It's an important lesson when giving feedback as well, just because the Dev's dont implement whatever it was you asked for, doesn't mean they didn't read/listen to you. Maybe they even agreed with you but are unable to implement due to cost/time/complexity reasons.
Hard to believe it took a year for the algorithm to pick up on this message and deliver it to the right crowd. I think it was the shorts. They drive up interaction in a whole new way.
I watched this and then went to his site, decided on Godot game engine, downloaded, looked up a guide, Breakeys 1 hour guide looked good, watched it start to finish, decided I could follow it, 3 hours later I had made my first level of a video game! I had never done any coding in my life, Breakey gave me all the assets I needed (art, music). All I had to do was design the level and copy the code. But if that wasn't one of the best moments of my life realising I had essentially made a level of super Mario in just a few hours, I don't what is.
@@birbsdigital I did try starting a different game that was just going to be a small platformer where you would just be climbing a tower by jumping (think jump king). But I immediately kept coming up with questions. I decided to look up coding tutorials and found Harvards CS50 a free computer science course, I’ve watched the first two lectures and have started playing with Scratch (the online kids game to teach coding) and another game “7 billion humans” which is on Nintendo switch that tried to teach similar concepts. Ultimately though I don’t know if I’ll stick with it right now. It’s a fun hobby that I might come back to occasionally and do find interesting.
7 minutes in and I already have tears in my eyes because of the amount of courage and the "everything will be alright" attitude, thank you Buddy, honestly.
I've been seeing Thor in my shorts for a while and finally got around to checking out the channel, this has to be the most uplifting creator I've ever seen 😄 guys fostering a whole community
It’s really awesome to see. Rad that even a giant conglomerate like Google can facilitate a space for creatives to advertise their brand of ideas… and actually connect with similar minds. I’m fascinated by this. All I’ve ever wanted is to foster a community of like minded ppl… it’s actually possible now tho!
“ The moment you’ve made a character walk on screen , you’ve already won. “ Damn man.. I gotta say honestly this is one of the most inspirational videos I’ve ever watched on UA-cam. Thanks for sharing your valuable information brother.
@BatBrendo8515well it's python so pick the module you are going to use for rendering, then you should be able to figure out how to make a player move in 5 minutes - 1 hour depending if you get stuck on something or not
@BatBrendo8515 you can start with pygame but there are other even easier ways to do it, meanwhile a few days ago i decided to go with SDL with C++ but im only semi fluent in Python, i wanted to challenge myself and learn a new language and didnt want to use engines as im not planning to do a 3d game so far.
When he talked about "finding the right tool for the job" regarding engines, I agreed with him 100%. I learned a similarly worded phrase, but with the exact same meaning, in the military. "The mission dictates the tools" You don't use a pellet gun to hunt bears, you don't hit a drive through with a stretched limo, and you don't use a resource heavy engine when you want to make Tic-Tac-Toe.
From a video perspective, this is extremely interesting how with no editing, he was able to keep me engaged the ENTIRE time. Great video, very inspiring!
The list of people who can livestream without driving me batty, and actually hold my attention, is very short, and may include this man, if this is how his stream typically goes.
@@davidskidmore3442, his streams are like this every single time he streams, especially now that his audience is insanely large, he always has a question to answer and something to talk about or someone to interact with.
@justvibing4796 I didn't say it was a dialogue. And no, a vast majority of the human population won't be "entertained" by this for 20 seconds, let alone 44 minutes.
Another huge ignored aspect of game development is physical and mental health. Eat a vegetable, go for a walk, and SLEEP. Go to therapy, the worst parts of your mind and personality are the #1 thing that will sabotage you. Don't abandon your friends and family for your game. You need your support network.
You know, that part about the worst parts of your mind hits so close to home. I personally struggle with this myself, but hearing someone else acknowledge this issue in such the way that you did just now has strengethened my resolve, thank you.
I had no intention of making a game. But hearing you talk so passionately and calmly about the thing you love in your UA-cam Shorts brought me here. And now I'm off to start my first game!
@@IndieVideoGameDeveloper that is very possible, would not be surprising considering how new the game dev industry is, with many professionals being pretty new to it. Its quite rare for an industry to not be primarily represented by the senior workers; maybe its moreso relevant in the indie scene? maybe in AAA environments this isnt as common, as these companies are older and value seniority perhaps. Just a thought, but it is true that i tend to see younger faces in gamedev
@@IndieVideoGameDeveloper I think as a 54 year old you have just as much chance as me as a 18 year old. People didn’t even know what Scott cawthon looked like for a while. As well as the developer of hyper light drifter being older.
This is the most motivating and helpful individual I've found in the game dev space, and that's saying quite a lot, as most devs are so helpful and encouraging. This man makes me feel like my dreams are within my grasp, and that's so rare to find.
I came to the comments for this video in particular to say almost the exact same thing. I've been doing game dev for years, but finding this channel has really revitalised my passion for creating.
Jesus dude, "you don't fight the end boss at level 1" might the the most basic yet profound thing I've heard you say. It actually got me kinda misty-eyed, because it's something I needed to hear. Thank you!
13:38 'No matter what you make, someone on the internet is going to make fun of you. But... It's yours, and they didn't make it.' Such an important perspective for all parts of life; appreciate your smaller achievements and be proud you're moving in the right direction. I found you a couple days ago, Thor, through shorts. As a nearly-graduate game programmer, your channel, and attitude, are very motivating. Thanks, bud. ❤
@@ExplodeReality What's helped me most is making bigger goals into a smaller goals, and, as Thor said a different time, comparing my past self with my current self, not others with myself.
@@ExplodeReality Before I did programming, I graduated from a Bachelor's in English Literature and Creative Writing. At the time, I was 18. My closest friend was a fellow in his fifties. He was making a fresh start in a new direction and he was good at what he did, a master of words. From my own experiences, I've seen many older folks achieving great things, from academia to career shifts. It can happen. People find their way. I hope that you achieve something you want to do. I'm sure you will. ❤️
I’m a software dev full time. I’ve had several failed business ideas. Finally made the decision to just spend my free time doing something I love and that I actually care about. Started my journey today. Thanks so much for sharing all of this. You are a big inspiration to me in many ways. Can’t wait to start learning 🙌
What I was also hoping you’d mention when talking about Five Nights at Freddys is the fact that it’s made in a block-programming language which basically doesn’t require programming skills whatsoever. Five Nights at Freddy’s, the Five Nights at Freddy’s that now has a movie centered around the Franchise and sells merch like crazy, that Five Nights at Freddy’s was basically made in a leveled up Scratch engine. The whole “you don’t need to be a good programmer” argument is multiplied when taking that into account.
I dont have much experience with those scratch like programming languages, but don't they just replace a few keyboard strokes with fancy drag n drop graphics? You still need to understand what they do, and once you got it, you might just as well type them out like in any normal programming language?
@@deadlypendroppingby the advantage of block coding is that it displays all the functions you can use in a menu. the issue i've had with traditional coding is that i do not know what words to use to do what i want
It doesn’t even use block coding it’s even more basic it’s a event editor so you literally don’t have to learn anything which is awesome it makes it so easy to make a game
@@DoktorBeta Visual Studio also shows possible code thanks to IntelliSense. Eclipse also seems to have something similar. (And even if you don't have a sophisticated IDE, a compiler won't necessarily suggest code, but it will tell you if you wrote nonsense)
this is the single most important game dev vid out there. As a solo game dev for 5 years I only took jobs and all my projects that were meant to be released as my own games somewhere in the future landed unfinished, due to all the uncertainties I had. This cleared up so much confusion for me as to what works like what, gave me confidence and now I see at least 5 projects I could easily polish and release in half a year time (not at once, one by one, but still, finish them up fast) and fly them to the steam shelves. Thank You. You really did help me and probably ever wont know how much it really did help me, even if it wont work for me in the end. Its a massive stepping stone.
I’ve been sitting on the edge of music, art/animating, and level design for years now. I’m currently trying to learn guitar, but I can’t stop holding myself back due to confidence issues. I haven’t even tried level design yet. I guess what I’m trying to say is don’t be like me. Learn how to work with yourself if that makes any sense. It’s extremely hard to get out of a negative thought pattern when you get into one, and it can become extremely demotivating and detrimental when you feel like you’re trapped somewhere between your aspirations, and your self imposed limitations.
