hot take: non-dream games generally turn out better than actual dream games given how they're usually much easier to be reshaped and improved upon by external feedback, without feeling like you're compromising your sacred "one million dollar idea" vision.
I have been making games for a while now, but apart from games for game jams I never finish them. So recently I switched to a new strategy: designing and making systems that I will need for almost every game I want to make. For example I am currently working on a dialogue system. It gives you much smaller goals, it will force you to think about future proofing and when you quit you will have something usable for whatever you make next.
I'm pretty new to game dev, but I thought this was the right approach. Is this not the standard? Like when devs build features, what's stopping them from implementing it in every compatible project? Is it that they don't approach it with that intention in the first place?
@@OryxAU yes, but normally you start making it cause you need it for your current game project. For me making the system is the project. The advantage of this is that you will pay more attention to the smaller details and will come away from it with a stronger system and the main reason I am doing it is that it is a smaller project so easier to finish.
toby fox made an earth bound mod before undertale so even that example isn't someone starting on their dream game. Also, toby fox specifically said that undertale is just a stepping stone towards his actual (and literal, from a sleeping dream) dream game.
This is a lesson I've only just started learning and I think it's so important for creativity. It's going back to when you were a kid and you made things solely because you enjoyed it, not for the end result, not for other people's approval or even your own approval, but just cause it feels good to make things. I'm working on relearning this.
This video reminded me of my own beginnings in game development. As a developer, I know how challenging and time-consuming it can be. Not every idea will be a success, and you'll try again and again. With each attempt, you'll gain new skills that benefit your future projects. Start small, and you’ll eventually achieve big things. Don’t give up. The game engine or art style you choose doesn’t matter-what truly matters is enjoying the process and learning along the way.
One day I want to make my dream game but for now I just do lil bits and pieces of a passion project when I have time. We all gotta build up to it somehow
I'm really grateful that I enjoy playing walking sims so much and that they're relatively easy to make compared to more mechanically challenging games. I think your tip about the gameloop is really good!
I’ve had to abandon a dream game project due to scope, so I decided to start a new simple 2D game project just to help me practice drawing and improve my art. Now it’s ended up being a really cool project that’ll probably perform better than my dream game ever would have.
Honestly, this is a great video that came at a good time. For the past week, I've wanted to make a DDR/FnF game, thinking that it would be easier than other genres. Yikes. Most of the resources I've found are not understandable for a beginner, and they've left me scratching my head most of the time. Working on smaller projects with more resources to learn the engine seems better after all.
This is a good advice at the VERY beginning, and that too, is not a good idea, unless you are trying to get a game dev job. If you don't have the burning desire to make your dream/semi dream games you won't be able to go through the fire of learning game dev. You are going to take YEARS to learn game dev, why waste that time on pointless mechanics and prototypes, when you could be making incremental improvements to the game you ACTUALLY WANT to make.
Exploring game dev like you explored all those games is the best way to begin moving towards achieving your aspirations. It’s entirely possible, just not immediately. Do the grind. Gain that XP. One day you’ll realise you’ve made something you’re proud of. You got this.
My Tip that's only work for me : if you want to make a game like a challenging arcade game. Try to learn how the mechanics works. Don't draw a marvallous pixel art at the start of your game because it'll take a lot of effort and time (can also destory your determination) while you're still learning how the game work.
Yeah, and also, while I was creating my game, I found it to be really helpful to start off trying very simple mechanics. This made it less overwhelming than starting off with huge game mechanics and designs in mind.
Fantastic video and I completely agree that you've got the enjoy the process. I often see people wanting to make their games so quick which I understand can make a more successful business but it's usually completely missing the heart and enjoyment.
“I have to do it for me, I can’t do it because I want the results of having a successful channel” Hella based Overall just amazing video, really got me thinking about more about making games for the future, I’ll try have this mindset in mind “one step a time” thanks a lot for the advice ^^
For years I've been stitting on novel and cartoon ideas. I think I'll start writing short stories and short animation ideas. I'm the writer so I can look for someone to animate one of my shorts which will probably take a lot of time and resources in itself. But the level of confidence it brings will be unmatched.
