Hello, I'm here to seek guidance for my future. I took a 3-year game development degree in university and I am near graduation, but it felt like i did not learn much to the point that I could get a job. I mainly learnt C# and C++ (mainly using Unity Engine) in my uni and during the middle of it i self taught OOP, SOLID and some code design principle because uni never teach us. Near the end, majority of my time is just using AI to help me code. I did not learn anything too during my Internship due to joining a sketchy company that i wont disclose much but basically they did not teach me anything other than "use AI".

So now I'm basically in a state of lost. I tried learning something else other than pure coding like Unity Shaders, Debugging and Profiling, but in the middle of that, a realization hit me: "Why learn all this when AI can just do it for me? Am I really able to find a job with what I have right now considering literally everything I learnt can be solved using AI?"

Can someone give me advice on how to move on from this state of lost? I really wanted to learn as much as possible but I can't help but think whatever i learnt can just be replaced by AI and if i thought of that I just can't be motivated anymore. Thank you in advance for your time to read and leave a comment.

I wonder if you dev games for like 10 years do you reach a level where you kind of have a feel for how to make a decent game and you have the technical ability to deliver on it. Then do you get to a point where it’s like possible to make a good game and it’s not purely like luck there’s almost like a formula. That’s kind of abstract, but you understand it after 10 years of game and design.

I think of this because I see a lot of full-time industry vets who spin up in the Studios and have success. And I would think it’s because they’ve been making games their whole life for 10+ years and understand what makes a game fun.

I wonder if you dev games for like 10 years do you reach a level where you kind of have a feel for how to make a decent game and you have the technical ability to deliver on it. Then do you get to a point where it’s like possible to make a good game and it’s not purely like luck there’s almost like a formula. That’s kind of abstract, but you understand it after 10 years of game and design.

I think of this because I see a lot of full-time industry vets who spin up in the Studios and have success. And I would think it’s because they’ve been making games their whole life for 10+ years and understand what makes a game fun.

hello ,
am working on a mobile game , am still developing it , but my problem am not sure the player will be hoked and keep playing it or not , the gameplay is good animation is good sound and design are good , am keeping developing it but am start to think what if i just release the game and take suggestion from players , that if people like it , or just keep developing and polish it until am satisfied with the game , because i will be honest i have no idea what to do more with it other the polish what is already on the game

the main problem am facing is how to get the player to come play the game , my game have RPG elements so i have equipment , level up, gear enhancements , but am not sure if player will come back for it , and for a mobile game you need the player to keep coming back watching ads and buy some IAP

my thinking that if i release the game not solving it issues i already know am worried people will play it not liking it and never play it again eve if i improve it

I play Tarkov, Arena Breakout infinite, r6 and other single player games. Why in all of these games the audio engine sucks,Never in any of these games up and down are distinguishable. The only games I feel satisfied with the audio is simplistic games rocket league cs and Val
Is there no money in making a good audio engine? Too hard/expensive? Hardware not there?

Hello. I'm a web and software developer of 5 years now, and want to dip my toes in game development.

I'm planning on building my first 2D RPG game on Unity, but then I heard about Godot, and the news about Unity that are really not awe-inspiring for game developers, and Godot is now becoming popular.

So then, should I still use Unity or just ditch it for Godot while I still haven't invested anything heavily on Unity yet?

Also please enlighten me on anything that I should know before I start my game development journey.

Thank you.

A few years ago I told my mom that I had an idea that I wanted to make for a video game. I was so passionate about it, and I had so much passion for games, that I was obsessed with it. I was also a teenager when I told her my idea, I was in a dark place at the time and I didn’t exactly have a real world perspective on any of this yet. But regardless, I told her that it’s all I wanted to do and I was willing to die to make it happen. She just looked at me with pity and said “That’s really sad.”

That always kinda stuck with me. It’s been holding me back from giving my game 100% of my effort that I know I can give it to make it something truly special. Just because video games mean nothing to her doesn’t mean she should’ve disqualified how I feel about them. I don’t know. I just don’t know how to deal with this feeling yet.

What do you think of the difference?

I still dont know wich engine to pick like unity or gdot is my main two to choose from but still i dont even know how to start like ahen to learn blender? Or music or? Idk l and i tried to follow the iconic donut toturial but still i think some of the information is not nedded to make a game btw im really new to game development i know and i dont really want to jump inot the main gmaes i want to atart with making smaller games

Title: I’m developing a concept for a realistic 3D open-world game called 249 — I’d love your feedback

Hi everyone!

I’m working on an early-stage game concept called 249, a realistic 3D open-world multiplayer game.

The vision is to create an immersive world where players can explore, complete missions, form alliances, interact with different factions, use vehicles, and participate in a dynamic in-game economy.

