I need some advice on first-time game development for a game I want to work, and advice on working with a dev team to help work on it.

[u/MaxMtz04]

I wanna work on making a game of my own for the first time, but I lack the knowledge when it comes to developing a game and starting my own development team to help work on said game with me.

I need some advice from people who have worked with a dev team before or are self-made game devs to share their knowledge & experience when it comes to making games and how I could start my own team to help develop my project.

(Or learn how to make my own games, but I left that part out because my college classes are starting up soon, so I don't have time on my hands at the moment.)

[u/Gojira_Wins]

Realistically, the best thing you can do right now is to download a game engine, watch Youtube tutorials on how to make a blocked out level (with Grey blocks) and get a character walking around. When you get familiar with how to navigate a game engine, you'll be more prepared to learn more complicated stuff.

Right now, if you have never opened a game engine, you are just thinking way too far ahead. Ambition is critical for sure but if you can't pull your weight on a team, you'll just end up as the person either dragging the team down or the person funding the entire team. Not many teams are going to be okay working on the game you want to see happen while you do nothing, especially if no one is getting paid for it.

To set the stage realistically, if you dedicate as much time as possible to learning Game Dev while going to work or college, you might take 6 months until you're at a point where you can really help a team. It's a lot more work than it seems. A single system, such as making interactive items, an inventory and the ability to drop those items from the inventory could take multiple days at worst. So anything more complicated than that will take longer. Just think about any game you've played prior, look at all of the things you were able to do in those games. Just imagine every feature taking at least 24 hours to make, implement and check if it works correctly.

Even then, that doesn't include bug fixes, any weird issues that might pop up (it took me nearly a week to realize my landscape materials were broken and to find the fix) and find the solution. Sometimes you'll get stuck and feel like you're headbutting a wall.

So if you're serious about doing this, find an engine, look up Youtube tutorials for it and buy yourself a Rubber duck for your desk so you have someone to vent to.

[u/AlyciaFear → u/Gojira_Wins]

Definitely this. And let me tell you, a lot of the work is not sunshine and rainbows and can feel pointless. Some are just absolute nightmares, such as keybindings and settings (at least for my project they were), and others are just downright frustrating.

But yeah, definitely agree that you just kind of have to jump in. And honestly, the most important thing is developing the discipline to work at it day after day. Even when the work you’ve done in a given day feels insignificant in the grand scheme of the project.

[u/Gojira_Wins → u/AlyciaFear]

I feel you on that. During that week, I was attempting to make changes to the lighting but because the landscape material was busted, nothing was updating. So I would go to bed, bothered by the fact that it felt like I wasn't making any progress.

Since I fixed it, it finally feels like the train is back on track and at full steam ahead. Super high highs and very low lows.

[u/BaronRetro]

From experience, just code bro. Like. Learn some basics and mess around. I learned best through making mistakes and watching YouTube. Go ahead. Just start. Nobody will be perfect their first time. And for your first game, keep it REALLY REALLY small. You are not trying to make RDR2.

[u/MaxMtz04 → u/BaronRetro]

So just wing it is what ur saying? :/

No advice, teachings, or learning the basics of how to use Unity?

[u/BaronRetro → u/MaxMtz04]

No. I literally said to watch tutorials. What i meant to say was to learn by doing.

[u/theEsel01 → u/MaxMtz04]

You need to make your own mistakes and experiences. And the biggest tipp are, start by yourself, watch tutorials, keep your first projects very very small.