I've always found it easier to have dream systems or concepts (as in ones that I saw in other games and really enjoyed the feel of and want to replicate) that I can then crowbar into a game that I'm actually capable of making at the time.
This video reminds me of the saying: "right for the wrong reasons"... vet game developers can say up and down "you'll never finish your first game, and if somehow you do, it won't be good" - and I've said just that and that's the prevailing knowledge by those that made those mistakes time and time again... and they are 1000% correct. The problem though is, most people START OFF with their dream game and that passion is what gets their foot in the door. YES you make a bunch of garbage code... and YES you won't actually finish it in the first attempt... BUT that's okay. Sometimes without that blind conviction, you might not even bother trying to begin with... because why make a cruddy game you are not passionate about... the world doesn't need another snake clone or stupid puzzle game (that given the sage wisdom of vets,... it's going to suck and not be profitable anyways, which is also true). Sometimes that blind optimism is good, and I support newbies that are shooting for the stars... yes,... jaded jerks like me that have been in the game for twenty years will gleefully assert that will fail and it will be bad, but maybe, instead... you should just make what makes you happy. You'll learn likely learn like the rest of us: your first attempt will be abysmal... but maybe that's just part of the journey. Good luck greenhorns
I fully agree, but still think its important to set some expectations, even if most of the advice is gonna be ignored. Its easy for people just starting out to pour themselves completely into their project, disregarding their physical and mental health, believing its going to be their only chance to make their magnum opus. I think its nice to hear that it is just one of the many games they could end up making and to enjoy the process rather than speedrun to the destination. That being said, I remember when I started and would hear that advice, thinking _"Nahh, my game will be different"_ , so I'm not sure how much impact it really has :))
this video came to me right as i needed it, im fighting myself for the whole day to do abstract games so i can express my ideas more freely without worrying about art and i think this helped me to win the fight, thanks!
It's funny, because I often feel held back by my artistic skills, even though they're not that bad. When it comes to coding I feel able to accomplish most things, aside from maybe very unique and mathematically complicated mechanics. The true thing holding me back though, is just discipline. I will start dozens of projects in the span of a few months, and finish zero of them. That has made me very good at prototyping though, which is kind of nice. Gamedev is one of those things where when you can work with other people, it really unlocks a lot of doors on what you can accomplish.
This video reminds me when I first started learning game dev: I wrote horrible and unreadable code I didn't optimize anything I made I didn't go in with a plan of any kind However, I slowly learned the process with micro games and re-created some of my favorite flash games as a challenge to learn new processes. Now, I'm ready and actively making the game of my own dreams. (Which may or may not suck, who knows) But I am putting it out there when it's done purely for the sake of saying "I did it, the game nobody has thought of making is now out there." A tip from me if you want to learn the process of game development: If your going at it alone, your going to have to wear many hats through-out the process. Your going to have to be the programmer, the artist, the musician, the story-writer, the marketer, and whatever else your games may need. It's a tedious process to having to learn to basically be a one-person game studio, and it may be that you just can't do certain tasks on your own. Whatever the situation may be, just know that there is *some* way forward if you look hard enough.
Idk why I'm here, watching this at 2am, or why I've watched every video on this channel. I don't make video games. I don't plan to make any video games. But by god I find these videos just so chill to watch
Yep suffering atm cause I have to look at a ton of ugly programmer art THAT I WANT TO MAKE IT LOOK GOOD ASAP. But can't, cause gotta finish all systems and test how well they work before that, gotta hold myself back for better productivity.
i never planned to make my "dream game" because not even AAA studios could make it, but while i've never fully finished a game, i've attempted like 20 times and gotten the gist of it, so to everyone who wants to learn, there is no such thing as a failure when learning, only a teaching moment. So even if you made 5 unfinished games, you've learned as much as someone who's made 3 working games, in fact maybe you learned more because you're trying different genres of games (i hope). so yeah 😋
Wdym sir!! Don't let the frustration of apparently not being able to make a single game take on you - if you're naturally attached to this topic why would you think it's not for you?!
I do not create games but illustrations. I wanted to start right away on my dream project, a graphic novel. But realizing it would require me a LOT of time, patience, efficiency, and a lot of subjects (like humans) and staging I am not used to draw, I decided to put it on ice. And I didn't want to work on it without a sizeable audience, in risk of all this hard work leading to a complete failure. I will get back to it once I become more skilled, create more books, and I gain a big audience to back me up.