The project is still at the concept stage, and I haven’t built a playable prototype yet. Right now, I’m focusing on understanding how to turn this idea into something realistic and achievable.

For those of you with game development experience, I’d love to hear your thoughts:

• What would you recommend focusing on first when turning a large open-world concept into a small prototype?
• Which core mechanic would be most valuable to test before expanding the world?
• What common mistakes should beginners avoid when planning a multiplayer game?

I’m interested in learning from the community and improving the concept before moving forward.

Thanks for reading!

Hola, soy estudiante de ingeniería de sistemas y nos pidieron como proyecto final en la última rama de las materias que se enfocan puramente en programación , desarrollar un juego.

Estoy empezando a desarrollar el concepto ya que la idea como tal tenemos que presentarla dentro de una semana. Es un proyecto individual, nos dan hasta los últimos de enero del 2027 para terminar y presentar en una feria de la institución.

Todavía estoy explorando ideas y pensando que decisiones tomar ya que no tengo experiencia desarrollando juegos más allá de una pequeña práctica con una novela visual y mis nociones de la programación orientada a objetos no es la mejor, así que me gustaría recibir opiniones, sugerencias e ideas antes de decidir qué dirección tomar.

Por ahora, tengo tres elementos en mente que me gustaría combinar:

\- Preparación de pociones.

\-Algo de historia.

\- Toma de decisiones que tengan alguna repercusión en su experiencia de juego.

Me gustaría conocer sus opiniones sobre algunas cuestiones:

¿Es posible llevar los elementos mencionados a un alcance realista sin abarcar un proyecto que se vuelva muy complejo?

¿Me recomiendan algún motor de videojuegos para hacerlo?

¿Creen que deba buscar otro enfoque?

Estoy abierto a ideas, críticas constructivas y propuestas que quizá no haya considerado.

Gracias por leer.

Hi everyone,

I am currently a 3rd-year B.Tech student specializing in Artificial Intelligence and Data Science. While my academic background is in tech and data, my true passion lies in game design, and I want to pursue it as a full-time profession.

I am incredibly passionate about design and love doing it. To get a head start, I’ve been learning UI/UX design for a while now and have a solid grip on Figma and asset prototyping. However, when it comes to formal game design principles, game systems, and building a specific game design portfolio, I am starting from scratch.

Given my mixed background in AI/Data and UI/UX, could the community guide me on a self-learning roadmap? Specifically, I would love recommendations on:

• Core Subjects & Foundations: What academic or theoretical subjects should I study to master game design?
• Essential Books & Blogs: What are the "must-reads" for foundational game design theory?
• Leveraging my Tech & UI/UX Background: How can I best utilize my AI, Data Science, and Figma skills to stand out or help me transition into game design? (e.g., system design, economy balancing, procedural generation, or UI design?)
• First Projects: What kind of small, scope-limited design projects or design documents should an absolute beginner create to start a portfolio?
• Interview Process: What does the professional hiring process look like for entry-level game designers? What types of evaluation rounds (e.g., design tests, technical interviews) should I expect?

Thank you so much for your time and guidance!

🤗

[Paragraph 1: The Premise & The Monster] In the near future, an unstoppable military robot created secretly by the US, named Overtent, awakens in a hidden factory in Antarctica with a single mission: to track you down and eliminate you. Far from a sleek modern machine, this terrifying colossus has a heavy, tattered, Frankenstein-like appearance, wearing human rags and a round hat to blend in. Overtent is entirely invulnerable, capable of swimming across vast oceans and walking through raging fires without taking a single scratch. [Paragraph 2: The Gameplay & Paranoia] You play as a regular citizen leading a mundane life. The horror doesn't hit you immediately; it builds through a meticulous slow-burn of daily logistics and social interactions. As the monster slowly approaches your city, it distorts reality using powerful magnetic and ultraviolet waves. You will experience sensorially jarring anomalies, such as your vision saturating into a maelström of neon green, yellow, and violet hues, accompanied by a glitchy, supernatural funk music soundtrack playing through your devices. [Paragraph 3: The Philosophy of Choices & Multiple Timelines] Overtent is a game built entirely on the butterfly effect, testing your cowardice, courage, and resourcefulness. Every choice matters, and surviving longer rewards you with more hours of gameplay, branching paths, and distinct narrative endpoints: • The Theater Gala (Short Path): Ceding to intense social pressures to save your university career leads you to a grand ball. In total darkness, Overtent kills your partner behind the scenes and takes her place under her dress. You realize too late that the rigid, steel hands holding you on the dance floor belong to the monster, who crushes you while an oblivious crowd dances to the waltz. • The Skyscraper Roof (Mid Path): Strategically refusing the ball leads to total social isolation and exclusion. Motivated to fight, you arm yourself on a rooftop. The tension peaks when two metallic hands suddenly grip the ledge—Overtent has scaled the building's exterior walls. Your entire arsenal fails against its armor, leaving you cornered as the machine visally scans you with an intense green laser from its eye before ending your life. • The Target Redirection (Long Path): If you outsmart the machine on the roof, you plunge into digital espionage. You aren't a hacker yourself, but by collaborating with an underground expert, you gain access to the military network. To save your own skin, you commit a deeply immoral choice: you modify Overtent's core database to shift its orientation toward an innocent, unsuspecting citizen. [Paragraph 4: The Bitter Survival] The game closes on a bittersweet, cinematic finale. In the evening, under a brilliant orange sun, you sit side-by-side with your closest friend on the cold stone edge of a public fountain square. As they innocently joke about you surviving the crisis, the sheer weight of your guilt crushes you from within. You keep your head held high, staring straight at the horizon, as tears flood your eyes—manifesting as a literal liquid distortion effect blurring the screen—leaving the player with the haunting burden of a stolen freedom.

