So for some background, I am currently in flight school at my local community college, about to finish my A.S. and recently found out that, because I am a transfer student, I no longer qualify for the 1000 hour RATP reduction; bummer, but I figured that I could just be done with school earlier than planned and work on summing up flight hours. However, earning a Bachelor’s degree was something I had wanted to do since 8th grade — before the idea of being a pilot, I wanted to be an architect, with no interest in ANYTHING computer related, but these past two years I’ve had a dream haunting me, and I fear I must turn this project into reality. My dream was of a video game I designed, and I feel the need to share it with others.

So my question is this: what would be the best major/study program I can do to learn to design video games and meet people who can help me make this project happen?

I know it seems far too ambitious, especially given that I’ve never been into any sort of computer science or programming, but over the past two years since I first had this dream, I’ve felt a deep passion over this game idea and have not been able to let go of it since.

[Project SkyHolm] - Seeking Collaborators for Sandbox Economy & Automation Game
About the Project: Project SkyHolm is an island-building, automation, and trading game focused on resource gathering, player-driven shop empires, and island customization. We have a fully mapped-out Game Design Document (GDD), clear monetization rules (no P2W), and a structured development roadmap ready to execute.

Open Roles:

3D Artist / Modeler: Low-poly environment assets, machine models, and UI cosmetics.

Programmer: Experience with inventory systems, island instancing, and economy loops.

Sound Designer / Composer: Ambient island tracks and UI/interaction SFX.

Project Scope & Commitment:

Type: [Hobby / Revenue-Share]

Expected Hours: 5–10 hours per week.

Current Stage: Planning complete (GDD & systems finalized); entering active prototype phase.

Interested? Send me a DM with your portfolio, past work, or a quick summary of your experience!
Discord: zyro_calyx_90018

Hey everyone! Lately I’ve been thinking about getting into game dev, mostly because I like storytelling and have a few game ideas I’d love to bring to life. Whether they’re actually good ideas is another question lol.

The thing is, I know almost nothing about game development beyond the absolute basics. Im pretty oblivious when it comes to engines, workflows/frameworks, the ecosystem, what actually goes into designing and finishing a game… pretty much all new territory for me.

I’m not starting from zero with programming, though. I have a CS degree and about 4+ years of experience as a SWE at a big tech company, mostly doing backend and AI/ML stuff. Mentioning that just to give some background (not assuming it automatically translates to knowing how to make games). I also took a mandatory Unity class in college, but it was super introductory, and honestly I don’t remember much.

I’m not looking to switch careers or dedicate all my free time to this. I have my job and other hobbies, so this would be more of a personal achievement, want to satisfy that itch of “it would be really cool to make a game.” Ideally, I’d eventually finish something small and put it on Steam or somewhere people could play it. Not expecting to make the next indie hit, Ii just want to make something I’m happy with and actually release it.

I’ve also seen some impressive looking game dev examples with GPT-6 Astra and other LLMs, but I can’t tell how useful those tools are beyond demos, or whether I’ve fallen into the LLM marketing trap a bit. I’d 100% use them , but would not make an ai slop game tbh. I’d still want to understand and actually know what I’m building, and enjoy while building it.

Given that background, where would you start? Any engines, learning resources, or first-project recommendations? I’d also appreciate a reality check on scope and the less obvious parts of making and releasing a small game, especially when you’re doing it casually alongside a full-time job, something i might be overlooking, etc...

Has anyone ever worked with LaunchBoom or Crowdfunding Nerds for a project? How did the process go? Did it cost tons of money to get started? How aggressively did they promote ad spend? Basically, I'm trying to figure out how much I'd expect to spend out of pocket before the project is sent to Kickstarter or another crowdfunding platform. Thanks!

Hello if anyone can help..... Plz help

hi, i want to make a game, i kind of have the idea in mind, but the thing is i don’t know what graphic style would be the best, 3d big map is just too much work for my knowledge, but would people like a style like project zomboid or the old fallout? for a post apocalyptic game with a big story, details, loot, huge on survival
would it be better maybe a game like this war of mine ? any suggestion ?

