Thanks for watching! Hope you learned a ton. ► Learn how to become a full time game dev, free: www.fulltimegamedev.com/opt-in-how-to-make-six-figures ► Enroll in my 3D workshop, free!: www.fulltimegamedev.com/opt-in-15-minute-3D-game ► Make your game instantly beautiful with my free workbook: www.fulltimegamedev.com/opt-in-instant-beauty-color-workbook ► Get my 2D game kit, free: www.fulltimegamedev.com/opt-in-2D-game-kit ► Join my 2D character workshop, free: www.fulltimegamedev.com/opt-in-2d-character-art-workshop ► Wishlist Twisted Tower: store.steampowered.com/app/1575990/Twisted_Tower/ ► Learn how to make money as a CZcamsr: www.fulltimegamedev.com/opt-in-indie-game-income-workshop
Hey Thomas, first of all i would like to thank you for all your videos about indie game development they really helped me out so far. I do have a question regarding your 2d Game Kit: so i downloaded it a few days ago and im trying to make a 2d shooter but i didnt got the player rig to move how i want it too since the bones/sprites arent moving in playmode and i think its because the animation system. I did got it to work when i edited the script and removed the animations but then i dont have animations ofc. I think you might even know what my problem could be since you made a 2d shooter with your game kit yourself. I would highly appreciate a quick answer from you since i have been struggling with this issue for a few days now. Best regards and greetings from Germany
It is really important at the beginning of your GameDev journey. Cause if you start with trying to create your "dream game" you might drop the project very fast, because of lack of experience etc. It is best to start by making really small games. Maybe even some classic games clones like Pong etc. If you don't mind let me know about these small games that you were about to create ;)
@@quantumdev6577 I immediately jumped into making my dream game. Now I have been doing it for almost half a year, but I wanted to make it so much that I just couldn't focus on anything else. It's hard sometimes and a bit slow but I don't even notice it because of my motivation, which is still the same or even bigger than when I started :D. I guess it depends on a person, it's probably still better to do smaller games first and I'm not saying you're not right.
I started my 2D platformer when I was just starting to learn Unity and C#. I ended up taking a break to make a smaller game; a 2D bullet hell shooter called HyperShot. I put it on Steam, and I still get a sale now and then. Now I'm almost finished my platformer, which will be on Steam next year.
thats great , i am really discouraged at this point and made a lot of mistakes last year, started many projects then dumped them in middle , did not finish any them as they got complex(i know thats no an excuse ) , but i am trying to make a 3d game right now and planning to finish it this time without starting anything new or distracting.
Yeah, it's easy to get distracted. It happens to me a lot, but I try to do something every day. Even if it's something small, it's still one more step to completing the game.
Congratulations man. I started unity this year and I'm starting making a map with trees and a path and am gonna make a character that walks around and looks at buildings and some roaming animals. Like a walk through a medieval town.
I wanted to make a 3D survival game, with a massive map with multiple biomes, weird animals, diseases, allergies and of course cut scenes. once I drew the design on some paper I realized that I never had coded before, so this would be way to hard. now I watched this video and I think my first game will just be a simple platformer.
@@RM22201 I finished! Its on the playstore and if you wanna check it out my channel is called BoiledEgs and the game is called Greedy Pill, I made a video discussing it
i cherished my trash game and wanted it to be kinda big due to it "looks better than other games" and took that to heart. now i realize that you can not bank on something doing good and get but hurt when no one plays it. now im taking time to reflect and figure out what i want to do next as well as doing major updates to my first game.
I released my first "real" game on itch (i.e. a non-game-jam, 100+ dev-hours game); a roguelike! I have no idea what effect it'll have on my gamedev career, but even as small as it is it's inspired me to keep making roguelikes :)
I did release my own game on iOS about ten years ago. It was the only personal project I ever released. I outsourced all the creative assets just to save myself time. Crossing the finish line with this stuff is very challenging. I totally agree making your crap game first is the way to go. Great video!
Thank you so much. This is such a wonderful video. I'm taking the leap into becoming a solo indie game developer and I'm quitting my job as a professional animator to pursue my dreams. I can't wait to see where I end up in 10 years from today! I've got so many games I want to make. :) For now, I'll start small and learn as much as I can. Goodluck to us all!
