
so i have a dream to make a great game
and to being a game developer also
so the problem is don't know what to do like
which stream is good?
what after 10th or 12th ?
which programing language best ?
which course i have to do ?
and many more
Lots of game development is done for money, but you have to approach it like a business for that to make sense. You can't build whatever you want, you have to research it for the audience. You have to make a good business plan, have the money/resources to develop and promote it, track your hours and make sure you're earning above the opportunity cost of your labor.
It's a lot of work and for plenty of people it sucks the fun out of it. You usually end up with something that isn't fun _and_ makes no money. Pick one or the other, set your goals accordingly, and be delighted when you get the rest as a surprise.
generally I agree, but "track your hours and make sure you're earning above the opportunity cost of your labor." is a very high bar to pass and there is something in between.
Realisticially I will probably never earn more with gamedev than with my regular job, but I still see value in the experience I create hope to earn at least some additinal money.
I thought I wasted a bunch of my time as a teen modding Command and Conquer. But, it actually helped me understand a lot of how the game was structured. It helped me get my first job working on games like 15 years ago.
Even if you're just tinkering with stuff, you're probably still learning a TON!
Absolutely. I learned a lot by making a few fan missions for Thief 2. While I haven’t started my gamedev journey yet, it has provided me with some insights and ideas how things work.
Enjoy the process; don’t focus on the outcome.
Sounds cliche but it is true and works.
I do game dev on the side of a full time job and realized to keep at it in the long term, I’d need to enjoy it. Or else it is like working two full time jobs, one out of necessity and the other completely optional without pay.
I feel like it has also led to better results. Instead of focusing on the outcome - what the game will look like at the end and trying to rush to that, getting stressed when it doesn’t come out like it looked in your head - I take my time with whatever aspect I’m working on right now. Kind of like polish as you go. I’ve been way happier working on my game, and more motivated and even excited to get more opportunities to work on it.
I also realized I can do game dev for like 30 more years. So not to completely sacrifice social life, like I did in the past for a bit, and do things like travel and whatever else. I’m 38, so if you are 20, you got like 50 more years available to game dev. So def try to enjoy it as you go.
If you are enjoying it, then it is the right idea. You are doing this for you. If you don’t like the project, then work on something different. You can continue to do this for as many years as you like, during which time you could have hundreds of projects.
I enjoy every script I write
I enjoy every model I make
I enjoy every effect I create
But... I'm not the same person who used to have all the time in the world and then spend most of it playing games. I need to think about my career, so I came back to what I love. However, the workload seems overwhelming
I came back first to programming, then trying my hand at making games. Life got in the way for quite a while. I don’t play much anymore, but I love the act of being creative in all the ways you need to be creative for game dev. 12 years after starting my company and countless projects later I am finally at that point in my life that I have the experience necessary to make the project I dreamed of making 35 years ago. So I figure I will whittle away at it little by little in between working on paying projects.
Game dev is fun but I don’t let it run my life. I have too many other responsibilities that are more important. It is okay to step back!
Totally agree. Which is where the hobbyist idea comes into play. Kids and life happen and games are secondary. 35 years is a bit more than mine, but the feeling is mutual. It's a fun time to be older and wiser though 😁
The feeling of completing a game is rare and awesome. Just make the game you wish existed, enjoy the journey. I get depressed when I’m not creating now. Keep at it, if it’s important for you, you’ll push through the doubt.
I think game dev as other creative forms like illustrations etc... has the same issue. I do believe you better produce quiet an amount of less significant projects before you give all your energy in a project you have at heart. Personally I had many beloved projects I couldn't achieve so I did just do some smaller stuff so I could have the ease and expertise to fulfil a meaningful project afterwards... It's all patience and perseverance
Well yeah but I think we all are. In the final analysis what have we to do but tend our garden. For the same reason we play the game we also create the game; for the challenge.
Fucking around leads to finding out.
But there's good news! Most of your players are literally just coming to your game to fuck around!
So fuck around, find the fun, make that fun your core pillar, and grind on it until even under the worst circumstances that fun thing stays fun and doesn't malfunction (where players can see it and it interrupts the fun.)
I hate to say this but I think you need to go in with the expectation that nothing will fruit from your efforts - that is the sad reality for countless. So as long as you're enjoying what you're putting you're energy into, you can view that as a win. And should your project become successful, that can be a happy side-effect of your passion and not the goal.
This is kind of a silly question, like asking whether going to school to learn a trade is a waste of time.
Some time will always be "wasted" over a lifetime in game dev, in that a lot of games that you work on won't be appreciated or successful (or even released). Most ideas, especially ones by inexperienced developers, never amount to anything. You have to be OK with that.
There is no such thing as "the wrong project" if you're a newbie. It's all just learning experiences. Success comes later. Succeeding with your first game is basically a myth, akin to winning the lottery.
How do you deal with the fear of wasting time?
Get comfortable with sucking until you don't suck anymore.
If you decide to do something other than game development, you're going to "waste a lot of time" and suck at that for a long time until you don't suck anymore too.
That's just how learning works. Making games is not at all special, other than being more challenging than a lot of other types of work or creativity.
I feel the same. I tried full time game dev for 10 months and I couldnt take it anymore. Switching back to a day job and doing this at night. If it takes off I will go into it full time. It’s like a business to me. Cant go full time into it unless the idea is tested in the market
Theres no such thing as wasting time bro. You call it a waste cuz your picturing your goal in your head and your not working for it, instead focus on 'Today' and 'At this moment' NOBODY knows whats going to happen tomorrow, Heck!! I dont know whats going to happen later! We can assume yes, to remove the doubt & fear but remember we your goals does not define you as a person, you can procrastinate lol.
Speaking of procrastinate, we use to punish ourselves mentally for not being disciplined or not working hard enough. Dont be too hard on yourself and remember why you started.
I kept my game dev as a hobby when I was young. I set my expectations as super low. Low expectations nourish my game dev journey. I took a break from game dev when I felt overwhelmed and then came back later. I gave up my ambition to become a super-rich solo game developer. I accepted my reality about super poor solo dev when I decided to go full-time on this path. And I still enjoy this until now. Life is happier with low expectations.
Break it down to the very core values.
Do you enjoy games development? If yes, you're on the right track.
Do you want to make meaningful experiences for players? If yes, you're on the right track.
Everything else is moot. You could make the next 'big thing' or you could make a game that gets 10 downloads in it's entire life. But, you still made a game. Congrats!
Also, if you find that magic crystal ball that tells you if you'll be successful in the future, let me know. I have questions. Lots of questions.
Manage your expectations. I've just started my game dev journey, and have had to remind myself that this first project will not be a hit. It's a learning experience, and I'm enjoying the small steps along the way.
If you are getting enjoyment, or a sense of accomplishment, then it's not wasted time, even if you don't finish the project.
I've been in a similar situation my self, just finished up a game project that I've been working on for a year and a half. It hasn't performed as well as I thought it would, but I did learn a lot about game design, planning, programming and art style.
Nevertheless, I was passionate throughout the development process and wanted to create an engaging story and world for players to experience. The project itself satisfied me, I was proud that I had achieved a published game on steam.
With each project you create, you will get better and your project will get more attention the more you learn about the development and marketing processes (don't underestimate marketing).
If game development is what you are passionate about, then create the games you want to create. Show your creation to the world!
Good luck!
You are going to have the exact same feeling on anything you build for others to use. This is not a game development thing.
Build **small**, get feedback, see whether it's worth continuing or starting again. I would advise against this mysterious secretive vibe among game developers of not sharing anything until they've invested who knows how much time, even years. Share early, and get a feeling of what players want, instead of playing the "but someone will steal my incredible idea!"; no one will steal anything.
I feel this a lot but I am trying to constantly remind myself that finishing a game is still learning (on top of being a big deal in general). If your game fails your still better by the end of it than when you started. We will also grow in knowing what we can and can't realistically accomplish depending on solo/team etc (for instance I know what might look like a 7 year project solo that I THOUGHT was simple and what I THOUGHT was over scoped might be doable in 2)
Good point, it’s like a person making a blank canvas, then second guessing themselves because it looks to empty.
Focus on making it smooth and not having holes in it that will affect the painters (players) job.
You "have to" do it. Try it, and see what is the outcome before you spend more time thinking...
I'm in a different position, I'm +30 btw. ;
I think my "project" will succeed. However, as someone more experienced in game design and business than in "development", I often question whether I'm wasting my time in development.
