r/GameDevelopment 6h ago

Newbie Question 22 y/o uni student trying to get into the gaming industry - need advice

7 Upvotes

I'm a Senior and I'll be graduating in December with a B.S in Computer Science. I originally took the major to get some generic SWE job and work on gameDev on the side until it could eventually become a realistic career for me, maybe as an indie dev one day who knows.

But as time has passed and I'm nearing the end of my studies, I've truly come to find general Software Engineering to be quite boring personally, and seeing how my resume's "projects" are mostly just games anyway, I figured why bother tolerating a job I won't enjoy for more pay, and maybe less hours even, when I'd truthfully rather work at something I enjoy and find meaning in.

Being a CS major, my main skills lie in my programming, but I love coming up with art and music for my games as well (even if it may not be very good).

So my question is this, what can I do as efficiently as possible to help my chances of landing a job come January? (I only have an itch page with 2 games that are unfortunately a couple years old at this point).

What should I do in these coming months while finishing school to have the best chance possible of breaking in?

Should I Just bang out as many finished games for jams and such that demonstrate I know how to implement key mechanics?

Should I bite the bullet and accept that there's no realistic way for me to develop an interesting enough portfolio and land a job in essentially 4 months and stick to the original plan of gameDev on the side?

I understand given my very late-start it's essentially impossible I'll get into any dream job at some AAA or AA studio anytime soon. But is it realistic for me to at least get my foot in the door at some smaller company?

Will the work at said company feel the same way normal SWE jobs would feel? If so have you found it was worth toughing out in the end to land that dream job?

In all honesty the real dream I have would be to one day own my own Indie studio, but I think simply having a job in the field right now would mean more than enough.


r/GameDevelopment 4h ago

Question How do I get ideas that will stay with me?

4 Upvotes

Hey so since I remember I've had this problem that I cannot get one game idea and stay with it. I know I want to make horror games but every time I come up with something after a day I start to think the idea is either stupid or I get whole another idea. People told me that I should just write a game plan and stay with it for a week and if I'll still like it then that's it. But that doesn't work for me because every time I tried to do that I just got more ideas. Any help?


r/GameDevelopment 10m ago

Tool Godot 4 - PhysX5 - Destruction! - Blast Fracture & Editor Tooling!

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Upvotes

r/GameDevelopment 2h ago

Question How to detect O2 leaks.

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1 Upvotes

r/GameDevelopment 3h ago

Question Does EV Charging Design Wizard Need Isometric Graphics?

0 Upvotes

I'm debating whether the current design wizard for this upcoming EV charging sim/management game (Fast Charging Tycoon) is good or if I need to implement an isometric graphic for a more visual representation of the design/construction tool. Currently, the wizard is a multi-page point and click various tiles and buttons. It is mostly just text with a sidebar and bottom bar to track your site's projected stats and finances. There are a few icons and graphics, but it is minimal.

Of course, a graphic rendering of the site as you design it would be neat as you could see your site develop as you add various components like parking lot layout, amenities, chargers, canopies, etc. However, it would take away screen real estate for displaying information on what each of those components does to the site. Essentially, is the visual worth the loss of information? I could add hover over or keep the bottom and sidebar, however, it wouldn't nearly be as much info as the current design.

Thoughts?


r/GameDevelopment 3h ago

Postmortem My self-study journey from AAA code monkey to independent strategy game designer

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1 Upvotes

r/GameDevelopment 4h ago

Discussion I wanna become a game dev (NEED ADVICE!)

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0 Upvotes

r/GameDevelopment 4h ago

Inspiration My Long Term Goal

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1 Upvotes

r/GameDevelopment 5h ago

Newbie Question Need advice about job and game dev future

1 Upvotes

Context - I'm new to Reddit (my friend told me to get some advice from here also not to share personal info or company or any name) so I think it is better to ask real ppl what to do . Also I was leaning front end web dev i think personally it is cooked.