I hear you, but 'failure' is relative. It would be a real failure to me if your graphic novel never became reality because your audience was never 'big enough' and the idea simply died with you one day. What if 10,000,000 read your graphic novel, but nobody is moved by it? Is that still a success? What if only 1 person reads it but it resonates deeply with them and their life is changed for the better? Is that a failure? UA-cam and social media have conditioned us to confuse quantity with quality - "If 10,000,000 people watched this, it must be good."
Rational me knows you speak from years of bitter experience. Stupid idiot reptile brain in me thinks my idea for a Factorio-Warcraft-Diablo-Civilization-Dungeon Keeper mega-hybrid with sick ECS tech and next-level AI definitely will work as my first game dev project
Yeah, I suck. But I think of it as if I quit, I’m a goddamn loser, because Toby fox didn’t quit, AIA didn’t, so many more didn’t but they faced the same problems. When I started, I just skipped the easy platformers and went right to my big idea. It sucked. I couldn’t make a player controller at all. So I went back to basic games and soon I will be ready.
This is why I'm setting up a website to host a bunch of JavaScript experiment games with emoji graphics. (I'm a coder - not an artist.) Then I can gradually make more advanced stuff, and eventually create something with Godot or Monogame.
"sometimes you just need to be bad at it until you're good at it" ---> this will come up at some point no matter what kind of art you want to make. the best thing you can do is to find meaning in making art even when it's bad.
I started trying to make "what Simcity: Societies should have been," complete with an in house engine (because I didn't know there were other options); I managed to make a horribly unoptimized rendering engine that was useless for making an actual game. A few years later I started over by making a Pac-Man clone, then an arcade space shooter, then something about trying to knock balls out of an arena, then a failed attempt to make a roguelike/FPS hybrid, then a successful attempt at making a roguelike/FPS hybrid that I released on Steam (where it was a complete commercial flop). What's next? Perhaps a scrolls-like, since I've determined that to be easier than the open-world life simulator I also want to make. I'm still not sure I have specific well defined "dream game," though, as in I'm not sure there is any particular game idea I'd call my "dream."
Thanks for this video :)) It's funny for me that you make the entire art for the game and never finishes because of the programming, for me I'm always making prototipes but I never finish because I can't make the art for the game hahhahaa
yeah no after a long long long process of learning im making my dream game, and there's nothing wrong with that. i don't even want juniper to convince me, this is crap and im not watching it
I wanted to make my own game, realized that it was actually hard and needed effort, and without knowing anything it would be painful. So I started making an OMORI mod and you literally using an OMORI footage while saying that "It is near impossible do your dream game first time." I felt offended dajsdjsadnsakjd edit: Oh my god I need to rant about how OMORI is hold together by duct tape, I cried literally doing anything the first time.
Haha, I'm one of the developers of Getting Goopy. it's such a small little game I wasn't expecting to see it out in the wild! I assume the clip was pulled from the GMTK video
I always come to the comments to argue for dream gamers but then I remember that I spent around 3 months (on top of a couple high school code classes) making random very basic projects before starting a project that took me a few months and that wasn't even a dream game i just thought it was cool then like 3 months after that I started my (current) dream game. Even then, my current game is literally just a technical sandbox with cool example assets I've made out of necessity so I'm not exactly jumping into art and story prematurely... I've been working on my current game for exactly 4 years now. Took some breaks, got some jobs, wrote most of a book, got a degree in college, lived abroad for a bit, made some other games in the interim... But I always come back to that game. Regardless, nice video and uhhhhh, I still believe in the dreamers even if they're a bunch of fools. Heh.
> "Make a sentence or two for the whole game" That's called an elevator pitch and it's really useful to condense your game in the GDD phase of planning. It's useful for small games and big ones, too!