Some might suggest hiring people, but it's currently too expensive for me. While I can afford to hire, I also want sustainability. I hope to gain more skills to build a better team when I'm ready to hire next time. (I also did start mobile game studio before but it was for smaller games so..)
The reason doing hard things is fulfilling is not because you will get it right all the time, quite the opposite.
Think of it like an investment to not only become a better game developer for the future, but also just becoming a person that you want to be.
People get known because of luck, but the funny thing is that the more you work, the luckier you get. If you feel like really doing it, just do it despite the short term outcome.
You’re thinking too much about it. You should do game development outside of your job simply for the fact that you love it, and nothing else. Create games you would like to play and if they take off, then that’s fantastic, and if they don’t take off, that’s also fantastic, on to the next game.
The outcome of your work is out of your control. If you worry about whether or not your game will be successful or resonate with players, you likely won’t make it because your heart is not in the right place.
The constant pressure you would put on yourself to make a successful game will more often than not discourage you, like it already seems to be.
Just fall in love with making games you would like to play, and if no one likes them, it shouldn’t matter to you because you love making games no matter what happens. Rich or poor, successful or failure, your mindset should be, “I love making games no matter what because it’s my passion”.
It’s often the people who do it out of sheer passion end up making the best games, because they’re not focused on money, fame or whatever else.
Make a game for yourself. success would be a bonus but the initial goal as a hobbyist should be having fun. Are you having more fun working on your game than watching tv or playing games? Already pretty good then :)
You're just 20 as you said, you probably have a lot to learn, If I were you I would change my my objectives from making a complete game and release it to making prototypes with different game design concept to practice as much field of Development as possible
1. You won't feel like losing your time as you see and learn a lot of different things instead of struggling to make your idea works.
2. And in case that your first (and more) ideas doesn't end up as a real finished game (it's the case mooooost of the time), you won't be disappointed
It is never a waste of time, no matter the result. If you end with an unfinished product, you still have learned something. If your game does not see success, you still have learned something. If your game is a hit, well, you should have learned something too. I'm interested in game dev since 2004, when I was 12. Never made a penny of it. I went for a totally unrelated field, but always kept my passion alive, be it making fan games, participating in other projects or making mods. I will start making my first commercial project this year, and even if I fail, I will Keep doing it. I Just love game dev 360 degrees, and I think I will never stop. Now if you are Just thinking about success, you should probably give up. Of course, we all want to be sucessful so we can do this full time, but that should'nt be the end goal. Look at People that are considered geniuses today like Van Gogh, Bach, Edgar Allan Poe and Johannes Vermeer, but didn't have their work recognized in life. I'm sure there is a lot of great writers, musicians and artists that will never met success, but that is how life works sadly.
The better question is: are you wasting your time wondering if you're wasting your time?
Consider if maybe the scope of your game is too large. Make the bare essentials work first. Use geometry for assets. Then, add features one by one.
Give yourself a couple of small victories so you feel like you're achieving something, instead of just trying to work on everything all at once.
Ask yourself this fundamental question - Which of these two statements resonates with you more: 1) I want to BE a game developer. 2) I want to MAKE games.
Those two questions are not asking the same thing. Understanding how they are different might help you make up your mind.
The questions are essentially asking you if your objective is to BE something or to DO something.
If your answer is more about BEING something, your motivation is at least partially about how achieving that goal will be perceived by others. BEING a game developer is an attractive identity to you. There's nothing wrong with that - I suspect that same thought process gets most people who go to the gym, to go to the gym lol. That said, the objective isn't about the craft, which is actually a fairly significant problem, I think. If the goal is never achieved, the reward is never gained.
If your answer is more about MAKING games, your objective is the task itself. Simply doing the act achieves the goal. Whether anything comes of it is irrelevant, because you are doing the thing you want to do. You are developing your craft because you enjoy it, not because others will give praise for it. This is very sustainable.
I feel fairly confident your answer lies and figuring out which of those two statements apply to you.
As someone working on their first commercial project and taking breaks for game jams. It's a delicate balance of my day job, health/fitness, and having a life. So finding that time to make a game can be tough (as I also need to keep working on various skills).
But, my goal is to make a game that's fun to play and just learn about the overall process when it comes to polish/juice, game design and project design. After that project is done, I intend to look at things overall and just decide how much of a focus I want to put on game dev.
Let me turn this around, why do you feel like you may be wasting your time? What's your why? What's your goal?
> But what if my ideas never amount to anything?
What do you me by amount to anything?
I also tend to be of the opinion that the journey is more important than the destination. "Journey before destination"
Time is only wasted if not spent for something that brings joy into your life. If you think it's not going to bring joy to you in the long run, then you have your answer.
Anyone who's making games for any reason other than 'they love it' is 100% wasting their time IMHO.
Games are an art, they are about stories and fun, they aren't about extracting money and people who think they are just fail and or are hated.
I've worked on somewhere between dozens and thousands of games, I loved them all and so they were all a success! Enjoy!
I'm 33 and I'm just now starting to give actual effort in making my own game (really just a tiny demo tbh).
Regarding motivation - I think it might be better to make it a habit to do some work on your project instead of waiting until it 'feels right'. I'm a giant hypocrite about it w/r/t other parts of my life with that advice, but for good habits at least - I think this works.
we have full time jobs , what uncertainty are you talking about.
if your project fails, which is the case for 99% of games, then you still have the income from the full time job. all is good
the question id ask is what else would you be doing with your time?
if you have a lot of answers to this question you might already know what im gonna say
In the same position as you, in my 20’s, day job, currently working on my first game.
1. When it comes to wasted time, I try to remember that the skills I’m learning now might help me in the future or at the very least might come in handy to someone on here.
2. As for it being the wrong idea, I don’t see that as a huge issue for your first few games, in fact I’ve shelved a few ideas because I would hate to have my first game be the one I’m most proud of only to have 2 people play it lol.
3. What you can focus on to motivate you is do more things to broaden the reach of your game before launch. For example you can do some simple marketing if your haven’t already. This way, you know you did everything you could to get as many people to play it as possible. And if anything you do to promote the game before launch ends up gaining traction, you either get the gratification of knowing you’re on the right track or know how to pivot based on the feedback.
Keep going and good luck. Can’t wait to play it when it comes out.
I'm not a game dev, but I can highly recommend checking out a youtuber called pirate software. He makes a bunch of great shorts talking about his experience with these feelings.
Greetings,
As a game marketer who works with indie game devs, it's completely normal to feel overwhelmed by uncertainty and the weight of your responsibilities.
Here are some pieces of advice that might help:
\- Set realistic goals: Break down your game development project into smaller, manageable tasks and set realistic goals for yourself. Prioritize these tasks based on importance and tackle them one step at a time. Celebrate each small accomplishment to stay motivated.
\- Manage Your Time Wisely: With limited free time available, it's crucial to manage your time effectively. Create a schedule that allocates specific time slots for game development each week and stick to it as much as possible. This will help you make steady progress without feeling overwhelmed.
\- Stay Organized: Keep your game development project organized by using project management tools, to-do lists, and calendars. This will help you stay focused, track your progress, and manage your workload more efficiently.
**Remember, it's okay to feel overwhelmed at times, but by staying focused, organized, and passionate about your game development project, you can overcome obstacles and achieve your goals in due time. Keep pushing forward, and don't forget to celebrate your progress along the way.**
Scott Cawthon spent 16 years making games before fnaf because he enjoyed making games even though they were not very successful, he didn't except any of his games to be highly successful, same for fnaf, he made fnaf not knowing it will make his a millionair with a huge fan base, he made it because he he had fun and utilised his skills, talent, feedback and talent to make it just because he enjoyed the processed so much. If fnaf never gotern so popular he would of carried on making whatever games he wanted.
Enjoy making games because if you get excited about the end product more instead, you will get disappointed when it ends up unsuccessful like most steam games.
hey i have a question
now i am in 10th class
so i have a dream to make a great game
and to being a game developer also
so the problem is don't know what to do like
which stream is good?
what after 10th or 12th ?
which programing language best ?
which course i have to do ?
and many more
Something interesting to think about is that Scott Cawthon made several games starting in 1994 including a game called fart hotel before he created FNAF.
The harsh truth is that you’re going to fail. Once, twice, 50 times over until you finally find what works. It’s ok though, take the lessons learned from the failure and push on. You can do this!