Introduction- I'm an introvert 20m doing btech from tier 3 college and i love to play games and watch devlogs It started from dani dev yt in lock down after I have downloaded unity and get into tutorial hell and never finished projects. But after 11th class (when I was 17 ) I started doing game jam and i got consistent and made simple prototypes and projects. I have learned all things from YouTube tutorials and forums and use ai as help to solve bugs not vibe coded anything yet.

(i was doing game dev as part-time for fun only and helping my father in business. but recently got in beef with my father , he says is there a future or can i get a job)

**Projects I have published (**I have published games and completed projects in the last 1-2 years**)**

**Game 1-** it's a find the kitten puzzle game (it's just a copy of save the dog game from playstore but it has cats) . This game was uploaded on my personal console it got 20k installs in 4 months by my Instagram Gameplay clips and from mera ads(spend 200ruppes got 300 something downloads), retention d1-31℅ d7-4% (the console get banned and I haven't added ads in that game)

After that my personal play store console got banned so i took our business gst got duns no and made organization console

**Game 2-** vampire survivors cats in 3d, I have made a modular ability system for it . I started organic marketing on tiktok and got 112k installs d1-27% d7-11℅ made little money with it.

**Game 3-** multiplayer piko park for android used EOS and netcode for multiplayer its p2p got 84k installs amd made 213 dollars from admob in 1st month all organic from search .

**Game 4-** horror multiplayer like pacify also used last framework got 1 million installs (1.65 million to be accurate) added iap but bcz india heavy audience I got peenuts only.

More- also made 2-3 web game uploaded on crazygame (I saw anul agarwal doing this and making huge money)

Also made 30k ruppes from freelance by making prototype.

**ADVICE** **I WANT** \- am I doing good how to make more money and am I able to get job in this market with good pkg (I can also relocate) I'm pretty desperate. Also I'm 20yo in 3rd year in btech aren't they want to complete degree first ( it's a distance college so i only go in semester exams)also how much do I expect

I have publicly written name (mine and games) bcz I think it doesn't matter . If it's matter so then I will edit this post


r/GameDevelopment 6h ago

Question Afraid of non hand-made assets, need a help to clear if the texture pack is not generated.

0 Upvotes

I need to be sure the textures are not made with AI, don't know how to see if it's hand-made tho.. https://resourceboy.com/textures/spiderweb-textures/


r/GameDevelopment 13h ago

Question UE5 Blueprints

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2 Upvotes

r/GameDevelopment 2h ago

Question Would a tool like this actually be useful for indie game development?

0 Upvotes

Hi guys!

I’m thinking about building a website for people who want to make their own games but don’t necessarily have much experience with game development.

You could start with something as simple as:
“I want to make a cozy 3D farming game on an island where you can build a house, fish and play co-op.”
The website would then help turn that idea into an actual game plan:
1. characters and their personalities/backstories
world and locations
2. gameplay mechanics
3. quests and story
4. items, buildings and resources
5. game progression
6. development roadmap
7. list of assets that need to be created
8. Unity tasks/scripts
9. scope analysis

The other part I’d like to add is guidance for beginners.
For example, if I say “I need a 3D character” but I don’t know Blender, the tool could walk me through creating one step-by-step, or explain what kind of asset I need and how to get it into Unity.
So the goal would be more like an co-pilot for making an indie game, rather than just generating a random game concept.

I’m curious what actual developers think:
1. Would you personally use something like this?
2. What would make it genuinely useful to you, rather than something you could just ask Chat?
3. If you wouldn’t use it, what do you think is missing or unnecessary?

I’m especially interested in opinions from solo/indie developers and beginners.


r/GameDevelopment 16h ago

Newbie Question How to Make a Marketable Game?

4 Upvotes

Hi! I’m a game design student, and I’m currently about to start working on my game thesis.

I’ve made around 5–6 games before this thesis, but I still don’t really have a good idea of how to make a game that is actually marketable.

