![iStock_000002641390XSmall[1].jpg](https://i.imgur.com/Ha2vBZG.jpg "iStock_000002641390XSmall[1].jpg")
So I'd like to design indie video games independently as a one man team. I'm imagining mobile games would probably be best suited for this. I know how stereotypical this sounds, but what would be some good steps towards this career?
I have no programming, 3D design, or technical experience. I'm starting from square one, but I'm at square one with everything else in my life and at this point I'm thinking, "Fuck it, I'll go with what I love."
>>47606635
>So I'd like to design indie video games independently as a one man team. I'm imagining mobile games would probably be best suited for this.
>I have no programming, 3D design, or technical experience.
Good luck.
>>47606639
I know, I'm a complete scrub. I'm just asking for some direction.
>>47606652
I'm going to give you the best advice you could possibly hope to receive:
Give up. Find something else to love instead.
Dear /g/ I'd like to be an astronaut but I have no background in aeronautics
>>47606635
>design indie video games independently
How else would you design them?
How would you know that you love making games if you have zero experience making them?
>>47606635
Man don't listen to these basement dwellers, do what you love man. Start by learning some decent programming languages. Learn from youtube codecademy, use duckduckgo to find something you dont understand. Then move towards improving your drawing skills.
Your language flow should be something like this.
Python -> C# -> C++ -> Objective-C -> Java (unless you use xamarin studio)
Once youve got these covered youre pretty good to go.
Bad english speaker here. Please forgive me.
First learn to code simple terminal programs. I suggest c++. Maybe start doing little terminal games once you feel more confident.
Not just loops and conditionals. Also learn OOP.
When you feel that you are decent at this. Try using some easy graphical 2d library (like SFML) and get some little easy games (pong, arcanoid). In the process you will learn a lot of geometry and usefull maths and physics, but maybe you will need to read about it a little more.
Just don't try to start directly making huge ambitious progects. The key is to first learn the very basics.
With some dedication. In about a year and a half you can have decent stuff.
>>47606701
>Python -> C# -> C++ -> Objective-C -> Java (unless you use xamarin studio)
I don't want to start a programming languages war, but that is pretty retarded advice.
>>47606701
I jumped straight into Java because it's a popular language for mobile devices and I hear that it's easy to pick up. Should I learn the ropes from the earlier languages you listed?
I've heard other people voice your opinion, but might there be a bias that "I learned it in this order, all the new programmers should too!"
Why not just jump to what's being used right now?
>>47606635
>I have no programming, 3D design, or technical experience.
You are screwed.
But try this: http://www.kilobolt.com/game-development-tutorial.html
>>47606635
Honestly, unless you're some kind of genius it's going to be a while before you can even begin to make a decently coded game. I wouldn't recommend doing this unless you have an interest in programming itself.
>>47606777
This. If you don't love programming, you will be a shitty programmer.
If you are a shitty programmer, you will make shitty games. Inevitably.
If you really want to make games but you *don't* love programming, you need to hire somebody who does.
>>47606635
>Fuck it, I'll go with what I love
You love shitty mobile games?
Go to a vocational university or a trade school, learn a valuable skill and make a decent living.
Learn how to draw, program and compose music in your spare time if you want to chase your pipe dream, but don't do it as a main occupation.
Your head is probably filled with bullshit like "hurr durr successful people took big risks too, I can be like them!", but you have to keep in mind that those people already had skills, worked hard, had some amount of luck involved and knew how to make connections.
If you want to gamble your life away, you might as well try your luck in Vegas. At least it will be quicker.
Click team fusion. Google it
give up.
Just my 2 cents: learn OOP Java at a good level, then read "beginning android games" which is a well-written book that covers low-level game programming principles, then switch to libGDX framework that lets you program java openGL games compilable for android and desktop (even iOS lately).
I hope you're at least good at maths and trigonometry.
>>47606652
>>47606673
Listen to this guy faggot. What you love is fucking stupid and degenerate and there's already thousands of other autists that will do that same work for free. Unless you come up with one fucking game that will bring you a fortune like flappy bird, then you're fucked. You won't make it.
>>47606635
The only way this can absolutely surely work is if you are a NEET of some sorts
It's definitely possible. If you decide to try it, my greatest advice to you is to stay off of 4chan.
It's the biggest distraction and motivation killer.
If you're having trouble with something, give it a week of troubleshooting yourself before you ask the SQT.
your fucked
>>47606635
Find something else you love
Developing is hard fucking work and you haven't even done any before. So you have to learn how to do it before you can even start putting out games. Then you lose 30% to the Jew and the chance of it being successful is minute anyway.
Too many indie devs out there that have figured out how to do it right. Market is very crowded so you will likely have 0 success.
It's not fun either. You will probably stop loving it after your first week. Not bad as a hobby but I wouldn't go with it for a serious career choice.
>>47606635
Aight heres the deal.