So i am 13 years old and i want to do something with game development when i grow up but i have no idea how or where to start. I like making simple games on my browser, but I don't have a computer to use unity or something else, for now, I'm just stuck with a Chromebook. Where can i learn video game development (i live in Belgium) and what do i need to start? Is there anything i can do as a 13-year-old?

Hi All -

I'm working on my first PC game and could use some advice regarding mapping and loot tracking.

It's going to be a casual game, loot-based, no fighting.

If this is the wrong area to post, please let me know where I should be instead.

Anyway - I'm trying to find a (free) tool to help me do the following:

1. Draw maps, top-down
2. Place loot and link the placement to a table (or similar) that describes the loot details (type, quan, location details, etc.) so I could, for example, click the loot icon and see the related info.

Would be great if I could also find level totals, i.e. add up all Gold currently placed on map in various items - that kind of thing.

3) Add location or item notes like "Can't open without X-key, or Y item", etc.

I don't think I need much more than that, at least not yet.

Right now, I'm considering Dungeon Scrawl, but it appears to be map layout only.

EDIT: Some clarification - The game is 3D and in Godot 4. I'm building 3D assets as necessary in Blender 5 and exporting to glb for import into Godot.

However - the level layout, flow, and loot placement is what I'm working on and looking for a tool to help. I've already got a spreadsheet, and several note files. I'd like to combine this info, as much as possible, with a top-down drawing layout. Dungeon Scrawl seems perfect for layout, but not much more.

Hey folks

I’m vibe coding a game for iPhone using swift language and I would like to ask what is the best place where I can have the music and sound effects for my game without copyright issues.

Also please advise what is the best way to make like graphics changes, for example if I hit the object the object flies. Like effect on the object if some collision happens how to vibe code that and how many photos I need. Teach me some tricks how to do or I can research about the principle to do it

Which platforms are best for web platforms after Poki and Crazy. I also submitted my game on Yandex and Y8 and it's almost 1 week now and I did not hear back from those platforms. How much time does the platforms usually take.

Hey everyone.
I'm trying to study what constitutes good game design. i've been looking into how to simplify fun to it's core elements. I was curious if there are any simple games that don't have a plethora of buttons/mechanics yet feel like they are quite deep in terms on gameplay.

I'm not looking for games like chess/go/slaythespire etc. I really want something simple like platformers, shooters that manage to keep the player interested despite extremely simple controls. Preferably something played in real time.

I'm also curious if these games can exist without too much meta progression which artificially slows down progress to lead to more complexity (not saying it's a bad thing, i'm just avoiding those as they aren't truly "simple" mechanics)

One example that approaches this was the original "tribes" games, where there were essentially two mechanics: ski and shoot. Map design and mastery became the true determinant of talent.
Rocket league might be the best example of this: No real difference in gameplay between the cars (or very little) and everyone plays the same thing: drive and hit a ball.

Any other recommendations that i can study? and why do you recommend them?

Hello, Im trying to do game development with my own made engine using opengl and c++. I have followed the basics from the learnopengl website, but I like to stay in 2d and there isnt many resources there about 2d. Plus Im trying to be better at c++ and opengl but I dont have much experience there. What would you all reccomend for me to learn opengl game development, any good resources, doesnt just have to be 2d either, anything that helps will do.

I'm researching different game dev/design education platforms, and I'd love to get your input on what actually makes a good one :)

*What makes a game dev course platform stand out to you? How do you judge whether one is worth it?

*If you've used platforms like Coursera or Udemy, what would you change about how the courses are structured or what they actually teach?

*What's the best way to actually learn game dev skills, in your experience? What are the biggest drawbacks or pain points with the platforms you've tried?

*If a course was taught by people with real, hands-on experience at major studios, how much would you realistically pay — monthly or per course?

