How I would approach gamedev (if I had to start over)
Summary
TLDRIn this video, the game developer shares insights from their journey, highlighting the mistakes and successes in their career. They discuss the pitfalls of expanding on a game jam prototype, the importance of team commitment, and the value of investing in assets and tooling. They also emphasize the need for research and focusing on visuals, as well as the benefits of starting as a side project, having a team, and creating a YouTube channel for marketing and additional income. The developer advises shipping games quickly and learning from each project to improve future developments.
Takeaways
- 🚀 Start with a fresh concept after a game jam to avoid technical debt.
- 🌟 Clearly define roles and commitments within the team to manage expectations and workload distribution.
- 🤔 Be prepared to fully commit or give up; avoid partial commitment which can slow down progress.
- 🛠️ Invest time in tooling to streamline the development process and improve efficiency.
- 💰 Consider purchasing assets early on to save time and improve the game's visual quality.
- 📚 Conduct thorough research before starting game development to avoid common pitfalls.
- 🎨 Prioritize visuals from the beginning to ensure the game is appealing to potential players.
- 📈 Focus on smaller, more frequent game releases to learn and improve quickly.
- 📊 Attend local developer events for feedback rather than large, costly conventions.
- 🔑 Avoid selling game keys at events to ensure valid reviews on platforms like Steam.
- 🎥 Leverage YouTube and other platforms for documenting progress and building a community.
Q & A
What is the speaker's experience in the game development industry?
-The speaker has been working as a game developer for over two years and has been a full-time game developer for nearly one year. They have shipped their first commercial game, Forge Industry, and have made tough decisions such as cancelling their SQL game to pivot to something with more potential.
What was one of the biggest mistakes the speaker's studio made with their game jam prototype?
-One of the biggest mistakes was continuing to build upon their game jam prototype instead of starting fresh. This led to technical debt and inefficiencies because the initial code was written quickly without much thought to efficiency.
How did the speaker's team dynamics affect their game development process?
-The team dynamics were problematic due to a lack of clear commitment from all members. There was an imbalance in the amount of work done by each team member, leading to disputes and slow progress.
What did the speaker learn about giving up during the development process?
-The speaker learned that if they were to give up, they should either fully commit to giving up or fully commit to continuing the project. Partially giving up led to a standstill in development and wasted time.
Why did the speaker emphasize the importance of spending time on tooling for their games?
-The speaker emphasized the importance of tooling because it significantly improves efficiency. Without proper tools, implementing a single item could take a long time, but with the right tools, the process becomes much quicker and easier.
What was the impact of purchasing assets for the speaker's game development?
-Purchasing assets was a significant investment that saved a lot of time, especially in 3D modeling. It allowed the speaker to focus on other aspects of game development and improved the visual quality of their game.
What was the speaker's realization about their lack of research in game development?
-The speaker realized that they made a mistake by not researching and learning more about game development before starting. This lack of knowledge led to avoidable mistakes and a difficult learning process.
How did the speaker's approach to visuals in their first game affect its reception?
-The speaker focused mainly on the mechanics and code in their first game, neglecting the visuals. This resulted in a game that didn't look good, which negatively impacted the feedback and reception of the game.
Why did the speaker advise against showcasing games at large events?
-The speaker advised against it because the cost and time investment did not yield a good return on investment. The stress and preparation required for such events, along with the opportunity cost of development time lost, were not worth the few wish lists they received.
What was the speaker's stance on selling game keys at events?
-The speaker considered selling game keys at events a mistake because Steam does not count people with keys as valid reviews. This affected their game's visibility on Steam and they did not receive enough reviews upon release.
What does the speaker wish they had done differently with their development timeline?
-The speaker wishes they had shipped their game sooner with a smaller scope. They believe in focusing on releasing multiple games in shorter development cycles to learn and improve quickly.
What positive aspects came out of the speaker's experience in game development?
-The speaker highlights starting as a side project, having a team, and creating a YouTube channel as positive aspects. These elements helped manage stress, improve accountability, and provided an additional source of income and marketing.