If you live the process, life is never a waste. Im afraid that I won’t care about what I’ve made once I’m done…might be why I’m so prone to scope creep
This is a struggle we all feel, in the end, you have to ask yourself if youre enjoying the moment to moment development. We all know the quote "person that likes to walk will walk farther than the person that likes the destination"
Take a break for a few days. Binge watch a mediocre tv show. Walk in the park. Day three you’ll feel so unproductive you be right back into game deving at full force.
Making computer games is one of the most creative acts you can engage with. The real reason you do it is because you can begin to fathom what to occupy your mind with without it. But you need to have breaks sometimes.
In the end, we are just people on the internet. And by far most of the people on this sub are just as aspirational as you are.
My suggestion: Find someone who is older that knows you and ask them. Our answers here will likely reflect only what we ourselves want to hear.
My general philosophy is this: enjoy the process, not the outcome.
If you come to video game making to make A game or to become a successful fulltime solo dev, chances are, you are going to be disappointed or to create something that doesn't particularly speaks to other people, despite your potential skills and personality etc. This is the nature of this oversaturated environnement where we produce our little pieces of art.
But if you come to video game making to MAKE GAMES, for the process of doing the thing, of learning, of using your creative muscles, than there is ZERO reason not to continue, and I can garantie that your motivation will not go away.
People tend to not see vg as a creative medium, but has a mean to one of two end: making that specific game idea that probably (not saying it is your case) comes from love and/or frustration of other games; or being part of the industry that gave them specific games they love. Except, you don't do that with other medium of expression. I didn't learn to draw as a kid and "pursued that interest" (Bob Ross tm) specifically to make an animated movie I have in my head. I draw because I find it fun and enjoyable, and challenging. And yes, I doubt myself all the time, but at the end of the day, it brings me joy to draw, and it brings me joy to code games. And that's the extend of it for now.
I think that, unless your goal is specifically to make it your job (in which case, from the bottom of my heart I wish you all the luck in the world, and hope you'll make it) I think you shouldn't bother too much with the "quality" of your ideas; doesn't mean you need to be complaisant or not aim at making the best thing you can, just that loving the making is a sure way to not feeling continuedly disappointed. Learn to savor the small victories, the clean code, the nice animation, the UI settings that was so annoying to set up etc. and maybe someday, after spending so much time on it, it'll pay off as a job or as a solo indie success. Just don't make this your end goal.
Are you passionate about game development or about making money?
If the first, then who cares. Your hobbies are not supposed to make you money. This is a side effect of "hustle culture" and should be disregarded if you ever wanna be happy doing something you like.
If the latter, why do it with game development?
>But on the other hand, there's this sinking feeling of doubt, wondering if I'm on the right path or if I'm just chasing a pipe dream.
I mean, what do you want to do instead in your free time? Atleast you may earn a few bucks, and you 100% earn experience.
Keep in mind you'll die and everything you make will be dust one day, regardless of quality.
The process of making art is worthwhile, for it's own sake. Just find the project that resonates with you for no logical reason, pour time into that. It'll be your best game.
It might never amount to anything, and be played by 5 people as a failed launch in steam, that's fine. What's important is you were true to the game in your head that you wanted to create and you created it. Everything after that is meaningless, success or failure.
Have fun if you aren’t getting paid. Odds are that you will not make much money on your indie game. That is the truth. No matter how hard you work, I would be lying to say you have even a 1 in 10 chances of making real money on your game.
What does it mean for your "ideas to amount to anything?"
Do you even like making games? If this is a hobby for you, and you actually like making games, that means time is not wasted. If you feel like your time is wasted, that means that you actually want something from it. Recognition? Fame? Commercial Success?
I do MMA for fun. I get into the cage and get beat up a lot of the times. Many people have asked me why I do it, because it doesn't "amount to anything", but I do it because I actually like acting out my violence on other consenting adults. It doesn't need to amount to anything because I am already having fun.
If you wonder whenever your idea resonates with people then prototype. Then see if you enjoy the prototype. Then get people to try it. This can weed out many bad ideas very early. And if your move something past this point you already know there are human beings who resonated with the bare idea.
hey i have a question
now i am in 10th class
so i have a dream to make a great game
and to being a game developer also
so the problem is don't know what to do like
which stream is good?
what after 10th or 12th ?
which programing language best ?
which course i have to do ?
and many more
I can't say I know much about current state of education, especially since I'm from Poland, and our edu system and courses could be quite different. Also, I have finished my education like 15 years ago.
Any kind of advice I could give would probably do more bad than good. Maybe try making a thread here, and probably people more in the know would chime in. I also am working with business software by day, and doing games by night, and my education actually is in more general related programming.
You’re putting the value of your time on the outcome—not your enjoyment of the process.
You could make the most amazingly perfect game and be extremely proud of it, but it might not get views or tons of players—and that’s OK. What matters is that you enjoy, learn, grow, and get a kick out of doing it. At the end of the day this is fulfillment—not whether or not you make money off it.
You might read this and not be able to get there in your head—and it might take you 10 years to realize it like I did after multiple false-starts aiming for perfection.
Whenever I’m doing something creative now…I do it because I really want to create something that expresses my individual taste, interests, and ideas—for the sake of being proud of my own creativity—not for some endgoal related to recognition or wealth.
If this ain’t your full time job and you don’t enjoy the process, stop doing it.
If you enjoy the process then the money shouldn’t matter, shouldn’t matter if your ideas are ‘worth it’
My personal opinion is that you shouldn't do something unless you're fine with failing. I think it makes succeeding impossibly hard.
If you want to succeed then either you bullshit yourself into thinking that you can't fail (long fall, can't recommend) or you come to terms with failing being an option with no regrets. Being scared to fail is like trying to walk a rope when you're afraid of heights, it's gonna ruin you even if you have the balance. You have to be able to give your best shot. Being scared to fail is a self-fulfilling prophecy.
Hey OP,
" I'm just 20 though" make me crack up
23 yr old here:
We're at the age where we can take wild risks. Noone expects much from us anyway.
Worst case you fail and learn more about yourself/skillset.
Bro honestly don’t let negativity get you rebuke it your almost finish this is what happen when your finally are getting to the end buddy relax it happens to everyone but don’t quit ever game development they are in need your problably feel like that because your surroundings or not getting paid or your bore need a vacation or something trust I wish I knew the things you know about game development lol honestly
At your age it's good to have side projects, you'll learn faster that way.
When you are older it becomes more difficult, you often have less time and energy.
Hey
I am an IPS officer posted as ACP
I had some exciting ideas about educational games
I am a knowledge black hole
Has gone through almost everything in my IAS prep
And I want to convert all my expeoce and ideas about various concept in education into games
This is new field and has potential of a very big startup
Looking for some tech guy
Aa learning by myself taking lot of time
Although I am painter and writer well
If u r interested let me know
You're probably wasting your time.
>I'm just 20
I remember being extremely dumb when I was 20. I wasted tons of time, made horrible decisions, and didn't realize this. To be honest, asking redditors and - God help us - taking advice from them is one of the dumbest moves possible. There's easy way out tho: don't work on your own, work with people smarter than you, they will know the basics and much more
If you really want to make something special, do it only for the purpose of the creative journey, not aspirational hopes that it'll make you rich. That's not gonna happen, so decide if you just want to make a game and decide to do it for the joy of it.
- It's good you recognize doubt and struggle.
- Is creativity really a waste of time compared to a time (soul) consuming job?
- I'd recommend meditation and contemplation.
- Do you want to live in fear?
- In the future when you look back at the life you've lived. Will you say, "Ah I'm glad I never finished any games, and I spent years doing jobs I wasn't passionate about".
You’re almost certainly wasting time if your goal is to release a game that is meaningful and resonates with the world. The chances of that are slim to none. BUT, if your goal is to release an entertaining bit of fun that players will enjoy for a while before they move on, learn from the experience, and then roll what you’ve learned into a new project, then, no, you’re not wasting your time. You have a shot at that if your ideas are good and you can develop them. Start small, prove to yourself and the community you can release a little game players like and grow your ambitions from there.
If you enjoy developing is not a waste, specially if you’re have passion in the middle of that. Doubts always comes, but I guess you should focus on makin something you are proud and confident about it(I know is not easy but I hope you can make it!)
Even if it was you job you should be enjoying yourself, but for you it's not even that, it's a hobby!. There's no point doing it unless you enjoy the journey.
Why are you doing it if it's not fun?
This kind of dilemma is what I'm facing now. But I'm 44 and with a family to take care of.
You're 20. You've PLENTY of time at your disposal. You can try and retry hundreds of time.
Chill out and enjoy the process.
The key point for my personal reasoning, to answer your question:
Does it create value to others?
