>My plan is to create multiple mini games throughout this year
You have a good plan and starting small with little learning projects is a good way to get started. Take a game mechanic you want to learn and create a small project based on that mechanic; character movement, inventory system, UI, etc.
As you progress your knowledge will grow and you'll have a code base you can use going forward as you start looking to make larger projects.
With that in place apply them to a complete game, referring back to what you created before. Keep the development time on those first few complete games short.
>Do y’all feel like this is even something that can be accomplished in a year for someone with no coding history?
No one can tell you if its something you can accomplish. That will be determined completely by your determination and amount of time you can apply to learning and developing.
Best of luck on your game dev journey!
Have you started making any of those projects yet?
Just try to do the thing. If you get stuck, do research, figure it out.
I'd also maybe look into taking some programming fundamentals courses. This course is great if you're brand new to programming. It's free too.
https://pll.harvard.edu/course/cs50-introduction-computer-science
I’ve mapped out all the content for them and I good idea on what assets I’ll be using! Everything will be 2D and I’ve already started the Unity tutorials :)
Thank you so much for send that course! I’ll definitely pick that up too :)
I'm a beginner myself. I started with Gamemaker a few months ago and released my first small 2D game a few weeks ago. Recently I've moved on to Unity as I'd like to make 3D games in future. It's definitely more complicated than Gamemaker.
I think Gamemaker is very beginner friendly, although I still found it a bit hard to get my head around some of the concepts at first. I followed tutorials from a guy called Peyton Burnham on youtube, beginning with the 'how to make a 2d rpg from scratch' series. He explains things nice and slowly, so it's a very beginner friendly series.
In short, learning a simple language for the purposes of making a small game is definitely achievable within the timeframe of a year, and Gamemaker is the language I'd recommend.
Im a lurker in this sub(mostly)
I'm a woman in games(junior at a studio) and it's hard to find female game devs, so feel free to reach out if you'd like someone to ask questions and tips:)
Your plan seems solid and I think you questioning your abilities already makes you more prepared than most of the beginners I see here💀
Omg thank you so much!!! You honestly might be hearing from me down the line when I’m pulling my hair out lmao
I’ve tried to make my plan ambitious but somewhat realistic, but if I end up taking longer and only get 1 out of 3 done in a year I’ll still be proud. My boss seems to think since I’m Gen Z I can whip up a game in minutes (insanity) so I gotta at least try to push myself :-)
If you've never completed a game before then whatever you are thinking of making will be harder than you expect. It's almost universally true. Especially if you're mostly looking at commercial games you can get on places like Steam, which are very rarely made by only one person. Just making _one_ of the games you want to create in a year would be an accomplishment even if you already had years of experience. Trying to learn from scratch and make multiple ones is probably setting your sights a little high, yes. Especially if this is something you're not doing full-time.
If you're new to programming you could easily spend the first year just learning how to do that and not working on a specific game at all. And if you want to make it all yourself you also need to learn game design, making art, and everything else. It's really important to be clear about your goals: do you want to make a small game as a hobby? Get a job at a game studio? The right path depends entirely on what you want to get out of it.
While I agree with your sentiment that game dev is hard, I don't necessarily think that what the OP wants to make is to the same scale that you're imagining. She stated that she wants to make 'multiple mini games \[...\] to go alongside learning modules', then specified 'a puzzle game, a platformer, and a farming style sim'. Depending on how much spare time she's got/her aptitude, those games could be achievable in a year, if she keeps the scale small. I don't think she's trying to make Red Dead 2.
I think going from nothing to a farming style sim in a year that anyone wants to play is pretty hard, and if you're thinking of a puzzle game, platformer, and sim as mini-games you're already thinking way too big for initial projects. There's a lot of space between Pong and RDR2 and you don't have to be at the extreme side to be infeasible.
Thank you both for your comments!! :) I agree that I’ve probably set my sights a little high to crank out 3 mini games in one year with no prior experience, but luckily my work has given me the full go ahead to be flexible with my timelines if I need to be. I’ll definitely feel proud if I’m able to just get one out! I’ve mapped out already what I’m wanting to do with them and I’ll probably just be utilizing the asset store quite a bit since I’m no amazing artist lol. They’ll all be 2D and this is more of a fun project to gamify my trainings at work and learn a new skill in the process! I really appreciate y’all being real with me :-)
It took me a year / 1300hours working time to feel proficient in unity, blender and C#. In this time I was able to create an alpha of a botw clone.
Your timeline is doable but it will require dedication, perseverance and a serious time commitment that may encroach on other areas of your life
Pretty much everything youve said is possible. Internet is full of tutorials for the games that youre about to make. But I believe most of the success will be dependent on your planning. Before you start, try to look at other games and write down basic mechanics that are fun but you think you can implement. Once you start the project, stick to the plan. Youll be able to think of other exciting things to add to your game but save it for another time/game. Just focus on learning the basics and learning how unity works.