Hey everyone I was just wondering, how did you guys write up your privacy policies for your games, more specifically mobile games? I've been working on a game for the last couple of months and this is my first mobile game so I've never dealt with the play store or the app store. I hear too many stories of solo devs getting their games fully taken down from play store and app store because of their pivacy policies and user agreements and stuff. I've been reading the app store and play store requirements and my head is starting to hurt. So a second question is is it ever worth it for me to target players under 13? The gaem I'm making is very simple so it can be played by everyone but from what I've read in this reddit everyone says adjusting policies is a pain in the ass for audiences under 13. So do you think I should just maek it 13+? and for the privacy policy if there's like a skeleton online I can follow with everythign to add please send me it. Thank you guys in advance!

Everything is rendered in 2D using the love2d engine (lua).

I'm experimenting with sprite stacking to build something inspired by Kerbal Space Program, but with a more casual, arcade-style approach to rocket building and physics.

I'm curious what people think of the concept. Would a more arcade-style KSP game be something you'd want to play?

Also, very open to suggestions, feedback, or even potential collaborations!

Kindly DM me. Thank you

For years I played with game dev and never finished anything. Looking back, two beliefs were in the way:

1. I must know everything first. I dug into Game Engine Architecture (the newest edition is two volumes, more than 1,300 pages), Handmade Hero (600+ episodes, most of them 1 to 3 hours long) and low-level programming, which has no last page.

2. I must be a math wizard first. Game dev has math in it, so I studied vectors, matrices and trigonometry, bought physics engine books, and at some point I was aiming to become a theoretical physicist before making my first game.

My plan was basically: become a physicist, write an engine in plain C with no libraries, then make a game. With 30 minutes to an hour of free time a day, that's about 20 years before a simple Pong game.

The funny part is the real Pong. Al Alcorn built it at Atari in 1972 as a training exercise, and the prototype took about three months. The simplest game was the exercise, there to teach him. In my plan it was the final exam.

Same with Beethoven: his first published piece was a set of keyboard variations he wrote as part of his lessons, around age 11 or 12.

What changed for me was dropping the word "first". I still study math because I love it, but it's not a requirement anymore. It sits next to the game, not in front of it. I finally finished my first game this year (coming out by the end of October).

I made a video essay about this, if you'd rather watch: https://youtu.be/mxOm2jT49X4?si=_0zBoTFRSqTmkMr8

Did you have a "first" step like that in your plan?

Hi this is my first ever post on Reddit so please bare with me lol apologies formatting and what not isn’t correct.

Im an aspiring 3d artist and hopefully a future a game developer but im unsure where to begin in order to build towards my future. I currently only have basic experience with blender and thats about it. My first ever project was a small passion project on Roblox which basically was a recreation of a dead game fps that me and the dev team enjoyed quite a bit I was the lead gun modeler/animator but that project died out due to lack of motivation from our lead scripter but being my first project it opened my eyes to what it’s like being a game developer and i realized that I had a real passion for game development.

I’ve decided that I’d like to turn this into a career but im unsure where to begin any help/guidance as to where I should start would be much appreciated thank you!

I understand that not all items should last forever, as it would choke progress if you could make an axe and have it forever. But there are different ways of doing this, and I am curious what you think. The standard durability bar and durability bar works, but a main focus of mine would be immersion, and numbers can break immersion, or atleast create a whole different kind of immersion. Right now im leaning towards just visually, in your hand but also in the inventory, so you sort of have to gauge how broken an item is until its broken and overtime learn the icons/patterns.

Thank you