Programming

join a game company as a junior. Hate every bit of it and then realize you're better off doing something else.

Or skip all of that and pick something you are somewhat familiar with today.

If you're still reading that means you want to continue on this treacherous path. Fine, fastest way to start i guess is playtesting but with companies asking customers to do that for them.. the role is kind of lacking at the moment.

best you can do in your free time is start with trying out every aspect of game design upto a beginner level: learn basic coding in a specific language like python. learn to make simple text based adventures and fill-in-the-blank puzzles.

I cant code, i cant draw/3d art, i cant make music, im bad with ideas, etc.

So you have nothing to contribute. Why do you even want to make games then? What's the part of it that inspires you? For me, it's programming. For others, it's art, design, music, etc. If you have no interest in any of that, then gamedev is a terrible career move.

I would suggest just downloading Godot and following a few tutorials. That's how I got started anyways (well, with Unity but Godot wasn't half as good back then as it is today).

I would suggest watching the Godot Tutorials from Brackeys, because they are excellent: You could start with this one. If you want some more tutorials, maybey have a look at Gdquest (they also have a YouTube channel linked on their website, which is really good).

And most important of all, just try to not take it too seriously. Have some fun! Your games won't be good for a while, and that's OK, because everyone starts out this way. But if you really enjoy the process and stick to it, I am certain that you will create amazing things! And if you find out, that you don't like it, that's totally OK too, then you can just keep looking for other hobbies, because there are so many cool things to do in the world.

Consider what you want to do mechanics- and UI-wise. Read up on existing engines like Unity, Godot, RPGmaker. If none fits, read up on popular UI-frameworks and tooling for creating games from scratch.

!gamedev@programming.dev

Don't hesitate or overthink it. Just dive headfirst into it. The day you start is the best moment. The thing you chose to do, is the best.

Learn by playing around. Play to your strengths. Dabble with coding, sound, graphics, mechanics, and figure out what gets the fire going. Feed that fire.

When you've had a bit of taste, try to complete a small simple project. This is surprisingly difficult! Learn to remove features and complexity, simplifying until you can actually finish the game.

Instead of learning skills individually, learn them as you go! Just pick an engine - I'd recommend Godot - and get to work.

Here's a nice challange about building increasingly difficult games: The 20 games challange.

You start with Pong, which is super easy to get the hang of. You could even follow a tutorial for that one and then try to use less and less tutorials as you go down the list.

Just get going instead of watching endless how-to videos, which is an easy trap for beginners. Actually starting a project and finishing one are two of the most important skills. You'll quickly learn which parts come naturally to you and which ones you need to focus on.

As for creativity, once you're done with each game, try to think of a twist to spice it up and add it to the game. It can be a simple thing, like e.g. with Pong using multiple balls or maybe adding obstacles - just test what's fun and what's not!

Get a journal started. Write and take notes, preferably digital notes. Get your head clear on what you’re trying to do. Maybe there are people out there who can execute a big undertaking by just bumbling forward on the thought/motivation of the day, but I haven’t met them.

Perhaps you’re trying to save time by asking others where to start, but I advise you to get used to making judgement calls on where you ought to put your attention.

Slow down and settle in. Work on it a little every day. Record your progress. Learn and practice.

And go easy on yourself. Everybody starts somewhere.

Game dev is multidisciplinary but let's get real, you need to know to code. Without this you won't get far. Realistically it will take you years to learn the fundamentals.

I don't think this is a good answer but a funny anecdote. I was pretty obsessed with video games starting with the NES. I got really good with computers, programming, etc and more than 10 years into being a professional software developer, I figured it was time to actually look at making a game, arguably the reason I got into coding to begin with. Turns out that so little about game development is actually coding these days, been that way for decades now.

There are so many parts to making a video game, as you mentioned. If you want to do everything yourself and from scratch, yeah you will need to understand code and physics/math formulas, etc. Maybe some graphic design for the world you're creating, maybe some music and audio effects knowledge. But there are also game engines out there that will do virtually or literally all of this for you.

I guess my real point is, figure out what you enjoy doing, and how you can contribute that to making games. It doesn't matter if you're good at it or don't even know where to start, the important part is that you do start and stick with it.

Two options:

Mod games until you get better at those. Start small, replacing textures with minor changes.

Help manage a mod project and fill soft skills gaps that the team has. Don't push the actual people working on the game too hard, help organise

You can learn to do anything. You’ll have an easier time learning if you like doing it. So what do you like? Or: what would you want to try and see if you like?

Also: why do you want to make a game? What interests you about that?

Look up the pros and cons of the different editors (Unreal, Unity, Godot). Pick one and start making the simplest of games. There's some good tutorials that can walk you through things.

As you learn, you will probably find a specific aspect that you like a lot and you can concentrate on building your expertise for that. Might be coding, animation, shading, 3d modeling. Who knows.

The important part is to start using the software, but really aim for simple stuff for now and use good quality tutorials and courses. I used mostly YouTube and some Udemy.

Depending on your age/savings, this can give you a good idea in what to study if this is an option.