Outlines
🚀 Reflecting on Game Development Journey
The speaker shares their experiences as a full-time game developer, highlighting their journey over the past two years. They discuss the release of their first commercial game, Forge Industry, and the tough decision to cancel another project. The speaker also talks about their role in influencing other aspiring game developers through their YouTube channel, aiming to help them avoid common mistakes. They reflect on their growth and the lessons learned, setting the stage for discussing what they would do differently if starting a studio in 2024.
🎮 Learning from Mistakes in Game Development
The speaker delves into the mistakes made during their game development process. They discuss the pitfalls of continuing to work from a game jam prototype, leading to technical debt and inefficiencies. The speaker also addresses issues with team commitment, where some members did not contribute as expected, causing imbalances and disputes within the team. They share how partial surrender from the project led to a standstill in development and the importance of fully committing or giving up entirely.
🛠️ The Importance of Tooling and Assets
The speaker emphasizes the importance of investing time in tooling for efficient game development, especially for mechanically heavy games. They recount how their initial lack of streamlined tools led to inefficiencies in implementing game items. The speaker also talks about the benefits of purchasing assets to save time and improve the visual quality of the game, sharing their experience with the Cinti Fantasy Kingdom pack as a worthwhile investment.
📚 Research and Focus on Visuals
The speaker discusses the lack of research done before entering game development, which led to avoidable mistakes such as launching during a Steam summer sale. They stress the importance of learning from others' experiences and focusing on the visual aspects of the game from the beginning. The speaker also talks about showcasing games at events and the pitfalls of selling game keys at these events, which can lead to low review counts on platforms like Steam.
🎬 Balancing Event Participation and Game Keys
The speaker shares their experiences with participating in large gaming events and the financial and time investment involved. They express that the return on investment was not satisfactory, with the stress and preparation time not yielding enough wish lists or sales. The speaker also discusses the mistake of selling game keys at events, which affected their visibility and review count on Steam, ultimately leading to a less successful launch.
🚀 Prioritizing Game Launch and Learning from Experience
The speaker talks about the importance of launching games quickly and the pitfalls of overextending the development timeline. They reflect on their initial ambitious timeline for developing Forge Industry and the lessons learned from this experience. The speaker suggests focusing on shipping multiple games in shorter development cycles to learn and improve as a studio, rather than spending excessive time on a single project.
🌟 Successes in Game Development
The speaker reflects on the positive aspects of their game development journey. They highlight the benefits of starting as a side project, allowing for less pressure and a more sustainable approach to game creation. The speaker also underscores the value of having a team, even with mismatched skill sets, to provide support and accountability throughout the development process. Lastly, they discuss the unexpected success of their YouTube channel, which not only served as a marketing tool but also as a source of additional income and a platform for sharing their experiences and learnings with a broader audience.
Mindmap
Keywords
💡game development
💡Forge Industry
💡game jam
💡commitment
💡tooling
💡assets
💡visuals
💡game events
💡YouTube channel
💡shipping games
Highlights
The speaker has been working as a game developer for over two years and is approaching a one-year milestone of being a full-time game developer.
The speaker has shipped their first commercial game, Forge Industry, and had to make tough decisions such as cancelling their SQL game to pivot to something with more potential.
Through their YouTube channel, the speaker has influenced many aspiring game developers by sharing their experiences and helping them avoid common mistakes.
The speaker reflects on the mistakes made in game development and shares 10 things they would do differently if starting a studio in 2024.
Continuing to work from a game jam prototype is identified as a major mistake, as it can lead to technical debt and inefficient development.
Lack of clear commitment within the team led to an imbalance of work distribution and eventual team disputes.
The speaker advises against partially giving up on a project, suggesting that one should either fully commit or move on.
Not spending enough time on tooling was a significant oversight, as it resulted in inefficient workflows and increased development time.
Investing in assets, such as the Cinti Fantasy Kingdom pack, was one of the best decisions made, as it saved significant time and improved the game's visuals.
The speaker regrets not doing enough research before entering game development, highlighting the importance of learning from others' experiences.
Focusing on visuals early in the development process is crucial, as it impacts the game's reception and player engagement.