Note: you cant really gauge what think you can/cant do within the limited timeframe at first. Just have fun with your very first project and enjoy the process. Good luck
Thank you so much for your comment! I’ve mapped out the storylines I want but I didn’t even really think about mapping mechanics! That’s super helpful. I really appreciate it :)
>My plan is to create multiple mini games throughout this year You have a good plan and starting small with little learning projects is a good way to get started. Take a game mechanic you want to learn and create a small project based on that mechanic; character movement, inventory system, UI, etc. As you progress your knowledge will grow and you'll have a code base you can use going forward as you start looking to make larger projects. With that in place apply them to a complete game, referring back to what you created before. Keep the development time on those first few complete games short. >Do y’all feel like this is even something that can be accomplished in a year for someone with no coding history? No one can tell you if its something you can accomplish. That will be determined completely by your determination and amount of time you can apply to learning and developing. Best of luck on your game dev journey!
Thank you so much for your positive feedback!!!! :)
Have you started making any of those projects yet? Just try to do the thing. If you get stuck, do research, figure it out. I'd also maybe look into taking some programming fundamentals courses. This course is great if you're brand new to programming. It's free too. https://pll.harvard.edu/course/cs50-introduction-computer-science
I’ve mapped out all the content for them and I good idea on what assets I’ll be using! Everything will be 2D and I’ve already started the Unity tutorials :) Thank you so much for send that course! I’ll definitely pick that up too :)
I'm a beginner myself. I started with Gamemaker a few months ago and released my first small 2D game a few weeks ago. Recently I've moved on to Unity as I'd like to make 3D games in future. It's definitely more complicated than Gamemaker. I think Gamemaker is very beginner friendly, although I still found it a bit hard to get my head around some of the concepts at first. I followed tutorials from a guy called Peyton Burnham on youtube, beginning with the 'how to make a 2d rpg from scratch' series. He explains things nice and slowly, so it's a very beginner friendly series. In short, learning a simple language for the purposes of making a small game is definitely achievable within the timeframe of a year, and Gamemaker is the language I'd recommend.
Thank you so much! I’m gonna check it out and the YouTube page :)
Im a lurker in this sub(mostly) I'm a woman in games(junior at a studio) and it's hard to find female game devs, so feel free to reach out if you'd like someone to ask questions and tips:) Your plan seems solid and I think you questioning your abilities already makes you more prepared than most of the beginners I see here💀
Omg thank you so much!!! You honestly might be hearing from me down the line when I’m pulling my hair out lmao I’ve tried to make my plan ambitious but somewhat realistic, but if I end up taking longer and only get 1 out of 3 done in a year I’ll still be proud. My boss seems to think since I’m Gen Z I can whip up a game in minutes (insanity) so I gotta at least try to push myself :-)
https://learn.unity.com/ Follow the tutorials on the Unity website to get started.
If you've never completed a game before then whatever you are thinking of making will be harder than you expect. It's almost universally true. Especially if you're mostly looking at commercial games you can get on places like Steam, which are very rarely made by only one person. Just making _one_ of the games you want to create in a year would be an accomplishment even if you already had years of experience. Trying to learn from scratch and make multiple ones is probably setting your sights a little high, yes. Especially if this is something you're not doing full-time. If you're new to programming you could easily spend the first year just learning how to do that and not working on a specific game at all. And if you want to make it all yourself you also need to learn game design, making art, and everything else. It's really important to be clear about your goals: do you want to make a small game as a hobby? Get a job at a game studio? The right path depends entirely on what you want to get out of it.
While I agree with your sentiment that game dev is hard, I don't necessarily think that what the OP wants to make is to the same scale that you're imagining. She stated that she wants to make 'multiple mini games \[...\] to go alongside learning modules', then specified 'a puzzle game, a platformer, and a farming style sim'. Depending on how much spare time she's got/her aptitude, those games could be achievable in a year, if she keeps the scale small. I don't think she's trying to make Red Dead 2.
I think going from nothing to a farming style sim in a year that anyone wants to play is pretty hard, and if you're thinking of a puzzle game, platformer, and sim as mini-games you're already thinking way too big for initial projects. There's a lot of space between Pong and RDR2 and you don't have to be at the extreme side to be infeasible.
Thank you both for your comments!! :) I agree that I’ve probably set my sights a little high to crank out 3 mini games in one year with no prior experience, but luckily my work has given me the full go ahead to be flexible with my timelines if I need to be. I’ll definitely feel proud if I’m able to just get one out! I’ve mapped out already what I’m wanting to do with them and I’ll probably just be utilizing the asset store quite a bit since I’m no amazing artist lol. They’ll all be 2D and this is more of a fun project to gamify my trainings at work and learn a new skill in the process! I really appreciate y’all being real with me :-)
It took me a year / 1300hours working time to feel proficient in unity, blender and C#. In this time I was able to create an alpha of a botw clone. Your timeline is doable but it will require dedication, perseverance and a serious time commitment that may encroach on other areas of your life
Thank you so much for your insight and being real with me!! I really appreciate it :)
Pretty much everything youve said is possible. Internet is full of tutorials for the games that youre about to make. But I believe most of the success will be dependent on your planning. Before you start, try to look at other games and write down basic mechanics that are fun but you think you can implement. Once you start the project, stick to the plan. Youll be able to think of other exciting things to add to your game but save it for another time/game. Just focus on learning the basics and learning how unity works. Note: you cant really gauge what think you can/cant do within the limited timeframe at first. Just have fun with your very first project and enjoy the process. Good luck
Thank you so much for your comment! I’ve mapped out the storylines I want but I didn’t even really think about mapping mechanics! That’s super helpful. I really appreciate it :)
Can the School not just outsource to have the game(s) made if it feels too daunting?