You're allowed to make bad music. You're allowed to make bad games. You're allowed to make bad art. You're allowed to be less than perfect. Nothing of any real consequence is going to happen because you suck at those things, and you won't get better unless you allow yourself to be bad at it first. Go for it.
I think it's awesome that you're trying to learn guitar! we need more instrument players in the world. Keep at it! One thing that I know is true, but it isn't often said, is that any guitar player sucks 90% of the time, because you're studying, learning, and failing, until just a tiny bit of the song or piece sounds nice, and then you go to the next bit, suck for a while, and repeat the process. Everyone sucks most of the time, so don't worry about it.
I watch this video almost everyday to remind myself and motivate myself to just keep at it. Just started doing this almost a couple weeks ago after getting a new laptop, and it feels so overwhelming but I took it one battle at a time and now I have a little project where I learned how to move my character, have a respawn, and learned some animating tips for pixels. It's crappy, but more than I had starting out. It's the little battles that'll help us win the war, gents and ladies!
Right now just messing about with things just wanting to create something that I would like to play, and so I think what was suppose to be an action platformer in the cheapest works somehow got fleshed out (on paper) into I think a metroidvania and I don't even like metros. Just happened lmao I still got alot to learn, but gonna do my thing one task at a time and make this as I learn.
As a disabled guy myself, I definitely appreciate controller support. Hearing that you add support to your games after learning about it's importance to disabled people leads me to believe that you are, indeed, a giga-chad. I'll be checking out Heartbound for sure.
I am watching your video right now and I am trying not to tear up. I have always wanted to make games and I recently bought a computer for it. I am so excited and ready to do this. I don't care how long it takes me or how hard it gets, I want to create things that people will talk about and enjoy. Thank you so much for this! :)
Same here. Ive been a web developer for 20+ years and i just walked away from that career because I am so burnt out on it. The idea of being able to apply my coding skills to something I actually like fires me up. I always avoided games because I have no art or music skills.
@@XenoTravis Nah man it's more that I saw the video title "Make Video Games" is so encouraging as is the video itself it turns out that it made me wanna click
I'd seen your shorts and known you as the fella with the quick wit and knowledge. But the more of these clips that trickled in I've come to see your encouragement and positivity and I just wanted to say thank you. I can't say I will certainly dive in to creation, but the encouragement from a random guy on the internet, after seeing how genuine it is, is really helpful. So thank you for doing you!
It will be a top down roguelike, but i doubt i will be doing a video type devlog, i will be pretty bussy with the other stuff at school :D. Mby after i graduate ill release a video devlog i dont really know as of now
I don’t make games, but I’m an app / web developer looking to make it in these wild times. Your positivity and validation has made a big difference in me not giving up on my dreams. Thank you for everything you do, and weirdly enough thanks to youtube for finally putting Thor in my algorithm😅
Im so glad i found this channel. I've had ideas for years that i feel like could only be done through a video game. You got me hyped as fuck to dive in. Thanks man.
I just found this and I'm learning to make games at the age of 27. I'm pretty inspired even tho many times I have to shut down the classic voices of "you're making the wrong choice". Your content is one thing that is helping to counterweight this voices with ease. Thank you very much for everything.
35 here and just finished my introductory Python course. Its absolutely never too late to start doing something. Alan Rickman (Snape) got his first acting role at 46.
Thor- Finding this two years later, as a 40 year old man just starting his coding journey. I finally decided to get started because I desperately wanna make a mod to fix the economy in a game called Mount and Blade 2: Bannerlord. Super inspiring stuff here, and a lot of stuff I needed to hear. Thanks bud.
Thanks so much for this!! It’s refreshing to hear info about indie game making from someone who’s workin on a game themselves! I’m super pumped to work on my project after this :]
I'm a musician that builds guitar pedals, amps (tube and solid state) and I've restored a vintage tube radio receiver and I'd love to do more. So I have a lot to fill my time.....but I oddly want to start making games now lol. Very encouraging speech, and a great argument for just starting with what you've got. I taught myself how to read schematics, solder, design circuits etc. and it was the same progression, started small and worked my way up.
as someone who has been through the whole process of creating indie games several times without actually finishing 95% of the projects i started on, i can say that the hardest part for me is keeping my motivation up to actually finish something. i might go all-in during a few days or a week and make huge progress and eventually i hit a wall where stuff don't either work out the way it want it to, or my inspiration runs out.
I feel the same way. Theoretically you should be able to improve your results by studying the underlaying technology, describing your game in a Game Development Document (GDD) and having a scrum like planning with a final deadline and sprints for specific features. You do the most important basic implementation and work your way down the task list until there is no time left in the sprint. The explanation is that "stuff don't working out" is a symptom of wrong expectations probably because of too little knowledge. The "hitting a wall" is just something that happens, although you can pace yourself, too have better balance. It's more important to have a backbone you can fall back on once you hit that wall.
I’ve had a few projects get like that but I don’t think it’s necessarily a bad thing. Sometimes certain projects run their course and you fall out of love.
I have just started my indie game development journey like 3 months ago knowing nothing about the game industry. What I do know is I want to make games for people to enjoy and that's enough for me to start. I have made my game into a playable demo now. Then I stumbled upon this video and it showed me a path I've never shown before about distributing your games. It's the final missing piece (actually, pieces) of my game dev puzzle. I couldn't thank you enough man. God bless you. And for everyone who experienced the same thing as me, believe in yourself and just start making the game. I wish you the best of luck!
I don't have plans to make any games, but this video activated my neurons. I feel like this advice also extends to art, too, and its got me hyped to open my sketchbook tomorrow morning
Man you are just amazing, the amount of courage you spread is crazy. I stopped working on my games for a year now and stumbled upon your shorts and now on this video. Thank you for your work, I feel so motivated to start and hopefully end something one day.
Thank you for making this, I'm currently in a game indie dev class learning all the basics and this video reminded me that games are truly a piece of art, whatever tool you use you can still make something from it and it is beautiful.
This man has been a huge inspiration to me to start learning code and to one day make my game and my vision a reality. I used to be horribly depressed and had no direction/motivation to do much and some days it got so severe and caused so many issues that I lost a pretty important portion of my 20s when i should've been learning/practicing something valuable to improve myself. Some of it was my own fault and some of it wasn't but it's irrelevant now. I'm still alive and I'm still well enough to do something and doing at least something has taken away a lot of the suffering. I have so much to be thankful for and one of those things is this beautiful goblin king right here. Thank you so much Thor for just being awesome and encouraging people to do awesome things. You are truly a commendable human being and we need more people like that today. I will go make video games.
Recently finding your shorts and now exploring your channel has been a blessing, your whole character makes the video extremely entertaining and incredibly informative. I'll gladly be sharing your channel and website with other inspiring developers :)
From a dev in another industry to another, you are an awesome human. Thanks for being awesome man. All of this advice can be applied across the board in any walk of life, no matter the industry. You are so inspiring and I will absolutely do my best to spread your kindness and drive for simply making things. This is what life should be about. Thank you for reminding me of that.
You're easily the most wholesome, streamer/artist/gamedev/guide every video with you makes me smile like I haven't in a fucking while, and you've just added mad kindling to that fire in me, thank you my dude ❤
As an aspiring indie game developer, this has quickly become one of my favourite videos ever. It's getting harder and harder to count how many times I've listened to it. Thanks for being a voice in the industry Thor!!!
Dude - I owe you a lot for this video and many of the others you’ve put together. I have been sitting on a project for years and agonizing over whether or not people would like it. You gave me the courage to finish it, and I’m proud to say I finally did. Thank you man.
Man this video is marvelous. I’m a artist struggling with some stuff and in the middle of sometime feelings I remembered your videos on shorts, here on YT and man… Now I have a clarity and motivation to keep moving forward in this game dev journey. My dream always was be a awesome professional to being able to going back and teach the new generation and you are, literally, a model for that even if you are doing it just to enjoy yourself. Thank you a lot for this video!!!❤❤❤ Muito obrigado meu mano, Brasil te ama tbm 🇧🇷😊
I've been in a mild depressive funk for a few days, and this TED talk has inspired me to finally work on the idea I've had in my head. Good job. Love your work!