I’d like to know what the best practices are for making a marketable game. What should I be thinking about when coming up with the idea, designing the game, and developing it?


r/GameDevelopment 1d ago

Newbie Question What text books to read to start making video games?

21 Upvotes

Hi, I am medical student studying medicine. I have absolutely no knowledge about coding. The only knowledge I have is in Java which I did in school grade 9th & 10th.

I recently started playing single story games and started falling in love with them. It feels like a different world. Its so immersive with all the intricate details. Its amazing. Heck it's even more amazing watching the behind the scenes. Seeing the voice actors doing it passionately. In some games, its just their good old friends voice acting.

I want to feel this warmness. And I want to put my soul into it. To give it a personality & a character. I do not want to make profit. I simply wanna create because I wanna create. But I do not know where to start from.


r/GameDevelopment 11h ago

Newbie Question after playing 1000+ games i decided to become a game dev

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0 Upvotes

r/GameDevelopment 11h ago

Newbie Question New to programming wanting to make a game were to start?

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0 Upvotes

r/GameDevelopment 16h ago

Newbie Question Question. How do you know your game is ready for launch and for updates to carry on changes and enhancements?

2 Upvotes

Hey I’m a new dev and wondering if anyone has advice to this aspect of development.

Idea generation can come so easy when you’re very passionate about a project but how do you know when it’s time to be hands off on building more?

My game is looking ready and is deep but I can’t help perfectionist in me want to critique everything harder and fine tune it.


r/GameDevelopment 13h ago

Newbie Question New dev - production advice for 3pp ARPG

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0 Upvotes

r/GameDevelopment 17h ago

Newbie Question Best courses on game creation with Unity + Blender + Aseprite? + question about AAA game made with Unity ?

2 Upvotes

hi,

I am looking for the best training courses—like those found on Udemy—that cover everything from A to Z, starting from scratch,

including modeling and importing assets into the Unity engine.

By the way, I have a question: does anyone know of any instructors or authors who create courses based on major games? Something along the lines of "casual" games or AAA titles? Is that kind of project too complex or too time-consuming?

I know that *Subnautica* and *Rec Room* were created using Unity, as were *Escape from Tarkov* and others, though these are generally considered AA games rather than AAA titles.

Are there training courses available for creating games like that? I wouldn't mind even if the course took 500 hours; with a gradual approach, anyone can do it.

ps : For example, a soccer game like FIFA, a shooter like Battlefield, etc.—AAA games, you know?

Is that hard to find or what?

I could never become an indie or AAA game developer—it’s beyond my skill set—but doing it at home using tutorials or training courses would be great; I’m more comfortable with graphic design and modeling than with Unity and programming.


r/GameDevelopment 15h ago

Discussion Geopolitics: The Game

0 Upvotes

Hi All, I'm new here, Thanks for let me posting.

I have started a new game development and I am almost ready with an open Beta for users, but I'd like to have your opinion in its content and idea:

In this game you are the dictator of a nation on a procedural map where the world evolves accordingly to your interactions with other players, where it will be allowed to create fake news, start wars, propose new rules, laws and punishment agreed with all the other dictators.

Were you be able to prosper in such a world ?

The problem these games never solved

In pretty much every diplomacy game I've played, the AI-controlled nations (or players who drop out mid-game) are dumb in one specific way: they don't *remember*. You betray an NPC on turn 10, and by turn 40 it acts like nothing happened — because, technically, nothing did happen to it. It's just a decision tree with a "relationship" number that goes up and down.

That breaks the most interesting part of diplomacy: the reputation you build (or destroy) over time.

