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I am a GameDeveloper from Bangladesh. I contribute to OpenSource Software and turned to game development as an Indie. Fan of Raspberry Pi and Linux.

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Hello guys Lone Wolf Game Developer here. Its been a while since I have written something. Explaining this gonna take some time. Grab some coffee. Nerd
The article was originally written for my site, but no one really goes to personal sites to read these days.


So you want to make games? Now I can just tell you "do that, read that, do this" and you would be on your way, but there is a problem. I have been there and done that too many times to realize it doesn't work. It took me 2 years to realize the approach was a waste of time for me. Lets start off with "what happened ? ". I was the first guy to initiate an Offical 2D Game Development workshop in the country as a Microsoft Student Partner Lead from my university. It was held at the Microsoft Office, Bangladesh. My job was to show 2D Game Dev using Construct2, another dev also took a 3D Game Development workshop with Unity3D and Maya. About 300 selected participants were taught in 4 workshops only 10/15 could actually make something. This reminds me of Jeff Atwood's Article : The two types of Programmers.

So what went wrong?
- We thought we have created the perfect formula. We found Contruct 2 , which was a game development engine where you didn't have to code. The beauty of the workshop was that it was for non-developers. We had participants from Business, Computer Science, Electrical, Environmental Science and more. "You develop once" & "deliver everywhere" with a click, life couldn't be any easier. But programming is still programming and there is no alternative but Construct 2 just made it too easy for everyone, it did this by apparently hiding it under a layer of ready made behaviors. It was just visual programming and new commers had incredible amount of fun with it. It is similar to Game Maker Studio, which has much evolved in to something epic now.

Now lets flash back a little further. How did I know about these engines? from the web? no. It was after my third Computer Science course at the university, at an experimental 3 day game dev workshop. We had about 15 students in that workshop. The first day I learned Construct 2, I was wake all night and the very next day I made a small 2D Car Parking Game, to show the Instructor.You can download the template.
2D Car Parking Game Template Construct2

All 15 of us in that workshop were Computer Science students, so programming shouldn't be a problem. Do you know how many actually made something out of that workshop ? only 3 people.

So lets get you started :

This is the grim reality of the development world. Since now you know them, you can plan to avoid them. This is why we have few good developers and just like Picasso they are always in high demand. Its easy to get lost in things around us and only "practice makes perfect" remains an eternal truth in the field of game development. This is true of all art forms. No one becomes David Beckham, Ken Block or Elon Musk in a day, just like you didn't learn to ride a bike like a pro the first time you touched your bicycle. The problem is that we see the outcome and demand the knowledge thinking that is what is missing, but fail to see the struggle. This in the professional world is called "Experience". In order to get better, you must make tons of crappy stuff and lots of mistakes, its called practice. Over time you will get better. And this is very true in Game Development. If you don't have patience, then this is not for you. Ask yourself if you can commit yourself to least 6 months of effort, just the learning phase. This reminds me of Peter Norvig's "Teach yourself Programming in 10 years". Yes, game development is going to take time. The question is are you willing to put the effort. Now, giving something consistent time, everyday, is going to take away time from something else. I suggest you figure out what you can drop and in order to achieve your dreams. It can be social life,TV,Youtube,girlfriend/boyfriend,useless hangouts etc.

I use this quote to judge my students and friends.

For a student if I have taught him/her something, there should be output. Thats how I know he/she been busy. I have seen brilliant students sit on their ass while stupid shit make brilliant stuff. Same goes for society. "People discussing about other people" has become very high with social medias all around us now. Narcissism on the rise and widely accepted. By this time since you already know what I am saying. Lets not waste any more of your time and get down to business.

Start with the Basics:
Forget making Clash of Clans, Call of Duty etc. for now. Dream, thats fine. Eventually you can make them, but for now. Stick to the basics. You have to learn to balance before you make handbrake turns with your bike right? Watch the following videos:

Keep Yourself Motivated, work everyday:

A lot of times we are wrong about game development from the start. To avoid this there are a lot of resources online. One particular person who I think gets it right is Rick Davidson (Youtube Channel | Site).

- Don't Give Up - Motivation for game creators #1 | Youtube.com
- Indie Game Dev Tip #1 - The 4 M's of Success | Youtube.com

Start with Game Maker Studio or Construct 2 (if you have low programming skills) . Both are excellent. Start with 2D Game Development. Now there is a missconception among programmers that "I must code to make games, otherwise I am not a programmer" mentality and also "2D game sucks, I need to make 3D games cause I am a boss" . In order to prove that wrong. Here are some games that have been developed by the easy to use engines above. [Check them out] . Making 2D games will get you started with understanding GAMEPLAY Mechanics and achieve them easily. You won't have fun if your friends cannot play your games. Feedback is important. Now there are already tons of tutorials everywhere. Start with this: Youtube.com

Some Youtube Channels (Construct 2):
- Youtube.com
- Youtube.com

Unity3D Basic Tutorial to get started:
- Youtube.com

Unreal Engine Basic Tutorial to get started:
- Youtube.com

Game Maker Studio Tutorial to get started:
- Youtube.com

Even give AutoDesk Stingray a go:
- Youtube.com

Watch this Documentaries (history is important):
- Lost Between Levels: Valve: | Youtube.com
- Rise of the Video Game: Level 1: | Youtube.com

Read these Blogs:
- Paul Graham : Taste for Makers (Because Game Development has a lot to do with taste)
- Diana Gruber : Game Development Chapters (Because she been making games before many of us were born)

Other Game Development Blogs/Sites you should keep track of:

- World of Level Design: Worldofleveldesign.com<
- GamaSutra Alex Bean: Gamasutra.com
- Alex Galuzin: Alexgaluzin.com
- Reddit : Reddit.com


Also my recent Game is on Steam Greenlight Now:
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