Whenever I see some young aspiring dev make a devlog #0 about how they're making their dream game, I just know I'm not likely to see a whole lot more devlogs from them 😅
by the time you come back to making that larger game youll probably have improved so much that its a better idea to just make a new battle system from scratch
cool video i like it. But I think there is a different approach. I watched a ton of videos like this and even though I knew I shouldnt overscope and make small stuff I never really understood it until I failed at my own big dream project. I would tell people go make anything, dont care about scope or whatever but set a time constraint. work on a game for a month, learn a ton and try to finish no matter what kind of cuts you have to make, I think thats the way to learn a lot about the gamedave meta problems like scoping and burning out but who knows if it would work
DOWNSCALE, DOWNSCALE, DOWNSCALE. Do not bite off more than you can chew. Always reduce projects down their core necessary parts to make things easier for you. The simpler, the easier. You're not gonna make a AAA open-world game with tons of cutscenes and dialogue. Start with, like, flash/mobile games lol. Similar process for a different medium, but I started writing a fantasy novel series. I read that publishers don't usually accept first-time manuscripts, and begrudingly realized I'd have to make a bunch of short stories to get my foot in the door. I didn't want to write anything else! I was super into the fantasy story! But then after a little brainstorming and inspiration I came up with tons of short story ideas that I also find fun and compelling and entertaining. If you enjoy the process of writing itself (or making a game or what have you) you should enjoy multiple kinds of projects, not just your pet dream idea that'll take literal years to manifest :)
@@MrMarbles94 I've tried listening to it, and I do like it, but it feels like the vocals are a lot more muddy/hard to understand which makes it hard );
Jokes on you I'm two steps ahead! It's been a year since I dropped my dream game (it was at the time anyway), and I've been working on a little RPG called Everything Breaks (you actually played it back in April! I was so happy lol) since then. After a bit, I've developed a better dream game idea, and even got the fire going inside me to finish Everything Breaks first. As knowledge and skills improve, your ideas will too. It can be a bit scary to drop your dream game, but a random game potentially 'failing' is better than something you are truly passionate about not meeting your expectations.
hot take: non-dream games generally turn out better than actual dream games given how they're usually much easier to be reshaped and improved upon by external feedback, without feeling like you're compromising your sacred "one million dollar idea" vision.
This is why I only make games designed to make me miserable.
I don't make my dream games. I make nightmare games.
Is this a big brain strat???
This would go hard as a meta horror game story ngl
modern problems require modern solutions
me too
@@AndreiTache Fuck, you're giving me ideas for things
I have been making games for a while now, but apart from games for game jams I never finish them. So recently I switched to a new strategy: designing and making systems that I will need for almost every game I want to make. For example I am currently working on a dialogue system. It gives you much smaller goals, it will force you to think about future proofing and when you quit you will have something usable for whatever you make next.
That's solid!!
I'm pretty new to game dev, but I thought this was the right approach. Is this not the standard? Like when devs build features, what's stopping them from implementing it in every compatible project? Is it that they don't approach it with that intention in the first place?
@@OryxAU yes, but normally you start making it cause you need it for your current game project. For me making the system is the project. The advantage of this is that you will pay more attention to the smaller details and will come away from it with a stronger system and the main reason I am doing it is that it is a smaller project so easier to finish.
toby fox made an earth bound mod before undertale so even that example isn't someone starting on their dream game. Also, toby fox specifically said that undertale is just a stepping stone towards his actual (and literal, from a sleeping dream) dream game.
can’t wait for deltarune ch 3&4
@@droycon it's wild to think that deltarune will actually be fully finished one day
Game Dev is hard and tedious, even with game engines, you'll have a learning curve; But failing is also learning.
This is a lesson I've only just started learning and I think it's so important for creativity. It's going back to when you were a kid and you made things solely because you enjoyed it, not for the end result, not for other people's approval or even your own approval, but just cause it feels good to make things. I'm working on relearning this.
This video reminded me of my own beginnings in game development. As a developer, I know how challenging and time-consuming it can be. Not every idea will be a success, and you'll try again and again. With each attempt, you'll gain new skills that benefit your future projects. Start small, and you’ll eventually achieve big things. Don’t give up. The game engine or art style you choose doesn’t matter-what truly matters is enjoying the process and learning along the way.
One day I want to make my dream game but for now I just do lil bits and pieces of a passion project when I have time. We all gotta build up to it somehow
Great strategy, slow and steady, slowly and surely reaches the destination!!
I'm really grateful that I enjoy playing walking sims so much and that they're relatively easy to make compared to more mechanically challenging games. I think your tip about the gameloop is really good!