These are some amazing tips and the one about not doing everything from scratch really made me realize how much time I'm wasting. As for games I worked on a game for most of last year and now that I look back on it I made a lot of mistakes mostly related to planing but I did find out I am much better at programming and designing systems than actually making art plus I learned a lot about the type of games I am mostly good at making
hey, same for me but the other way around. doing art is the place i am comfortable but adding game mechanics make my head spin, totally underestimated how complex even simple stuff like a checkpoint system takes or intergrating a new animation can get. Cheers and good luck with your games✌🏻
I've never subbed so fast before. This breaks it all down, is clear, and honest. I've got no end to technical skill and planning and an experienced WEB developer, but translating that to solo game development projects has been surprisingly difficult. Thank you for this
I'm inspired. I'm starting my first commercial game next year. I'm going to use the rest of this year for prep work and finishing up a game jam, and then next year get to work on my first real project.
Starting is easy, but finishing is hard. I started without any concept, just practicing, but the whacky sketches turned into a full game eventually (nothing serious or released though). It was hard tying up the loose ends. I said to myself, for the next project ima think it all through so I can work according to a plan, instead of changing things back and forth. But making a plan can be difficult too. Sometimes I find myself over a blank page, thinking ok how shall it start, whats the premise? Many ideas just come along the way, while simply doing things without overthinking. I took a lesson from it. The better you become as a game dev, the more thought you can put into it. But at the start, just "play" with development and it'll lead you somewhere :)
This is so incredibly inspiring. I have been on the fence about going into solo game development but have been scared to fail. Starting small and working in stages is the best, most simple advice you could give. I accept it may take years to make something I love, but I feel so driven to go down that road. Thanks for the inspiration
Just take your favorite 'simple game' and make it. You can even expand on it a little to keep it interesting. I just chose sort the court as my simple game and I'm making a new version that has elements of harvest moon.
Your tip about knowing your forte really resonated with me. I too pride my self in character building and story telling. Those are my passions what keeps me making my game. This being my first game you’re other tip was perfect, I should make a small short game before putting my all into my dream story / dream game. This video hit at the perfect time for me, and thank you for your content. One question about your stories, do you have them all laid out first before you start building your games or do you kind of build the story and the small details of the story as you go, drawing inspiration from some of your worlds and art?
I actually like building things from scratch, from the items, to the characters, maps, weapons, UI. It's just a nice little break from the nonstop math and brain power used to figure out how to make Thing A do this one function, while simultaniously trying to get Thing B work with Thing C. I'm not hating on anyone or anything here, but from my experience I guess it just depends on your attention span and your soul drive and passion. Plus it really is an absolute amazing feeling when you see something you made completely on your own work on how you intended. Maybe some agree with me, maybe some disagree. All in all, we're all doing our best and that's a beautiful thing. I hope everyone here builds their dream game someday, and it brings you nothing but fortune and success :)
I really enjoy these tip type videos Thomas. They are really motivating. I have my first small-sized project game in mind and it motivated me to not b afraid of using assets if needed. Thanks for being motivating. Proud to be part of the gamedev community. :)
Tip #5 is very important, and one I overlooked while I was working on my frist project. I also think that doing something like a dev log can be very motivating later on when you look back and see all your progress.
Those are some good tips! Sadly, I didn't take into account all of them. I've worked almost 4 years (in my free time) on my game and after I released it on steam I was disappointed. I was kind of expecting it since I had about 100 wishlists. Game development is hard this days!
@@escapeundergroundgame main problem IMHO is control of movement of the robot, very hard to stop on right place and hard to jump, he is like in some kind of jelly...
Thomas I would LOVE a video about the first things you do when you open unity. You open unity, create a new file, then what? what are the first things you should do? Every video I see is either just showing off the features of unity or its a 7 hour long tutorial video that I don't have time or attention spand for. Love everything you make!
Tip # 1 - Consider your hourly rate as a dev, and its relation to your budget. Tip # 2 - Don't make everything from scratch. Time is money! Tip # 3 - Don't make your first game your dream game. It should be your 15 minute crap game. You'll figure out your strengths. Tip # 4 - Focus on prototyping. It's easier to build in pieces, and funding will motivate you. Tip # 5 - Build a community. Discord and Social Media.
Through High School I was learning to make games on my own on Unity and I was starting little projects and following CZcams tutorials like a religion and getting confused and burnt out sometimes so I'd start a new one and didn't really realize how much I grew from that "failure". I would draw my own pixel art, follow someone's code and start to add my own features and learn a few new programs. And at the end of my junior year I had made a game with a friend for a school project and then made one over the summer I put onto Google Play called Pixels & Dragons which is like Asteroids. Now after a few years I'm starting a new game with that same friend to see what we can do in a month and what we can learn. Great video! Put the value of time into perspective. Don't slave over what you aren't good at, pay someone who is good at it!