Showcasing games at large events was not cost-effective for the speaker's studio, and they advise against it for indie game developers.
Selling game keys at events turned out to be a mistake, as these keys did not contribute to valid reviews on Steam, affecting the game's visibility.
The speaker emphasizes the importance of shipping games quickly and scoping down projects to learn and improve faster.
Starting game development as a side project while maintaining a full-time job is recommended to reduce stress and financial pressure.
Having a team, even with mismatched skill sets, is beneficial for accountability, feedback, and making the development process more enjoyable.
The speaker's YouTube channel, initially intended for marketing, became an unexpected success and an additional source of income.
Transcripts
for over two years I've been working as
a game developer now and I'm also
approaching a one-year Milestone of just
being this full-time game developer and
over that time I've done various things
I've shipped Forge industry which was
our first commercial game I've had to
make tough decisions such as cancelling
our SQL game and pivoting to something
else that we think has more potential
and I think most importantly I've
influenced a lot of other aspiring game
developers through this YouTube channel
that you're watching right now help them
with not making the same mistakes we did
and just making sure that they game
development experience is as nice as
possible now I think I'm reaching a
point where I've been doing this for so
long that I can start reflecting a bit
more on what are the mistakes that we
made because I don't see myself as an
absolute beginner anymore so this video
I'll be going over 10 things that I
would do different if I was starting a
studio in 2024 and trying to make our
first games then with the knowledge I
have now and I think you should also
stick around until the end because I'll
also be talking about three things that
I wouldn't change things that I think we
did really well so definitely make sure
to watch the ire video and I think the
first thing that we learned as a studio
Al together is that we should not
continue working from a game Jam
Prototype game jams are great to quickly
find out if your game is fun if there's
potential and like try it out they're
also very short in time to just make and
we had a little game Jam for Forge
industry where we want to figure out can
we get this working can we work in unity
the big mistake is once we had that
prototype that like mored in very big
quotation marks we just decided to keep
on building upon that and that is
probably one of the biggest mistakes we
did instead if you have a game Jam
project and you're like this is nice I
really enjoy this be proud of what you
made but then throw it in the garbage or
like don't throw it in the garbage but
start a fresh if you decide to actually
pursue the game idea or the game concept
that you made in that game Jam as a
fullon game you're going to have so much
technical dep because you'll be writing
Cod without having much time to really
think about is this the most efficient
way and if you're going to keep building
upon that very very weak base of a game
it's only going to ask for problems and
it has cost us literal months of extra
development time because we didn't throw
our game away when we had that first
prototype and start fresh with more
ideas the next mistake we did is we were
in a team and a big mistakes we made is
we had no clear definitions of who was
going to commit how much to our game
when I make these YouTube videos I'm
often like yeah we started as four
people but you don't really see the
fourth Pur anymore that's Jamie because
we had some struggles in terms of
commitment there was definitely an
imbalance with the four of us and how
much we've worked especially when we
were doing that like the first year it
was mainly Thomas and I who did most of
the work and then William he pretty
quickly fizzled out a bit and then
dropped development for multiple months
similar to Jamie he also in the end
didn't end up committing that much to
our game and I think this was definitely
something that look it's going to happen
but we also made some mistakes there
because we didn't really have hard
commitments of this is how much we're
going to work as a team and try to stick
to that and call each other out if that
wasn't met if we didn't actually reach
the commitment that we originally had
set out for I think that would have
helped a lot in just managing the team
Vibes as well because if everyone has an
equal share distribution which we didn't
have but if that's the case but there's
not an equal division of the amount of
hours worked you're going to be
struggling with your team I can tell you
that there will be disputes about it and
it's very avoidable still and this low
commitment actually leads to the third
problem and that is that we half asked
giving up but I think if you give up you
should either just give up or you should
keep going but but what we did wrong is
we like partially gave up like I said
Thomas and I we still kept working on
the game for a period of four months
basically from March to July but the
other two teammates they basically
dropped out and I think Thomas and I we
should have just either been like okay
look we give up or we figure out
something with just the two of us but we
didn't do that I'd like to say it ended
up working out for us still but it has