I love that you did away with the myth that someone needs to be a perfect prodigy just to try game dev. Your encouragement is amazing, thank you. I immediately subscribed. I just want to add that $compensation for your efforts in a game are nice, but the act of creating and expressing yourself in a domain that you love and give back to is unmatched. Humans are born to create and tinker. A gaming community like yours is the perfect circle to find support and growth.
unironically when i was a kid i used to make platformers and animations on scratch, and i garnered a decent following (to a point where i would get sent fan projects! melted my little heart seeing that people enjoyed what i made), i havent used that site in over 6-7 years but i always wanted to make another game or take my next steps, but i never knew how, all i knew was a little bit of python from comp sci class, but this video inspired me to start learning to draw and read up on some other programming languages to make a small project. so glad i got recommended your channel dude.
hey, i know this is 7 months late ehe but do you have any advice for how to get started as someone whose only resource is pretty much youtube?? i just can't figure out what the first step is, any tutorials i look for are just way too complicated from the jump and i always feel like there's something i'm supposed to know but i don't. i just wish they'd explain stuff to me like i'm 5 lolol. i want to make something but i can't figure out the first step. thanks man
@@soupwithpotatos1542 okay! it's hard to have questions when i don't even know a single thing to branch off of though. like, i don't know what goes into making a game at all. the only thing i can really ask is "how to make a game" but that obviously gets me nowhere. what's the first thing you do when you make a game, for example? thanks again
@@varena04 haven't really made a game but have been learning more and more about code and making small progress on learning to draw (haven't had a lot of time), but i think most of my creative process just starts with like a "what if?" when i used to make scratch games. like, "what if i made a platformer" then you can google like platformer engine, and find basic tutorials/books on those, and just go nuts.
@@varena04 start with what kind of game you want to make and think of what things you want in that game. Then research engines that can bring the most of the basic features your game needs. (physics, 2d, 3d, etc). Pick an engine that can meet your basic requirements for your idea then look up some tutorials for that engine. something like how to make your first game in unity. if you picked unity as your engine of choice. learn the basics. I'm talking get "hello world" to show up in the console basics. and slowly branch out by learning new things on top of what you already know. once you feel you have a handle on the basic principles of your engine come up with a small (really small. smaller the better) idea and make it. Then make another. and another.... each time you'll learn new things. its hard but its doable and the results are super rewarding.
You know man, it’s a beautiful thing when someone else believes in you. I felt emotional when you talked about not being too old or young to do this. It’s felt like a far fetched dream to make video games, but you made me believe my dream was possible in this video. Thanks man.
I was a web developer, and now primarily write Python for automation. My son is 11 and wants to make games. He’s incredibly passionate about it, and this has been so encouraging for both of us. Thank you so much.
00:50 "and then I quit, because I didn't like having my hair cut short" imagine how many talented people have quit over the years because of arbitrary rules like this. People in charge of things are so often out of touch with the way things ought to be
I'm so glad that I found you. I'm not making a video game, but I am diving headfirst into the world of music recording/production. I've been playing guitar since I was 8, I've been in a bunch of small bands, but I've never tried to make the music myself. I can take so much of what you're saying and translate it to what I'm doing and it still hits the same way. Just do it. It doesn't have to be good, you'll learn as you go, but just do it. Thank you Thor, you're truly and inspiration.
This video may be a year old when I stumbled upon it today, but this is inspiring and hopeful to me. Especially with how the large company scale of gaming and game dev jobs has been going lately. So thanks Thor! For sharing this, showing this, and igniting a little spark back into the soul of this aspiring creator!
2024 and I’m just getting to know your channel. You’re an awesome dude. I thought people who worked on big games knew about people with disabilities missing out. It makes so much sense now. There’s a whole market out there if more devs make games accessible.
Over the years, I've only been comfortable in creating game concepts & designs that I think are fun. Actual development is always scary, since I have zero programing, art, or music skills like mentioned in the video. This video really gave me the inspiration to start the first step. Ideas will always remain an idea if no effort went into creating it. Cheers.
Been wanting to develop games for my entire adult life and only in the last couple of years has that felt like a realistic goal. Found you in the last few days through shorts and you have significantly fed and reinforced the spark that has started growing again recently. Such a supportive and informed guy, thank you!
I’ve been so inspired by your content, and seeing you more and more frequently over the past couple days. I’ve finally decided to be the kind of person I dream of being. I’ve started my game design document (already seven pages in, I’m a writing wizard), picked the engine for the job, and picked the program for the art. I’m a writing-forward creator- I’ve written over a million words for online works- so I’m starting with that, I’ll get it all onto paper, then hack and slash at what I hate, then I’ll start to organize my thoughts into implementable chunks, organized by ‘releases’ (thinking of the project in implementation phases). Then pseudocode the entire thing. Then face the behemoth that is an empty GameMaker studio project for the first time and code for the first time in years. I’m so afraid. I’ve never been more thrilled by a project in my entire life. Sending so much love from New York ♥️♥️♥️
You're the first dev to acknowledge the Brazil thing that I've ever seen. I'm honestly amazed. As a Brazilian I'm always frustrated with games that do straight dollar conversion, which is so unfair and I always tell them "if you localize the price you will sell more", Brazil is a HUGE market, top 5 globally, people WILL buy your product if they can afford it, but they never listen. I was often met with "eeeerm actually 298 brazilian reais IS 60 dollars, so it's fair", they don't understand you can't just convert currency, you need to know how much money people make and then compare the porcentage the game cost is in relation to that. While 60 bucks will be 0.92% of the monthly income for an American that conversion will be 21% of the monthly income for a brazilian. It's so refreshing to see a person that understands how currency works and is smart to know that it's better to lower your price and make sales than not make any sales and just get pirated.
Found you through your Shorts. Couldn't have been at a better time for me, as I'm trying to get into website building and such and have hit a pretty big creative block this week feeling pretty damn bad about myself. Your content has helped me to get over this blockage and am working on overcoming this fear I developed in the process (in retrospective feels dumb but it be as it be). Very thankful for your content Thor, and I'm wishing you the best of luck for everything
I don't even want to be dev and you got me motivated. I just came across your video and it was extremely inspirational, I want more people to see this video to hopefully generate the same inspiration as it did with me.
I've given up on my game 3 times over the course of 2 years. This video is a HUGE inspiration and I feel so encouraged. I'm going to pick my game back up
So I just searched game dev and saw this video. As someone who feels strongly toward community, sharing, and genuinely believes “there’s enough to go around” I can’t say enough how much respect and appreciation I have for this live and you as a creator. I’m tired of industries acting harsh to newbies because we all start somewhere! We are all living one life, for the first and likely last time. So thank you Thor!
Thanks you for all these tips ! I was motivating myself to create a game during hollydays. A true game that i would compete, and you posted your video at the perfect timing !
For some reason, I got your shorts on my YT feed... and a recent short shown to me about Piracy and your Brazilian answer got me wanting to learn more about the game development thing. So I started watching THIS video. And I got an idea for a game... and in reading through the Game Design Document on your site got me to backburner my original game idea, so I could learn what I'm doing with the game dev software. So, my "first game" is going to be a simple side-scroller, on a theme that I enjoy. By the time I finished watching the video, I've gotten some bare bones info on my copy of the GDD, and I'm making plans for how long I'll work on FirstProject daily, and so forth. Thank you. This was a very inspiring video. Thank you.
Dude, I got a degree in Game Design, 6 years ago, and all this time I couldn't make games, because I felt like sh*t every time I tried. Now with a single video, you inspired me more than those 4 f**king years in college. Thank you, so much!
Thank you so much for this video. You've put every single one of my worries about making games to rest, right down to the last one about feeling too old to start. I truly can't put into words my appreciation for you, man.
