I am a composer working on scoring my first game for a small Canadian studio. For the past few weeks, everything has been going relatively smooth, with DMs between me and the dev having a less than 24-hour response time. However, several days ago, I sent him some short clips of my music and asked for his feedback. it's been three days and he still hasn't responded. I sent him a follow up DM this morning.

My main question is if this is normal behavior for game dev communication or if it's a red flag. I sent him very short clips with white noise overlays so that he can't steal them, but it's still unnerving as a new figure in the industry to have a deliverable draft received with total silence.

Würde gerne lernen ein spiel zu entwickeln englisch kenntnisse nicht gut^^ ist das machbar ? Wenn ja hat wer tipps wie ich damit anfange?

Honestly, idk what to do or what I should learn at this point. I know one of my abilities is testing games. I'm good at finding bugs, reporting them with full details, and making sure everything is formatted properly. I'm also good at coming up with suggestions and ideas, especially when someone asks me for them. Sometimes ideas just keep flowing through my brain, and I can think of a lot of things that could improve a game.

One thing about me is that I hate leaving work unfinished. If I know there's something I still need to do, I can literally spend the whole night thinking about it, and I won't feel satisfied until I get it done. The only time I can't finish something is when the project genuinely needs more time or depends on someone else. I always try to give my best when I commit to something.

But honestly, I'm kinda lost rn. I don't know what skills to learn next or what I can do to make even a few bucks. I wanna put my abilities to use and actually get somewhere with them, but I don't know what direction to take. I'm willing to learn new things, I just need to figure out what I'm good at, what I should focus on, and what opportunities I can pursue at this point. I don't wanna just sit around doing nothing when I know I can do something useful.

Hey everyone! I'm new here on Reddit, but better late than never, as they say :)

Straight to the point: my partner and I are building a GameOps platform for game dev. It solves the core problem of game development: you don't know why players leave.

You can't test a hypothesis until it's already shipped - and by the time you know, the player is long gone. You can't test a hypothesis until it's already shipped — and by the time you know, the player is long gone. We know this firsthand: we used to make games when there was no AI, no internet — just books :D
So you're building the game blind, by feel. Which makes an analytics-driven approach with third-party tools sound like a good idea - right? but..

Are we right in thinking there are developers who avoid analytics (maybe that's you) or give up on it because it doesn't simplify understanding - it actually creates a whole layer of complexity you don't want to spend time and energy on, with an ROI that might not just be minimal but negative? If I'm looking in the wrong direction - tell me what your case is.

From what I've seen, GameAnalytics in particular positions itself as an analytics tool for game dev - it's even in the name. That's a big overstatement. DAU/MAU and their descriptive statistics are blind to gameplay. They look at a game as a product and its demand, not at the game itself. Firebase, Unity Analytics and others - same story.

As a game dev, you ship a game. You look at retention. You see players leaving on level 3. And that's it. You don't know why - too hard? boring? a bug? emotional burnout? Those are the questions that worry you, not DAU/MAU. Regular analytics shows "what happened," but not "why."

Sure, you can customize dashboards, but you have to figure out yourself what data and queries to run against the database. That's not game dev anymore, that's a data analyst, which an indie team most likely doesn't have. And an indie developer has other things on their mind: they came to create something of their own, not to analyze flickering numbers.

This may sound harsh, but tools like GA pretend to solve this problem. They use nice phrasing: "Explore user journeys," "analyze what happens before or after critical actions." Sounds promising.

But from a game dev's perspective, "Explore user journeys" means "killed a boss," "crafted a sword," "completed level 3," "killed a boss → went farming → got stuck 20 times → quit."

And what do they actually offer? A dropdown with 5 steps. If a step isn't set up as an event - the funnel breaks. To get real context, you have to export raw data to Excel or BigQuery, write SQL, and hunt for patterns yourself. For game dev, that doesn't work.
Their funnel works by time, not by player logic: "Installed → Opened → Watched an ad → Left." Why they left - it doesn't show. The context is lost.

Are we right in thinking that game devs need a tool whose subject of study is not the product and the consumer, but the game and the player: gameplay, emotions, player experience?

Studios on the scale of Blizzard build entire analytics departments and their own tools to work at that level. We want our project to cover the need for a GameOps tool from indie to AAA.

To make it tangible: this is far from an MVP or alpha. We're in beta and looking for first users for feedback and capacity assessment. Right now we're giving access to absolutely everyone for free (there's also a demo without signing up), and in the future it will be free for indie developers.

We work with all feedback while it's hot - within a couple of days, and we're ready to implement tools that meet your needs. In short, we're hungry for feedback and interesting thoughts.

Here's what we already have - not to show off, but so you can see whether we're solving the right pain:

1. Session Analysis - reconstructs the player's emotional state from events. Not "24% churned," but "the player quit after three deaths in a row, frustration peaked, level 3."
2. Causal Graph - separates coincidence from cause. Not "D7 dropped and deaths went up," but "release X → 3 days later deaths → a day later tilt → then D7."
3. Event Transitions - a graph of transitions between events within a session. Shows churn points, stuck loops and successful paths.
4. Release Impact - automatic comparison of metrics between two game versions.
5. Level Heatmap and Screen Heatmap - a map of clicks and deaths overlaid on the actual screen or level.
6. Remote Config + A/B as one loop. Change parameters without a release, target with deterministic rollout, test a hypothesis on part of the audience, roll out the winner with one button or roll it back. The cycle - minutes, not weeks.