cost us a lot of time it was four 5
months where development just crawled
basically to a standstill I even stopped
uploading these YouTube videos for a
while I think we can see that in like
the history of like devlog 4 and then
like devlog 5 or something like that it
wasn't really good it basically just
hibernated our studio for multiple
months where we could have used that
time to either work on something else or
just keep working on the project we were
working on but we kind of half ass
giving up which in the end left us with
not much really useful the next mistake
we made is also kind of related to to
that game game Jam thing and that is
that we didn't spend enough time on
tooling this is something that we've
learned by now but especially if you're
making a more mechanically heavy game or
an item heavy game like we did with
Forge industry it is so worth it to
spend time on tooling and to get
something like Odin which is a Unity
asset there's probably similar things
for unreal and Gau where you can make it
very easy for yourself to add new items
for example to add new workstations
because we had a very convoluted
workflow we didn't spend any time on
making tool tools which meant that
implementing a single item in Forge
industry took about 5 minutes and we had
700 items that was not an efficient way
to do things and we had a bunch of
scriptable objects and we had prefabs
and they weren't really linked to each
other you had to change certain
variables in multiple positions and it
cost us so much time but we never really
were like okay let's just spend a bit of
time on first writing the tools so we
can create the items that is something I
think we do much better now with Guild
Arch the first thing we did basically
was create tools to make objects in our
game so it's very easy now for us to add
new decoration items for example that
are part of the game's content and sure
the first version of the tools you make
won't be efficient but if you always
force yourself to use the tools they are
going to become really good really
quickly instead of just doing the Quick
Fix of doing everything manually and
you're just going to hate your life and
then another mistake with it is also
that we didn't spend enough on assets
and with this I mean cold heart cash
basically only about 7 months into the
development of Forge industry we
realized that I can't do everything
myself 3D modeling wise and that was the
first time we actually bought assets we
bought like the cinti fantasy Kingdom
pack and that was probably one of the
best investments we could have made
because sure I remember I paid like a
100 bucks for it in sale I think and it
somewhat hurt but on the other hand I
was still working a full-time job I did
have disposable income to put into that
asset pack and and it saved me so much
time afterwards in getting the visuals
of the game somewhat better already
they're still not great but that's also
like Shader and Technical art related
but just the models itself not having to
make everything from scratch saved us so
much time and I think this is something
that I've been preaching on this channel
a lot at this point but definitely we
should have just started with assd packs
from day one whereas instead for a game
Jam we were like we'll do everything
100% from scratch which was a stupid
idea another mistake we made and that I
think especially I made is I didn't do
enough research before getting into game
development so what do I mean by that I
kind of just brute forced my way into
Game Dev I only look things up if I
really had to look it up like for
example figuring out how blender like
the basic functions of blender work but
I never sat down and did like a full
like course of learn blender modeling or
whatever I always looked purely for I
have this problem what's the solution
and it extends even more than that and
this is a mistake that I know you aren't
doing anymore because you're watching
this video is I didn't watch any gamee
YouTubers really I had no clue how indie
game development worked when I say that
this channel is just me documenting the
stuff that I fail at and like and brute
forcing my way to gamee I mean that I
still honestly don't watch that much
gamee YouTube because I didn't feel like
there was much out there back then that
really appealed to me as well now
clearly I appeal to you so you're
already doing something good there but
because of that because I didn't have
anyone really who was just talking to me
about the game the process we made some
very painful mistakes such as trying to
launch in a steam summer sale luckily we
dodged that bullet last minute but still
I didn't know that that wasn't the thing
you should do or that your game can get
pirated before your game even released
because of things like steam curators
those are things that I've had to just
School of Hard Knocks learn myself to
make videos about this on this channel
but I also never actively looked for the
that kind of content when we were making
our first game to begin with another
mistake with it is that we didn't focus
enough on visuals I know once again I've
been beating this horse to that on this
YouTube channel over the past few months
but I wasn't aware that your game had to
look good when you start making games
for the first time so once again I'll
pull up some devlog footage from our
first versions of Forge industry only
after four five I think six months did
we have like actual color and a few