I just released my first game after watching your videos for over a year. It’s called SCP:Abhorrent and it’s pretty noob level lol. I really appreciate your advice throughout all your videos Thomas. I’m about to release my second game this month and I’m working with a team on my “dream” game now too! It’s really challenging but super fulfilling.
One thing that most people don't mention is that if you want to make your game available on steam you need either a job or some way of getting money patreon or whatever it is to pay for the $100 dollar fee to download the software needed to put your on steam.
YES YES NEW THOMAS BRUSH VID LETS GO I just got a merch store for my game up and im grinding through the level making progress so this timing is PERFECT
i just watched the video and i realized : HE MADE PINSTRIPE guys u dont really know how much i loved that game when i was young omg this video brought memories
Thanks for the tips Thomas. I really appreciate all you do. You are a spitting image (both physical and character) of a great friend I grew up with. You needed to know that 😆
i like your balance between money and passion. I find only focussing on passion to lead to burn out, but then only doing it for the money would feel soulless.
Since i was a little kid in the 90’s i’ve always wanted to make my own game(s). I will now begin the journey at least 25 years in the making. Wish me luck
Thank you for all your tips they have been helpful on my journey. I have made 2 games and currently working on one of my dream projects, guys like you help with motivation
thumbs up tp push it to the top 0:25 - tip #1 : consider your hourly rate 1:35 - tip #2 : dont make everything from scratch 3:32 - tip #3 : dont make your first game, your dream game 4:37 - tip #4 : focus on prototyping 6:25 - tip #5 : build a community👍
tip about not making everything from scratch was especially useful, but I figured it out only after I started making my dream game. Initially, the progress in it was slow, but I started a very small side project in vr using assets and it took me about 3 or 4 days to make it look good and finished and at the same time almost be playable, so I am very impressed. I thought custom assets wouldn't save me much time and make game look unoriginal, but I was wrong. So tip for everyone: just use assets if you struggle on something, like I am on modelling :) p.s. I think that youtuber Dani is the perfect example of how you should promote your game p.p.s. My plan on making my dream game is to release it as early access with little amount of content and deliver it with updates, so I could get early bugs feedback to polish the game and release it as soon as possible
I'm not a game developer but I am an animator and my very small team and I are working in exactly this manner. Yes, we're developing a lot of our own assets but we're not making them from scratch. When we're done, we're hoping to work with an indie Dev to turn our story into a game.
The first game I released was a little game called bird stealth psycho mission, it had horrible controls and probably wasn’t at the top of my bucket list when it was made. But it taught me many things which I had not gotten to, due to when making everything from scratch, such as how to get sound effects into your game, or how to switch between scenes.
My favorite piece of advice is not to make everything from scratch. I don't know how to edit the textures/materials of unreal engine assets just yet but I need to figure that out.
I honestly don't think I'd be able to do game development as a career, I want it more as a hobby but I'm legitimately scared to start. I hate failing and when you try something new you're bound to fail. This video did help boost my confidence some to try, though. Thank you for the tips!
I'm making my first game as a grey beard. I've wanted to make this game since I used a Nokia but just never could finish. Im doing the coding (my strong area) but I'm still looking for someone to help with simple characters (people dancing at a club, hanging out at a lounge... that sort of thing). Wish me luck.
i made my first game just to release it it was so bad i made terrible levels in blender like 1 level in 30 minutes just to complete the game in time it did not had any bugs but it was objectively crap but the experience taught me to keep my expctations low i released a few more games after that and gained experience along the way
I was making my first game a decent small little horror game but I’ve become in love with this project and now wanna do some big stuff without technically I made a game before but accidentally deleted it all
Great tips as always! I have a question though. What if you are into a project and you've been working on it for multiple years already. Should you just abandon it and work on smaller games or try to finish this game first? I don't think there's a right answer here but would love to hear your opinion on it. Also I don't think you can simply join 'The Dev Lounge' discord, otherwise I would've joined already haha.
I agree with @Joshuacarter. While it's tough to cut way things you really want in the game. It's much better to do that then walk away from years of work. At that point it's much more likely you will never return!
Thanks for all of the videos and inspiration! Some days I would just listen to your videos to keep my mind on the task of completing my first project. Keep up the good work and I'll keep turning in!
