Ive always wanted to make a video game but i feel too dumb to make one. Is gamedev worth looking into still even if im not the sharpest tool in the shed?
Or are there better hobbies out there for newcomers to the hobby space? I know most of you will say do what you enjoy, the thing is im not sure what i enjoy.
Idk if this goes here but i like the linux community as they are usually kind on lemmy.
I personally split gamedev into 5 separate hobbies:
- conceptualizing
- 2d/3d rendering
- music
- programming
- putting it all together Then I rotate between whichever one I feel the most attracted to at the moment.
The hardest thing is to keep within your level. You’re not a 1-man army who can make a Hollow Knight in a year. Start with small ideas and expand and remix them as you improve and/or find slaves. But definitely keep the big ideas somewhere bc you might accidentally make all the systems you need along the way.
I’d recommend getting to grips with the fundamentals of python or JavaScript first before jumping in but Godot is a great open source tool for picking up some gamedev after you are used to the basics.
Grab godot, grab some tutorials, make something. It really is that simple. Just set your expectations. Your games will be closer to Pong for a while but there’s nothing wrong with that.
If you don’t know what you enjoy the only way to find out is to try things, and it’s never been easier to try making a game. If you have zero programming experience whatsoever I’d say start here: https://gdquest.github.io/learn-gdscript/
Hobby? Absolutely!
Just don’t expect any money out of it. At all. If you DO get money out of it, consider yourself very lucky. Do it for fun first and foremost.
Yep. Like many arts, gamedev is something people do for free, so it’s very difficult (or torturous) to do it for profit.
But that is the best part of user software development.
Developing [a game] is pretty much free, so if you make any money out of it at all is just a bonus.
Most physical hobbies cost money where if you make some money from it it likely won’t even start breaking even, you are often 1-10k€ in the hole before you even start selling anything.
Oh I agree. It’s lovely that you can just get started, all you need is a computer and an Internet connection.
I just wanted to make sure OP’s expectations aren’t too high because some people get into it seeing the success of small team or even solo indie games like Minecraft (before Microsoft) or Stardew Valley and think that could be them. But those are results of a perfect storm of passionate people working on creative projects that people happen to like a lot, which also filled some sort of void in the game market. One in a million chance if you ask me.
I know most of you will say do what you enjoy, the thing is im not sure what i enjoy.
Well, I suppose there’s one way to find out: give it a try!
Join us, and in 10 years you can look back on all the features your game engine implements, without having started work on the game play!
I kid. Ask yourself: what do you want out of
this hobbygame dev, and do you enjoy it. That’s really all that’s important.If you do want to see if you like game dev, implement Tetris. All of Tetris though. You need a menu, pause, animations, etc. When you’re done you’ll have a better idea. Tetris is great because it’s not a huge project. You don’t need to wrestle with complex graphics pipelines, game design is mostly done, but you can take it in your own direction and add your own flourishes.
Learning to program I liked making top-down zombie shooters and platformers. It was a cool moment when I figured out a nice way to have smooth character positioning on a tile based map.
The beauty of game dev, is that you can make the most cursed codebase, and as long as it works, the only person itll impact is yourself.
Also, startup costs are basically zero, there is no need for a top end PC, whatever you have now is probably good enough to start.
startup costs are basically zero, there is no need for a top end PC, whatever you have now is probably good enough to start.
Unless your true heart’s desire is a faithful Crysis II sequel…
Faithful Crysis sequel, really. Crysis II was already better optimized than the original game IIRC (which made the assumption that clock frequencies would keep rising and they were trying to make the game only realize its’ full potential later after launch)
Yes but also no. For me it kind of killed other games because I suddenly started looking at stuff like assets and how much effort was put into them. Gamedevs can put so much detail into stuff the average user does not notice at all.
I used to work as an animator and now I have that lol. It’s hard to watch anything animated just for fun because my brain wants to take it apart and analyze it.
Gamedev is like the ultimate digital hobby if you do it yourself. You get to program, do art, sound, game design, etc.
permission to be rude, your question is meaningless.
it is a hobby, the single most important factor is if you want to do it.
everything else if secondary. go, try, enjoy it, learn, improve…
it’s it the most “efficient” use of your time? that question is irrelevant, it’s a hobby not a job.
Go make a game, make a shitty game because you have no experience, but make that game.
I recommend pico8, I think it’s the simplest engine that isn’t a kids learning platform. has a low skill floor, but (given what some people make, someone ported Doom to that 2d engine) unlimited skill ceiling.
Why not?
You say you’re not the sharpest tool in the shed, but I think gamedev is a good way to learn a variety of skills. And doing it as a hobby takes a lot of pressure off and allows you to take things at your own pace.
A hobby is “good” if you enjoy it. That’s all that matters with hobbies. Don’t look down on yourself for wanting to do something for fun. It doesn’t have to be “efficient” or turn into an income or anything else. Just try it and learn. Learn the skills, learn if you like it
The cost of entry is zero. (Assuming you have a computer.)
And if it doesn’t work out but you enjoy the building/coding you can look into building desktop or mobile apps for problems you might want to solve or have on hand for yourself.
If game development interests you, it’s a great hobby. You don’t need to be knowledgable, but it helps if you like logic puzzles, because programming is basically solving one logic puzzle after the other.
Creating something from nothing is always a good hobby. Whether it be a jigsaw puzzle or planning/designing a game that does not exist yet.