I’ve had to abandon a dream game project due to scope, so I decided to start a new simple 2D game project just to help me practice drawing and improve my art. Now it’s ended up being a really cool project that’ll probably perform better than my dream game ever would have.
Honestly, this is a great video that came at a good time. For the past week, I've wanted to make a DDR/FnF game, thinking that it would be easier than other genres. Yikes. Most of the resources I've found are not understandable for a beginner, and they've left me scratching my head most of the time. Working on smaller projects with more resources to learn the engine seems better after all.
This is a good advice at the VERY beginning, and that too, is not a good idea, unless you are trying to get a game dev job.
If you don't have the burning desire to make your dream/semi dream games you won't be able to go through the fire of learning game dev.
You are going to take YEARS to learn game dev, why waste that time on pointless mechanics and prototypes, when you could be making incremental improvements to the game you ACTUALLY WANT to make.
Exploring game dev like you explored all those games is the best way to begin moving towards achieving your aspirations. It’s entirely possible, just not immediately.
Do the grind. Gain that XP. One day you’ll realise you’ve made something you’re proud of. You got this.
juniper decided to call me out
Juniper really is my occasional dose of motivation. I ain't even trying to make a game, and still, you manage to inspire me! Thank you❤
No thanks. I will fail and I will smile through it all
Love the video, your passion for making games is inspiring. Also, love the piano B-roll footage. 10/10 best piano B-roll I've seen
LMAO thank you, walked past my parents like "Hang on" and proceeded to fondle the hell out of that keyboard
My Tip that's only work for me
: if you want to make a game like a challenging arcade game. Try to learn how the mechanics works.
Don't draw a marvallous pixel art at the start of your game because it'll take a lot of effort and time (can also destory your determination) while you're still learning how the game work.
Yeah, and also, while I was creating my game, I found it to be really helpful to start off trying very simple mechanics.
This made it less overwhelming than starting off with huge game mechanics and designs in mind.
Fantastic video and I completely agree that you've got the enjoy the process. I often see people wanting to make their games so quick which I understand can make a more successful business but it's usually completely missing the heart and enjoyment.
“I have to do it for me, I can’t do it because I want the results of having a successful channel”
Hella based
Overall just amazing video, really got me thinking about more about making games for the future, I’ll try have this mindset in mind “one step a time” thanks a lot for the advice ^^
For years I've been stitting on novel and cartoon ideas. I think I'll start writing short stories and short animation ideas. I'm the writer so I can look for someone to animate one of my shorts which will probably take a lot of time and resources in itself. But the level of confidence it brings will be unmatched.
Also good video. I feel like this told me something I really needed to hear and I already got a concept I want to try out
I've always found it easier to have dream systems or concepts (as in ones that I saw in other games and really enjoyed the feel of and want to replicate) that I can then crowbar into a game that I'm actually capable of making at the time.
This video reminds me of the saying: "right for the wrong reasons"... vet game developers can say up and down "you'll never finish your first game, and if somehow you do, it won't be good" - and I've said just that and that's the prevailing knowledge by those that made those mistakes time and time again... and they are 1000% correct. The problem though is, most people START OFF with their dream game and that passion is what gets their foot in the door. YES you make a bunch of garbage code... and YES you won't actually finish it in the first attempt... BUT that's okay. Sometimes without that blind conviction, you might not even bother trying to begin with... because why make a cruddy game you are not passionate about... the world doesn't need another snake clone or stupid puzzle game (that given the sage wisdom of vets,... it's going to suck and not be profitable anyways, which is also true). Sometimes that blind optimism is good, and I support newbies that are shooting for the stars... yes,... jaded jerks like me that have been in the game for twenty years will gleefully assert that will fail and it will be bad, but maybe, instead... you should just make what makes you happy. You'll learn likely learn like the rest of us: your first attempt will be abysmal... but maybe that's just part of the journey. Good luck greenhorns
Big agree. I might not have 20 years under my belt. But all of this is true
I fully agree, but still think its important to set some expectations, even if most of the advice is gonna be ignored.
Its easy for people just starting out to pour themselves completely into their project, disregarding their physical and mental health, believing its going to be their only chance to make their magnum opus.
