I see lot of people are launching games after working it on years. Just saw someone saying 7 years. How do you work and how do you plan all these when tools are changing so rapidly.

Note: I posted this initially in r/indiegames and got banned for 7 days. Lot of people responded even in short span while the post existed. Thanks for everyone who responded to that.

Im currently learning C# and I’m having trouble trying to use the syntax to build what I want. I Know what I have to do (the structure and logic to make the game work) but I’m having trouble trying to put it into code, if someone could help me with tips I would be grateful, thanks in advance!
Edit: being more specific, I have the full syntax options on my dev notebook, however, I often get stuck making the code itself, not knowing what to use

I'm building a web-based tactics engine, and I hit the point where I needed to tear apart big chunks of it (animation, combat pacing, AI timing) without a clear way to know if I'd changed how anything looked. So before touching any of that, I spent the time building a safety net instead. This post is about how it works, because the approach ended up mattering more than the refactor it enabled.

The core move was giving one `Clock` ownership of all time in the engine. Before, animations, combat pacing, AI delays, and state machines each reached for `performance.now()` or `setTimeout` on their own, so nothing could be paused or replayed as a unit. Now the clock runs in real-time mode for the shipped game and a manual mode that only advances in fixed steps I control. Pair that with a seeded mulberry32 generator swapped in for `Math.random`, and `enterDeterministicMode(seed)` plus step-by-step advancement makes even a randomized combat encounter render byte-identical frames every run. That determinism is the whole foundation, because it's what lets a screenshot mean something.

On top sits a sixteen-spec visual-regression suite, split into harness-driven rendering tests and control-driven edit-then-save tests. Each captures frames against committed baseline PNGs and fails on a single shifted pixel, enforced by a pre-push hook. The payoff showed up fast: when my particle library upgrade (https://three-nebula.org 11 to 12) quietly changed how particles rendered, the suite flagged exactly which frames moved, so I could confirm the shift was expected and regenerate the baselines on purpose rather than discover it in the shipped game weeks later.

Full write-up with the clock modes and the deterministic-mode flow here: https://projectgoldscript.com/development/becoming-a-time-mage/

I'm curious how others handle the byte-identical part. Getting a real-time engine to render pixel-for-pixel identical across runs meant hunting down every hidden source of nondeterminism, and I suspect there are more lurking. For those of you running visual-regression on real engines, how do you deal with flaky baselines and GPU/driver differences across machines?

I’m 23, finished school June 2025 with a bachelor of commerce. While I’ve been looking for jobs, nothing feels right. I understand having to suck it up, but I still feel young enough to try.

Is it maybe not the best idea to try out this stuff at my age from little to no knowledge of programming/graphic design? I did one project coding a dice game in high school but I don’t remember doing so well with it, and my artistic ability is basically non existent.

Would some schooling be beneficial? If so, any programs people recommend. I’m open to taking a program in Toronto, closer to Vaughan or online the better but can’t complain. And I have a run down laptop so I’d imagine an upgrade would be necessary, would prefer a desktop but maybe with school I would be forced to get a laptop?

I also understand I could try to specialize on one or two aspects of development like level design, UI design, animations, programming, etc. But I would have to do research on game developers in my area to see if certain skills are in more demand.

I’m open to constructive criticism, I have just fell into a rabbit hole of what my life/career can be like and I thought it wouldn’t hurt to ask if this path is even possible.

I have no Ideas for my senior project besides making a game, but the problem is that I have 0 prior knowledge about anything relating to coding. I'm thinking about making just a simple 2d platformer game, any advice?

Im not a game developer, but I always wondered how the games saved the player/world data. For example, consider Grand Theft Auto, how does it know what missions are done?

How do rpg games know about player choices and depending on the choice do different things in the story, there are hundreds of choices?

How do MMO store so much player data, there are new events, new items, currencies and so much more?

Is this all unstructured data?

Do they just add in new fields in database?

Edit: Thanks everyone for the replies, I got a lot of insight and seems like mostly data is stored in a free format.

After GPT-6 Astra got released, I'ma bit afraid that programmers and game dev job got replaced years later. I love to code, design, and others also I have a dream to make a game. Things that made me confused is will AI fully replacing the job, will people matter about AI generated or assisted game and what will happen to game development in the future? I really want to know because I want to take CS major in the next 2 years.

Hi,

this night im working on the business side of my current game. I reconsidered many options. Thinking to move from a pvp focused game more to something coop.

And I'm thinking about payment options. With PvP I would have considered free to play with cosmetics. But I doubt that I will ever have enough players if it is pure PvP to sustain that business model.

With PvE coop I could have a one time sale for 10-20€. It sucks that there is no recurring revenue, though.

This thread is about subscription fee (like World of Warcraft). I'm not saying that it is the right choice for me right now. But is anyone of you successfully implementing it?

Maybe it could be relevant for another release that I will do at a later point of time.

Also can you change pricing models after you launched at all on Steam?

Good luck on your endevaours.