I have written an amazing card game with rules and everything that is needed. I can see it in my head perfectly! I have faith in it, although I have 0 idea of how to develop or release it, who to talk to? Am I going to pay something for it? I tried to emailed a couple of companies but seriously I do not understand anything of what they are referring to 😂 they think I have a company too. Anyway the fear of copying my idea in combination of charging me money for even communicating with them just made me stopped. I wish I could talk with someone and help me understand how everything works and actually help me develop the game.
Ive made a few games now, like 4 that I actually finished (but they're really short and bad, but im kinda Prout of them), then I tried making 3 games who got deleted either by the program bc it needed to be fixed or bc my pc broke down two times and they had to delete the whole system, so that not only my games are gone, but also all my stories I wrote and my pictures and so on (even my drawing program is gone and I can't get it back.. so I need to pay for it again and it was around 200), I was really down bc of it, but after a few of your videos, I realized something. They're all gone now, but l actually learned a lot about making games. Thats why I made my fourth game and I would call this one actually my first (it was my first platform which I completed and even the drawing and so are completely from me) :D (even tho I tried to make rpgs )
Wait, are you the one who made coma?? I played it way back when I was like, 12. It was the most memorable game I ever played on those sites full of flash games. Awesome work! 🤯
Thanks for watching! Hope you learned a ton.
► Learn how to become a full time game dev, free: www.fulltimegamedev.com/opt-in-how-to-make-six-figures
► Enroll in my 3D workshop, free!: www.fulltimegamedev.com/opt-in-15-minute-3D-game
► Make your game instantly beautiful with my free workbook: www.fulltimegamedev.com/opt-in-instant-beauty-color-workbook
► Get my 2D game kit, free: www.fulltimegamedev.com/opt-in-2D-game-kit
► Join my 2D character workshop, free: www.fulltimegamedev.com/opt-in-2d-character-art-workshop
► Wishlist Twisted Tower: store.steampowered.com/app/1575990/Twisted_Tower/
► Learn how to make money as a CZcamsr: www.fulltimegamedev.com/opt-in-indie-game-income-workshop
Hey Thomas, first of all i would like to thank you for all your videos about indie game development they really helped me out so far. I do have a question regarding your 2d Game Kit: so i downloaded it a few days ago and im trying to make a 2d shooter but i didnt got the player rig to move how i want it too since the bones/sprites arent moving in playmode and i think its because the animation system. I did got it to work when i edited the script and removed the animations but then i dont have animations ofc. I think you might even know what my problem could be since you made a 2d shooter with your game kit yourself. I would highly appreciate a quick answer from you since i have been struggling with this issue for a few days now. Best regards and greetings from Germany
Releasing my game "The Glade" on steam on the 16th wish me luck!
What advice would give a person who wants to focus on creating a mobile game
I was about to start making my first game my “dream game”. Glad I saw this and now I’m gonna get a few small games under my belt before my dream game.
same. i might try with some low poly characters in some small arena level
It is really important at the beginning of your GameDev journey. Cause if you start with trying to create your "dream game" you might drop the project very fast, because of lack of experience etc. It is best to start by making really small games. Maybe even some classic games clones like Pong etc. If you don't mind let me know about these small games that you were about to create ;)
@@quantumdev6577 I immediately jumped into making my dream game. Now I have been doing it for almost half a year, but I wanted to make it so much that I just couldn't focus on anything else. It's hard sometimes and a bit slow but I don't even notice it because of my motivation, which is still the same or even bigger than when I started :D. I guess it depends on a person, it's probably still better to do smaller games first and I'm not saying you're not right.
if your game involves multi-player/open world delay it until you work at ubisoft
I wasted my time trying to make my own game 😅 .
I started my 2D platformer when I was just starting to learn Unity and C#. I ended up taking a break to make a smaller game; a 2D bullet hell shooter called HyperShot. I put it on Steam, and I still get a sale now and then. Now I'm almost finished my platformer, which will be on Steam next year.
thats great , i am really discouraged at this point and made a lot of mistakes last year, started many projects then dumped them in middle , did not finish any them as they got complex(i know thats no an excuse ) , but i am trying to make a 3d game right now and planning to finish it this time without starting anything new or distracting.
Yeah, it's easy to get distracted. It happens to me a lot, but I try to do something every day. Even if it's something small, it's still one more step to completing the game.