I really appreciate this video; really inspiring. It's funny because a lot of the skills you mentioned (coding, writing, art) are things I CAN do, and yet I've struggled to make a playable game. For me I've had difficulty sticking to a project and setting a reasonable scope so I haven't completed any of my projects, and I end up getting burnt out and going on a creative hiatus/slump for months. But, everything you recommend in this video is so true, and I'm driven to pick it back up again -- I'll aim to make something simple and smaller first, and go from there.
Thank you pirate! I’ve been wanting to make games for years, which is what I’m going to school for now, but this along with your other content is honestly the best motivation/resource finder I’ve seen for starting out!
Thank you, I needed this. I'm kind of on a programming track right now because I wanted to create the kind of stuff that got me through the main schooling years of life. Everything has just crumbled down to whats financially better and it's all bleak now, but hoping this will reignite my creative vision
I know this is an old video, but I just got started half a year ago and am putting out my first game on steam atm. I kind of discovered you late - but this is still inspirational and exactly the route I am taking! :D Thanks man!
Just found your channel. My first dream job when I was a kid was to be a video game developer. I always was hesitant to attempt it because I did not know what the hell I was even supposed to do. I’m at a lower point in my life as of now. My first year in college has been god awful and I am miserable. This really makes me want to go get a job, and then focus on trying to do this type of thing. I feel as if I’d be a lot happier doing that!
I've been obsessed with video games my entire life. As a kid, the dream was to make video games. Been making silly toys and such, nothing I've ever really shared, for over a decade now as a hobby. Never felt "good enough" to go for my own commercial project, even as I've pursued a successful career in industrial controls. These videos are truly inspiring, Thor. They've reawakened that calling in the deepest part of my soul. It honestly feels like I would be missing out on an essential chapter of my life if I never release at least one game commercially. So, thank you.
I'm not yet a successful game developer, but I'm already past the beginning of the journey, and this video makes me look at how far I've come! Though, can't stop here and need to come even further and finally release my game for once.
I have since then participated in a yet another game jam and for the first time made and published a game I'm actually content with. It isn't much, but it's something, and something that I can call an actual game unlike everything I've done before.
I am an 18 year old high school senior, i am about to go into college for game development and i'll be 100% transparent. I am terrified to make this my career as a indie dev, but it is the scariest thing i have ever been exited about. I found thor about a year ago and i revisit this every time I find myself doubting my choices. Thank you thor for being a pillar of motivation and an overall nice guy. Wish me luck.
I just recently found your channel and really needed this video. I graduated college a couple of years ago with a cs degree and zero motivation. I’ve been stuck at a retail job since and hating every minute. I got a degree because I thought comp sci was cool and making video games sounded like a fun thing I could do with it. Fast forward to graduation with burn out and no real passion for it anymore. I’ve been stuck in tutorial hell for a while and it sucks my motivation out of me. Finding this video has helped me so much. I made a “game” that all you do is rotate the map and a ball drops. Super simple like 2 lines of code if that. My motivation and drive has come back. Progress is progress, it looks different for everyone. It’s just important that you start.
I'm so glad you started popping up in my shorts feed. This is exactly the kind of stuff I needed to start working on stuff on my own. Yeah it'll probably suck at first but hey that's learning right? Hearing about how undertale had all its dialog in one giant switch statement was extremely comforting (and mind boggling seeing as I have done coding work in the past so holy crap why) that even if my code is janky as long as it works that's the main thing.
Randomly just found you while flipping through YT at work...the fact that you are telling people that we can do this is amazing. As an ex fan boy of Blizzard, I am jealous of your past work experience but am very glad you never settled into a spot of comfortability with them because I might not of heard your words on this video today. Thank you and keep that hair flowing! Also, how many people say you sound similar to Howard Stern?!
This video motivated me so much. I've been struggling finding motivation to work on my game but I just found this video at school and I'm having trouble hiding my excitement to get home and work on my game
@15:00 this is one of my favorite parts of being a developer. There's someone that hates your stuff and they never say anything to you, but those people that can't hold it back and rip into your work. It's great talking to them, getting to understand their expectation and how your project didn't deliver on what it was supposed to do. You can't learn from everyone, but man, there's some awesome lessons and you learn to love the dissidents. Some are just angry and have nothing to offer. Other people are just frustrated and want things around them to be better. It's awesome finding those gems and growing.
Instructions unclear. I now feel hopeful and inspired, and I feel like it's possible for me to express myself and my vision through a game..... oh shit, the instructions were apparently very clear
Thor, you are a great mentor, and motivator I learn new cool things from your shorts and videos, I don't usually comment on peoples videos but this video has touched my heart to be motivated and determined to try, even if I doubt myself for having no skills or qualifications to do anything, just wanted to say thank you, best of wishes to you !
16:01 “You should always listen…not all feedback is good, but all feedback matters.”
So true.
And you could still take that feedback, "I don't like reading...", TTS is getting good, that also goes into accessibility of a game.
It's an important lesson when giving feedback as well, just because the Dev's dont implement whatever it was you asked for, doesn't mean they didn't read/listen to you. Maybe they even agreed with you but are unable to implement due to cost/time/complexity reasons.
*you tiredly watch the video about game development
*You are filled with determination
*You accidentally quit your job before he said don't do that
*You're filled with unemployment
@@youngestchild1103lol
@@youngestchild1103 best comment ever
*knees weak
*checks for arrows
@@youngestchild1103*your wife leaves you and take the children with her
*you buy rope
*you make a noose
Hard to believe it took a year for the algorithm to pick up on this message and deliver it to the right crowd. I think it was the shorts. They drive up interaction in a whole new way.
It's true I'm here because of the shorts
Shorts (which I HATE) are how I found this channel.
@@lolwillow188same
thankfully 2 years later yt still pushed the video through shorts and i found it
Facts, that's how I got here as well
I watched this and then went to his site, decided on Godot game engine, downloaded, looked up a guide, Breakeys 1 hour guide looked good, watched it start to finish, decided I could follow it, 3 hours later I had made my first level of a video game! I had never done any coding in my life, Breakey gave me all the assets I needed (art, music). All I had to do was design the level and copy the code. But if that wasn't one of the best moments of my life realising I had essentially made a level of super Mario in just a few hours, I don't what is.
Also i found Harvards free Computer Science course " CS50 " and started that with just the video lectures and lecture notes.
are you going to continue working on it or do a different game? either way cool!
@@birbsdigital I did try starting a different game that was just going to be a small platformer where you would just be climbing a tower by jumping (think jump king). But I immediately kept coming up with questions. I decided to look up coding tutorials and found Harvards CS50 a free computer science course, I’ve watched the first two lectures and have started playing with Scratch (the online kids game to teach coding) and another game “7 billion humans” which is on Nintendo switch that tried to teach similar concepts.
Ultimately though I don’t know if I’ll stick with it right now. It’s a fun hobby that I might come back to occasionally and do find interesting.
Brackeys...
@@jej_x whats wrong with brackeys :0
7 minutes in and I already have tears in my eyes because of the amount of courage and the "everything will be alright" attitude, thank you Buddy, honestly.
Godspeed my friend
For real man, same feels.
7?
@@fumasseio3277 3!
🏳🌈🫵🤨?
I've been seeing Thor in my shorts for a while and finally got around to checking out the channel, this has to be the most uplifting creator I've ever seen 😄 guys fostering a whole community
It’s really awesome to see.
Rad that even a giant conglomerate like Google can facilitate a space for creatives to advertise their brand of ideas… and actually connect with similar minds.
I’m fascinated by this.
All I’ve ever wanted is to foster a community of like minded ppl… it’s actually possible now tho!
“ The moment you’ve made a character walk on screen , you’ve already won. “ Damn man.. I gotta say honestly this is one of the most inspirational videos I’ve ever watched on UA-cam. Thanks for sharing your valuable information brother.
ua-cam.com/video/aMc-GKv5olA/v-deo.html
@BatBrendo8515 Get Godot, it uses basically Python
@BatBrendo8515well it's python so pick the module you are going to use for rendering, then you should be able to figure out how to make a player move in 5 minutes - 1 hour depending if you get stuck on something or not
I did that some years ago and it's true, when you make you char move with your input is magical, like creating a life
@BatBrendo8515 you can start with pygame but there are other even easier ways to do it, meanwhile a few days ago i decided to go with SDL with C++ but im only semi fluent in Python, i wanted to challenge myself and learn a new language and didnt want to use engines as im not planning to do a 3d game so far.