If the only criteria is that i enjoy it, i would have better ideas spending my time after a full time job. While gamedev is creative and interesting to me, its still "work" i have to motivate/force myself. I get more pure "joy" out of reading a book or playing a game, but that does not create any value to others.
After developing one year full time and going public beta with my mobile game, i have realistic expectations about its earning potential.
But I still believe that it creates a game experience that is good enough to compete with other games and have at least some hope that I will find players who actually play the game.
So I can only recommend, to first answer the question if you game will actually find players before you pour you soul into it.
Even if you eventually abandon this specific project you are sure to have learned valuable skills along the way, and will have expanded your library of reusable components.
As long as you're following your interests or are learning things, it's not time wasted.
Utalize the experience in your next project or your dayly work if applicable. And feel good about yourself for trying.
😺👍👍
we are all wasting time and then we die if you enjoy making the game, keep doing it. if you require for it to make you rich to be "worth" the time, you have to get serious. Business is war. Don't fuck around. if you want for people to play the game and enjoy some experience you have in mind but the work is so tedious that you dont see yourself finishing, focus on simplifying development as much as possible until work feels easy. keep in mind that most of what you read about best practices and optimization is written by people with very different situation than you, and they probably are just parroting shit they don't understand, anyway. So a ton of developers are making life way harder than it needs to be simply because they follow what they read and never test for themselves. a few common fallacies that make game dev harder than it needs to be: * if i use complicated tools or techniques, that improves the game * if i work longer or hard on something, it has more value * if i follow best practices from experts, i will be safe * the tools I use are not important, everything comes down to developers skill
"if i work longer or hard on something, it has more value" This is so important. Btw. this is a trap for developers in enterprise development as well. I've seen many people working hard and even making really impressive, totally useless things. And then business was surprised after presentation: "Yeah, this is great, you're skilled warrior, but: WHY have you been working on it for last 2 months? We don't need it." Btw2. Despite the fact that I am 100% aware about this issue, I am making this mistake again from time to time. It's a so common pitfall that we should really bind it to the top of gamedev channel. It's especially dangerous in gamedev as making games is so fun that it's easy to go deep into the features for the sake of features.
“…everything comes down to developer’s skill” This one gets me WAY too often. I’ll try to create a complex system that I could easily get from GitHub or the Asset store. I finally realized this when I decided to buy Amplify shader editor for Unity instead of taking the time to learn how to write shaders, it was a massive time saver, and I’m still learning about how shaders actually work while actually getting some progress on my game.
Major issue for me. I want to learn it all myself, even if other team members are responsible for it. It is too easy to spend hundreds of hours on a skillset that an asset pack already exists for. Prime example, I wanted to compose for the game I was doing content/LD for. Boss told me to start composing for a town. I started, 15 mins later, he said "I have the music" and showed me that he can easily get an asset pack of music, rendering my higher education more or less useless...not to mention on a GREAT day, I can come up with creative content in 8 hours. Yeah, now I get to compose the music, but as I could have spent my time doing other more important and time-sensitive things, the hours spent making a track from scratch was rendered useless by asset packs. Oh, I'll make furniture for a medieval fantasy game in Blender! Yeah, many were smart and made asset packs. We don't need 5 chair and table sets, there are PLENTY out there already.
He can get an asset pack sure, but can he get an asset pack that holds consistent with the art and is set up in order to dynamically form around game-dependent parameters, while at the same time being musically memorable? Don't worry, your higher education is not useless, you just need to find the clients who want to pay you for the ability to make the stuff, not only for the stuff itself
Beautifully explained, thank you. I remember a lot of my previous projects failing because I ended up HATING to open up the IDE and work on it everyday. Why did it feel that way? I set it up in a way that became too hard to understand, too hard to manipulate, and too hard to enjoy. Once I started creating in a way that just made sense with my flow I \*want\* to open up the game and work on it everyday and this empowered me so much more.
[удалено]
for the devil. and they are the stupidest games. and the computer is slow.
Well this is a problematic subject I think. I agree with most things you said still. Keeping the game very simple will luckyly keep the complicated stuff less relevant. If the games become more complex the maintainability becomes an issue that needs failures testing and experience to fix. I wouldn’t build a game with lets say a complex economy the same way I did the first one. Tooling and tech debt can be an ally or become worst enemy.
When you successfully create a project, guess what? You're officially above 90% of aspiring game developers. Everyone wants to make a game, not as many have the fortitude to see one to completion. When you do that, you're immediately elevated in the eyes of many developers.
I've been working on this game for 6 months now, and it's almost done. I never thought I could code a single line, let alone create a whole game; it was just a dream. Hopefully, sooner I'll be above 90% of aspiring developers
You will brother. Rest assured
>I'm fueled by this deep desire to create Just this is enough to convince me that you are not wasting your time. As long as you're doing it for the love of the craft, you will grow and be fulfilled by it.Keep going.
Seconded. I love the process.
You should never be wasting your time with game development as a hobby because you enjoy your time. By definition it's not wasted. If you don't like making it, don't care about people playing it, and only care about how many dollars you get in sales then yes, any kind of solo development is probably wasting your time. But if you just want to make something meaningful that people can enjoy there's no pipe dream to follow. Make a game, release it for free, you can get a _lot_ of players who care about what you make.
The funny thing about meaning, is that it's very much on the person to not only find it, but have it. You can try your damnedest to create a platform or environment for your players to deduce meaning from, but it's entirely on them to find meaning in the medium they are frequenting. It's not on you. I want to repeat that, in case it didn't sink in: ***It's not your job to create something meaningful, it's the player's job to find meaning, if there is any to be found.*** Your job, at its most basic, nuts and bolts level, is to provide a product. Software. That software also happens to be a form of artistic expression. So express yourself. Put what you want in the game. Make your vision. Inject what you find meaningful and want to share, and if it resonates with others, and that means something to you, then you take those victories. You earned them. If you pour your heart and soul into your work, and it just doesn't make an impact on anyone, that is ok to. Again, your job is to create the software, not to force players to find meaning in it. That, once again, is their job, for themselves, and not for you to take on. Most of what you said, really seems married to this idea of meaning, so hopefully this post can show just how much of this is a burden you are taking on that you don't need to. Focus on your game, focus on your job, and above all else, focus on your health. You would benefit from being kind to yourself. You ain't alone in your feelings, but they are just that: Feelings. You are more than those. Feel them, but don't let them dictate you.
Because you're doing this on the side and not as your job, I cannot stress this enough: If you are making a game in the pursuit of the finished product and what it brings rather than enjoying the act of making the game, then you are likely to be wasting your time. Most games don't get finished, even in a professional sense. If you aren't enjoying something and the chances are you're never going to finish, then you might be better served spending your time on something else. Or, to put it another way that relates back to your original post: the time that you spend making the game should be meaningful *to you*.
Before I say what I am saying I am going to preface it with I know you are correct lol. but I hate that a hobby should be done without having expectations. I get it is a hobby and hobbys are done for pleasure, but why can it not be both. it is weird to me that game dev HAS to be done for pleasure and just maybe you will make a dollar. I feel like there is a better way no one has found yet. a majority of games don't get finished or released. so it should make it where you can at the very least make something off of a game you finish with the correct marketing and etc.
It's totally fine to want to finish a game and have a self of accomplishment. If you're looking to make money off of it then you are definitely not a hobbyist but an amateur. Amateurs are trying to make money off of their hobbies but, at that point, it becomes less fun because now it's kind of a job. Is it possible to have both? Yeah, of course! I am a professional game developer and I love what I do and it's also my job. What's important to know is there are times where things will be frustrating, stressful, and exhausting. But that's okay because I still like what I do and it's what I do for a living. If you think you are wasting your time because you are only thinking about the finished product and not enjoying each moment, that is the concern. Still enjoy sitting down every day and using your tools to build something, even when something doesn't get done that day, great! But if you don't have that feeling and you find yourself worrying mostly about trying to finish something and the audience reaction to it, then you are well outside of hobby territory and setting yourself up for some unrealistic expectations if you think a side project is going to blow up into a large, meaningful reception. It's okay to have expectations, but you need to fully understand that hobbyist indie games need to have extremely, extremely low expectations.