Congratulations man. I started unity this year and I'm starting making a map with trees and a path and am gonna make a character that walks around and looks at buildings and some roaming animals. Like a walk through a medieval town.
what engine did u use to create the game that u posted on steam ?
@@pedroaboffa Unity
I wanted to make a 3D survival game, with a massive map with multiple biomes, weird animals, diseases, allergies and of course cut scenes. once I drew the design on some paper I realized that I never had coded before, so this would be way to hard. now I watched this video and I think my first game will just be a simple platformer.
It might also be worth breaking your idea into multiple smaller things. For example a survival game all about getting food and water
You and me both pal
Maybe you can mix the idea but in a smaller setting, like a platformer with survival elements?
Hey, glad to see this, I'm about to start making my first game. Thomas always has the best advice
That's awesome! Its a real journey. Just never give up!
I'm about to make my first game too I just bought a laptop but it didn't start so I need to get it repaired first ahh I feel like the world hates me
@@theeye6581 but not me
How is it coming?
@@RM22201 I finished! Its on the playstore and if you wanna check it out my channel is called BoiledEgs and the game is called Greedy Pill, I made a video discussing it
i cherished my trash game and wanted it to be kinda big due to it "looks better than other games" and took that to heart. now i realize that you can not bank on something doing good and get but hurt when no one plays it. now im taking time to reflect and figure out what i want to do next as well as doing major updates to my first game.
I like your attitude! Whats the name of your game?
I released my first "real" game on itch (i.e. a non-game-jam, 100+ dev-hours game); a roguelike! I have no idea what effect it'll have on my gamedev career, but even as small as it is it's inspired me to keep making roguelikes :)
I did release my own game on iOS about ten years ago. It was the only personal project I ever released. I outsourced all the creative assets just to save myself time. Crossing the finish line with this stuff is very challenging. I totally agree making your crap game first is the way to go. Great video!
Thank you so much. This is such a wonderful video. I'm taking the leap into becoming a solo indie game developer and I'm quitting my job as a professional animator to pursue my dreams. I can't wait to see where I end up in 10 years from today! I've got so many games I want to make. :)
For now, I'll start small and learn as much as I can. Goodluck to us all!
These are some amazing tips and the one about not doing everything from scratch really made me realize how much time I'm wasting.
As for games I worked on a game for most of last year and now that I look back on it I made a lot of mistakes mostly related to planing but I did find out I am much better at programming and designing systems than actually making art plus I learned a lot about the type of games I am mostly good at making
hey, same for me but the other way around. doing art is the place i am comfortable but adding game mechanics make my head spin, totally underestimated how complex even simple stuff like a checkpoint system takes or intergrating a new animation can get. Cheers and good luck with your games✌🏻
@@rageinthecage3900 under the right conditions we can make a nice team lol 😅
I've never subbed so fast before. This breaks it all down, is clear, and honest. I've got no end to technical skill and planning and an experienced WEB developer, but translating that to solo game development projects has been surprisingly difficult. Thank you for this
Agreed
I'm inspired. I'm starting my first commercial game next year. I'm going to use the rest of this year for prep work and finishing up a game jam, and then next year get to work on my first real project.
One giant leap for you!
I love your videos, never stop making these!
Lol Im so glad I had notification turned on! Love the video! Keep up the amazing work
You are inspiration for so many indie devs, so give as DEVLOGS of your new inspiring game! btw your shors are hilarious!
Starting is easy, but finishing is hard.
I started without any concept, just practicing, but the whacky sketches turned into a full game eventually (nothing serious or released though). It was hard tying up the loose ends. I said to myself, for the next project ima think it all through so I can work according to a plan, instead of changing things back and forth.
But making a plan can be difficult too. Sometimes I find myself over a blank page, thinking ok how shall it start, whats the premise?
Many ideas just come along the way, while simply doing things without overthinking.
I took a lesson from it. The better you become as a game dev, the more thought you can put into it. But at the start, just "play" with development and it'll lead you somewhere :)
This is so incredibly inspiring. I have been on the fence about going into solo game development but have been scared to fail. Starting small and working in stages is the best, most simple advice you could give. I accept it may take years to make something I love, but I feel so driven to go down that road. Thanks for the inspiration
Just take your favorite 'simple game' and make it. You can even expand on it a little to keep it interesting.
I just chose sort the court as my simple game and I'm making a new version that has elements of harvest moon.
