Game Dev Tutorials Are LYING To You

Summary

The video critiques common game development tutorials for neglecting the crucial aspect of optimization. It highlights how many tutorials teach inefficient methods, such as using geometry shaders for grass rendering, which can severely impact game performance. The speaker stresses the importance of understanding optimization techniques and recommends better resources, including specific authors and textbooks. They urge tutorial creators to address optimization in their content, emphasizing that aspiring developers should seek materials that realistically portray the complexities of game development. This call to action aims to enhance learning and improve practices within the game development community.

Takeaways

• 😀 Game development tutorials often neglect the critical aspect of optimizations, which are essential for performance.
• 🤔 Many tutorials provide intentionally poor implementations for simplicity, which misleads aspiring developers.
• 📚 The speaker emphasizes that without proper teaching, many developers may not even understand what optimization means.
• 🚫 Geometry shaders, while sometimes taught, are increasingly considered inefficient and are being phased out in the industry.
• ⚡ The tutorial referenced creates new geometry every frame, leading to significant performance issues.
• 🌱 When implementing grass rendering, the default vertex limit in Unity can severely restrict the number of grass blades.
• 🌊 Real-time calculations, such as Perlin noise for animating grass, can be computationally expensive and detrimental to performance.
• 🔍 The speaker recommends checking resources like Jasper Flick’s tutorials for more effective and contextual information on optimizations.
• 🎓 GDC talks on YouTube and the GPU Gems textbook series are suggested as valuable resources for learning about rendering techniques.
• 💬 The speaker encourages discussion about predatory tutorial practices and highlights the need for tutorial authors to address optimization.

Q & A

What is the main issue highlighted regarding game development tutorials?

The main issue is that many game development tutorials neglect the importance of optimization, often teaching suboptimal practices for simplicity's sake.

Why are optimizations crucial in game development?

Optimizations are crucial because they improve the performance of the game, allowing developers to include more content and enhance the overall player experience.

What specific example of poor practice is mentioned in relation to grass rendering?

The example given is the use of geometry shaders for grass rendering, which can lead to significant performance issues due to the GPU having to create and discard geometry every frame.

What is the performance impact of using geometry shaders for rendering grass?

Using geometry shaders for grass rendering resulted in low performance, achieving only about 110 frames per second even without animation.

What mistake is commonly made when animating grass blades?

A common mistake is calculating per-vertex noise for animating grass, which is computationally expensive. Instead, pre-computed noise textures should be used.

What resources are recommended for learning game development effectively?

Recommended resources include the tutorials by Jasper Flick at catlikecoding.com, GDC Talks on YouTube for insights from professionals, and the GPU Gems series of textbooks for graphics rendering techniques.

How does the speaker suggest approaching tutorials as a new developer?

The speaker suggests that new developers should critically evaluate tutorials, especially those that oversimplify complex topics, and be wary of tutorials that do not discuss optimization.

What is the speaker's stance on writing tutorials themselves?

The speaker expresses reluctance to write their own tutorials, noting that the prevalence of poor-quality tutorials is widespread, particularly on platforms like YouTube.

What feedback does the speaker seek from the audience?

The speaker encourages the audience to share their feelings about predatory tutorial practices and to engage in a discussion about the issues raised in the video.

What does the speaker hope to achieve by discussing the issues with tutorials?

The speaker aims to raise awareness about the importance of optimization in game development and to encourage aspiring developers to seek out better learning resources.