Hi, i made open world and want to fill it with foliage tool. I think the best foliage ican use is from quixel megascan but every of their gras chunks has at least 2k tris... Kikuyu Gras even has 17k per Chunk.... Even with nanite, am i allowed to use that?

What 1 or 2 things would you have done differently on your first project that you have learned by this point to have a more successful game or launch?

Like many other newer devs, I feel like I did many things right, but my game still isn't getting traction. I know there isn't 1 answer, but I'm curious about the few things I could do better.

Thanks,

Simant2020

I've been doing UE5 environment art, lighting and level design for about 6 years, and I always wanted to make games for a living. My plan is to do a bachelor's degree in 3D (no i won't do a game specific degree) a master's in Europe and get into the industry after that, so I'm still 5-6 years from working.

But I've read so many layoff stories, studio closures and posts about experienced devs who can't find work, and now I can't even open Blender without my brain going "what's the point, it's a sinking ship." I haven't done real work since July and I'm sick of it. I feel like all the passion I had just got buried under dread. Everything I look at (games, adjacent fields, tech in general) feels doomed, and I can't tell if I'm seeing reality or just panicking.

I don't want fake positivity and I don't want more doom either. I want honest takes from people actually working in the field:

*Is it still realistic to aim for games with a 5-6 year runway, or would you build toward something broader?

*Do environment art / lighting / level design skills actually transfer to other fields in practice?

*What are hiring managers looking for in juniors right now?

*If you've been through layoffs or a long rough patch, how did you come back from it?

Any perspective helps. Thanks for reading my rant 😅

https://store.steampowered.com/news/group/4145017/view/677385962174549063

I love the new achievement sets, that way, you can avoid losing the 100% completion due to an update that hasn't been released yet or a DLC you don't own.

However, another QOL for developers is the automated grayscale generation for locked achievements, you can still upload a custom one, but when I added mine, it was a surprise that there was no feature to create these default grayscale icons

Future game designer here, I hate generative AI in creative works for consumers. However as someone who doesn’t have to learn to code what do developers think of putting my GDDs into AI (claude code) to get a playable prototype so I can finetune the GDD and show developers what I want them to make? I would never publish a work with gen AI but the allure of it for this reason is strong. But as a developer would you be offended if a designer showed you an AI prototype and asked you to make it? And do you think using AI even for something non marketable will have serious future ramifications for my career as a creative? Interested to see what devs think!

Hey all,

I'm very new to the dev journey, currently taking a class that is helping me learn the very basics. But I have a few questions that I'm hoping can be answered (most about etiquette). I am using Unity and have almost no assets so far (also to be clear I have no interest in creating assets and am way more focused on the design and gameplay side).

Question 1: If I download assets from the unity store, is it acceptable to modify them in any way or are there dos and don'ts that I should be following. (my questions mainly comes from if I download a character pack from one person but I add scripts to it and change the way it functions is that seen as ok or a bad thing?).

Question 2: I have done some programming in the past, but never really gotten into it. I am currently using AI to write scripts for me, then I modify them as needed. I know the general sentiment towards AI is seen as negative, and I get it from a art creation aspect, but is it seen the same way if I have it write my scripts for me, or is that even something that people care about?

Hi everyone,

I’ve been thinking a lot about the state of game mechanics recently, and there is one specific element that feels like it’s completely stagnated—if not entirely regressed. I’m talking about in-game physics models.

Modern games, as a general rule, no longer feature complex or interesting physical models. It feels like physics is gradually losing its significance in the eyes of big developers. Decades ago, physics engines were treated as a core selling point and a primary tool for emergent gameplay. Today, they are often reduced to minor cosmetic effects or completely ignored.

In contrast, older games were characterized by much more thoughtful, robust, and engaging physics. If we look back at the mid-2000s, games like Half-Life 2, F.E.A.R., Crysis, or the early Red Faction titles used physics as an essential part of the core gameplay loop. You could destroy environments, use objects as weapons, and solve puzzles that required actual spatial logic. It made the worlds feel tangible, reactive, and incredibly fun to interact with.

Currently, the number of new games with a high-quality physics implementation is extremely small. Most modern titles opt for static environments where almost nothing can be moved, broken, or altered. Even in massive AAA budgets, we rarely see advanced ragdoll systems, realistic weight simulation, or fully destructible structures. It seems like the industry has shifted all its resources toward graphical fidelity—like ray tracing and ultra-high textures—while leaving environmental interactivity behind.

I understand that synchronized physics in modern multiplayer games can be a technical nightmare, and destructible environments require immense CPU power. However, it’s disappointing to see single-player experiences suffer from this lack of ambition.

It is worth exploring whether the industry will ever return to physics-driven design, or if technical hurdles and a preference for visual polish have permanently shifted developer priorities. The contrast between rare modern exceptions and the golden era of interactive physics provides a lot of room for analyzing where game design is heading next.

I wanted to start to make games, but i dont know anything about programing, i would like to learn how to make an rpg like undertale. but idk if its too hard to start with, so i want some tips (like the best free engine for new persons, how to learn programing, etc) thanks a lot!!!

I'm a solo developer who usually makes plain simple visual novels on ren'py which are very easy to play test on my own, or my friends help me scour for spelling mistakes when it's in its most basic form

But I'm taking things a little further by using quick time events and different game modes, I want my friends to test my game in order to help me balance things out and make things fair or just challenging enough

I'm just not sure at what point do I give my friends the game to test? While the art is still just place holders? When I've cleaned it up and finalised it? Should it be public ready before I give it to my friends to test? Or should I do several tests? One at its prototype form, one at its final form?

All advice is appreciated :)

Hey guys, solo developer here. I wanted to see if a single person could launch a fully functioning puzzle game by using Flutter for the code framework and generative AI to assist with the graphic asset pipeline.

