How to get started

Getting started is very exciting, but let’s start with the basics.

• First things first, write all your ideas down!
• Define the game's genre, target audience, and overall vision. 
• Brainstorm and develop the game concept, mechanics, and storyline.
• Create a design document that outlines all aspects of the game. 

Be aware of something called ‘scope creep’, this is where you already have a list of things that you want to add to your game and then go, oh this/that would also be a great idea; this will cause you to get side tracked, delaying the final boss, which is finishing the game. Start with the core parts and functionality of the game first. Some of the best/successful games have the most basic concepts and gameplay loops.

What is a Gameplay loop?

A Gameplay loop is the core reason that a player plays the game and continues to play the game. The game provides a problem or challenge, you take action and gain a reward for doing so; as an example, this could be a player mining some blocks to find a key to open a chest and you get some coins. The player can then use those coins to buy an upgrade for their pickaxe, which then helps them mine faster or break though new types of blocks and allows them to go deeper into the mine

One of the most import thing a game needs to be is fun!

One very popular, but very simple concept games is Dome Keeper.

You mine, upgrade, and defend your base against waves of Enemies, then repeat until you have completed the objective. It’s sold over 1 million copies; it started as a game project as part of Ludum-dare Game Jam by Rene and his wife Anne, then Cameron Paxton joined shortly after. This game was made by only 3 people, how crazy is that!

It’s a very fun game, I love it. Check it out on Steam https://store.steampowered.com/app/1637320/Dome_Keeper/

Game design document

So, you have all these ideas but how do you put those ideas into action and make your game? Well, what a lot a people do is create what’s called a Game Design Document. This is a document which details everything that you want your game to be and what should be included in your game.

This is a Great video from Bite Me Games that shows a simple one-page version, which I think is a great simplified version of a game design document.

Here is a copy of the one page Game Design Document from the video

As another example, you can look at Unity’s own version template of a Game Design Document

As a 3^rd example, check out Mass Flux GDD by Aizin for the 2022 Pirate Software Game Jam.

The important thing is a Game Design Document is for you and to help you build your game; the idea is to help you stay on track with your idea. It doesn’t have to be perfect and could change.  

Choosing a Game engine 

What’s a game engine?

A game engine is a pre-made tool that allows you to create your own universe, world or level. It has lots of built in technologies to bring your ideas to life; simulating graphics, physics, applying scripts of code, playing sounds and more. It’s like a universe creation toolbox. Some developers have even made a game engine specifically for their game but that’s a lot of work, especially when you don’t really need to make one anymore; although some developers have created their own engines, why not use an engine that is already pre-made and free to start using.

Game engines and design platforms are more accessible for everyone, but it might be worth checking which one suits you best; while most of them are free, there are restrictions to some of them in terms of functionality and tools available for the free versions. 

The best thing to do is to dive in, have a play around and see which one clicks for you. A lot of people say “there is no best game engine” the best engine is the one that works for you.

Here are a few that I have done some research into and have used myself: 

Click to explore: 

Where to find and create game Assets 

Assets are digital content or components used within a game; it's a wide range of elements that contribute to the overall visual, audio, and interactive experience of the game.

Game Assets include: 

• 2D Assets  - Images, icons, buttons and UI elements 
• 3D Assets - 3 Dimensional models using software like Maya, 3DS Max and Blender 
• Audio Assets - Sound effects, Background music, Voiceover and ambient sounds 
• Animation Assets - Skeletal Animations, Keyframe Animations and motion capture data 
• Particle Effects - Used to simulate things like Fire, smoke, explosions and weather effects 
• Scripting assets - Coding for the gameplay mechanics, Artificial intelligence, physics Simulations and other interactive elements 

There are a lot of places you can find assets to use in your game; also some game developers also host some to use for free. Game engines also have assets integrated into them via their own asset stores, some are free and some are paid. 

Engines that have these integrated are:

• Unreal Engine 
• Unity  
• Roblox Studio  

Click here to learn more:

Tools & Guides to help you

You can’t make a video game completely in a game engine, you will need to use external programmes and tools to help you finish and publish your game.

You will need some tools to help you with:

• Artwork
• 3D modelling
• Programming
• Recording & Streaming
• Video Editing
• Music composing & Sounds.

Luckily there is a lot of free tools to use and some other relatively cheap ones to help you get the job done. So not only is it free to start using game engines like Unity, Unreal Engine, Godot; they also have free tools to help you make the assets in your game as well!

It’s a great time to get into game development, as there is so many free tools & resources to get your hands on. Check out my page for what I’ve found so far for free and cheap tools

I’ve also created guides for information on:

Steam

Kickstarter

Itch.io

Humble bundle

Game Jams

Twitch

Learning how to code and use game engines 

It can be daunting when you have all these amazing ideas, you've downloaded a game engine, opened the programme and think, where do I start?

You might start a video tutorial for something specific then, it might work, or you may get stuck then spend an hour searching the internet or YouTube for a tutorial. This will leave you feeling very frustrated, repeating the process to double check you haven’t missed anything; then you end up going through the comments section trying to figure out if someone has the answer to your problem.