I think its nice to hear that it is just one of the many games they could end up making and to enjoy the process rather than speedrun to the destination.
That being said, I remember when I started and would hear that advice, thinking _"Nahh, my game will be different"_ , so I'm not sure how much impact it really has :))
this video came to me right as i needed it, im fighting myself for the whole day to do abstract games so i can express my ideas more freely without worrying about art and i think this helped me to win the fight, thanks!
What a great video! I bet your motivational speech is helping a lot of beginners out there. Keep on going!
I'm currently making my first game, and it's my dream game, and it's ambitious... 😅 Goodluck to me... 😅
Good luck with that😁
@@FinaresGame of all the game Ideas , why did I choose one that has a very huge scope. 😅
@@blackcitadelstudios I know exactly what you mean 🤣
Your game is awesome. Waiting for your next devlog. ❤
@@CiriandFam thank you, ill be posting one soon...
that or else was really funny at the end.
but hell yeah, just make it.100% agree
It's funny, because I often feel held back by my artistic skills, even though they're not that bad. When it comes to coding I feel able to accomplish most things, aside from maybe very unique and mathematically complicated mechanics. The true thing holding me back though, is just discipline. I will start dozens of projects in the span of a few months, and finish zero of them. That has made me very good at prototyping though, which is kind of nice. Gamedev is one of those things where when you can work with other people, it really unlocks a lot of doors on what you can accomplish.
Ahhh the honeymoon phase of starting to make a new game is real
This video reminds me when I first started learning game dev:
I wrote horrible and unreadable code
I didn't optimize anything I made
I didn't go in with a plan of any kind
However, I slowly learned the process with micro games and re-created some of my favorite flash games as a challenge to learn new processes. Now, I'm ready and actively making the game of my own dreams. (Which may or may not suck, who knows) But I am putting it out there when it's done purely for the sake of saying "I did it, the game nobody has thought of making is now out there."
A tip from me if you want to learn the process of game development:
If your going at it alone, your going to have to wear many hats through-out the process. Your going to have to be the programmer, the artist, the musician, the story-writer, the marketer, and whatever else your games may need. It's a tedious process to having to learn to basically be a one-person game studio, and it may be that you just can't do certain tasks on your own. Whatever the situation may be, just know that there is *some* way forward if you look hard enough.
Idk why I'm here, watching this at 2am, or why I've watched every video on this channel. I don't make video games. I don't plan to make any video games. But by god I find these videos just so chill to watch
@@lennartvandemerwe6742 🥹 that means the world!! I'm so glad, thanks for sticking along for the journey
im really enjoying your content, youre doing a great job!
thank you!!!
Yep suffering atm cause I have to look at a ton of ugly programmer art THAT I WANT TO MAKE IT LOOK GOOD ASAP. But can't, cause gotta finish all systems and test how well they work before that, gotta hold myself back for better productivity.
i never planned to make my "dream game" because not even AAA studios could make it, but while i've never fully finished a game, i've attempted like 20 times and gotten the gist of it, so to everyone who wants to learn, there is no such thing as a failure when learning, only a teaching moment. So even if you made 5 unfinished games, you've learned as much as someone who's made 3 working games, in fact maybe you learned more because you're trying different genres of games (i hope). so yeah 😋
"Stop Making Your Dream Game" - For me it's like "Stop Make Games at all" :')
Wdym sir!! Don't let the frustration of apparently not being able to make a single game take on you - if you're naturally attached to this topic why would you think it's not for you?!
So if I'm supposed to fail, picking something way too big should actually be a good thing to increase the odds of that.
Maybe, but as a beginner failing fast helps a ton
This is why i only make games when I'm awake
I do not create games but illustrations. I wanted to start right away on my dream project, a graphic novel. But realizing it would require me a LOT of time, patience, efficiency, and a lot of subjects (like humans) and staging I am not used to draw, I decided to put it on ice. And I didn't want to work on it without a sizeable audience, in risk of all this hard work leading to a complete failure. I will get back to it once I become more skilled, create more books, and I gain a big audience to back me up.
I hear you, but 'failure' is relative. It would be a real failure to me if your graphic novel never became reality because your audience was never 'big enough' and the idea simply died with you one day.