When he talked about "finding the right tool for the job" regarding engines, I agreed with him 100%. I learned a similarly worded phrase, but with the exact same meaning, in the military.
"The mission dictates the tools"
You don't use a pellet gun to hunt bears, you don't hit a drive through with a stretched limo, and you don't use a resource heavy engine when you want to make Tic-Tac-Toe.
the evil boss music coming on at 31:00 as he starts talking about selling steam keys was such perfectly cinematic timing
@@gabeee62 omg I was just about to comment that hahahah..
“Guess what Steam takes?… Steam takes… *nothing* 👺
I am 41 years old, and Thor, I want to be like you when I grow up. You've just reinvigorated my interest in game coding! THANK YOU!!
From a video perspective, this is extremely interesting how with no editing, he was able to keep me engaged the ENTIRE time. Great video, very inspiring!
The list of people who can livestream without driving me batty, and actually hold my attention, is very short, and may include this man, if this is how his stream typically goes.
@@davidskidmore3442, his streams are like this every single time he streams, especially now that his audience is insanely large, he always has a question to answer and something to talk about or someone to interact with.
It's someone talking. Is this where we are? It's interesting that someone could engage you by talking?
@@ahall9839 yeah thats pretty much what growing up on the internet does to you
@justvibing4796 I didn't say it was a dialogue. And no, a vast majority of the human population won't be "entertained" by this for 20 seconds, let alone 44 minutes.
Another huge ignored aspect of game development is physical and mental health. Eat a vegetable, go for a walk, and SLEEP. Go to therapy, the worst parts of your mind and personality are the #1 thing that will sabotage you. Don't abandon your friends and family for your game. You need your support network.
You know, that part about the worst parts of your mind hits so close to home. I personally struggle with this myself, but hearing someone else acknowledge this issue in such the way that you did just now has strengethened my resolve, thank you.
The “worst parts of your mind and personality are the #1 thing that will sabotage you” part !!!
**snaps** **_applause_**
I had no intention of making a game.
But hearing you talk so passionately and calmly about the thing you love in your UA-cam Shorts brought me here.
And now I'm off to start my first game!
How did it go?
They announced GTA6. It is him! :chaos_elmo:
he is that inspirational huh
Any progress?
I don't think we will see what his game ks because 1) this is probably a throwaway account and 2) comment rules say "no advertising"
"You're not too old to make games. You can do it. I believe in you"
Damn. That hit too hard.
I''ll go make one now.
Idk..I'm 54 and over 25 years of xp and I think age discrimination is happening in the indie world. No hard example to give, just a feeling.
@@IndieVideoGameDeveloper that is very possible, would not be surprising considering how new the game dev industry is, with many professionals being pretty new to it. Its quite rare for an industry to not be primarily represented by the senior workers; maybe its moreso relevant in the indie scene? maybe in AAA environments this isnt as common, as these companies are older and value seniority perhaps. Just a thought, but it is true that i tend to see younger faces in gamedev
@@IndieVideoGameDeveloper I think as a 54 year old you have just as much chance as me as a 18 year old. People didn’t even know what Scott cawthon looked like for a while. As well as the developer of hyper light drifter being older.
This is the most motivating and helpful individual I've found in the game dev space, and that's saying quite a lot, as most devs are so helpful and encouraging. This man makes me feel like my dreams are within my grasp, and that's so rare to find.
I came to the comments for this video in particular to say almost the exact same thing. I've been doing game dev for years, but finding this channel has really revitalised my passion for creating.
It's the truth. You can do it. Practice, dedication, and time. That's all it takes.
also his voice is like butter for my ears
it's time to make a banger game, my man! 😁
Him and Jon Blow are my favorite people to watch when I'm feeling down. Ironically, for very different reasons lol
Jesus dude, "you don't fight the end boss at level 1" might the the most basic yet profound thing I've heard you say. It actually got me kinda misty-eyed, because it's something I needed to hear.
Thank you!
I love all the perfectly-timed music queues throughout the video, like “they took 70% of our income” *dramatic intro*
This channel is the most motivational and positive channel I ve ever seen. Thank you Thor!
P.S. Great voice!
13:38
'No matter what you make, someone on the internet is going to make fun of you.
But... It's yours, and they didn't make it.'
Such an important perspective for all parts of life; appreciate your smaller achievements and be proud you're moving in the right direction.
I found you a couple days ago, Thor, through shorts. As a nearly-graduate game programmer, your channel, and attitude, are very motivating.
Thanks, bud. ❤
That can label life in general really ,people going hate ..Just got block it and do what makes you happy , created what you want and want to see !
Yeah. This is the thing I need to learn.
@@ExplodeReality What's helped me most is making bigger goals into a smaller goals, and, as Thor said a different time, comparing my past self with my current self, not others with myself.
That's part of the problem, past me was a total badass but now I'm a squishy old man. =)@@scehr
@@ExplodeReality Before I did programming, I graduated from a Bachelor's in English Literature and Creative Writing. At the time, I was 18. My closest friend was a fellow in his fifties. He was making a fresh start in a new direction and he was good at what he did, a master of words. From my own experiences, I've seen many older folks achieving great things, from academia to career shifts. It can happen. People find their way. I hope that you achieve something you want to do. I'm sure you will. ❤️
I’m a software dev full time. I’ve had several failed business ideas. Finally made the decision to just spend my free time doing something I love and that I actually care about. Started my journey today. Thanks so much for sharing all of this. You are a big inspiration to me in many ways. Can’t wait to start learning 🙌
What I was also hoping you’d mention when talking about Five Nights at Freddys is the fact that it’s made in a block-programming language which basically doesn’t require programming skills whatsoever. Five Nights at Freddy’s, the Five Nights at Freddy’s that now has a movie centered around the Franchise and sells merch like crazy, that Five Nights at Freddy’s was basically made in a leveled up Scratch engine. The whole “you don’t need to be a good programmer” argument is multiplied when taking that into account.
good ol clickteam fusion
I dont have much experience with those scratch like programming languages, but don't they just replace a few keyboard strokes with fancy drag n drop graphics? You still need to understand what they do, and once you got it, you might just as well type them out like in any normal programming language?
@@deadlypendroppingby the advantage of block coding is that it displays all the functions you can use in a menu. the issue i've had with traditional coding is that i do not know what words to use to do what i want
It doesn’t even use block coding it’s even more basic it’s a event editor so you literally don’t have to learn anything which is awesome it makes it so easy to make a game
@@DoktorBeta Visual Studio also shows possible code thanks to IntelliSense.
Eclipse also seems to have something similar.
(And even if you don't have a sophisticated IDE, a compiler won't necessarily suggest code, but it will tell you if you wrote nonsense)
this is the single most important game dev vid out there. As a solo game dev for 5 years I only took jobs and all my projects that were meant to be released as my own games somewhere in the future landed unfinished, due to all the uncertainties I had. This cleared up so much confusion for me as to what works like what, gave me confidence and now I see at least 5 projects I could easily polish and release in half a year time (not at once, one by one, but still, finish them up fast) and fly them to the steam shelves. Thank You. You really did help me and probably ever wont know how much it really did help me, even if it wont work for me in the end. Its a massive stepping stone.
I’ve been sitting on the edge of music, art/animating, and level design for years now. I’m currently trying to learn guitar, but I can’t stop holding myself back due to confidence issues. I haven’t even tried level design yet. I guess what I’m trying to say is don’t be like me. Learn how to work with yourself if that makes any sense. It’s extremely hard to get out of a negative thought pattern when you get into one, and it can become extremely demotivating and detrimental when you feel like you’re trapped somewhere between your aspirations, and your self imposed limitations.
You got this dude, go make stuff!
You're allowed to make bad music. You're allowed to make bad games. You're allowed to make bad art. You're allowed to be less than perfect. Nothing of any real consequence is going to happen because you suck at those things, and you won't get better unless you allow yourself to be bad at it first.
Go for it.
You’re not alone.
