The Beginning Of A Game Development Journey // DEVLOG #0

Hello everyone, welcome to my latest video where I will be sharing with you the exciting progress I have made in developing my very first commercial indie game! I have been dreaming about creating this game for a long time and I'm thrilled to say that I'm finally on track to bring it to life.

In this devlogs series, I will be taking you through the various stages of my game's development, including concept design, gameplay mechanics, story and lore, graphics and sound effects, and much more.
Whether you are a seasoned game developer or just starting out, these devlogs will be packed with valuable insights and tips that you can use to level up your game development skills.

If you are passionate about games and love watching game development videos and devlog videos, then be sure to subscribe to my channel. I'll be regularly sharing updates and progress on this exciting journey, so stay tuned for more!

Thank you for watching, and as always, much love to my amazing viewers!

PROJECT RED

[ForkmachineGames]

Hey guys,

We've just launched a new Discord server dedicated to games, game development, and art creation. If you're interested in any of these topics, come join us and connect with gamers and game developers around the world. Here's the link to join:


Looking forward to seeing you there and to create an AMAZING community !

[NotSoMax]

I just wanna say, as someone who attempted to make their own game as someone who CAN make the art be careful you don’t burn yourself out or bite off more than you can chew and don’t get too caught up with being a solo developer. To summarize my story, the project got too big, I made hundreds of animations, complex systems, spent untold hours working on characters, creatures, environments, solving tech problems, writing music, doing the UI, literally everything you could think of. Because it was just me, I didn’t consider how insane the amount of work I was putting in was, if I imagine asking a team member to make all the animations I made, or to redo whole sections because I didn’t like X thing, it’d be unreasonable to ask of another person. But because I had something I wanted to make “at any cost” I just kept working, doing more and more until I’d spent hundreds of hours working on something that eventually hit a wall I couldn’t overcome because I took on too much as one person. For me, that was a tech issue, the game was literally too big and started to run poorly, I couldn’t optimize it, the engine could no longer keep up with what I was asking it to do, I couldn’t build new levels, so I shelved it. Because honestly, expecting one person to do everything and become an expert in so many different fields was counter productive. You can accomplish a lot on your own, but it’s okay to ask for help, it’s okay to use placeholder assets and seek out an artist that shares your passion and bring your idea to life together. It’s okay to not be good at everything. Don’t obsess with the myth of a solo developer. Research your options, look for other people that can help make your vision a reality. I’m sharing my story not to discourage you but to say, you can make this game, it’s okay not to be perfect, ask for help, temper your expectations, and be kind to yourself. Don’t expect more from yourself than is reasonable to expect from someone else. You’re human. I hope this works out for you, I’m excited to see what you make!

Also no shame in simplifying your art style, some of the most well regarded and influential games don’t have the look and polish of modern AAA games. You can still create a compelling world and story with polygonal characters and simple environments. Don’t use the fact that we have access to more powerful tools lock you into pursuing something outside of what you’re capable of (within a reasonable timeframe), some of the best indie games I’ve played have borderline quake aesthetics. Try and make something with the skills you have RIGHT NOW, even if it’s not perfect you’ll learn a lot and the next thing you make will be even better. Also consider what you NEED to tell your story, not the features that would be nice to have, focus on your MVP. This’ll help both for if you decide to pitch to a publisher, or getting other people involved in your project, or just capturing people’s attention for your game.

If I could go back in time and give my younger self advise, it’d be to simplify, I didn’t need to make even a quarter of the animations I did, I didn’t need to make the models nearly as detailed as I did, I didn’t need to focus on stuff on how every little detail worked (I kid you not I made the elevators have functional counter weights and was working on a realistic inspect feature where your character holds and manipulates the object with their hands when the project fell apart) it sounds obvious and silly but one of the best things about being a solo dev can also be one of its worth aspects, you can make ANYTHING you want, but that also means there’s no one to tell you, hey it’s stupid to focus on that what about optimizing object culling, or you’re making too many assets our project file is getting unworkable, no one’s going to see or care about X detail your time could be better spent on Y.