What if 10,000,000 read your graphic novel, but nobody is moved by it? Is that still a success? What if only 1 person reads it but it resonates deeply with them and their life is changed for the better? Is that a failure? UA-cam and social media have conditioned us to confuse quantity with quality - "If 10,000,000 people watched this, it must be good."
i needed to hear that thank you! 🙏
Love the video! good stuff 💪
Rational me knows you speak from years of bitter experience. Stupid idiot reptile brain in me thinks my idea for a Factorio-Warcraft-Diablo-Civilization-Dungeon Keeper mega-hybrid with sick ECS tech and next-level AI definitely will work as my first game dev project
nice insights :)
Can't stop me!
I needed this video, thank you.
Yeah, I suck. But I think of it as if I quit, I’m a goddamn loser, because Toby fox didn’t quit, AIA didn’t, so many more didn’t but they faced the same problems. When I started, I just skipped the easy platformers and went right to my big idea. It sucked. I couldn’t make a player controller at all. So I went back to basic games and soon I will be ready.
This is why I'm setting up a website to host a bunch of JavaScript experiment games with emoji graphics. (I'm a coder - not an artist.)
Then I can gradually make more advanced stuff, and eventually create something with Godot or Monogame.
Ok. I will stop and learn how to make short games first
I feel personally attacked
Seriously though, great video!
I can't stop making my dream game. Getting to keep chipping away at it has been too much fun.
Besides I'm already too many years in at this point lol
"sometimes you just need to be bad at it until you're good at it" ---> this will come up at some point no matter what kind of art you want to make. the best thing you can do is to find meaning in making art even when it's bad.
I started trying to make "what Simcity: Societies should have been," complete with an in house engine (because I didn't know there were other options); I managed to make a horribly unoptimized rendering engine that was useless for making an actual game.
A few years later I started over by making a Pac-Man clone, then an arcade space shooter, then something about trying to knock balls out of an arena, then a failed attempt to make a roguelike/FPS hybrid, then a successful attempt at making a roguelike/FPS hybrid that I released on Steam (where it was a complete commercial flop). What's next? Perhaps a scrolls-like, since I've determined that to be easier than the open-world life simulator I also want to make. I'm still not sure I have specific well defined "dream game," though, as in I'm not sure there is any particular game idea I'd call my "dream."
Thanks for this video :)) It's funny for me that you make the entire art for the game and never finishes because of the programming, for me I'm always making prototipes but I never finish because I can't make the art for the game hahhahaa
I'll get back to work rn
Good advice as always, nice video!
The video is really good and all, but holy peak I'm in love with that thumbnail.
I was just making a character for a 3D fighting game, and then this video popped up
Inspiring stuff, awesome video!
thanks, this video was important to me
yeah no after a long long long process of learning im making my dream game, and there's nothing wrong with that. i don't even want juniper to convince me, this is crap and im not watching it
I wanted to make my own game, realized that it was actually hard and needed effort, and without knowing anything it would be painful. So I started making an OMORI mod and you literally using an OMORI footage while saying that "It is near impossible do your dream game first time." I felt offended dajsdjsadnsakjd
edit: Oh my god I need to rant about how OMORI is hold together by duct tape, I cried literally doing anything the first time.
"claw your way out of tutorial hell" is great advice for people whose dream genre has tutorials
yep!! I want to do a whole video talking about that alone, very real...
Haha, I'm one of the developers of Getting Goopy. it's such a small little game I wasn't expecting to see it out in the wild! I assume the clip was pulled from the GMTK video
Haha correct!! Really cool concept and game!!
I always come to the comments to argue for dream gamers but then I remember that I spent around 3 months (on top of a couple high school code classes) making random very basic projects before starting a project that took me a few months and that wasn't even a dream game i just thought it was cool then like 3 months after that I started my (current) dream game. Even then, my current game is literally just a technical sandbox with cool example assets I've made out of necessity so I'm not exactly jumping into art and story prematurely... I've been working on my current game for exactly 4 years now. Took some breaks, got some jobs, wrote most of a book, got a degree in college, lived abroad for a bit, made some other games in the interim... But I always come back to that game. Regardless, nice video and uhhhhh, I still believe in the dreamers even if they're a bunch of fools. Heh.