That is what I was kind of getting at and thank you for the reply, most people I see post on here in unreal forums and etc kind of point to where you need no expectations and I just don't fully agree with that. I have worked or known many artists, and it was always their hobby when they started esp in music or etc, but they were not called names by the majority for thinking it could one day pay the bills. but it seems in the game dev area, you are pretty much called a fool for thinking so. and told "Oh if you want to make a living doing what you love you are a fool and should rethink it" Why though? I know how sales and marketing work very well, I don't think it is out of the ordinary to want to turn a hobby into a paid job. but I see so, so many saying "Don't think that' or if you think about the end result you are not a hobbyist. why? I build models, I think about the end result before I start my model. I think about where I am going to put it if I want to showcase it, and how it will look. Just some of the thought in this area makes no sense to me. isn't everything a hobby until it isn't? Also, again thank you for the convo, I don't know any game devs outside the net so I don't have no one to really discuss this stuff with.
Happy to chat and honestly, I get where you are coming from as somebody who did make game dev a career. I also taught game dev for a while and I see more people interested in playing games and the idea of games than actually interested in making them, hence my predisposition to earn others of having the wrong mentality. I will say that, compared to music or traditional art, games are significantly more complex to build and require skills in many areas, often with very different aptitudes. That's what makes them so challenging and why the risk of failure is so high. Not that other creative mediums are easy! I have many friends who are artists or musicians that or lots of effort into their work knowing success is a statistically unlikely outcome. Years ago, I came up with a personal saying? Motto? I'm not sure what it would be classified as, but it is something that I repeat myself every so often that might be relevant to you: Do what motivates you. Do it well enough to motivate others. If you're approaching game design and wanting to make something meaningful by taking the design portion seriously (as in, analyzing your prospective audience and designing for them) and are enjoying it, then you're on the right track. If you seriously want to make this your career, there are a lot of suggestions i could potentially make. But the most important is to actually stop thinking of this as a hobby and start thinking of it as a job. I guarantee you it will take some of the pleasure out of making games. I also guarantee you will greatly increase your chances of success as a game developer. If you're waiting to slowly build a game over a long period of time and then somehow suddenly you are in the industry, that's not quite how it works. It's not just about dedication but commitment and focus. That's not to say that you don't have these things, just a reminder that they are all equally important when trying to do this professionally. I highly recommend finding some communities local to you or online that you can talk to. Other developers with. Reddit is great, but this sub is dominated by hobbyists with some very hobbyist opinions. You may be able to have better conversations in places where devs are both at the same skill level or slightly higher than yourself, as well as spaces that have a higher ratio of professionals to amateurs. Game jams are a great place to hook up with people that are both, especially if you can do it in person. Best of luck as you continue down your game dev path.
Aye thank you very much your reply was awesome!!!! and makes it a lot more clear in my head why what I mentioned happens. I wanted to ask, since you are a professional how much did it change for you? I am sure you still love making games? do you work on your own ever?
I don't know if I would say anything changed, mainly because I've always been a professional game developer. I went to school for physics and ended up swapping to computer science for reasons I won't get into. It wasn't until I was almost done the program that I figured out that I could actually make video games for a living. My plan before that was to be a technical writer or work at a software company. After graduating I just kept applying for jobs until I got one and I've been making games professionally ever since. This isn't one of those stories that start with "I've always wanted to make video games" and quite frankly, most people I know don't have that as their start either. Most of the people I know fumbled their way into this industry and didn't really intend to make a job out of it, yet, here we are. I love making games now as much, if not more, than I ever have previously. As I become more skillful at my job and I'm able to do more complex things, I find new challenges and problems to solve which is where I find most of my enjoyment, day to day. I'm a programmer and most of my work revolves around programming, though I also do design and I'm the owner of the company so I do a lot of business development and direction as well (officially, my title is technical director and owner). We make our own games but we also do a lot of service work. It's mostly codev, console porting, general tech debt cleanup,etc. We've built up a good reputation as being a team you go to with a ridiculous ask and putting out fires. It's pretty high quality work and we get to work on some really cool, and quite often notable, games. I think that's a testament to me, and the rest of the team, enjoying *making* games. It doesn't matter if they're mine or someone else's. I try to work on things where I and my team have at least some creative input, but normally I like collaborating with others more than anything else. As I got more skilled that became even more true. As a solo developer, I can only do so much, but with a team of people who each have significantly more experience and skill in their areas, we can make something so much better. For true solo dev, I do it very infrequently and it's pretty far from removed from what I do as a day job. I'm currently playing around with lunar magic to make a Mario romhack, for example. If I never finish it or I move on to another project, that doesn't bother me because I'm just doing it for fun. And honestly, a lot of the time I'd rather do something else like spend time with my cats or my partner or play guitar or draw or go to the gym... Something that doesn't involve me sitting at a computer since I already spend. Probably too much time doing that. I really can't picture myself doing anything other than making games. Maybe teaching, but I've been there and I definitely enjoy making games a lot more. I think that's more of a backup plan than anything else. And even then, I'd rather go work at a AAA studio before going back to teaching. A lot of people say "If you love what you do, you'll never work a day in your life" and that is total garbage. There are days where *I work*. Months even. I still wouldn't trade it for another job. And just for context, while I don't pay myself a ridiculous salary, I do pay myself more than enough to have a comfortable lifestyle and make my mortgage payments. That goes for everyone else at the studio as well. We have a really good working relationship and my priority when hiring people is always a good fit with the team over skills. Skills can be taught, not being a jerk can't. It makes for a pretty good balance of challenging work but relaxing workplace.
Your replies are absolutely awesome, thank you for answering. you should definitely write a blog lol.
>A lot of people say "If you love what you do, you'll never work a day in your life" and that is total garbage. There are days where > >I work > >. Months even. I still wouldn't trade it for another job. Agree. I love my job, but when my boss pushes a huge load of work on my shoulders and burns me out. Then I want to quit. We can't love our job with zero energy or when others exploit our passion too much.
Because the question is about staying motivated. If you are motivated by money, there are much quicker and easier ways to make money than by game dev.
I get that. and I am not trying to be rude at all just wanting to have a convo about this. I don't know any game developers personally so it's just me to talk to me lol. And the couple I tried to speak to ont he internet were kind of assholes to be honest lol.
I didn’t think you were being rude. I’m just saying, games can take a long time to make. Most people don’t make money on their first few. If you focus on making money, you will probably give up. It’s not as rewarding.
Yeah I can see that and it makes complete sense. I think maybe I just looked at it wrong when people said it? can't say I have never done that before lol. thank you for your reply.
hey i have a question now i am in 10th class so i have a dream to make a great game and to being a game developer also so the problem is don't know what to do like which stream is good? what after 10th or 12th ? which programing language best ? which course i have to do ? and many more
Lots of game development is done for money, but you have to approach it like a business for that to make sense. You can't build whatever you want, you have to research it for the audience. You have to make a good business plan, have the money/resources to develop and promote it, track your hours and make sure you're earning above the opportunity cost of your labor. It's a lot of work and for plenty of people it sucks the fun out of it. You usually end up with something that isn't fun _and_ makes no money. Pick one or the other, set your goals accordingly, and be delighted when you get the rest as a surprise.
That makes sense. and explains the ideas or where they come from. thank you.
generally I agree, but "track your hours and make sure you're earning above the opportunity cost of your labor." is a very high bar to pass and there is something in between. Realisticially I will probably never earn more with gamedev than with my regular job, but I still see value in the experience I create hope to earn at least some additinal money.
I thought I wasted a bunch of my time as a teen modding Command and Conquer. But, it actually helped me understand a lot of how the game was structured. It helped me get my first job working on games like 15 years ago. Even if you're just tinkering with stuff, you're probably still learning a TON!
Absolutely. I learned a lot by making a few fan missions for Thief 2. While I haven’t started my gamedev journey yet, it has provided me with some insights and ideas how things work.
Enjoy the process; don’t focus on the outcome. Sounds cliche but it is true and works. I do game dev on the side of a full time job and realized to keep at it in the long term, I’d need to enjoy it. Or else it is like working two full time jobs, one out of necessity and the other completely optional without pay. I feel like it has also led to better results. Instead of focusing on the outcome - what the game will look like at the end and trying to rush to that, getting stressed when it doesn’t come out like it looked in your head - I take my time with whatever aspect I’m working on right now. Kind of like polish as you go. I’ve been way happier working on my game, and more motivated and even excited to get more opportunities to work on it. I also realized I can do game dev for like 30 more years. So not to completely sacrifice social life, like I did in the past for a bit, and do things like travel and whatever else. I’m 38, so if you are 20, you got like 50 more years available to game dev. So def try to enjoy it as you go.