basic models in our game we were very
far from having a visual game in the the
beginning and because of that you can't
just slap visuals on your game like the
last few months and that's why for indry
doesn't look the greatest would get a
lot of feedback about it I know it but
it's something that if you don't even
focus on it the first half year of
development you're kind of dead in the
water so I think definitely that's also
what we're doing with Guild architect
now we're almost focusing on the visuals
first and then only start working on the
giant complex mechanics just because
that already makes it easier to start
thinking about the final result of the
game like the final visual style and
things like that we did not think about
any of those things at all when making
Forge industry we just purely focused on
the code and the mechanics first and
didn't care about the visuals at all
then another mistake that once again
there isn't much like information about
is we went and showcased our game on
events now what I want to say here is
that I don't mean like go to small local
place testing events with like local Dev
groups those are great but what I talk
about here is we went to Game Force is
what it's called in Belgium it's like a
relatively big event that has 20,000
visitors each year where you can
showcase your game to regular consumers
regular Gamers and just get your wish
list that way basically that's the idea
we had however it was a waste of money
if you ask me it's 2 days of constant
talking constant stress and it also
costs you money to go to those events it
cost us about ,000 every time we went to
those events we got like 60 wish lists
from that and that is not really a good
return on investment also there's an
opportunity cost because it's days in
advance that you need to prepare for
your game it's days that you're there
that you can't work on your game and
then like the two days after you go to
one of those conventions you're dead and
there's nothing really you can do
focused work on your game so we've done
it three times at this point and the one
reason that we did it was like oh it's
great to get feedback from like watching
people play your game and directly give
you feedback be able to talk to your
audience that is nice but honestly it's
not worth all of the time all that money
to spend on it I think Indie Games who
go to Gamescom like who have all their
budget and they just go to Gamescom
hoping to get some extra wish lists it's
a waste of money and they're going to
never recoup that you're going
especially for Gamescom you're going to
be spending between 5 and $110,000 even
if you just want to have the smallest
boots and it takes like 5 days that you
need to be there you're going to need
multiple staff members you're going to
need to get housing and things like that
it's generally never worth it it's
always going to be more worth it to take
money and to spend it on an artist or to
spend it on a programmer or anyone
really who can actually make the game
better because like I said like you're
not getting good wish list from these
events anyway and then another mistake
we did that is linked to these events is
we sold game keys on the events this is
like good and bad on the one hand it was
good because we had that hustle we were
able to sell about €600 worth of game
keys on that event so we only had to pay
€400 for it at the end of the day but
the biggest mistake we did here is we
sold game keys to our Die Hard fans but
once we actually released our game we
didn't manage to reach 10 reviews
because steam doesn't count people who
have steam Keys as valid reviews because
they only count the ones who are bought
through the steam side itself once again
this is one of those things that I did
not know was a thing and because of that
we didn't reach 10 reviews when our game
launched and we basically got banished
into the shadow realm of steam until we
made that video where we talked about
our pretty disastrous launch and a lot
of people actually ended up pity buying
the game and then leaving us reviews
which then eventually brought us that
Spike of the 10 review marker which gave
us a lot of extra visibility through
Steam but we really got lucky with that
one and the last thing that I would
change is I would ship sooner we should
have really scope down again much more
because now it took 18 months between
starting development and that is
including those four or five months
where we like half F giving up up until
July last year July 2023 where we
actually released Forge industry that is
too long honestly we planned to make
Forge industry in just one month which
was a stupid idea as well we had no clue
what we were doing game the wise but we
definitely had an giant scope to begin
with so I think if I had to start a
studio like from scratch again I think
the one thing I would focus on is
shipping as many games as fast as
possible so I would do something like 3
months for the first game four months
for the next game and then 6 months for
the game after that and maybe once those
three games have all been shipped and
we've been able to learn from that find
out what we're good at as like a studio
then I would start looking into like
longer term up to like 9 months one year
development cycles of games now with
Guild architect we're looking at a 9mon
cycle as well songs ever jate we
originally set out for a six- month one
and we kind of were able to reach that
but we had some art issues along the way
