Creating Games

This page is all about assisting those wanting to explore game development by providing program recommendations, assets, and some humble advice from someone who's been at it since 2004.

It's geared towards the prospective solo-developer/hobbyist as that was how I got started, with a focus on fangame development--a good place to begin regardless of your goals as it often provides everything up front to expedite your learning of how to actually put a game together, rather than getting hung up on creating original assets and designing your own mechanics.

Development Programs

Deciding how you're going to create your game is an important first step into the game dev business. These are the engines I've worked with, but if they aren't to your taste, do shop around and find what works best for your goals and workflow.

Godot

I've yet to publish anything but have so far been quite pleased with it as a competent tool for both 3D and 2D projects. Pleased enough that I can safely say if I'd had Godot back when instead of Unity, my game dev life would have turned out much better.

Also recommended: Remaking Super Mario World in Godot

Unity

Used professionally for about 11 years. Once I might have said "kinda sucks but gets the job done," but now I strongly recommend avoiding, as they've proven to be both astoundingly stupid and deeply untrustworthy. As their management and direction remain precarious and questionable, I'd think very hard before investing time in a ship that could so easily sink again.

Game Maker

I haven't tried Game Maker since 2011/version 8.1, so I can't even speculate on their present condition!
As for that old Game Maker, its sloppy approach and poor capabilities make for little more than a toy by modern standards, but there's no denying it was great fun. So fast and easy to throw things together and just have it work without having a clue what you or the engine are really doing. It's not viable for the serious/commercial dev, but if you just wanna party like it's 2011, 8.2 Project is pretty neat!

If heading that way, SoulScroll's Tutorials might be worth a look, and though not recommended, I still offer my obsolete examples.

Free Assets

Here are a few choice links for finding fangame assets: VG Resource, VG Maps, VG Music, Zophar's Domain

And here's an odd little assortment of assets I've ripped myself:

Advice

• Start Small

  Far too many new devs jump right in wanting to create an epic game of unrealistic proportions, but without experience, all they achieve is frustration. They likely proceed to seek another hobby, but had they started small, they may very well have someday reached their initial goal.

  Small games can still be plenty fun to play, and are often more fun to develop due to their faster results and more casual nature--but even still they can require a surprising amount of work. Use them to ease into and learn about game development, and keep dreaming of your dream game until you have the experience to make it a reality!

  
  
• Finish What You Start

  There are many aspects to making a game: programming, graphics, level design, menu design... Sooner or later you're bound to bump into one that you simply don't enjoy, and when that happens, projects die all too easily. It's important to push through those rough patches and finish that first project, to feel that sense of accomplishment. If you've done it all once you can do it again--and better next time!

  
  
• On Recruiting Developers

  Nothing generates facepalms like someone coming into a community like: "This is my awesome idea. Now I just need programmers, artists, musicians, designers... I'll direct you in making my game for me." It's happened more than you'd imagine. There are plenty of helpful developers out there, but if you want to work with them, always demonstrate your ability to actually work with them when asking.

  
  
• Don't Use AI

  I won't get into AI's countless moral drawbacks like theft and the environment, as this is just about you learning to game dev! Whether for code or assets, using AI is NOT making a game; it's instructing a digital thief to incompetently regurgitate real people's labor into a pile of soulless slop, and anyone still half awake will smell exactly what you did (and hopefully judge you accordingly). Using AI means you'll never get better at coding, or drawing, or designing; you won't grow as a person or a developer, and your intelligence will deteriorate until that sixth finger doesn't even bother you anymore. It's bad for the industry, it's bad for society, it's bad for you! Avoid AI like the cancer it is, ask real people for help when you need it, and work to make real art from your own beating heart!

  
  
• Most Importantly: Enjoy It!

  Quality game development requires hard work, time, patience, dedication, hard work, and... did I mention hard work? It's a long and grueling task that isn't for everyone, so if you find you simply don't enjoy it at all for its own sake then there are almost certainly better ways to invest your time.