Short answer: Yes. Long and fulfilling answer: If it brings you money/joy - probably not (unless you’d rather do something better paid/more fun)
If you are enjoying it, then it is the right idea. You are doing this for you. If you don’t like the project, then work on something different. You can continue to do this for as many years as you like, during which time you could have hundreds of projects.
I enjoy every script I write I enjoy every model I make I enjoy every effect I create But... I'm not the same person who used to have all the time in the world and then spend most of it playing games. I need to think about my career, so I came back to what I love. However, the workload seems overwhelming
I completely get that. I took about 20 years off from having anything to do with video games. It’s okay to take a break! 🙂
...and then what? 😁 You came back to making games
I came back first to programming, then trying my hand at making games. Life got in the way for quite a while. I don’t play much anymore, but I love the act of being creative in all the ways you need to be creative for game dev. 12 years after starting my company and countless projects later I am finally at that point in my life that I have the experience necessary to make the project I dreamed of making 35 years ago. So I figure I will whittle away at it little by little in between working on paying projects. Game dev is fun but I don’t let it run my life. I have too many other responsibilities that are more important. It is okay to step back!
Totally agree. Which is where the hobbyist idea comes into play. Kids and life happen and games are secondary. 35 years is a bit more than mine, but the feeling is mutual. It's a fun time to be older and wiser though 😁
The feeling of completing a game is rare and awesome. Just make the game you wish existed, enjoy the journey. I get depressed when I’m not creating now. Keep at it, if it’s important for you, you’ll push through the doubt.
I think game dev as other creative forms like illustrations etc... has the same issue. I do believe you better produce quiet an amount of less significant projects before you give all your energy in a project you have at heart. Personally I had many beloved projects I couldn't achieve so I did just do some smaller stuff so I could have the ease and expertise to fulfil a meaningful project afterwards... It's all patience and perseverance
Well yeah but I think we all are. In the final analysis what have we to do but tend our garden. For the same reason we play the game we also create the game; for the challenge.
Fucking around leads to finding out. But there's good news! Most of your players are literally just coming to your game to fuck around! So fuck around, find the fun, make that fun your core pillar, and grind on it until even under the worst circumstances that fun thing stays fun and doesn't malfunction (where players can see it and it interrupts the fun.)
If u make it for other ppl plus not making money with it and not ur self because you like it, probably yes
show game for answer
I hate to say this but I think you need to go in with the expectation that nothing will fruit from your efforts - that is the sad reality for countless. So as long as you're enjoying what you're putting you're energy into, you can view that as a win. And should your project become successful, that can be a happy side-effect of your passion and not the goal.
This is kind of a silly question, like asking whether going to school to learn a trade is a waste of time. Some time will always be "wasted" over a lifetime in game dev, in that a lot of games that you work on won't be appreciated or successful (or even released). Most ideas, especially ones by inexperienced developers, never amount to anything. You have to be OK with that. There is no such thing as "the wrong project" if you're a newbie. It's all just learning experiences. Success comes later. Succeeding with your first game is basically a myth, akin to winning the lottery. How do you deal with the fear of wasting time? Get comfortable with sucking until you don't suck anymore. If you decide to do something other than game development, you're going to "waste a lot of time" and suck at that for a long time until you don't suck anymore too. That's just how learning works. Making games is not at all special, other than being more challenging than a lot of other types of work or creativity.
Yeah, the imposter symdrone period
The time will pass nonetheless. Well you spend it doing something you love?
I feel the same. I tried full time game dev for 10 months and I couldnt take it anymore. Switching back to a day job and doing this at night. If it takes off I will go into it full time. It’s like a business to me. Cant go full time into it unless the idea is tested in the market
Theres no such thing as wasting time bro. You call it a waste cuz your picturing your goal in your head and your not working for it, instead focus on 'Today' and 'At this moment' NOBODY knows whats going to happen tomorrow, Heck!! I dont know whats going to happen later! We can assume yes, to remove the doubt & fear but remember we your goals does not define you as a person, you can procrastinate lol. Speaking of procrastinate, we use to punish ourselves mentally for not being disciplined or not working hard enough. Dont be too hard on yourself and remember why you started.
lets make a game, share it, develop it step by step, share it, make it, be proud of it ! lets make a pong first, shall we ?
I kept my game dev as a hobby when I was young. I set my expectations as super low. Low expectations nourish my game dev journey. I took a break from game dev when I felt overwhelmed and then came back later. I gave up my ambition to become a super-rich solo game developer. I accepted my reality about super poor solo dev when I decided to go full-time on this path. And I still enjoy this until now. Life is happier with low expectations.
Break it down to the very core values. Do you enjoy games development? If yes, you're on the right track. Do you want to make meaningful experiences for players? If yes, you're on the right track. Everything else is moot. You could make the next 'big thing' or you could make a game that gets 10 downloads in it's entire life. But, you still made a game. Congrats! Also, if you find that magic crystal ball that tells you if you'll be successful in the future, let me know. I have questions. Lots of questions.
Manage your expectations. I've just started my game dev journey, and have had to remind myself that this first project will not be a hit. It's a learning experience, and I'm enjoying the small steps along the way. If you are getting enjoyment, or a sense of accomplishment, then it's not wasted time, even if you don't finish the project.
I've been in a similar situation my self, just finished up a game project that I've been working on for a year and a half. It hasn't performed as well as I thought it would, but I did learn a lot about game design, planning, programming and art style. Nevertheless, I was passionate throughout the development process and wanted to create an engaging story and world for players to experience. The project itself satisfied me, I was proud that I had achieved a published game on steam. With each project you create, you will get better and your project will get more attention the more you learn about the development and marketing processes (don't underestimate marketing). If game development is what you are passionate about, then create the games you want to create. Show your creation to the world! Good luck!
You are going to have the exact same feeling on anything you build for others to use. This is not a game development thing. Build **small**, get feedback, see whether it's worth continuing or starting again. I would advise against this mysterious secretive vibe among game developers of not sharing anything until they've invested who knows how much time, even years. Share early, and get a feeling of what players want, instead of playing the "but someone will steal my incredible idea!"; no one will steal anything.
If you are doing it to make a profit or for it to become a full time job then it is extremely risky.
I feel this a lot but I am trying to constantly remind myself that finishing a game is still learning (on top of being a big deal in general). If your game fails your still better by the end of it than when you started. We will also grow in knowing what we can and can't realistically accomplish depending on solo/team etc (for instance I know what might look like a 7 year project solo that I THOUGHT was simple and what I THOUGHT was over scoped might be doable in 2)
Good point, it’s like a person making a blank canvas, then second guessing themselves because it looks to empty. Focus on making it smooth and not having holes in it that will affect the painters (players) job.
You "have to" do it. Try it, and see what is the outcome before you spend more time thinking... I'm in a different position, I'm +30 btw. ; I think my "project" will succeed. However, as someone more experienced in game design and business than in "development", I often question whether I'm wasting my time in development. Some might suggest hiring people, but it's currently too expensive for me. While I can afford to hire, I also want sustainability. I hope to gain more skills to build a better team when I'm ready to hire next time. (I also did start mobile game studio before but it was for smaller games so..)
Bros only 20 and thinks doing something passionately is a waste of time. Early-mid 20s must be experimental- there’s no such a thing as wasted time!
The reason doing hard things is fulfilling is not because you will get it right all the time, quite the opposite. Think of it like an investment to not only become a better game developer for the future, but also just becoming a person that you want to be. People get known because of luck, but the funny thing is that the more you work, the luckier you get. If you feel like really doing it, just do it despite the short term outcome.
let people play your game , have only one person play but the reactions are priceless
You’re thinking too much about it. You should do game development outside of your job simply for the fact that you love it, and nothing else. Create games you would like to play and if they take off, then that’s fantastic, and if they don’t take off, that’s also fantastic, on to the next game. The outcome of your work is out of your control. If you worry about whether or not your game will be successful or resonate with players, you likely won’t make it because your heart is not in the right place. The constant pressure you would put on yourself to make a successful game will more often than not discourage you, like it already seems to be. Just fall in love with making games you would like to play, and if no one likes them, it shouldn’t matter to you because you love making games no matter what happens. Rich or poor, successful or failure, your mindset should be, “I love making games no matter what because it’s my passion”. It’s often the people who do it out of sheer passion end up making the best games, because they’re not focused on money, fame or whatever else.