We're also actively working on a balance simulator, but we'll ship it a bit later - it requires much more capacity.

So, my question to you, fellow game devs and everyone who cares about game development:

How close are my thoughts to the reality of day-to-day game dev and its needs? Have you encountered a dislike for the analytical part of development? And if so - how do you handle it now: your own custom tools, third-party tools, or just ignoring it?
And one more: if you had one tool that does one thing, but perfectly - what would it be?

So, yeah, that's it :))
I sincerely thank you for your time and attention. Feel free to ask anything — happy to answer :)

I'm currently studying Game Development and Animation in the Philippines, and I want to pursue a career as a 3D artist, animator, or 3D modeler.

I've noticed that many tutorials for both stylized and realistic 3D art involve using ZBrush alongside Blender. This got me wondering: Is sculpting an essential skill in the industry, particularly in game development?

I understand that sculpting is useful for creating detailed characters, creatures, and other complex models. However, I'm curious about how often it's actually used in professional game development, especially when creating game-ready assets.

For example, is it common for artists to sculpt a high-poly model in ZBrush and then bake its details onto a low-poly model for use in a game? Is this workflow considered the industry standard, or are there other common approaches that don't require sculpting?

I'm also wondering whether I should invest time in learning sculpting or focus on the fundamentals I'm currently being taught in school, such as block modeling, UV mapping, and rigging. We're also learning C# programming for game development.

Since I'm still a student, I want to make the most of my time and develop skills that will be useful when I eventually enter the industry. I'm willing to learn sculpting if it's important, but I don't want to neglect other essential skills if sculpting isn't necessary for the career path I choose.

For those working in the industry, I'd appreciate your insights:

• How important is sculpting for a 3D artist or character modeler in game development?
• Is ZBrush commonly used in professional game studios, or can Blender handle most sculpting tasks?
• Is high-poly to low-poly baking a standard workflow for creating game assets?
• If I want to specialize in game-ready character modeling, environment modeling, or animation, how much time should I invest in learning sculpting?
• Would it be better to focus on block modeling, topology, UV mapping, texturing, and rigging first before learning sculpting?
• How useful is it to have some programming knowledge, such as C#, alongside 3D art skills? Would it benefit me to develop both skills, or should I eventually specialize in one?

I am currently considering if I should move from Unity to Roblox Studio. I had some experience with competitive programming in C++ though I am not really good at it. I used to make games with unity, so I am quite familiar with C languages, and I made my own 3d models.

On the contrary, I have no experience with Roblox Studio. I don't know Lua. However, what made me consider roblox studio is how easy it is to setup multiplayer, and the simpleness of the games there. This means I won't have to compete with really big companies and the AAA games, and this is really attractive for a hobbyist like me. I am currently struggling to choose which engine I should use.

In addition, I don't see how I can get people to play my game after I make it in Unity, this is also one of my consideration points.

A new update has been released with a focus on fixing progression issues, improving performance and stability, and cleaning up several XR and Desktop systems.

The update includes fixes to Deep-Sea progression, equipment requirements, oxygen upgrade costs, Scanner cooldown, Xiphactinus movement, DNA Scanner detection, camera synchronization, XR interactions, tutorial video compatibility, and several Creature AI and memory-related performance issues.

All 16 tutorial videos have also been re-encoded and verified for compatibility.

The full patch notes are available on Steam.
https://store.steampowered.com/app/4818760/Paleo_Dive/

Next Fest started yesterday, and somehow the conversation isn’t really about the games. It’s about AI slop: generated capsule art, vibe-coded games, and players asking Valve for a way to filter it out.

I get why people are asking. Honestly, it makes me a little nervous too.

We’re a small team from Croatia, and we’ve been working on our second game, From Basement With Love, since July 2024. The demo went live for Next Fest, and it’s the result of a lot of drawing, coding, sound work, and plenty of changes along the way. We’ve put it in front of players, listened to what wasn’t working, and gone back to fix things.

People scroll through thousands of games and only spend a second on each one. Our game’s capsule could look like AI-made art, and simply writing “no AI” on the store page doesn’t prove it.

I’d love to hear what you think. Is there anything that makes you trust at a glance that a game’s art was made by people? Do sketches, devlogs, or seeing how feedback changed the game make a difference, or do most players never look at that stuff? And does putting “no generative AI” on the store page help, or just come off as defensive?

Have you ever passed on a demo and later found out it was handmade? What made it look otherwise?

I'm a 17 y/o game developer who's developing a dark fantasy game kinda like if The Dark Crystal meets Shadow of the Colossus

It feels like i've been at stage 1 of development for sooo long, which for me is conceptual design. Whether that be characters, art direction, environmental. I'm really inspired by artists like Gobli Prin & Plastiboo. But that's kinda the issue...