I'd say find something that's only a little challenging and find people to share it with and that will help a lot
I think it's awesome that you're trying to learn guitar! we need more instrument players in the world. Keep at it! One thing that I know is true, but it isn't often said, is that any guitar player sucks 90% of the time, because you're studying, learning, and failing, until just a tiny bit of the song or piece sounds nice, and then you go to the next bit, suck for a while, and repeat the process. Everyone sucks most of the time, so don't worry about it.
I watch this video almost everyday to remind myself and motivate myself to just keep at it. Just started doing this almost a couple weeks ago after getting a new laptop, and it feels so overwhelming but I took it one battle at a time and now I have a little project where I learned how to move my character, have a respawn, and learned some animating tips for pixels. It's crappy, but more than I had starting out. It's the little battles that'll help us win the war, gents and ladies!
cool! what kind of game are you trying to make?
Right now just messing about with things just wanting to create something that I would like to play, and so I think what was suppose to be an action platformer in the cheapest works somehow got fleshed out (on paper) into I think a metroidvania and I don't even like metros. Just happened lmao I still got alot to learn, but gonna do my thing one task at a time and make this as I learn.
As a disabled guy myself, I definitely appreciate controller support. Hearing that you add support to your games after learning about it's importance to disabled people leads me to believe that you are, indeed, a giga-chad. I'll be checking out Heartbound for sure.
I am watching your video right now and I am trying not to tear up. I have always wanted to make games and I recently bought a computer for it. I am so excited and ready to do this. I don't care how long it takes me or how hard it gets, I want to create things that people will talk about and enjoy. Thank you so much for this! :)
Same here. Ive been a web developer for 20+ years and i just walked away from that career because I am so burnt out on it. The idea of being able to apply my coding skills to something I actually like fires me up. I always avoided games because I have no art or music skills.
Update us
You're currently working in something? Let's just collaborate. Working alone (my case) is hard
Im not. Have a kid on the way now and dont know where really to start with it being so busy.@dhernandezalezard
@@dhernandezalezard still down?
Imagine if most of the internet was as helpful and motivating as this single video.
The utopia that was taken from us since the internet started to be a leaderboard
Wtf smallest world ever seeing you here lmao also look at all the updoots you got man
@@Zyborggian surprised you were watching programming streams. This dude is wholesome so glad you watched
@@XenoTravis Nah man it's more that I saw the video title "Make Video Games" is so encouraging as is the video itself it turns out that it made me wanna click
the world would've been very differrent
I'd seen your shorts and known you as the fella with the quick wit and knowledge. But the more of these clips that trickled in I've come to see your encouragement and positivity and I just wanted to say thank you. I can't say I will certainly dive in to creation, but the encouragement from a random guy on the internet, after seeing how genuine it is, is really helpful. So thank you for doing you!
As a highschooler who chose a game as my graduation project, i have to thank you for the the most amazing words of encouragement
You have GOT THIS!! That's awesome, I wish you all the best, good luck! ^^ I hope you have fun creating it!
You've got this m8! let us know how it goes! Also, what genre is it gonna be, if that's decided? I'd love to watch the development journey
What’s it called? Can I play it somewhere? What’s it about?
It will be a top down roguelike, but i doubt i will be doing a video type devlog, i will be pretty bussy with the other stuff at school :D. Mby after i graduate ill release a video devlog i dont really know as of now
@@petrchodil4140 hehe...bussy
I don’t make games, but I’m an app / web developer looking to make it in these wild times. Your positivity and validation has made a big difference in me not giving up on my dreams. Thank you for everything you do, and weirdly enough thanks to youtube for finally putting Thor in my algorithm😅
Im so glad i found this channel. I've had ideas for years that i feel like could only be done through a video game. You got me hyped as fuck to dive in. Thanks man.
Hey man, have you taken it up yet?
DO IT DO IT DO IT! *throws early access money at you*
Swear to god every time i get one of his shorts i got so pumped, hyped and hopefull give me such a kick i open up Unity3D
@@FinnTG TRUE, it's so wholesome
Tell us one of your ideas!
I just found this and I'm learning to make games at the age of 27.
I'm pretty inspired even tho many times I have to shut down the classic voices of "you're making the wrong choice".
Your content is one thing that is helping to counterweight this voices with ease. Thank you very much for everything.
I'm in the same boat as you but I'm 28 years old, Good luck to you! Don't let the negative voices win!
35 here and just finished my introductory Python course.
Its absolutely never too late to start doing something.
Alan Rickman (Snape) got his first acting role at 46.
@@Reverendshot777 where did you take the course ?
@@shark6350 used Datacamp for it bud. I get access through work so not sure how much ot costs outside of that though!
@@Reverendshot777 Woah, didn’t know that.
Thor- Finding this two years later, as a 40 year old man just starting his coding journey. I finally decided to get started because I desperately wanna make a mod to fix the economy in a game called Mount and Blade 2: Bannerlord. Super inspiring stuff here, and a lot of stuff I needed to hear. Thanks bud.
Thanks so much for this!! It’s refreshing to hear info about indie game making from someone who’s workin on a game themselves! I’m super pumped to work on my project after this :]
I'm a musician that builds guitar pedals, amps (tube and solid state) and I've restored a vintage tube radio receiver and I'd love to do more. So I have a lot to fill my time.....but I oddly want to start making games now lol. Very encouraging speech, and a great argument for just starting with what you've got. I taught myself how to read schematics, solder, design circuits etc. and it was the same progression, started small and worked my way up.
Maybe u already know but check out Mick Gordon and Zynthetic, those are great ways to use guitars and distortion for OSTs
as someone who has been through the whole process of creating indie games several times without actually finishing 95% of the projects i started on, i can say that the hardest part for me is keeping my motivation up to actually finish something. i might go all-in during a few days or a week and make huge progress and eventually i hit a wall where stuff don't either work out the way it want it to, or my inspiration runs out.
I feel the same way. Theoretically you should be able to improve your results by studying the underlaying technology, describing your game in a Game Development Document (GDD) and having a scrum like planning with a final deadline and sprints for specific features. You do the most important basic implementation and work your way down the task list until there is no time left in the sprint.
The explanation is that "stuff don't working out" is a symptom of wrong expectations probably because of too little knowledge. The "hitting a wall" is just something that happens, although you can pace yourself, too have better balance. It's more important to have a backbone you can fall back on once you hit that wall.
I’ve had a few projects get like that but I don’t think it’s necessarily a bad thing. Sometimes certain projects run their course and you fall out of love.
1 year later, stumbled upon this video, changed my life. thank you so much
This guy could have a second career in radio. Golden voice!
Ya he sounds like Howard stern lol
Yes, yes he does
I have just started my indie game development journey like 3 months ago knowing nothing about the game industry. What I do know is I want to make games for people to enjoy and that's enough for me to start. I have made my game into a playable demo now. Then I stumbled upon this video and it showed me a path I've never shown before about distributing your games. It's the final missing piece (actually, pieces) of my game dev puzzle. I couldn't thank you enough man. God bless you.
And for everyone who experienced the same thing as me, believe in yourself and just start making the game. I wish you the best of luck!
I don't have plans to make any games, but this video activated my neurons. I feel like this advice also extends to art, too, and its got me hyped to open my sketchbook tomorrow morning
Man you are just amazing, the amount of courage you spread is crazy. I stopped working on my games for a year now and stumbled upon your shorts and now on this video. Thank you for your work, I feel so motivated to start and hopefully end something one day.
Thank you for making this, I'm currently in a game indie dev class learning all the basics and this video reminded me that games are truly a piece of art, whatever tool you use you can still make something from it and it is beautiful.
This man has been a huge inspiration to me to start learning code and to one day make my game and my vision a reality.
I used to be horribly depressed and had no direction/motivation to do much and some days it got so severe and caused so many issues that I lost a pretty important portion of my 20s when i should've been learning/practicing something valuable to improve myself. Some of it was my own fault and some of it wasn't but it's irrelevant now.
I'm still alive and I'm still well enough to do something and doing at least something has taken away a lot of the suffering.
I have so much to be thankful for and one of those things is this beautiful goblin king right here.
Thank you so much Thor for just being awesome and encouraging people to do awesome things. You are truly a commendable human being and we need more people like that today.
I will go make video games.