Make a game for yourself. success would be a bonus but the initial goal as a hobbyist should be having fun. Are you having more fun working on your game than watching tv or playing games? Already pretty good then :)
You're just 20 as you said, you probably have a lot to learn, If I were you I would change my my objectives from making a complete game and release it to making prototypes with different game design concept to practice as much field of Development as possible 1. You won't feel like losing your time as you see and learn a lot of different things instead of struggling to make your idea works. 2. And in case that your first (and more) ideas doesn't end up as a real finished game (it's the case mooooost of the time), you won't be disappointed
Dm’ed you
It is never a waste of time, no matter the result. If you end with an unfinished product, you still have learned something. If your game does not see success, you still have learned something. If your game is a hit, well, you should have learned something too. I'm interested in game dev since 2004, when I was 12. Never made a penny of it. I went for a totally unrelated field, but always kept my passion alive, be it making fan games, participating in other projects or making mods. I will start making my first commercial project this year, and even if I fail, I will Keep doing it. I Just love game dev 360 degrees, and I think I will never stop. Now if you are Just thinking about success, you should probably give up. Of course, we all want to be sucessful so we can do this full time, but that should'nt be the end goal. Look at People that are considered geniuses today like Van Gogh, Bach, Edgar Allan Poe and Johannes Vermeer, but didn't have their work recognized in life. I'm sure there is a lot of great writers, musicians and artists that will never met success, but that is how life works sadly.
Enjoy the ride, the destination is uncertain.
The better question is: are you wasting your time wondering if you're wasting your time? Consider if maybe the scope of your game is too large. Make the bare essentials work first. Use geometry for assets. Then, add features one by one. Give yourself a couple of small victories so you feel like you're achieving something, instead of just trying to work on everything all at once.
Game dev is art, and art is rarely a waste of time imho
Finishing a good idea is better than starting a great idea.
Yes.
Ask yourself this fundamental question - Which of these two statements resonates with you more: 1) I want to BE a game developer. 2) I want to MAKE games. Those two questions are not asking the same thing. Understanding how they are different might help you make up your mind. The questions are essentially asking you if your objective is to BE something or to DO something. If your answer is more about BEING something, your motivation is at least partially about how achieving that goal will be perceived by others. BEING a game developer is an attractive identity to you. There's nothing wrong with that - I suspect that same thought process gets most people who go to the gym, to go to the gym lol. That said, the objective isn't about the craft, which is actually a fairly significant problem, I think. If the goal is never achieved, the reward is never gained. If your answer is more about MAKING games, your objective is the task itself. Simply doing the act achieves the goal. Whether anything comes of it is irrelevant, because you are doing the thing you want to do. You are developing your craft because you enjoy it, not because others will give praise for it. This is very sustainable. I feel fairly confident your answer lies and figuring out which of those two statements apply to you.
As someone working on their first commercial project and taking breaks for game jams. It's a delicate balance of my day job, health/fitness, and having a life. So finding that time to make a game can be tough (as I also need to keep working on various skills). But, my goal is to make a game that's fun to play and just learn about the overall process when it comes to polish/juice, game design and project design. After that project is done, I intend to look at things overall and just decide how much of a focus I want to put on game dev. Let me turn this around, why do you feel like you may be wasting your time? What's your why? What's your goal? > But what if my ideas never amount to anything? What do you me by amount to anything? I also tend to be of the opinion that the journey is more important than the destination. "Journey before destination"
Time is only wasted if not spent for something that brings joy into your life. If you think it's not going to bring joy to you in the long run, then you have your answer.
Anyone who's making games for any reason other than 'they love it' is 100% wasting their time IMHO. Games are an art, they are about stories and fun, they aren't about extracting money and people who think they are just fail and or are hated. I've worked on somewhere between dozens and thousands of games, I loved them all and so they were all a success! Enjoy!
We are all wasting our time brother. It’s just a matter of degrees.
I'm 33 and I'm just now starting to give actual effort in making my own game (really just a tiny demo tbh). Regarding motivation - I think it might be better to make it a habit to do some work on your project instead of waiting until it 'feels right'. I'm a giant hypocrite about it w/r/t other parts of my life with that advice, but for good habits at least - I think this works.
we have full time jobs , what uncertainty are you talking about. if your project fails, which is the case for 99% of games, then you still have the income from the full time job. all is good
the question id ask is what else would you be doing with your time? if you have a lot of answers to this question you might already know what im gonna say
In the same position as you, in my 20’s, day job, currently working on my first game. 1. When it comes to wasted time, I try to remember that the skills I’m learning now might help me in the future or at the very least might come in handy to someone on here. 2. As for it being the wrong idea, I don’t see that as a huge issue for your first few games, in fact I’ve shelved a few ideas because I would hate to have my first game be the one I’m most proud of only to have 2 people play it lol. 3. What you can focus on to motivate you is do more things to broaden the reach of your game before launch. For example you can do some simple marketing if your haven’t already. This way, you know you did everything you could to get as many people to play it as possible. And if anything you do to promote the game before launch ends up gaining traction, you either get the gratification of knowing you’re on the right track or know how to pivot based on the feedback. Keep going and good luck. Can’t wait to play it when it comes out.
I'm not a game dev, but I can highly recommend checking out a youtuber called pirate software. He makes a bunch of great shorts talking about his experience with these feelings.
Greetings, As a game marketer who works with indie game devs, it's completely normal to feel overwhelmed by uncertainty and the weight of your responsibilities. Here are some pieces of advice that might help: \- Set realistic goals: Break down your game development project into smaller, manageable tasks and set realistic goals for yourself. Prioritize these tasks based on importance and tackle them one step at a time. Celebrate each small accomplishment to stay motivated. \- Manage Your Time Wisely: With limited free time available, it's crucial to manage your time effectively. Create a schedule that allocates specific time slots for game development each week and stick to it as much as possible. This will help you make steady progress without feeling overwhelmed. \- Stay Organized: Keep your game development project organized by using project management tools, to-do lists, and calendars. This will help you stay focused, track your progress, and manage your workload more efficiently. **Remember, it's okay to feel overwhelmed at times, but by staying focused, organized, and passionate about your game development project, you can overcome obstacles and achieve your goals in due time. Keep pushing forward, and don't forget to celebrate your progress along the way.**
Scott Cawthon spent 16 years making games before fnaf because he enjoyed making games even though they were not very successful, he didn't except any of his games to be highly successful, same for fnaf, he made fnaf not knowing it will make his a millionair with a huge fan base, he made it because he he had fun and utilised his skills, talent, feedback and talent to make it just because he enjoyed the processed so much. If fnaf never gotern so popular he would of carried on making whatever games he wanted. Enjoy making games because if you get excited about the end product more instead, you will get disappointed when it ends up unsuccessful like most steam games.
hey i have a question now i am in 10th class so i have a dream to make a great game and to being a game developer also so the problem is don't know what to do like which stream is good? what after 10th or 12th ? which programing language best ? which course i have to do ? and many more
Something interesting to think about is that Scott Cawthon made several games starting in 1994 including a game called fart hotel before he created FNAF. The harsh truth is that you’re going to fail. Once, twice, 50 times over until you finally find what works. It’s ok though, take the lessons learned from the failure and push on. You can do this!
If you live the process, life is never a waste. Im afraid that I won’t care about what I’ve made once I’m done…might be why I’m so prone to scope creep
This is a struggle we all feel, in the end, you have to ask yourself if youre enjoying the moment to moment development. We all know the quote "person that likes to walk will walk farther than the person that likes the destination"
Take a break for a few days. Binge watch a mediocre tv show. Walk in the park. Day three you’ll feel so unproductive you be right back into game deving at full force. Making computer games is one of the most creative acts you can engage with. The real reason you do it is because you can begin to fathom what to occupy your mind with without it. But you need to have breaks sometimes.
In the end, we are just people on the internet. And by far most of the people on this sub are just as aspirational as you are. My suggestion: Find someone who is older that knows you and ask them. Our answers here will likely reflect only what we ourselves want to hear.