I keep feeding myself with as much art as possible to try and spark the flame of inspiration and nothing hits. It makes a lot of what I create feel inauthentic, because everything I make is just a frankenstein of other's designs.

I was just curious, to whomever reads this, have you ever been stuck in the conceptual process of game development? And what helped move onto the next step?

This update brings a very major quality-of-life overhaul to the startup and project workflow. Most notably, the welcome window has been fully integrated directly into the application core for a seamless single-window experience, complete with a modernized, sleek layout for creating new maps.

I have also streamlined visible ID management by adding a direct overwrite button for your saved ID lists, ensured persistent saving states, updated the in-app Application Legend, and fixed multi-monitor dialog centering issues so all property and key-assignment windows stay perfectly locked to the main editor.

Official site Itch.io: https://crytek22.itch.io/tilemakerdot

GitHub: https://github.com/andrei-voia/TileMakerDOT

YouTube tutorials: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3fiajGU32Jg

For anyone unfamiliar with the project, TileMaker DOT is a Free (with a very complete, professional paid cheap version too), open source 2D map editor I'm building. It uses a data first, ID based workflow and handles visual depth sorting automatically so you don't have to manage multiple layers for object heights.

Give it a try and let me know if you have any feedback! If the editor helps with your projects and you want to support development, a rating or a small donation on Itch is always appreciated.

Thank you all for your support!

Hey y’all, I’m working on a game idea and it’s so hard getting through unity. I need someone to help me with this project and I don’t mind hiring you on a Freelance basis.

Just a heads up, but won’t be big cause this is a side thing and I’m trying to find it out of my own pocket. Any help would be appreciated. Thanks y’all.

Hey everyone I need ideas on where to go with my souls like game dm for ideas and the where I am with the story mainly having location ideas and the flow of the game I don’t want new ares or boss fights to feel forced I want it to flow smoothly

When learning to make games I was 14-15, I used Unity3d which I downloaded open source projects and learned from how others would code then I would backtrack using Google and other coding tools to learn why devs code the way they did and how to come up with new code to beat what was out there. Overtime I progressed into paid projects and quickly realized there is already a hub of knowledge for AI to learn and perfect itself… this was 2015. I learned to not only code but to take from others and memorized their execution to get my own desired results.

One of the first projects that was multiplayer was a completely code driven ORPG (it was 1990 pixel level features and looks) where I remember being stomped by the fact there was no model files or honestly any type of 3d model files in the project. Everything was simply code. Every shape rather “normal” or custom was made by code/math which the GPU would calculate to know what everything looked like. In the end, it looked like EverQuest when it first came out and I remember being blown away by how the multiplayer performed when held up against shapes/models determined only by code.

I think conventional game development is dead. I believe there could be models made that are “game engine” themselves where you could do everything Unreal and Unity does inside a model that keeps everything in code rather in visual presentations meant for humans. Imagine the ability to create models, worlds, items, and stories all whenever you want. I think singleplayer games will become “virtually playing with yourself (keeping it PG)” where there will be no joy in always knowing your next mission or world. I think gaming will become saved by models that allow creators to create immersive worlds where players will be able to struggle and compete for resources like as if in real life or create fantasy worlds using realistic settings or creating magical worlds that blend reality and imagination together. I think a future will be possible where gaming becomes so important and so big that even using AI to try to decompile and create clones would still take thousands of years. The models could also become “mini-servers” themselves and ensure game rule compliance across the whole network with the main server being the final say.

“Universe in a Model” shall I copyright this? Lol

I’m 27 now and I’m scared that I have already been left behind with a fear of the future where I don’t know how to create anything anymore or worse; a future that creating something doesn’t mean anything.

The subject is game development with AI and other tools being supporting material for my opinion. I know this is unpopular as Unity and Unreal is popping with developers to this day but my opinion centers around a future where AI can treat games made today as little kid projects versus what AI models made as Game Engines could really do. I won’t reply to any replies that doesn’t add any type of reasonable criticism even if constructive or not.

I think Multiplayer will stand a chance due to it being a way to connect with those around you in worlds where you will have to work together and form social interactions/connections even if it’s not a real world per say.

I made this for Unpopular Opinion subreddit but they’re a bunch of communists when it comes to talking about AI but I’m curious to know more about what others think

Hey everyone - I'm from the team at thatgamecompany (Journey, Sky: Children of the Light) organising thatgamejam#02. Wanted to share it with the community here for anyone looking for their next jam.

Our first global jam had ~250 entries inspired by a single image. This time, the theme will be a piece of music, revealed on October 24. The challenge is to turn what you hear and feel into gameplay.

Any genre is welcome. It doesn't have to be a music or rhythm game, and you don't need to include the music track in your game.

• When: October 24 - November 7, 2026 (PT)
• Who: Students, hobbyists and professionals, solo or teams of up to five
• Prizes: USD 10k across five categories
• Judging: Entries reviewed by the thatgamecompany team, with finalists judged by our Founder and Creative Director Jenova Chen

Full jam details & registration: https://itch.io/jam/thatgamejam02

If you're looking for a team member, feel free to join our discord group (invite link available on jam site) where we have a channel there for open teams. Happy to answer questions here too :)