Well, not really.
So like so many others, I've dreamt of putting my game out there. I started playing with Unity and Unreal Engine, watching tutorials on YouTube and Udemy. Yes, I thought, I'm a games developer now. It's time to put my vision into action.
Where to start, as every blog and video has told me: produce a design document. So that's what I did. I started with a broad overview of what my game should look and feel like once it's finished. Then I fleshed out the details of what and how this could be accomplished. As I did this, new ideas surfaced — lots of what-ifs and can I incorporate this part of that game. Before I knew it, my humble game was a full-on MMORPG, Fortnite, GTA clone, or should I say monster.
It became clear this game would be unmanageable for one man and his humble computer.
Lesson learned
Back to a blank sheet of paper. Rethinking my approach. Start by asking what kind of game I actually like to play — not what game do I ultimately want to make. Let's be honest, we'd all love to make the next EVE or WoW and retire. That complexity needs a team of more than one. As a small studio of one, what can I actually achieve as the sole contributor? Turns out: a lot, with time and patience. So the key thing here is — start small.
My next big project will be small
Thinking back to my early days as a gamer, the games that really got me hooked:
- Point-and-click puzzle/mystery: Operation Stealth, Future Wars, Indiana Jones, Loom, The Secret of Monkey Island
- Real-time strategy: Command & Conquer, Settlers, Rise of Nations, Warcraft III
More recently, games like Frostpunk and Banished have taken more of my time than I'd care to admit. So that's where I'll start. I want to make a fun game — and I want the making of it to be fun too.
What engine?
I've played with the usual suspects, Unreal and Unity, plus a toy with 001 Game Creator and CryEngine. Pros and cons for each:
Unreal — if I had no experience at all, this would win. Great free tools and resources.
001 Game Creator — geared more toward 2D adventure games. Maybe a point-and-click one day. For now, sticking with the RTS idea.
CryEngine — a little too confusing and specialised for where I'm at right now. Into the bin.
Unity — I couldn't imagine shipping a game and asking for money on the free tier. Lucky for me, I have a Pro licence, and a moderate amount of experience with the engine and C#. This one pulls ahead.
You'll have your own choice to make — there are plenty of other engines worth trying too.
The advice I'd give myself
Start small. Bury yourself in too many side quests and you'll never finish.
Write other ideas down, don't chase them. You can have ideas for other games while making this one — just write them down and stick to the plan for this one.
Invest in your own setup. If you're serious about this as a business, dedicate a machine to it. My own rig is currently bogged down with engines, assets, git repos and more (all soon to be cleared out). You're not building AAA games alone — neither am I. Keep it small for now.
Keep some faith in yourself. Your first release probably won't make you rich. But it'll leave you rich in experience.