Your tip about knowing your forte really resonated with me. I too pride my self in character building and story telling. Those are my passions what keeps me making my game. This being my first game you’re other tip was perfect, I should make a small short game before putting my all into my dream story / dream game. This video hit at the perfect time for me, and thank you for your content. One question about your stories, do you have them all laid out first before you start building your games or do you kind of build the story and the small details of the story as you go, drawing inspiration from some of your worlds and art?
I actually like building things from scratch, from the items, to the characters, maps, weapons, UI. It's just a nice little break from the nonstop math and brain power used to figure out how to make Thing A do this one function, while simultaniously trying to get Thing B work with Thing C. I'm not hating on anyone or anything here, but from my experience I guess it just depends on your attention span and your soul drive and passion. Plus it really is an absolute amazing feeling when you see something you made completely on your own work on how you intended. Maybe some agree with me, maybe some disagree. All in all, we're all doing our best and that's a beautiful thing. I hope everyone here builds their dream game someday, and it brings you nothing but fortune and success :)
I absolutely agree 100% with u :D I love making my own stuff, even tho it means i am learning C#, Unity, Blender, videoeditors, all the same time 😂
I really enjoy these tip type videos Thomas. They are really motivating. I have my first small-sized project game in mind and it motivated me to not b afraid of using assets if needed. Thanks for being motivating. Proud to be part of the gamedev community. :)
Tip #5 is very important, and one I overlooked while I was working on my frist project. I also think that doing something like a dev log can be very motivating later on when you look back and see all your progress.
Those are some good tips! Sadly, I didn't take into account all of them.
I've worked almost 4 years (in my free time) on my game and after I released it on steam I was disappointed.
I was kind of expecting it since I had about 100 wishlists. Game development is hard this days!
gimme the link bro ill play it
@@sadcakebbx7339 his nick name is name of his game: Escape: Underground
Bro, I will play it in a minute! And I will give a feedback! Keep going, man! BTW, how many copies did you sell already?
@@alexander.kushchin Hey, thank you! I sold just a few dozens.
@@escapeundergroundgame main problem IMHO is control of movement of the robot, very hard to stop on right place and hard to jump, he is like in some kind of jelly...
Thomas I would LOVE a video about the first things you do when you open unity. You open unity, create a new file, then what? what are the first things you should do? Every video I see is either just showing off the features of unity or its a 7 hour long tutorial video that I don't have time or attention spand for. Love everything you make!
i guess makes files to orgnize your work and assets , folder for prefab , scripts , scenes , music , sound effect etc
Tip # 1 - Consider your hourly rate as a dev, and its relation to your budget.
Tip # 2 - Don't make everything from scratch. Time is money!
Tip # 3 - Don't make your first game your dream game. It should be your 15 minute crap game. You'll figure out your strengths.
Tip # 4 - Focus on prototyping. It's easier to build in pieces, and funding will motivate you.
Tip # 5 - Build a community. Discord and Social Media.
I too watched the fucking video
This really is fantastic advice. Love your dedication and encouragement!
Thomas, you're a really nice indie game developer. I really get inspirations from you. Such a good developer :)
honestly no matter how crappy the first game may be I will always be proud of it as I made it with me, myself and lots tutorials lol
Through High School I was learning to make games on my own on Unity and I was starting little projects and following CZcams tutorials like a religion and getting confused and burnt out sometimes so I'd start a new one and didn't really realize how much I grew from that "failure". I would draw my own pixel art, follow someone's code and start to add my own features and learn a few new programs. And at the end of my junior year I had made a game with a friend for a school project and then made one over the summer I put onto Google Play called Pixels & Dragons which is like Asteroids. Now after a few years I'm starting a new game with that same friend to see what we can do in a month and what we can learn. Great video! Put the value of time into perspective. Don't slave over what you aren't good at, pay someone who is good at it!
I just released my first game after watching your videos for over a year. It’s called SCP:Abhorrent and it’s pretty noob level lol. I really appreciate your advice throughout all your videos Thomas. I’m about to release my second game this month and I’m working with a team on my “dream” game now too! It’s really challenging but super fulfilling.
One thing that most people don't mention is that if you want to make your game available on steam you need either a job or some way of getting money patreon or whatever it is to pay for the $100 dollar fee to download the software needed to put your on steam.
YES YES NEW THOMAS BRUSH VID LETS GO I just got a merch store for my game up and im grinding through the level making progress so this timing is PERFECT
U put up a store before u finished the game! G shit! LMAO!
Do you have to recharge before the game starts?