Recently finding your shorts and now exploring your channel has been a blessing, your whole character makes the video extremely entertaining and incredibly informative. I'll gladly be sharing your channel and website with other inspiring developers :)
"It doesn't have to be perfect, it just has to be yours."
Words cannot express how much I needed to hear that today. Thank you for this.
From a dev in another industry to another, you are an awesome human. Thanks for being awesome man. All of this advice can be applied across the board in any walk of life, no matter the industry. You are so inspiring and I will absolutely do my best to spread your kindness and drive for simply making things. This is what life should be about. Thank you for reminding me of that.
You're easily the most wholesome, streamer/artist/gamedev/guide every video with you makes me smile like I haven't in a fucking while, and you've just added mad kindling to that fire in me, thank you my dude ❤
I have no idea who you are but so far you're the most motivational person I've ever listened to. thanks man.
As an aspiring indie game developer, this has quickly become one of my favourite videos ever. It's getting harder and harder to count how many times I've listened to it. Thanks for being a voice in the industry Thor!!!
a mentor once told me "The whole point of making art is to make art. The more art you make, the better art you will make."
Dude - I owe you a lot for this video and many of the others you’ve put together. I have been sitting on a project for years and agonizing over whether or not people would like it. You gave me the courage to finish it, and I’m proud to say I finally did.
Thank you man.
Man this video is marvelous. I’m a artist struggling with some stuff and in the middle of sometime feelings I remembered your videos on shorts, here on YT and man… Now I have a clarity and motivation to keep moving forward in this game dev journey.
My dream always was be a awesome professional to being able to going back and teach the new generation and you are, literally, a model for that even if you are doing it just to enjoy yourself.
Thank you a lot for this video!!!❤❤❤
Muito obrigado meu mano, Brasil te ama tbm 🇧🇷😊
I can't believe how many golden pieces of advice and how many of your good shorts came from within these 45 minutes
I've been in a mild depressive funk for a few days, and this TED talk has inspired me to finally work on the idea I've had in my head. Good job. Love your work!
I love that you did away with the myth that someone needs to be a perfect prodigy just to try game dev. Your encouragement is amazing, thank you. I immediately subscribed. I just want to add that $compensation for your efforts in a game are nice, but the act of creating and expressing yourself in a domain that you love and give back to is unmatched. Humans are born to create and tinker. A gaming community like yours is the perfect circle to find support and growth.
unironically when i was a kid i used to make platformers and animations on scratch, and i garnered a decent following (to a point where i would get sent fan projects! melted my little heart seeing that people enjoyed what i made), i havent used that site in over 6-7 years but i always wanted to make another game or take my next steps, but i never knew how, all i knew was a little bit of python from comp sci class, but this video inspired me to start learning to draw and read up on some other programming languages to make a small project. so glad i got recommended your channel dude.
hey, i know this is 7 months late ehe but do you have any advice for how to get started as someone whose only resource is pretty much youtube?? i just can't figure out what the first step is, any tutorials i look for are just way too complicated from the jump and i always feel like there's something i'm supposed to know but i don't. i just wish they'd explain stuff to me like i'm 5 lolol. i want to make something but i can't figure out the first step.
thanks man
@@varena04 try to take it slow with youtube tutorials. look up any questions you have, some sort of textbook is a nice resource
@@soupwithpotatos1542 okay! it's hard to have questions when i don't even know a single thing to branch off of though. like, i don't know what goes into making a game at all. the only thing i can really ask is "how to make a game" but that obviously gets me nowhere.
what's the first thing you do when you make a game, for example?
thanks again
@@varena04 haven't really made a game but have been learning more and more about code and making small progress on learning to draw (haven't had a lot of time), but i think most of my creative process just starts with like a "what if?" when i used to make scratch games. like, "what if i made a platformer" then you can google like platformer engine, and find basic tutorials/books on those, and just go nuts.
@@varena04 start with what kind of game you want to make and think of what things you want in that game. Then research engines that can bring the most of the basic features your game needs. (physics, 2d, 3d, etc). Pick an engine that can meet your basic requirements for your idea then look up some tutorials for that engine. something like how to make your first game in unity. if you picked unity as your engine of choice. learn the basics. I'm talking get "hello world" to show up in the console basics. and slowly branch out by learning new things on top of what you already know. once you feel you have a handle on the basic principles of your engine come up with a small (really small. smaller the better) idea and make it. Then make another. and another.... each time you'll learn new things. its hard but its doable and the results are super rewarding.
You know man, it’s a beautiful thing when someone else believes in you. I felt emotional when you talked about not being too old or young to do this. It’s felt like a far fetched dream to make video games, but you made me believe my dream was possible in this video. Thanks man.
"If you want to make Five Nights at Freddy's from scratch, you must first invent the Fart Hotel." -Carl Sagan (paraphrased)
I was a web developer, and now primarily write Python for automation. My son is 11 and wants to make games. He’s incredibly passionate about it, and this has been so encouraging for both of us. Thank you so much.
00:50 "and then I quit, because I didn't like having my hair cut short" imagine how many talented people have quit over the years because of arbitrary rules like this. People in charge of things are so often out of touch with the way things ought to be
I'm so glad that I found you. I'm not making a video game, but I am diving headfirst into the world of music recording/production. I've been playing guitar since I was 8, I've been in a bunch of small bands, but I've never tried to make the music myself. I can take so much of what you're saying and translate it to what I'm doing and it still hits the same way. Just do it. It doesn't have to be good, you'll learn as you go, but just do it. Thank you Thor, you're truly and inspiration.
This video may be a year old when I stumbled upon it today, but this is inspiring and hopeful to me. Especially with how the large company scale of gaming and game dev jobs has been going lately.
So thanks Thor! For sharing this, showing this, and igniting a little spark back into the soul of this aspiring creator!
2024 and I’m just getting to know your channel. You’re an awesome dude. I thought people who worked on big games knew about people with disabilities missing out. It makes so much sense now. There’s a whole market out there if more devs make games accessible.
idk how or why I just get so emotional when he speaks about games. I guess it's the purest love you can have to something...
Seeing someone being passionate telling you to chase your own passions is just heart warming and inspiring.
Over the years, I've only been comfortable in creating game concepts & designs that I think are fun. Actual development is always scary, since I have zero programing, art, or music skills like mentioned in the video. This video really gave me the inspiration to start the first step. Ideas will always remain an idea if no effort went into creating it. Cheers.
Been wanting to develop games for my entire adult life and only in the last couple of years has that felt like a realistic goal. Found you in the last few days through shorts and you have significantly fed and reinforced the spark that has started growing again recently. Such a supportive and informed guy, thank you!
Same. Except since I was a teenager. Have you started making a game yet?
I’ve been so inspired by your content, and seeing you more and more frequently over the past couple days. I’ve finally decided to be the kind of person I dream of being. I’ve started my game design document (already seven pages in, I’m a writing wizard), picked the engine for the job, and picked the program for the art. I’m a writing-forward creator- I’ve written over a million words for online works- so I’m starting with that, I’ll get it all onto paper, then hack and slash at what I hate, then I’ll start to organize my thoughts into implementable chunks, organized by ‘releases’ (thinking of the project in implementation phases). Then pseudocode the entire thing. Then face the behemoth that is an empty GameMaker studio project for the first time and code for the first time in years. I’m so afraid.
I’ve never been more thrilled by a project in my entire life.
Sending so much love from New York ♥️♥️♥️
You're the first dev to acknowledge the Brazil thing that I've ever seen. I'm honestly amazed.
As a Brazilian I'm always frustrated with games that do straight dollar conversion, which is so unfair and I always tell them "if you localize the price you will sell more", Brazil is a HUGE market, top 5 globally, people WILL buy your product if they can afford it, but they never listen.
I was often met with "eeeerm actually 298 brazilian reais IS 60 dollars, so it's fair", they don't understand you can't just convert currency, you need to know how much money people make and then compare the porcentage the game cost is in relation to that. While 60 bucks will be 0.92% of the monthly income for an American that conversion will be 21% of the monthly income for a brazilian.
It's so refreshing to see a person that understands how currency works and is smart to know that it's better to lower your price and make sales than not make any sales and just get pirated.