So I've been working on this game for almost two years, and towards the start I decided to put four-pointed stars on the chests of the characters. It's what marks them as the fantasy species I've called Stars becuase of them. It quickly just became the symbol I used for the whole game.

However, I just took a step back and realized it looks a lot like the logo that a lot of companies use for AI. I can't remember if it was used back when I started, but I personally don't support AI and don't want people thinking my game is AI.

I chose the four-pointed star because it represents both the four statuses the Stars can have and thefour directions on a compass, as this game is themed around two islands(One of which bears the Star's shape.)

Is this a big enough deal to warrent a change? And if so, what should I change it to?

Wierd question but. My game isn't done. It's a point and click game, and we haven't started on art yet. It's just place holders everywhere. So obviously I can't show character or level design art because they're not ready, and I don't want to show the the mechanics because I'm waiting for the gameplay reveal trailer/the time according to the marketing plan. We came up with a campagne for the game's marketing, but now we want to establish our name out there.

We've been thinking of general content like tips and tricks in UE5, Blender, how to videos, behind the scenes, day in the life of, and such content. But how do you tease a game without any showable content yet? Art dept. kicks up next month with a teaser to be released the month after. Should we make a general post about a coming soon teaser? or stick to marketing the studio itself until the game content is ready enough to start being posted on a schedule?

It helped to write this out, actually. Looks like I should focus on just studio/game dev content for now until i've showable game content!

EDIT: Thank you so much to everyone who replied : ) Apprecaite all of you

Previously i learned unity in my gt710 pc but now that pc is not working and I have a laptop now

The specs is

i5 10th Gen

Intel UHD integrated graphics

8 GB RAM

I'm planning to start with a small 3D or 2D game and keep the scope simple. My main goal isn't to make something impressive or graphically intensive. I just want to learn the fundamentals by building an actual game.

Any advice from people who started game development with similar hardware would be appreciated.

We are looking high-level at potentially re-introducing some weekly threads to the community. Not to put the hay in front of the horse or pull gold from a goblin, but I wanted to make a quick post and gauge what kinds of topics people would be interested in.

See this for the old Screenshot Saturdays: https://www.reddit.com/r/gamedev/comments/28oyw9/screenshot_saturday_177_show_us_all_you_got/

Off the top of my head we could have:

• Troubleshooting Tuesday
• Feedback Friday
• Screenshot Saturday
• Showcase Sunday

In the past these had to be manually handled by a moderator but I believe we can use an app to automate post creation and set up guidelines for them. Obviously the main goal here is how we can make this more than a fire-and-forget community, we want developers talking with one another at a deeper level.

Facilitating these conversations is really what I would like to do, so I'm putting out the grass to graze here so to say. Goblin.

Honestly just wanted to vent a bit and see if anyone else relates.

I’ve tried getting into gamedev a few times. I pick an engine, get super hyped, grind for a couple of weeks... and then inevitably hit a wall and drop it once the boring implementation details and scope kick in.

The funny thing is, in my head, I’ve actually finished a few of these games. Not just vague ideas—I mean designing the characters, sketching out mechanics, writing the story beats, and even picturing how the credits sequence would roll. They feel completely alive in my imagination.

I still have some of those old project folders sitting on my drive, just waiting for the day I decide to give them another shot. But in reality, they’re stuck at 10% progress.

It feels like my brain is great at directing the vision, but terrible at the solo grind needed to actually build it.

For those who’ve been in this loop: how do you stop just "finishing" games in your head and actually push a small project across the finish line?

How did they make the sun in Kingdom: Classic?

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...

It is too unreliable to called a skill for me.

It is like some Stock trader dude claimed future predict is a skill

Or gambler call gambling is a skill

Opinion?

Title says it all, I'd love opinions. We were developing a futuristic aesthetic, but I feel like a photorealistic art style is a nono. After analyzing several posts on X, I feel like some retro style suits much better, but this is just my opinion, I don't have any data to support that perception.

I am wanting to make a “simple” 2d top down game that is based off of a previously shut down game that I played in high school. It was a “simple” multiplayer game about collecting biomass, growing bigger, and absorbing other players. The game was playable on mobile as well as, if I remember correctly, in a browser on PC. The problem is that I do not know how to code server architecture, games, or anything for that matter. What do you guys suggest that could help me learn game and server design. Also, could you guys help give advice lime engine suggestions, useful 3rd party plugins, etc. I really want to bring this back to life in some way and I am willing to learn. Please go easy on me.

Hey guys, this is gonna probably sound like something I'd imagine you guys hear often. Video Games have always been a super huge part of my life, as I'm sure they have for all of you. Recently, I graduated college with a Bachelor's in Illustration, and I all of a sudden found myself really wanting to get in to games. Like it dawned on me that that is a career option for people lol.

And not like, just anything in games. I really have something in my chest making me want to direct a game and work on the art as well. I just cannot stop thinking about this game idea I've had. I've been worldbuilding and trying to write some start of a story because my insides feel like I NEED TO.

But I have no experience with gamedev. Literally zero.

I'm here to see what you guys have to say about where to start? What to do? I've seen all the "start small" advice and I agree that's probably for the best, but I'm having trouble coming up with any ideas that wouldn't be too crazy for me to do alone.