Go back to college, or to college.
Major in math or physics.
Get a doctorate.
Get a job as a physics engine dev.
Learn how to make miracles happen.
Quit that job.
Now you can probably develop something decent on your own. Except that you can't because you can't into art now.
>>47606635
learn some basic programming, then take a development framework like unity. dont tell yourself you need to do all the engine work from scratch, youd never finish any game.
>>47606635
>>47606743
Using languages like Java tends to give you bad habits that are unacceptable in other (more low level) languages.
dont
just dont
there are so many people like you making trash games its not worth it
>>47606635
itt: butthurt nerds who know absolutely nothing about the games industry as a whole
first off, OP, get some bloody skills that actually involve designing video games instead of thinking you can open up a games maker and shell out a good game. programming, art, game design - bone the fuck up
secondly mobile games are an absolutely shitty industry to get into. there are 300 games being uploaded onto the app store every day, and you have to compete every single bloody one of them - not alone the struggle of simply getting noticed without a marketing strategy.
thirdly, it really seems like you don't actually care about video games as a whole. if you don't care about it, you're just going to create garbage and be instantly forgotten amongst the rest of the half-assed one-man dev studios in the swamp.
do you know why games like Shovel Knight were so damn successful despite their one-man limitations? because they actually cared about the medium as a whole. watch the awesome games done quick speedrun to get an idea of what i mean - the interview is fascinating
also, OP, you should seriously do some research on the state of the industry. you're gonna get fucked if you don't
>>47606635
>No programming or any useful skills whatsoever
Into the trash.
Those skills are fundamental. Making games is the product of those combined with the love for games and the desire to make your own.
On a side note, games don't even have editors today. Fuck this industry. It's beyond saving.
>>47609662
we still have the indy scene that's completely separate from all the corporate bullshit
How old are you, OP? If you're still in high school/1st year in uni, then not having previous programming experience isn't anything to worry about. Assuming, this is a long term goal.
First, start learning programming. C# is a great choice, because then you could use Unity3d to make your games. Find a beginner tutorial online or a book about programming in C#. Go through it and see whether you still want to carry on. Getting through your intro to programming book should take you between a couple of weeks and a couple of months.
Afterwards you should be able to decide whether this is really for you. After you get familiar with the basics of programming, you should start learning about computer graphics and practice what you learn by making small, simple games like card games, board games, tetris, snake, simple platformers etc etc. You will then learn something about network programming and practice by adding multiplayer functionality to your games. You will also look into some AI basics and make computer adversaries for your games. Your skill as a programmer will depend on how much you practice by making increasingly more complex systems.
I assume at the same time you should be learning how to draw, though I'm clueless when it comes to that.
5 years down the road, you'll know a thing or two and be experienced enough to actually do this professionally.
Go to /vg/, theres amateur video game dev general
before you start shitposting there, do these things
Learn to program. If you're set on mobile, decide the platform. Iphone uses Swift or obj-c iirc, Android uses Java, and Windows phone uses C#
Java, Python, C# and Ruby are all good places to start to learn programming. JUST CHOOSE ONE. DONT BE A FUCKING MORON. JUST CHOOSE ONE, LEARN TO PROGRAM, TRANSFER SAID SKILLS TO A NEW LANGUAGE.
After you learn to program, you can find an engine. Unity, Unreal engine 4, Polycode, GameMaker, WHATEVER. it doesn't matter. I'm using polycode right now. Its great. and beautiful. but unfinished.
3D and 2D design arent rocket science.
for 3D, download blender, go to youtube, find a tutorial.
for 2D, look in the /vg/ /agdg/ OP, should have a link on how.
then you just mix that shit together. hopefully have an idea about gameplay, and writing .and you're ready.
GameDev isn't lucrative and often can lead to a dead end. Determined enough id imagine you can do something.
>>47606676
well maybe you can try to become a pilot for the chair force or s.t then try to get in
>>47607206
>implying
You dont need to be a genius to see what sells on PC/Consoles/Mobile. A bit of research,Some Unreal Engine 4 and Blender/3DS Max lessons and he is fine.
>>47611034
best advice so far.
tl;dr: get some experience coding. doesnt matter how. see if its for you or not, if not, then youll need to farm that out. but youll be able to focus your efforts on other aspects.
game maker is a viable option if you hate code. ive seen plenty of indie projects that are fantastic games that the creators knew little or no code. that will hinge on your ability to realize a vision and having the skills (or people with the skills) to fill in the rest of the blanks though.
easy game programming options to start:
-gamemaker [no code/GML - its an interpreted language, i think its like a hybrid of java and lua]
-love2d [lua]
-java + libgdx [java]
-polycode (thanks above poster for sharing) [c++/lua]
-unity [c#]
-unreal [no code/c++]
probably best to start small to get your head around concepts and code base, as well as gain confidence in creating projects.
GL. stick with it. post in agdg for help/motivation.