> "Make a sentence or two for the whole game"
That's called an elevator pitch and it's really useful to condense your game in the GDD phase of planning. It's useful for small games and big ones, too!
Nice advice!
1:03 Asteroids
A much needed reality check. Thank you.
Very good message.
TLDR:
*GRIND GIT GUD KID*
instruction clear
Finally, a relevant sponsor in one of these types of videos lol
Holy shit Glass Beach mentioned
Currently I'm working on my 2d rouge like platformer
I also make roguelike rn but top down.
@greenheart5334 good luck buddy
I really do enjoy the knite in the suit thumbnail that deserves my like😂
This kinda changed my perspective damn
Stop making my dream game, but I'm making a game ( protagonist music starts playing)
Whenever I see some young aspiring dev make a devlog #0 about how they're making their dream game, I just know I'm not likely to see a whole lot more devlogs from them 😅
@@realmarsastro precisely🥲
what about making a battle system for a larger game (Looking all prototypish) and shelving it until someday, but the battle system is done.
by the time you come back to making that larger game youll probably have improved so much that its a better idea to just make a new battle system from scratch
cool video i like it. But I think there is a different approach. I watched a ton of videos like this and even though I knew I shouldnt overscope and make small stuff I never really understood it until I failed at my own big dream project. I would tell people go make anything, dont care about scope or whatever but set a time constraint. work on a game for a month, learn a ton and try to finish no matter what kind of cuts you have to make, I think thats the way to learn a lot about the gamedave meta problems like scoping and burning out but who knows if it would work
DOWNSCALE, DOWNSCALE, DOWNSCALE. Do not bite off more than you can chew. Always reduce projects down their core necessary parts to make things easier for you. The simpler, the easier. You're not gonna make a AAA open-world game with tons of cutscenes and dialogue. Start with, like, flash/mobile games lol.
Similar process for a different medium, but I started writing a fantasy novel series. I read that publishers don't usually accept first-time manuscripts, and begrudingly realized I'd have to make a bunch of short stories to get my foot in the door. I didn't want to write anything else! I was super into the fantasy story!
But then after a little brainstorming and inspiration I came up with tons of short story ideas that I also find fun and compelling and entertaining. If you enjoy the process of writing itself (or making a game or what have you) you should enjoy multiple kinds of projects, not just your pet dream idea that'll take literal years to manifest :)
Ive said this so many times but-
You’re so underrated 😭
my favourite youtuber decided to make me feel happy after months🔥🔥🥵🥶🗿🗿
Depends on what your dream game is.
I will. Thank you Juniper.
i felt called out lol
Seeing another glass beach fan is always nice. But I have to say that I think that for the most part, plastic death is the better album
@@MrMarbles94 I've tried listening to it, and I do like it, but it feels like the vocals are a lot more muddy/hard to understand which makes it hard );
@JuniperDev agreed, that's why at the beginning I listened a lot with lyrics
No.
0:44
is it weird that i clicked the screen
asking for a friend
Many say that pixel art is not worth it for making games.
what do you think about that?
Jokes on you I'm two steps ahead! It's been a year since I dropped my dream game (it was at the time anyway), and I've been working on a little RPG called Everything Breaks (you actually played it back in April! I was so happy lol) since then. After a bit, I've developed a better dream game idea, and even got the fire going inside me to finish Everything Breaks first. As knowledge and skills improve, your ideas will too. It can be a bit scary to drop your dream game, but a random game potentially 'failing' is better than something you are truly passionate about not meeting your expectations.
I'm literally taking a break from coding as I watch this lmao
SuperHot gets included in the greats
Hell yes
I like to code when making games, but get stuck when it comes to game design and art. So we are opposites :)
nice video
Message to new game devs DO NOT MAKE AN RPG you will crash and burn. Make a platformer or a top down shooter, start with somethin' simple
RPG but much strange... Than normal ones
how are you so good at pixel art!!!!!!!????????
thank you God bless you ✝
Nice, a video that was made for everyone except me 🙃
Uh no im making Floobert18 and im having fun while doing it xoxo
What's the song at the beginning?
@@theobakshi3705 What Used To Be by carrottier
@@JuniperDev Thanks !