Edit: also sorry for the unsolicited advice. If it feels off base totally ignore it. I just wanted to put out a warning for other creatives and indie devs so they don’t have to relive what I experienced. Having my project fall apart and get to the point I had to give up on it was incredibly heart breaking especially when so much of it WAS there and I’d like for other people to avoid some of the pitfalls I stumbled into. At some point I’d like to revive my project, as some technological advancements have actually made certain aspects a lot more attainable and I have a lot more experience than when I started out. I’d have to start from scratch as what remains is pretty much just old demos squirreled away in a few play testers hard drives, old screenshots, and a few assets I couldn’t bring myself to get rid of. I don’t want to discourage anyone from trying to make a game, just say that making SOMETHING, is better than getting stuck in the minutia and never finishing your game.

[Ruffzn]

We're in the same boat. You can never fail, as long as you keep trying. And remember: Future-You is a damn Superhero. He will save you in the greatest moment of despair. Looking forward to see your progress.

[Pokabbie]

A bit of advice from a fellow "can't do art" dev
A consistent art style is way more important than the art itself

(I'd recommend avoiding high fidelity models altogether until you feel comfortable doing so)

I tend to lean away from high complexity models or texturing and lean way more into writing some stylised shaders as I am much more comfortable with the maths involved in shaders than I am with actually creating the assets; it's definitely helped me produce higher quality visuals in my own projects

[wise_]

Goodluck! As someone that only started game dev, Art is also my problem but I decided to draw everyday to improve and seeing that other game dev also have similar problems made me feel that I'm not alone so hopefully someday we will both become good at art

[ForkmachineGames]

Thanks everyone for the amazing support, i honestly didn't think i will get this much attention this soon, the support in the comments are unbelievable, thanks for the game devs and the gamers who want this project to come to life, the project will continue no matter what and stay tuned for more devlogs, , thanks again for the amazing support ❤️❤️

[pixelart]

I'm so excited for more of this! This character and what you've done with him seems so fun!

[hogandromgool]

You got no problem with the art bro. Looks amazing so far

[wares]

I also recently started my new game as well. I think I understand very much how you feel about starting a game. I believe you have already done the first right step by uploading a devlog here, I find devlogs to be a great way to prevent yourself from dropping a project. The scythe thing reminds me a bit of darksouls, very cool. I'm keeping my fingers crossed from developer to developer, you can do it 😃👍.

[tvojan]

I love the edit:)
It's a lot longer and less cut so it feels more than just "yeah I just imported a weapon and characters and got it to look properly" which brings me determination to make my own game a little bit more for some reason...

GL you earned a sub:)

[justinsanegaming]

im 30 years old and just decided to learn how to code, draw and develop games ive only been at it for a month but we are in the same boat i stop because of art but i keep trying so don't give up! even if you scrap a project that means you learned something from it!

[menachemfarkash]

go ahead man, keep going and don't you dare abandon this project, good luck

[Dtoat]

As someone who is learning about game development, I must say you’ve helped me quite a bit, I’m really excited to see how your new work goes! Much love to you and future you

[Mr.Anderson__]

This is so relatable. I am a beginner Unreal Dev and I am currently forcing myself to NOT start my own projects but rather continue learning from tutorials in order to not teach myself bad practices. It has become quite a journey over my first few weeks but I am starting to see some progress. Your channel is a big inspiration!

[Rynstick]

just a tip for the movement, try to make so that the animation on the feet is equal to the distance travel, right now it look like your character is a treading mill

[russojunior]

Goodluck, this is already looking good, hope you keep it up

[sherafgames]

Love you character!
Honestly I don't think the chain problem when your player stops is that visible.

[KeyboardMoment]

Damn I'm rooting for you man. Good luck on your journey

[stickguy]

So relatable. For a lotta people it's lack of motivation. It is true for me too but that lack of motivation comes from my games looking like shit despite me trying my hardest to make them look good. Making good art and level design is hard af

[menmouzumaki]

my coworkers have been telling me to upload a devlog like this. this looks like you're going in the right direction, can't wait to see how it progresses!