Speaking of time, this style of video at 1.5-2x speed is always better. Great vid btw 👍👌
i just watched the video and i realized : HE MADE PINSTRIPE guys u dont really know how much i loved that game when i was young omg this video brought memories
Love your videos man you've been holding my hand for a while now and I appreciate it
Thanks for staying engaged and posting stuff like this.
I'm 13 years old, I need to be mentaly prepared for my game idea, i really hope i can do this
Thanks for the tips Thomas. I really appreciate all you do. You are a spitting image (both physical and character) of a great friend I grew up with. You needed to know that 😆
i like your balance between money and passion. I find only focussing on passion to lead to burn out, but then only doing it for the money would feel soulless.
Since i was a little kid in the 90’s i’ve always wanted to make my own game(s). I will now begin the journey at least 25 years in the making. Wish me luck
Love that game you've got in the background there
This guy: so, what's your forte when it comes to game design?
Toby Fox and Eric Barone: Yes.
Thank you for all your tips they have been helpful on my journey. I have made 2 games and currently working on one of my dream projects, guys like you help with motivation
Thanks so much for this video, I was getting discouraged until I saw this vid
thumbs up tp push it to the top
0:25 - tip #1 : consider your hourly rate
1:35 - tip #2 : dont make everything from scratch
3:32 - tip #3 : dont make your first game, your dream game
4:37 - tip #4 : focus on prototyping
6:25 - tip #5 : build a community👍
thank you!
tip about not making everything from scratch was especially useful, but I figured it out only after I started making my dream game. Initially, the progress in it was slow, but I started a very small side project in vr using assets and it took me about 3 or 4 days to make it look good and finished and at the same time almost be playable, so I am very impressed. I thought custom assets wouldn't save me much time and make game look unoriginal, but I was wrong. So tip for everyone: just use assets if you struggle on something, like I am on modelling :)
p.s. I think that youtuber Dani is the perfect example of how you should promote your game
p.p.s. My plan on making my dream game is to release it as early access with little amount of content and deliver it with updates, so I could get early bugs feedback to polish the game and release it as soon as possible
"Or maybe your a student."
Me who lives in a trailer in my grandmas yard: " haha yaaa... a student....
Thomas is the most inspiring game dev EVER!!!! Keep it up Thomas your doing great:)
God bless you Thomas. This video is divine intervention to help those seeking out to become full time game developers. Thank you!
1. Hourly wage
2. Dont make everything from scratch
3. Dont make your dream game first,
4. Focus on prototype
5. Make community
Thanks for the tips! Now I know I’m going on the right directions. Working on small games before my dream game
I'm not a game developer but I am an animator and my very small team and I are working in exactly this manner. Yes, we're developing a lot of our own assets but we're not making them from scratch. When we're done, we're hoping to work with an indie Dev to turn our story into a game.
The first game I released was a little game called bird stealth psycho mission, it had horrible controls and probably wasn’t at the top of my bucket list when it was made. But it taught me many things which I had not gotten to, due to when making everything from scratch, such as how to get sound effects into your game, or how to switch between scenes.
HEY THOMAS ITS GREYSON!! This video helped lots, thanks!!!!
Yoooooooo!
you are now my favorite CZcamsr now
My first game was crap but I learned alot from it, he is right, never start with a dream game start with a crap game or you would get nothing done
Newbie here, thanks for the tips. I'm going to now build a small game that I just made up. I'll see how well I do
I am a visual designer who has zero game dev experience but I am about to dive all in.
I Never Knew That "Breath of the Wild" used a 120 Million Budget to make it! That's INSANE!!!!!
My favorite piece of advice is not to make everything from scratch. I don't know how to edit the textures/materials of unreal engine assets just yet but I need to figure that out.
thanks for sharing your numbers, highly interesting!
that joke at the start was so good
videos like these never give any actual tangible "howto make a game"
These tips are amazing and the way you present stuff is great for my adhd
I honestly don't think I'd be able to do game development as a career, I want it more as a hobby but I'm legitimately scared to start. I hate failing and when you try something new you're bound to fail. This video did help boost my confidence some to try, though. Thank you for the tips!
Summary: Approach game dev as a business venture
i released my first game as a crap game for a game jam and i learned alot in the one week and it boosts my ego to know that i can do it
I'm making my first game as a grey beard. I've wanted to make this game since I used a Nokia but just never could finish. Im doing the coding (my strong area) but I'm still looking for someone to help with simple characters (people dancing at a club, hanging out at a lounge... that sort of thing).