Don't worry there are lots of resources, courses, training programmes, and communities to help you learn and grow your skills. 

Learning to code and use game engines is not going to happen overnight, it takes time and that’s okay. Start with small things first like placing an object like a cube, then make it move, then make it jump, and so on. Everyone learns differently and at their own pace.

I’ve recommended some Youtubers for a bit of learning, but if you’re looking for more of a structured learning style like me, check out my learn page which has a great documentation and places to learn how to become a game developer.

Click this button the learn more.

People to Follow

There are some great people in the gaming industry sharing their knowledge and expertise, but it can be difficult to find them amongst so many creators and educators on social media platforms and other platforms like YouTube. I have created a list of people, channels and websites that have great resources, knowledge and tips to help give you the extra help.

It’s always good to stay in the loop with Game dev news.

The page has people that can help you with:

• Unity
• Unreal
• Blender
• Roblox
• Kickstarter
• General game dev advice
• Steam
• Indie game marketing

Check out the list here

Making money to support your game

Making a game is hard work and very time consuming, not only does it take time to the develop a game; but you will need to market it and polish the game to make it look, feel and sound good.

If you are a small indie developer doing this on the side of your day-to-day job, you may need some extra help to complete your game; this could be in the form of buying assets to help make your game look good, it could be hiring an artist to develop some game or marketing art for your game, or it could be getting some funds to help market your game. Everyone will have different goals and requirements for their projects, and some may choose to develop the game entirely themselves or may reach out to others for support.

Making a game is hard…

But making some extra money could help and there are multiple ways to make money, but here are a few to think about.

Kickstarter

Kickstarter could be something to consider, it’s a great crowdfunding platform for lots of projects and is very popular amongst game developers as well.  It’s also a great way to get additional followers and on potential Wishlist’s on steam.

Check out my Kickstarter guide here

YouTube

YouTube is a great platform for sharing creator content, it’s a great place to share your game development progress. This is also another great way to raise awareness of your project and maybe get on some more Wishlist’s on Steam. If you have a channel that meets the requirements you can also monetise your YouTube channel through adds, Channel memberships and more.

To meet the requirements, you need to have:

At least 1000 Subscribers

4000 Valid public watch hours your videos in the last 12 months or 10 million views on YouTube shorts in the last 90 days

For more information check out these links:

YouTube Monetisation policy      

YouTube Partner Programme

Twitch

Twitch is a very popular streaming platform for all kinds of things and is very big on Gaming. People love to stream, play, make and review games on Twitch.

Twitch is great as it gives you direct feedback and connection with your audience and it’s a great way to build a community of followers. There is big potential for monetisation on Twitch to give you some extra income, whilst giving your viewers and followers perks and extras for being a member of the channel or though individual donations.

For more information on Twitch check out my page here:

Sell Assets or Tools

If you’re an awesome 2D/3D modeler, pixel artist, graphic designer, sound Designer or programmer. Why not put things up you’ve made for sale for others to enjoy.

You could sell these things in places like the Unity or Unreal asset store. There are lots of other sites to sell assets as well.

Marketing your game

I’m no marketing expert, however, I can point you in the right direction.

This is probably one of the most important parts of the game’s journey; there are so many games being released every year, how are you going to make yours stand out from the crowd?

There are multiple ways to approach this, but as an indie developer you may not have funds to spare to throw lots into marketing or hire someone to help you.

There are some great people out there who are sharing their knowledge and expertise for free!

Check out my People to follow page take a look!

Some key people to look at are:

Chris Zukowski – Indie game marketing Expert

Chris has an awesome evidenced based approach to finding out why some games are more successful than others, gives out great free advice via an email newsletter (which you should sign up to!) and writes blogs about game dev stories.

Signing up also gives you his free eBook “60 Game Marketing mistakes and how to avoid them”

Check out his website here: https://howtomarketagame.com/

He also has a fantastic FREE course on a complete guide on making a steam page, he dives deep into the nitty gritty details that you need to know.

Matt Hackett

Matt is an Indie Game Dev with TONS of free resources, advice and cheat sheets; he has an amazing website filled with tons of resources to help you get started. He does regular podcasts and has published a book called ‘How to make a video game all by yourself’.

He Has over 60 blog posts with some useful & practical information.

Check out his website here: https://www.valadria.com/start-here/

Matt also did a podcast with Chris Zukowski

Check out the full page here: https://www.valadria.com/steam-game-marketing-with-chris-zukowski/

You can also watch the condensed version here:

Launching your game

So, you want to get your game out to players? Of course you do!

But what platform should you put it? Steam, Xbox, Playstation or Nintendo switch?

Surely you can just make a game on Unity or Unreal Engine and give them a copy, right? …

It’s not quite that simple

Each platform has its own game development programmes to join and it’s own restrictions & requirements. Game engines like Unity and Unreal have these awesome built in functions to make a console build version of your game, but to access/release a game on the desired platform you need to be a part of the Platform developer programmes.

For more information check out my guide here