Found you through your Shorts. Couldn't have been at a better time for me, as I'm trying to get into website building and such and have hit a pretty big creative block this week feeling pretty damn bad about myself. Your content has helped me to get over this blockage and am working on overcoming this fear I developed in the process (in retrospective feels dumb but it be as it be).
Very thankful for your content Thor, and I'm wishing you the best of luck for everything
Aspiring game dev here. Thank you SOO MUCH for your extremely inspiring content ❤
I don't even want to be dev and you got me motivated. I just came across your video and it was extremely inspirational, I want more people to see this video to hopefully generate the same inspiration as it did with me.
I've given up on my game 3 times over the course of 2 years. This video is a HUGE inspiration and I feel so encouraged. I'm going to pick my game back up
Fine, I'll make Futanari Simulator already.
With PP Slider? Sign me up as a tester!
Fr, tho. Add me in. Sounds like a project Mankind desires.
Maybe some people shouldn't follow their dreams 💀
@@mysticalhero2460 I agree with you on this one but apparently over 40 other people (pls be bots) don't.
Ayo?😂😂
So I just searched game dev and saw this video. As someone who feels strongly toward community, sharing, and genuinely believes “there’s enough to go around” I can’t say enough how much respect and appreciation I have for this live and you as a creator. I’m tired of industries acting harsh to newbies because we all start somewhere! We are all living one life, for the first and likely last time. So thank you Thor!
Thanks you for all these tips ! I was motivating myself to create a game during hollydays. A true game that i would compete, and you posted your video at the perfect timing !
For some reason, I got your shorts on my YT feed... and a recent short shown to me about Piracy and your Brazilian answer got me wanting to learn more about the game development thing. So I started watching THIS video. And I got an idea for a game... and in reading through the Game Design Document on your site got me to backburner my original game idea, so I could learn what I'm doing with the game dev software. So, my "first game" is going to be a simple side-scroller, on a theme that I enjoy. By the time I finished watching the video, I've gotten some bare bones info on my copy of the GDD, and I'm making plans for how long I'll work on FirstProject daily, and so forth.
Thank you. This was a very inspiring video. Thank you.
This is really nice to hear. I've always wanted to make something, even if it's small. I think I'll give it a shot.
Man, i just found this channel and damn i feel late to the party. You are a wonderful addition to my subscriptions
i will watch this on repeat for the entire jam to bruteforce motivation!
Dude, I got a degree in Game Design, 6 years ago, and all this time I couldn't make games, because I felt like sh*t every time I tried. Now with a single video, you inspired me more than those 4 f**king years in college. Thank you, so much!
The ability to do it won't be given to you. You already have it. Good luck man. ✌
35:00 EXACTLY. Just bc brazil has a lot of piracy doesn't mean we don't love buying stuff when we can. WHEN we can.
Thank you so much for this video. You've put every single one of my worries about making games to rest, right down to the last one about feeling too old to start. I truly can't put into words my appreciation for you, man.
I really appreciate this video; really inspiring. It's funny because a lot of the skills you mentioned (coding, writing, art) are things I CAN do, and yet I've struggled to make a playable game. For me I've had difficulty sticking to a project and setting a reasonable scope so I haven't completed any of my projects, and I end up getting burnt out and going on a creative hiatus/slump for months. But, everything you recommend in this video is so true, and I'm driven to pick it back up again -- I'll aim to make something simple and smaller first, and go from there.
Thank you pirate! I’ve been wanting to make games for years, which is what I’m going to school for now, but this along with your other content is honestly the best motivation/resource finder I’ve seen for starting out!
Thank you, I needed this. I'm kind of on a programming track right now because I wanted to create the kind of stuff that got me through the main schooling years of life.
Everything has just crumbled down to whats financially better and it's all bleak now, but hoping this will reignite my creative vision
I know this is an old video, but I just got started half a year ago and am putting out my first game on steam atm. I kind of discovered you late - but this is still inspirational and exactly the route I am taking! :D Thanks man!
Just found your channel. My first dream job when I was a kid was to be a video game developer. I always was hesitant to attempt it because I did not know what the hell I was even supposed to do. I’m at a lower point in my life as of now. My first year in college has been god awful and I am miserable. This really makes me want to go get a job, and then focus on trying to do this type of thing. I feel as if I’d be a lot happier doing that!
i also want to be a game developer when i grow up! how are you doing with your dream?
I've been obsessed with video games my entire life. As a kid, the dream was to make video games. Been making silly toys and such, nothing I've ever really shared, for over a decade now as a hobby. Never felt "good enough" to go for my own commercial project, even as I've pursued a successful career in industrial controls.
These videos are truly inspiring, Thor. They've reawakened that calling in the deepest part of my soul. It honestly feels like I would be missing out on an essential chapter of my life if I never release at least one game commercially.
So, thank you.
I'm not yet a successful game developer, but I'm already past the beginning of the journey, and this video makes me look at how far I've come! Though, can't stop here and need to come even further and finally release my game for once.
I have since then participated in a yet another game jam and for the first time made and published a game I'm actually content with. It isn't much, but it's something, and something that I can call an actual game unlike everything I've done before.
I am an 18 year old high school senior, i am about to go into college for game development and i'll be 100% transparent. I am terrified to make this my career as a indie dev, but it is the scariest thing i have ever been exited about. I found thor about a year ago and i revisit this every time I find myself doubting my choices. Thank you thor for being a pillar of motivation and an overall nice guy.
Wish me luck.
This guy is the perfect example of not letting greed get in the way of making something amazing. I hope you never lose touch, Thor.
I just recently found your channel and really needed this video. I graduated college a couple of years ago with a cs degree and zero motivation. I’ve been stuck at a retail job since and hating every minute.
I got a degree because I thought comp sci was cool and making video games sounded like a fun thing I could do with it. Fast forward to graduation with burn out and no real passion for it anymore. I’ve been stuck in tutorial hell for a while and it sucks my motivation out of me.
Finding this video has helped me so much. I made a “game” that all you do is rotate the map and a ball drops. Super simple like 2 lines of code if that. My motivation and drive has come back.
Progress is progress, it looks different for everyone. It’s just important that you start.
I'm so glad you started popping up in my shorts feed. This is exactly the kind of stuff I needed to start working on stuff on my own. Yeah it'll probably suck at first but hey that's learning right? Hearing about how undertale had all its dialog in one giant switch statement was extremely comforting (and mind boggling seeing as I have done coding work in the past so holy crap why) that even if my code is janky as long as it works that's the main thing.
Its 2024, I am seeing this for the first time, and am overwhelmed by how awesome and supportive it is and i REALLY hope the site still exists!!!!
Randomly just found you while flipping through YT at work...the fact that you are telling people that we can do this is amazing. As an ex fan boy of Blizzard, I am jealous of your past work experience but am very glad you never settled into a spot of comfortability with them because I might not of heard your words on this video today. Thank you and keep that hair flowing! Also, how many people say you sound similar to Howard Stern?!
All game studios are hiring people, because of their burn out rate is extreme
This video motivated me so much. I've been struggling finding motivation to work on my game but I just found this video at school and I'm having trouble hiding my excitement to get home and work on my game
I used to believe I couldn't make games by myself because I wasn't a good enough artist.
Then I discovered Dwarf Fortress.
@15:00 this is one of my favorite parts of being a developer. There's someone that hates your stuff and they never say anything to you, but those people that can't hold it back and rip into your work. It's great talking to them, getting to understand their expectation and how your project didn't deliver on what it was supposed to do. You can't learn from everyone, but man, there's some awesome lessons and you learn to love the dissidents. Some are just angry and have nothing to offer. Other people are just frustrated and want things around them to be better. It's awesome finding those gems and growing.
Instructions unclear. I now feel hopeful and inspired, and I feel like it's possible for me to express myself and my vision through a game..... oh shit, the instructions were apparently very clear
Thor, you are a great mentor, and motivator I learn new cool things from your shorts and videos, I don't usually comment on peoples videos but this video has touched my heart to be motivated and determined to try, even if I doubt myself for having no skills or qualifications to do anything, just wanted to say thank you, best of wishes to you !