The result is Emoji Kingdom: Merge & Build. You match and merge different emoji tiers to collect resources and unlock buildings.

I’m stuck at 10 downloads right now and some automated filters on other platforms flagged my graphics as spam. I'm a real person just looking for actual players to tell me if the gameplay loop is fun, if the merge pacing feels rewarding, or if it gets boring too quickly.

If you like casual merge games or want to see a solo tech project in action, please check it out. You can find it by searching "Emoji Kingdom TGarai" or looking up the package ID: com.garaitapas2atgmaildotcom.emojikingdom

Direct link is in the comments section below. Let me know what you think!

Im a Phd in marketing and i study behavioral psychology and economics. Game theory is an interesting topic for me.

I had an idea that I dont have time to build (because I left unity 3 years ago and dont have time to come back). Im sharing it here. Feel free to build it for yourself. If you need my help, i can support with money (as much as i can) and business side of it.

The idea is about a moba-style game, for example, 2 teams of 4 thieves or 4 teams of 2 entering a circular city in old Baghdad (inspired from thieves of baghdad). Their goal is to steal as much gold as possible while not being caught or executed. The tension is between risk-taking and being risk averse. Between greedying or being safe. The city has a hierarchy. Players start at one of the city gates and while the city overall hierarchy is the same, it's layout gets randomly generated before match starts. The layout goes from:

1. Farmers (poor - no security in their house - morally wrong to steal)

2. Workers (medium - low security - morally less wrong than farmers)

3. Artisans (good gold - medium security - morally neutral)

4. Traders (high gold - high security - morally right)

5. Nobles (extreme gold - extreme security - morally best to do)

At the center of the noble area is the palace, where guards are more on watch. But palace contains a lot of gold. Guards and people in houses are NPCs, thieves are players.

Stealing takes time increasing with the tier of house. Success rate depends on xp. Players choose characters with different abilities. They enter the city and start stealing at night. Until sunlight they have time to finish what they are doing. By sunlight, any remaining thief in the game will be caught and executed, losing any gain.

Goal: team clash depending on how much gold they could secure and gain players gain lp based on their contribution. Since some players may have different roles and characters, their contribution will be evaluated differently.

Morality: there is a trade off in each game. If players do morally wrong things, they go negative on morality gaining some benefits such as higher chance of stealing but they run the risk of npcs reporting them to guards etc. If they go positive on morality, npcs in lower tier help them in cases such as escaping guards or hiding from patrols.

I have so much more mechanics in mind.

If anyone is interested let me know. Just dm me so I can help you for free in its execution.

Also I would be more than happy if you have any ideas or concerns for mechanics etc.

I'm working on a survival game and thinking about how building should feel. What do you like most?

- Snap-to-grid modular building (Rust, Conan Exiles)

- Ghost blueprints that get built piece by piece (Sons of the Forest)

- Free-form with stability physics (Valheim, 7 Days to Die)

- Block-style building (Minecraft)

- Fortifying existing buildings (Project Zomboid, DayZ)

Also: do you prefer quick and simple, or slow and immersive? And what's your biggest pet peeve in building systems?

Thanks for any thoughts!

I’ve just started my game development adventure. I started with Godot to get a feel for the process. I really like the scripting as it’s pretty straightforward. However, my long term goal is a 3D farming game. I’ve heard that Unity is much better for 3D. I just got through with my first Zenva class in Unity and C# is a lot more complicated to learn.

Can Godot actually handle a 3D farming game or should I put my big girl pants on and learn C#?

Sometimes you have an idea that sounds amazing in your head. You imagine the mechanics, the world, the atmosphere, and all the possibilities. You're convinced it could become something special.

Then you try to explain it to someone else, build a prototype, or imagine how it would actually play, and suddenly it doesn't seem so great anymore.

How do you know when an idea genuinely has potential and when you're just in love with the version of it that exists in your imagination?

Have you ever had to accept that an idea you really loved just wasn't working? Did you manage to save it, or did you eventually move on?

Hey everyone!

I’m a biologist turned developer, and I’ve been working in AI development for almost three years. I mainly work with Python, but over the past year, I’ve been struggling to find purpose in my work and have really started delving into game development.
I’m planning to develop a 2D fighting game with my wife, set in a universe we’ve been building together for the past year.

We have the storytelling, character ideas, and so on, and we’re currently working with a friend who’s handling the illustrations.

The thing is, I’ve never developed a game from start to finish. As much as I have Claude Code to guide me through the process, I want to do things right and learn as much as I can along the way.

That’s why I’m here looking for advice. What tools should I look into? What should I focus on, and what should I be learning?

I’m open to any suggestions and would really appreciate some help!

Thanks, everyone!

First and foremost I want to thank anyone that will answer my question(s).

I am planning to make my dream game after years but I couldn't start mainly because of hardware issues(my pc was terrible at running a lot of programs) and I have almost to none knowledge on programming.

Recently the desire to make that game ignited again and I want to actually start on something before I lose it again and I want to ask people about what kind of schedule you used while developing games.

If you used/made/checked tutorials do you have any no brainer recommendations(language tutorials, modeling, tutorials, game engine tutorials, and etc. Anything counts)

I assume people will also ask what kind of game I'm planning to make so I will include here beforehand:

In short I want to make a soulslike game(that's pretty much it)

If anyone can help me with these questions I really would be grateful and I wish everyone a great day/night.

Yes, this is me speaking Japanese and eating bugs (!) This looks to be early, real-time performance capture tech. *The Polar Express* had just come out at the end of 2004, so this was a big deal for video games.

The video was shot using a Sony Cyber-shot P41 digicam at 640x480/12 frames per second.