but like purely mechanically we could
have shipped it so I think definitely
focus on shipping games relatively soon
like not like in a week maybe but still
very short periods lean heavily into
pre-made assets just to figure out how
does your engine work and how does the
entire process of marketing your game
putting it on Steam and things like that
work as well the one mistake we had as
well with Forge industry like I said is
it took us 7 months to have a game that
was actually playable where we could
transport items between different
workstations and make those items into a
different item that took way too long we
should have had something like that way
way earlier like 2 weeks 4 weeks into
development now at told you we also did
some things well so I'll be going over
this very quickly but maybe I'll break
this down in like a separate later video
where I'm just going to be talking about
the things with it well I think the
first thing that we did well as game
developers is we did it as a side
project we all had paying jobs to begin
with and then we spent some extra hours
each week working on Forge industry and
this was definitely the way to go
because we didn't have the stress of oh
we need to release a game as fast as
possible because the first game you're
going to make it's not going to be a
commercial success it's not going to be
a good return on investment if you quit
your job and work 6 months on making
your first like game as a full-time de
there is no way in hell you're going to
break even at all even if you don't
factor in like your hour cost just like
your bills that stack up like groceries
and whatever it's not going to be worth
it so I think definitely starting as
Game Dev on the side and then maybe if
you can build up some momentum after
your first launch you can consider
quitting your job but definitely don't
start game def thinking that you should
just quit your job I think we did that
really well the second thing that we did
really well and I wouldn't change is we
had a team I know a lot of you guys
you're forever alone you can't find
someone reliable to work with and I
understand it it's hard but definitely
just being with two people already and
you don't even need to be matching skill
sets can help a lot when making your
first games we were four programmers
which is a pretty terrible combo
basically if you want to make games but
still the fact that we were together
that we could talk about our game we
weren't just sitting in our homes alone
silently coding for months on end made
it much more bearable to make our first
game so even if you can just get one
person who can just help you being
accountable that is already a massive
win in my book because you're going to
be much more likely to actually
finishing your game as well and you can
have some like in between feedback you
can really talk about your game talk
about all of the mechanics in a very
focused setting and then the last thing
that I think we did well and that was
also Poss possible because we had that
team is this YouTube channel I never
really planned on this becoming so large
we just made devlogs really thinking it
would be the one way we could do
marketing for Forge industry that did
not work at all but in the end just
having had this YouTube channel very
early on where I could already talk to
my wall for like literally months on end
with nobody watching because now we had
a 1 and a half year Head Start versus if
we first released Forge industry and
only then started the YouTube channel
making a YouTube channel is something
that takes a lot of time but I think
it's also something that every Studio
can do and maybe even should do there's
a lot of depth in the should you start a
YouTube channel maybe I'll make like a
revamped version of that video at some
point but generally here's my two sents
one don't make devlogs or at least if
you do make devlogs make two of them at
most call them devlog zero and devlog
one but I think there's more value in
making a general Studio based YouTube
channel where you talk about the
experiences as a studio and the things
you learned along the way there I think
there is still a demand for that and one
of the things that YouTube allows us to
do at least is it's an extra stream of
income so we don't have to worry as much
about how Mega successful our games are
and we can focus a bit more on
developing it and we don't have to cut
as many corners when trying to develop
our game just because we have to release
and earn money at some point so those
are some of the things that I would do
if I had to start over as a Game Dev
Studio I hope you learned some extra
things of this if you've been working as
as a game developer for a while at this
point how would you do things
differently with the knowledge and the
experience that you've obtained up until
now I'm really interested to hear more
about that leave it in the comment down
below I do read all of them apart from
that if you're new here we're game
developers we've made our own game Forge
industry and we're working on our next
game we're documenting the process as a
studio trying to make more games trying
to get better at making games so if you
want to just follow us along the way and
learn some very cool stuff for you as
well then be sure to head down below and
subscribe as we make these videos twice
a week thanks for watching and I'll see
you guys in the next one bye
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