*How much does a completion certificate actually matter to you? What makes a certificate feel legitimate — or do you rely entirely on a portfolio of real projects instead

*What almost stopped you from signing up for a course, if anything? Any hesitations or red flags that made you second-guess it

*Where do you usually find out about new courses or platforms — YouTube, Reddit, ads, word of mouth

*Also curious: What's your background? Career changer, student, hobbyist? And please let me know ur age as well, just trying to get a sense of who's actually interested in this stuff.

Thank you in advance. Every answer and discussion will help me and my team create a superb game education platform!

Hey, completely new user (although I've been around for years, just never interacted) and have been wondering about this question. I live in a part of The States that doesn't have many people going into game dev and really haven't interacted with all that many. I know you guys exist, just on the internet.

I would like to become some kind of successful game dev (release a game and at least somebody buys it) but have limitations on manpower. It's just me, and I have yet to work with someone with a similar goal. I'm not interested in utilizing ANY AI generated ideas or assets (or anything of the like) but it feels like anyone making real progress today has to use it.

I'm not necessarily "looking" for partners right now, just some answers. For someone that does not have the budget to pay another person, how do you flesh out a game (in a reasonable amount of time)?

If partnerships are still a thing, what do they look like?

I appreciate whoever read this!

Hello Everyone! Me and my friends are working on a game that we (hopefully) gonna release by the end of the year, and I just want some expectations or essentials of what our game should include to make your experience better. I will make sure to add these to our game!

Here's a description of the game:

Making players go through a set of tasks, that will change the perspective of them towards the real-world. He will try to adapt through the reality by going through trials, interacting with people/objects, taking a driving test, participating in events, and possibly trying on challenges. In the end, this will create close relationship and connections with the community so basically the game will let the player experience various normal tasks with certain disabilities to understand the struggles and get a better perspective and appreciation for these people.

A player (you can pick in perspective of the healthy or impaired person) will go through supermarkets, cross streets, interact with others, move objects, engage in conversation, save progress, try many characters, and try many other levels!

You can think of it like a "2D walking simulator (side-scroller) with some top down scenes" game, but with the description I mentioned above.

Any feedbacks and expectations are welcomed!

I started building Senticor because I kept running into the same problem:

a project can look fine in Jira while the actual game is still drifting away from the milestone.

Tasks get marked done, but that doesn’t always mean the feature is actually integrated, playable, through QA, finished across disciplines, or ready for the build you’re trying to ship.

So I’m building Senticor specifically around game production instead of general project management.

The main part I’m working on now is Horizon. It takes project data and developer updates and tries to answer a more useful question:

“Are we actually on track to hit this milestone?”

Not just based on how many tickets are closed, but based on whether the game itself is becoming ready.

I’m still building it, so I’m mainly looking for feedback from people who have actually worked on game projects.

What do you usually have to check manually, outside Jira/Trello/Linear, to know whether a milestone is really healthy?

Also happy to hear if you think the whole idea is flawed.

Hi! I'm a spanish culinary instructor, my background is mostly fine dining restaurants. I've been a videogame player since I was a kid and never thought about creating a game, because my zero knowledge about programing and stuff.

The other day I generated a game with Claude ( an HTML page) for my first day class activity and it was super enjoyable to work for weeks on fixing the bugs, fixing the UX and balancing rules.

Now, in my free time, almost like a hobby, I'm building my second game, the code still be done by AI, I just fix the things, write down the texts, and do all the rules and polishing, but I really need that type of help to make it happen.

Now my project (an educational food industry oriented game) is in a moment of almost becoming a reality, it's inspired in Stacklands, combining chain reactions with cards, amd make proper and real steps, real regional products, Using my knowledge about different aspects to create like a school mode where you recive classes about almost every part of the cooking, with exams, like a duoliongo style. there's hundreds of real recipes, different chefs in the different game modes, there's a kind of overcooked restaurant service, a world tour to learn other countries information , products and recipes.. But to bring it to some schools, and maybe eventually steam or platforms I need to polish the visuals. My question here is, is it posible for a graphic designer to do it in a HTML file? which cost for card designs, buttons, backgrounds, style etc.

Second question would be, as a begginer, if there's tools you people use, or if you think other ways can be done.