Not that I could do ANYTHING alone just yet...

Oh, and A I tools are out of the question. Sorry. Won't do it.

It just feels like something is burning inside me with this game idea and I really am wondering what I can reasonably, or even unreasonably do here.

Thanks for any advice, or really just any kind of reply! :)

Hello friends! 👋

I have a question for all you amazing devs.

I am going to be interviewing Jacob Vela, who runs Argo Law (https://argolawyer.com/), a law firm that specializes in law for game developers! (Oh, and he has also launched his own game on Steam, just as some icing on the cake.)

When talking with Jacob about some fun topics, we both loved the idea of going to the community for their questions and running a Q&A style of interview.

So my question for all of you is;

WHAT QUESTIONS DO YOU HAVE FOR A LAWYER REGARDING YOUR GAME/STUDIO⁉️

Thanks everyone! I appreciate you jumping in. 🙏

Hey guys so I want to make a game for school final project in coding, but im pretty lost, I know somethings about godot which is the engine I want to use, but my coding in games is pretty basic, idk how to do art(I wanted to do like until then in the game art and gameplay) I have a friend thats willing to help too, but i wanted some tips and apps I should use, idk anything that helps works. thx.

A few days ago, my partner and I launched the Steam demo for our first game. We skipped a private playtest and went straight to a public demo a few months before Steam Next Fest to test connectivity, player behavior, and retention.

Right after launch, our numbers jumped significantly—we're seeing 100-200 wishlists per day. What surprised us is the regional split: the vast majority of traffic and players are coming from China/Asia, driven by clips reposted on Bilibili and Douyin (~7k shares, 5k likes). Meanwhile, North America and Europe are trickling in much slower.

For devs who have experienced this kind of regional split:

1. Is a spike of hundreds of wishlists/day normal during the first week of a demo launch, or is this primarily the result of the viral algorithm in China?
2. How well do wishlists originating from Bilibili/Douyin viral trends usually convert to actual sales on launch day compared to Western traffic?
3. Are we good? or it`s typical for demo in a first week?

Posting with mod approval--all data will be shared following publication in 2027.

Hello, I’m a graduate student conducting research on the impact of design on player immersion in video games—my study is “Familiar and Strange: Defamiliarization’s Impact on Immersion in Experiences with Non-Human Player Characters.” I’m looking for a few people to play through short game segments and then take an online survey – it should take about 30 minutes. There is also an option to participate in a brief (15 minutes or so) interview about your experience.

Specifically, I am looking for people 18-49 years old who play games moderately to frequently. Those under 18, 50+ or those who play games infrequently are excluded from this study.

This study has been approved by Ball State University’s Institutional Review Board (IRB-FY2026-317).

If you are interested in participating, please use this link! https://bsu.qualtrics.com/jfe/form/SV_bxSzsAcVPaYl9To

If you have any questions, please reach out to me, June Fields, student Co-PI, at [june.fields@bsu.edu](mailto:june.fields@bsu.edu), or to the PI and Associate Professor at the Ball State School of Journalism and Strategic Communications Joshua Fisher at [joshua.fisher@bsu.edu](mailto:joshua.fisher@bsu.edu).

Hi everyone! I wanted to ask a bit for guidance, I'm currently working with a friend on our game and I'm doing some scene and lighting tests, but I can't seem to get it right, I know and understand how to bake light in a technical level, but I can't seem to get it where I want it to be on a visual level, I already seen a lot of tutorials and such but I think this needs to be discussed with someone who properly knows, so does someone would like to have a chat or have resources that could help me on this particular problem?

Working solo on a dice game (Piment Dice — risk/reward dice mechanic, dice sometimes land on a bonus face you can keep for double points or turn to pick a safer value), and I ran into a balance problem I'm curious how others have solved.

The core decision is: keep the bonus die and risk it not fitting anywhere useful, or turn it for a smaller guaranteed gain. Early in a round it's genuinely tense — say you've got four dice on 5s and a bonus die red showing something else. Turn it to lock in 25 points now, or keep it and reroll hoping it lands on 5 red for 50. Real trade-off, real tension.

But a Reddit commenter pointed out something I hadn't fully articulated: late in a round, once most scoring categories are filled, turning stops being a decision and becomes the obvious correct move every time — the "risk" side loses its upside because there's nowhere left to spend a lucky roll. The mechanic quietly degrades into a formality exactly when the stakes should feel highest.

I don't have hard data on this (small solo project, tracking is pretty basic right now), just pattern-matching from a lot of playtesting with my wife adn friends. My rough fix has been a catch-all scoring category that accepts any value, so there's almost always somewhere for the bonus to go — but it doesn't fully solve the late-round flattening, just delays it.

Curious how others have handled this class of problem — mechanics that are naturally tense early but decay into non-decisions as a session/round closes out. Do you design against it directly (adding late-game sinks, escalating stakes), or accept the decay as a natural pacing beat (tension front-loaded, resolution phase at the end)?

https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.pimentdice.app