I want to make my own game. The reasons for this are many, but the most important part of that is its my aim or dream since I was young and I've never really realized it due to my procrastination and lack of knowledge and the like. Also I had extrovert friends and I'm introvert and they invited me out all the time not only it was so tiring but also I had zero time after school. Now of course I've abandoned my old friends due to conflicting beliefs and the like, but back then I had really no my own will so I just agreed for everything anyone suggested to me. That's how I ended almost 30 year old without my own game done yet. However I know some coding. It will certainly help, but I've probably mastered wrong language. My question is has anyone here made his own video game? How to start? I know basics of programming but the things I code don't moving objects that could resemble a player or enemy. And they dont even have graphics. I have time I just need to know how to start. Does anyone have experience in this field?
I would recommend designing a small and very simple game and just going for it. Something that gets you inspired and something you would enjoy playing yourself. I wouldn't worry about commercial success at this point. Try to do something fun and show yourself you can create a game. You said you have probably mastered the wrong language, but don't worry. You can certainly benefit from it greatly if you switch to another language. Knowing the syntax is a smaller part and understanding the programming logic is a larger part in my opinion. Personally I started with Corona SDK because it was easy to learn. These days I work in Unity as well which has a steeper learning curve in my opinion. You could for example check out some game creation tutorials on YouTube and replicate them.
I'm on a similar path as you are, have recently started in gamedev at a similar age. Start small, lean on your strengths. I have a design background, so i lean on that. Everyone's different. Make your first one a simple 2D game with no special features, desktop-only, publish to Itch.io. Mobile is harder, app stores are harder, 3D is harder — so don't do those. 1. Pick a game engine. There are three basic options relevant for beginners: 1. Unity: the most capable and industry standard, but clunky and with plenty weird quirks unfriendly to beginners 2. GameMaker: 2D-only, favored by many indies. 3. Godot. Godot is on the rise. 2D/3D, cross-platform, very user-friendly and beginner-friendly. Completely free. Mature enough. The community is great. The readable python-like language is awesome. No setup needed, just download <100mb and run. Quite mighty and growing by the minute. I chose it and i regret nothing. Pick this one. There's also Unreal (for AAA games, beginner-unfriedliest, don't do it), Phaser (web games only, overall meh). And the ones too small to be a good pick for a beginner. Don't be stupid, pick a big, free, active engine. 2. Start watching courses and tutorials, reading the docs Watch, recreate. Watch, recreate. Read the docs. Practice, again and again. I used this course. It's good. There is also plenty free content, watch GDquest and KidsCanCode and others like them. 3. Outline your game design This is another area of learning. The basic advice: keep it simple, focus on the primary gameplay loop. Learn from the classics. Study game history and game design: GMTK, GDC talks, Ahoy, Noclip, Extra Credits (the old videos ). Keep notes. Get the github desktop app for easy version control. Engage with the community, politely. Do things simply: basic visuals, basic mechanics, no complicated extensions or platforms. "Clone pong" level basic. Maybe just a text game, even. You'll know where to go from there. Persevere.
I was in the same situation as you except the leaving my friends part lol. I knew some coding I was around 30 and wanted to make my own games. I found unity and c# to be similar to python concepts that I had already knew. Udemy has cheap courses for like $10 for making games with unity. I followed along and made 5 games of the 10 the course offered. After those 5 I stopped working on the course and I finally had the confidence to start my own project. That being said I’m launching my first title on android and iOS at the end of this month! You can do it man there’s loads of stuff out there, courses, YouTube channels, forums, and game dev discord servers.
I use this thread to ask about non coding game engine. What is your opinion about construct and other similar engine? Is it good?
I have no personal experience with construct but I have heard good things about them. I think the Youtuber Time Ruswick uses Construct and his games look awesome.