Wish me luck.
i made my first game just to release it
it was so bad
i made terrible levels in blender like 1 level in 30 minutes just to complete the game in time
it did not had any bugs but it was objectively crap
but the experience taught me to keep my expctations low
i released a few more games after that and gained experience along the way
I started messing around with unreal yesterday, heres to a long journey ;)
I was making my first game a decent small little horror game but I’ve become in love with this project and now wanna do some big stuff without technically I made a game before but accidentally deleted it all
Great tips as always! I have a question though. What if you are into a project and you've been working on it for multiple years already. Should you just abandon it and work on smaller games or try to finish this game first? I don't think there's a right answer here but would love to hear your opinion on it.
Also I don't think you can simply join 'The Dev Lounge' discord, otherwise I would've joined already haha.
If you desperately need to finish it, then you should cut as much as you can. its better cut than cancelled
I agree with @Joshuacarter. While it's tough to cut way things you really want in the game. It's much better to do that then walk away from years of work. At that point it's much more likely you will never return!
I would say just pausing to come back to it later could help alot.
Im only 13 and i know c++ so its pretty interesting starting a indie game right now.
Thank Goodness I saw this video. Helped a lot. Thanks
He just helped me more in 8 minutes than others have done in hours!
sick hat dude. I live right down the road from mckevlins!
that clip with the elephant traumatized me bro
i finished unlimited simple car game , learned a lot of stuff in it , that is kind of special for me
Thanks for this 🙌
4:10 why does this sound so emotional
very good game
Thanks for all of the videos and inspiration! Some days I would just listen to your videos to keep my mind on the task of completing my first project. Keep up the good work and I'll keep turning in!
Great tips, thanks Thomas
Thank u so much , u open my mined from these tips .
Do it all yourself if you have the will to do it. Study assets for extraction of knowledge, don't just reskin them.
Key concept is considering the "opportunity cost" in everything you do.
The idea of time=money is really good, like comedy = tragedy + time
I've wanted to make my dream game for a long time...
But now that I think about it, it must be very time-consuming :"
Thanks for the tips :)
I have written an amazing card game with rules and everything that is needed. I can see it in my head perfectly! I have faith in it, although I have 0 idea of how to develop or release it, who to talk to? Am I going to pay something for it? I tried to emailed a couple of companies but seriously I do not understand anything of what they are referring to 😂 they think I have a company too. Anyway the fear of copying my idea in combination of charging me money for even communicating with them just made me stopped. I wish I could talk with someone and help me understand how everything works and actually help me develop the game.
Ive made a few games now, like 4 that I actually finished (but they're really short and bad, but im kinda Prout of them), then I tried making 3 games who got deleted either by the program bc it needed to be fixed or bc my pc broke down two times and they had to delete the whole system, so that not only my games are gone, but also all my stories I wrote and my pictures and so on (even my drawing program is gone and I can't get it back.. so I need to pay for it again and it was around 200), I was really down bc of it, but after a few of your videos, I realized something.
They're all gone now, but l actually learned a lot about making games. Thats why I made my fourth game and I would call this one actually my first (it was my first platform which I completed and even the drawing and so are completely from me) :D (even tho I tried to make rpgs )
btw , I now got a usb-stick haha two make a backup :D yeah, I was really stupid about this
Too scared to release a steam title. But ready to release a crappy game with max effort, just to learn. Thanks for this perspective Thomas 🥰
That the best way to learn! Just jump in the deep end!
wow first to my suggestions list! Thank you Thomas! God bless you and your family!
Your designs are so amazing😭😭😭...Please make a video on atmosphere designing for beginners...thank you in advance
Wait, are you the one who made coma?? I played it way back when I was like, 12. It was the most memorable game I ever played on those sites full of flash games. Awesome work! 🤯
Thank you for makeing this it has helped me so much to get started
This will help me in making my first game, thanks dude!
You make incredible videos, i'm learning gamedev as a hobby in the pandemic. Your videos are top tier, gained a sub 👍
I have released a few very small games. Like 6 by now but they just always leave me feeling like I could have done something bigger
I'm trying to launch a crappy game right now! 😁 Thanks for the insight Thomas 😊
LOL! Damn...
As someone who knows how to mesh in blender I can’t phantom not making my own little stuff. I’ll try 😂
great tips for marketing and networking! still working on a first release but im excited to get to a stage where I feel like part of the community :)