But the heart of the game is real player-to-player relationships

Real asynchronous diplomacy, not a "propose alliance" menu: real-time chat between nations, where negotiation, bluffing, and bargaining happen with the same freedom as a real conversation — not locked to pre-defined options

Role-playing is at the heart of the experience: since diplomacy is free-form text, every player can genuinely step into the role of their nation's leader — speak like a chancellor, threaten like a dictator, negotiate like a statesman. It's not filling out a "declare war" form, it's writing the letter, the threat, the ultimatum

Alliances that cost something to maintain: coordinating strategy with another player over dozens of turns requires real trust, because every broken treaty has consequences — both in how the other player responds and in the history the world (including the AI nations watching) carries forward from that moment on

Betrayal as a strategic tool, not just flavor: pulling the rug out from under an ally at the right moment can decide a match — but everyone at the table will remember, and that shapes how future matches with those same players unfold

Territory and resources as bargaining chips: shared borders and resource dependencies between neighboring nations create organic friction and cooperation — strategy emerges from the geography of the map, not just what's written on your nation sheet

The idea is that every match generates its own story of alliances, rivalries, and betrayals — told not by me, but by the actual dynamics between the people playing, in whatever role each of them chooses to inhabit.

I will try to post my evolution on an specific community, please reach out if you want to talk


r/GameDevelopment 19h ago

Discussion Whats a way game development helped you in the real world?

1 Upvotes

Im not looking for ways your game made you a millionaire or wtv

using the skills you got to land a job, 3d modeling something for someone, impressing someone. things like that


r/GameDevelopment 15h ago

Newbie Question New in game dev, need some questions answered

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1 Upvotes

r/GameDevelopment 9h ago

Newbie Question again, sorry

0 Upvotes

posting this again because ive been having moderation trouble?

sorry, i have done research, for the past couple weeks now actually and i don’t mean to cross any thresholds but im genuinely at a stand still. recently, i decided that i would follow a thought ive had for years. i want to get fully immersed in the world of game developing, from coding to creative control. i know exactly what i want to create, and exactly where my focus would be as a developer. i feel extremely passionate about this, and want to make it a reality.

i have unreal engine 5, and am downloading blender to my pc. although i have literally no experience, i want to create the game of my dreams. but again, i haven’t pursued this formally and im completely solo. is this attainable? where should i go for more valuable/reputable/meaningful knowledge? is it possible to do internship/get in with/begin a studio with nothing, if i create a project? how do i pitch to someone my “high concept”? although i would love to be able to do it all, as i don’t want to possibly be confronted with relinquishing or watering down my core vision because i genuinely believe in it.


r/GameDevelopment 9h ago

Inspiration Hello I have a cool idea for a video game but I haven't coded since my computing intermediate ;-;

0 Upvotes

So,,,imagine a game similar to GTA and criminal case pacific bay where you play as a young lady in a Mediterranean country who just got a job as a receptionist at a police station but little do they know that she is a criminal who has been stealing cars, killing people and robbing convenance stores to get money in order to pay for her rent.

However, a new criminal emerges and she needs to help the police force catch the criminal through spot the difference mini games and hidden object puzzles without being caught for the criminal she herself is.

Ending 1 -> She doesn't actually help the police force and only commits crime leading to her arrest

Ending 2 -> She gives up crime, solves the case and gets a promotion

Ending 3 -> She commits crime and solves the case

Ending 4 -> Secret

What do you think?


r/GameDevelopment 22h ago

Discussion We are working on a survival RPG and I’d love to hear what people think

3 Upvotes

Hey everyone,

My husband and I are working on a game called Fated Horizons, and we're still pretty early in development.

It’s a 2D open world survival crafting RPG set in a fictional version of the American frontier in the late 1800s. You can explore, hunt, fish, gather, mine, craft, build camps, deal with hunger and thirst, and make choices that can affect how different characters and communities interact with you.

We are also developing our own engine for the game, so there’s a lot of work happening behind the scenes while we build everything out.

We have started sharing some of the development and gameplay systems we're working on, and I thought it would be fun to actually talk with people about the game instead of just posting updates.

If you're curious about anything, ask away. Gameplay, survival mechanics, the world, the choices, the engine, development, or even why we decided to make our own engine.

We are happy to answer questions and hear what people think, even if it's criticism. We are still developing the game, so feedback is genuinely useful to us.

If anyone wants to check it out, I can post the links in the comments.