00:02have you ever wanted to make a game all
00:05this is something that more and more
00:06people are becoming interested in and
00:09the resources out there have never been
00:10more abundant it was four or five years
00:13ago that i decided that i wanted to make
00:15a game all by myself
00:18and then i made another one
00:20and then i made another one
00:23and then i made another one
00:24and now i'm a full-time game developer
00:28making a game is an incredibly fun and
00:32but making a game all by yourself is
00:35completely unique something that you'll
00:37find is that once you learn to make
00:39games it's actually much more fun to
00:41make them than it is to play them for
00:43one you have to wear a bunch of
00:44different hats you have to be a
00:46programmer not necessarily coding but
00:49implementing game logic
00:50an artist a producer a designer a sound
00:54effects artist an animator and so on but
00:57that's what makes it fun you have
00:58complete creative control over your game
01:01now let me talk about why i bring all
01:04i recently picked up this book called
01:06how to make a game all by yourself by
01:10it's a small book filled with deep
01:12truths quirky comics and powerful quotes
01:14that apply directly to game development
01:16now this video isn't sponsored or
01:18anything i just recently read it and
01:20thought that there are some very good
01:21talking points worth bringing up
01:24it's about 200 pages long but it's an
01:26easy and fun read i want to talk about
01:28some of the stuff it goes over because i
01:30found it helpful for myself and i think
01:32some of this stuff would really benefit
01:34you if you're looking into diving into
01:35game development a quick bio about the
01:38author he sold over 50 000 copies of his
01:41own games and worked on other games that
01:43have been played by millions of people
01:44so he knows what he's talking about this
01:47book welcomes those with absolutely zero
01:49experience and maybe just a big interest
01:51in game development but as an
01:52experienced game developer myself i also
01:55found it helpful and incredibly
01:56motivating the book covers topics that
01:59range from learning to scratch your
02:01to how to pick which game engine to use
02:04there are so many helpful tips about
02:06managing scope and how to ensure the
02:08game you make is actually fun
02:11so i want to use this book as a
02:12springboard to talk about some of the
02:14most important subjects when it comes to
02:16making games as a solo developer making
02:19a game all by yourself can be summed up
02:21into four simple steps
02:26design a tiny game that you love
02:28prototype it and ship it
02:32it is very helpful to get you into a
02:33healthy mindset with realistic
02:35expectations to carry you through the
02:37whole process of making a game
02:39because making a game by yourself is not
02:42just a technical and artistic challenge
02:44it's a mental challenge too one of the
02:47major things that i want to highlight is
02:49also something that is echoed in this
02:52do not make a game in order to get rich
02:56there are so many ways to try to make
02:58money on the internet and making a game
02:59by yourself is not the easiest or most
03:02lucrative path trust me for every story
03:04you've heard of a single person becoming
03:06an overnight millionaire by making a
03:08game there's millions of other stories
03:10that have much more tragic endings
03:12pursue game development if you think it
03:14will be fun if you want to express
03:16yourself creatively and if you want a
03:19now back to the hats thing
03:21when it comes to making a game by
03:22yourself you have to realize that you
03:26you can't just be an artist you can't
03:28just be a programmer
03:30your number one priority is to make sure
03:32that this game gets built and shipped
03:34and in the very first chapter of the
03:36book the author addresses the single
03:37most difficult aspect about making games
03:40by yourself and that's the mental
03:41gymnastics you have to do in order to
03:43keep yourself motivated imposter
03:46syndrome is your main foe and it's a
03:47very intimidating enemy if you're just
03:49starting out but there are many things
03:51you can do to combat it the book talks
03:53about some ways to keep your morale up
03:55throughout the game creation process
03:57and this starts by doing what the author
03:59calls finding your fire this means
04:01figuring out what fuels you and it's
04:04important because it will be vital to
04:05getting you to the finish line and part
04:07of that is making sure that you pursue
04:09projects that interest you
04:12now what about the skills and the tools
04:14for actually making a game
04:16well in my opinion those are not nearly
04:18as important as the subjects of
04:20motivation and mental health but this
04:23there's a chapter on the building blocks
04:25of video games including tips for how to
04:27finish your game faster and smarter for
04:29example use simple aesthetics there's a
04:31chapter on picking a game engine which
04:33is one of the most intimidating bits of
04:35getting started with game development
04:37but i can tell you from personal
04:38experience i've used three or four
04:40different engines and it's not as
04:41intimidating as you would think i think
04:43the book ultimately recommends you try
04:45some out and see which one seems most
04:46intuitive to you as long as it has a lot
04:48of online resources it should be
04:50relatively easy to learn now one of the
04:52best sections in the book in my opinion
04:54was centered on finding the fun in your
04:56game and making sure that you are making
04:58the game that you want to play let me
05:01read this quote from the book because
05:04i guess i should actually get the book
05:05for that all right hold please
05:08make your game opinionated and let
05:10yourself really come out
05:12speak loudly and pick a clear lane
05:15the game should scream you
05:17it's your home your happy place
05:20if you nurture your game in this way you
05:22can create a delicious creative cycle
05:25and there's a lot more good stuff there
05:27but i don't have all day so i'm going to
05:28move on to the logistics of finishing a
05:31and the biggest thing here is managing
05:34do not make an mmo do not make an online
05:37multiplayer game do not make your dream
05:41come up with a very very simple game
05:45then cut that idea in half then cut that
05:48idea in half again finishing projects
05:51sometimes means killing your darlings
05:53and managing tasks but the author had
05:55some good tips for this as well
05:57one that i particularly liked was to
05:59write down ideas for additional features
06:01for your game and consider putting them
06:03into a sequel for your game the last
06:04stretch to the finish line will always
06:06take longer than you want
06:08the last 10 percent of the project might
06:10take 90 of your time the book comes with
06:13a shipping checklist that you can go
06:15through to make sure that you don't miss
06:16any of the important stuff that you need
06:18to get your game out there
06:19some of that includes creating a press
06:21kit and getting an idea for the
06:23different marketing resources you may
06:24want to create and to be prepared with
06:27an elevator pitch to give people a quick
06:29idea about what your game is about all
06:31in all i very much enjoyed reading this
06:34book and i would easily recommend it to
06:36anyone who is interested in getting
06:37started in game development it does a
06:39fantastic job of setting realistic
06:42expectations and giving the reader an
06:44enormous boost of motivational energy to
06:46propel you head headfirst into your
06:47project i'll post a link to the book if
06:49you want to check it out
06:51if you want to give it a read i might
06:52recommend taking your time maybe just
06:54reading two or three pages in the
06:56morning so you have time to digest it i
06:58read it kind of quickly and i think i
07:00would have benefited from a longer read
07:04how to make a game all by yourself 9 out
07:13i give how to make a video game all by