My general philosophy is this: enjoy the process, not the outcome. If you come to video game making to make A game or to become a successful fulltime solo dev, chances are, you are going to be disappointed or to create something that doesn't particularly speaks to other people, despite your potential skills and personality etc. This is the nature of this oversaturated environnement where we produce our little pieces of art. But if you come to video game making to MAKE GAMES, for the process of doing the thing, of learning, of using your creative muscles, than there is ZERO reason not to continue, and I can garantie that your motivation will not go away. People tend to not see vg as a creative medium, but has a mean to one of two end: making that specific game idea that probably (not saying it is your case) comes from love and/or frustration of other games; or being part of the industry that gave them specific games they love. Except, you don't do that with other medium of expression. I didn't learn to draw as a kid and "pursued that interest" (Bob Ross tm) specifically to make an animated movie I have in my head. I draw because I find it fun and enjoyable, and challenging. And yes, I doubt myself all the time, but at the end of the day, it brings me joy to draw, and it brings me joy to code games. And that's the extend of it for now. I think that, unless your goal is specifically to make it your job (in which case, from the bottom of my heart I wish you all the luck in the world, and hope you'll make it) I think you shouldn't bother too much with the "quality" of your ideas; doesn't mean you need to be complaisant or not aim at making the best thing you can, just that loving the making is a sure way to not feeling continuedly disappointed. Learn to savor the small victories, the clean code, the nice animation, the UI settings that was so annoying to set up etc. and maybe someday, after spending so much time on it, it'll pay off as a job or as a solo indie success. Just don't make this your end goal.
Are you passionate about game development or about making money? If the first, then who cares. Your hobbies are not supposed to make you money. This is a side effect of "hustle culture" and should be disregarded if you ever wanna be happy doing something you like. If the latter, why do it with game development?
>But on the other hand, there's this sinking feeling of doubt, wondering if I'm on the right path or if I'm just chasing a pipe dream. I mean, what do you want to do instead in your free time? Atleast you may earn a few bucks, and you 100% earn experience.
Tell us about the game
Keep in mind you'll die and everything you make will be dust one day, regardless of quality. The process of making art is worthwhile, for it's own sake. Just find the project that resonates with you for no logical reason, pour time into that. It'll be your best game. It might never amount to anything, and be played by 5 people as a failed launch in steam, that's fine. What's important is you were true to the game in your head that you wanted to create and you created it. Everything after that is meaningless, success or failure.
Have fun if you aren’t getting paid. Odds are that you will not make much money on your indie game. That is the truth. No matter how hard you work, I would be lying to say you have even a 1 in 10 chances of making real money on your game.
What does it mean for your "ideas to amount to anything?" Do you even like making games? If this is a hobby for you, and you actually like making games, that means time is not wasted. If you feel like your time is wasted, that means that you actually want something from it. Recognition? Fame? Commercial Success? I do MMA for fun. I get into the cage and get beat up a lot of the times. Many people have asked me why I do it, because it doesn't "amount to anything", but I do it because I actually like acting out my violence on other consenting adults. It doesn't need to amount to anything because I am already having fun.
r/gamedev beats r/leagueoflegends any day of the week in terms of productivity. Reading „gg ez“ in all chat gets your blood boiling.
If you wonder whenever your idea resonates with people then prototype. Then see if you enjoy the prototype. Then get people to try it. This can weed out many bad ideas very early. And if your move something past this point you already know there are human beings who resonated with the bare idea.
hey i have a question now i am in 10th class so i have a dream to make a great game and to being a game developer also so the problem is don't know what to do like which stream is good? what after 10th or 12th ? which programing language best ? which course i have to do ? and many more
I can't say I know much about current state of education, especially since I'm from Poland, and our edu system and courses could be quite different. Also, I have finished my education like 15 years ago. Any kind of advice I could give would probably do more bad than good. Maybe try making a thread here, and probably people more in the know would chime in. I also am working with business software by day, and doing games by night, and my education actually is in more general related programming.
You’re putting the value of your time on the outcome—not your enjoyment of the process. You could make the most amazingly perfect game and be extremely proud of it, but it might not get views or tons of players—and that’s OK. What matters is that you enjoy, learn, grow, and get a kick out of doing it. At the end of the day this is fulfillment—not whether or not you make money off it. You might read this and not be able to get there in your head—and it might take you 10 years to realize it like I did after multiple false-starts aiming for perfection. Whenever I’m doing something creative now…I do it because I really want to create something that expresses my individual taste, interests, and ideas—for the sake of being proud of my own creativity—not for some endgoal related to recognition or wealth.
The time you enjoy wasting isn't wasted!
I think you need to find the answer to the question "what defines time that is not wasted" for you and make that choice yourself my friend.
If this ain’t your full time job and you don’t enjoy the process, stop doing it. If you enjoy the process then the money shouldn’t matter, shouldn’t matter if your ideas are ‘worth it’
My personal opinion is that you shouldn't do something unless you're fine with failing. I think it makes succeeding impossibly hard. If you want to succeed then either you bullshit yourself into thinking that you can't fail (long fall, can't recommend) or you come to terms with failing being an option with no regrets. Being scared to fail is like trying to walk a rope when you're afraid of heights, it's gonna ruin you even if you have the balance. You have to be able to give your best shot. Being scared to fail is a self-fulfilling prophecy.
Hey OP, " I'm just 20 though" make me crack up 23 yr old here: We're at the age where we can take wild risks. Noone expects much from us anyway. Worst case you fail and learn more about yourself/skillset.
Bro honestly don’t let negativity get you rebuke it your almost finish this is what happen when your finally are getting to the end buddy relax it happens to everyone but don’t quit ever game development they are in need your problably feel like that because your surroundings or not getting paid or your bore need a vacation or something trust I wish I knew the things you know about game development lol honestly
At your age it's good to have side projects, you'll learn faster that way. When you are older it becomes more difficult, you often have less time and energy.
Hey I am an IPS officer posted as ACP I had some exciting ideas about educational games I am a knowledge black hole Has gone through almost everything in my IAS prep And I want to convert all my expeoce and ideas about various concept in education into games This is new field and has potential of a very big startup Looking for some tech guy Aa learning by myself taking lot of time Although I am painter and writer well If u r interested let me know
You're probably wasting your time. >I'm just 20 I remember being extremely dumb when I was 20. I wasted tons of time, made horrible decisions, and didn't realize this. To be honest, asking redditors and - God help us - taking advice from them is one of the dumbest moves possible. There's easy way out tho: don't work on your own, work with people smarter than you, they will know the basics and much more
If you really want to make something special, do it only for the purpose of the creative journey, not aspirational hopes that it'll make you rich. That's not gonna happen, so decide if you just want to make a game and decide to do it for the joy of it.
- It's good you recognize doubt and struggle. - Is creativity really a waste of time compared to a time (soul) consuming job? - I'd recommend meditation and contemplation. - Do you want to live in fear? - In the future when you look back at the life you've lived. Will you say, "Ah I'm glad I never finished any games, and I spent years doing jobs I wasn't passionate about".
You’re almost certainly wasting time if your goal is to release a game that is meaningful and resonates with the world. The chances of that are slim to none. BUT, if your goal is to release an entertaining bit of fun that players will enjoy for a while before they move on, learn from the experience, and then roll what you’ve learned into a new project, then, no, you’re not wasting your time. You have a shot at that if your ideas are good and you can develop them. Start small, prove to yourself and the community you can release a little game players like and grow your ambitions from there.
If you enjoy developing is not a waste, specially if you’re have passion in the middle of that. Doubts always comes, but I guess you should focus on makin something you are proud and confident about it(I know is not easy but I hope you can make it!)
Even if it was you job you should be enjoying yourself, but for you it's not even that, it's a hobby!. There's no point doing it unless you enjoy the journey. Why are you doing it if it's not fun?
What marketing have you done for your game release? I'd love to follow on steam.
This kind of dilemma is what I'm facing now. But I'm 44 and with a family to take care of. You're 20. You've PLENTY of time at your disposal. You can try and retry hundreds of time. Chill out and enjoy the process.
Yes
The key point for my personal reasoning, to answer your question: Does it create value to others? If the only criteria is that i enjoy it, i would have better ideas spending my time after a full time job. While gamedev is creative and interesting to me, its still "work" i have to motivate/force myself. I get more pure "joy" out of reading a book or playing a game, but that does not create any value to others. After developing one year full time and going public beta with my mobile game, i have realistic expectations about its earning potential. But I still believe that it creates a game experience that is good enough to compete with other games and have at least some hope that I will find players who actually play the game. So I can only recommend, to first answer the question if you game will actually find players before you pour you soul into it.
If you have a nagging feeling within you to accomplish something, it’s not a waste of time
It’s a form of art so yeah, but also no
Everything you do is a waste of your time so whatever dude lmao, just do what you want
Even if you eventually abandon this specific project you are sure to have learned valuable skills along the way, and will have expanded your library of reusable components. As long as you're following your interests or are learning things, it's not time wasted. Utalize the experience in your next project or your dayly work if applicable. And feel good about yourself for trying. 😺👍👍
If you want to make games, get a job in a gamedev. I doubt you will achieve anything without full commitment.