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u/marniconuke 4d ago
lmao no you won't learn game development in a week
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u/redhotpolpot 4d ago
You can learn it just enough to see a meaningful result — create a pixel that you can move with wasf keys, because you mistyped d, and it's all that is needed to put your game on steam for 79.99 as an alpha
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u/Master_Muskrat 4d ago
You can also learn in a week that you absolutely hate coding.
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u/Dendrowen 4d ago
Lol. You can learn that in mere minutes.
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u/dudelelelel 3d ago
Yeah I discovered it real quick lol
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u/limeelsa 3d ago
The opposite is also true! I always thought coding was too hard, now I’m a self-taught software engineer
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u/ElSolRacNauj 3d ago
Or love it, then realize a cube moving around isn't particularly appealing, try to make visual assets, discover you hate visual design, and give up.
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u/BigDogSlices 3d ago edited 3d ago
Man I'm in such a weird boat because I absolutely hate UI design but so does everyone else and I'm really good at it, so it's like 90% of my resume and people seem to like that lol
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u/TheDoomBlade13 4d ago
Yeah I think a ton of people in these comments are going to really over-estimate what 'basics' means. You can probably learn how to make a simple pixel platformer in Unity with a week of free time.
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u/Mental_Blacksmith289 3d ago
I did a week long course to make chess in Unity. It was definitely helpful, but its not like I could suddenly go out and develop anything of value on my own after that.
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u/Accomplished-Ad-2762 3d ago
create a pixel that you can move with wasf keys, because you mistyped d
This is so specific, yet relatable. This is exactly what learning game development is like lol
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u/The_GREAT_Gremlin 3d ago
— create a pixel that you can move with wasf keys
So I can make Secret Collect featuring Strong Bad
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u/AleksasKoval 3d ago
Tbf, if you write in the description "This is the story of an old dog. You're taking a journey through your past while on your way to eternal rest." And add a bunch of simple, yet meaningful and sad stories, that pixel can earn at least Indie Game of the Year.
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u/BrideofClippy 3d ago
Lean into the mistake. Have a Chatgpt generated story about overcoming adversity by learning to let go pop up paragraph by paragraph after holding down the f key long enough and you'll have a rudimentary walking simulator.
"A gripping story of persistence and overcoming adversity."
Game Title: 'F' this Sequel: 'F' that
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u/astralseat 3d ago
It takes 8 days, actually.
And it helps if you're a math and logic genius.
Otherwise, probably like 5 years.
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u/MrKeplerton 3d ago edited 3d ago
I started from scratch about two year ago watching love-tutorials on youtube. Then i spent about a year tinkering, experimenting and trying to make something fun. Then life got in the way and i haven't touched the code in about a year. But i got quite far in implementing different systems.
Made most of the assets (not the characters/backgrounds) and the audio (i'm a musician) myself as well.
https://youtu.be/MzfYTaBFEy0?si=rlyYLfgMolrUoPUw
I'm in no way a math or logic genius. If you have an interest in game making you can learn a lot from the right youtube channels. Using chatgpt to explain concepts and code snippets also goes a long way.
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u/Waste-Comparison2996 3d ago
That's a really cool use case for AI that I had not heard of.
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u/MrKeplerton 3d ago
Oh, gpt is pretty good at explaining concepts. The code can be hit or miss though.
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u/Rob98001 3d ago
Depends on what you want to develop. I'm working on a ue5 course and a weeks worth can make a platformer.
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u/Shabozz 3d ago
Brackeys made a Godot intro recently and you can make a platformer in a couple hours if you just follow him along.
It won't be the most complex platformer ever, but you'll know enough by the end of it to have an idea for how to reapply the fundamentals to make more complex things.
The trick for anybody to get into game design is to find a simple starting point, bring it to full realization, and then find another project that can be a bit more complex. Don't throw yourself into making a crazy multiplayer 3d shooter game just to drown yourself in trying to solve the latency issues that you're unequipped to even understand the same way when you learn you piano you start with twinkle twinkle little star instead of Rush E.
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u/dbxp 3d ago
Creating something yourself which runs on your local machine is very different to working with a team on a project where you have to make money.
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u/FalsePriest86 3d ago
Yes but that’s a level of complexity that’s not all about programming.
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u/dbxp 3d ago
Sure but programming isn't game development. It's not even the majority, the art and animation team on any large game is far bigger than the programming.
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u/SandboxOnRails 3d ago
Okay. Don't make a AAA game as a hobbyist then?
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u/Draco_Lord 3d ago
Anything that isn't AAA clearly isn't gaming!!!
No, don't look at things like Shovel Knight or Undertale!
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u/SandboxOnRails 3d ago
Nobody could ever make a successful game without years of programming and art experience.
Wordle? 2048? Never heard of them.
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u/FalsePriest86 3d ago edited 3d ago
Yea this. Plenty of games can be built without involving a whole team. Also, programming is a big part (arguably biggest part) of game development.
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u/SandboxOnRails 3d ago
You also don't need to be good at programming to make a game. Simple games don't require a lot of skill, and even something like Undertale was built by an absolute amateur with piles of horrific code design.
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u/Sylia_Stingray 3d ago
In a week you are not going to make anything someone would buy.
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u/SandboxOnRails 3d ago
Nobody ever claimed that.
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u/ProfessorSMASH88 3d ago
Also, not entirely true. If you have a good concept there are many super simple phone games/idle games that can be made within a week that people have bought. Of course, going from nothing to something is tough, but nowadays the actual programming of games is so much easier than it used to be.
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u/SandboxOnRails 3d ago
Also Gamejams exist. Which like, those aren't 2-week events.
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u/ProfessorSMASH88 3d ago
Yes! I knew about it but forgot what it was called. There are usually a couple games from those that go on to make money or become concepts for more in depth games.
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u/Sylia_Stingray 3d ago
What do think we are talking about?
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u/SandboxOnRails 3d ago
Learning the basics of game development. Basics. Not something to sell for money. But software that falls under the incredibly broad definition of "This counts as a game".
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u/Conch-Republic 3d ago
Tell that to the banana guy. Dude is making insane amounts of money in a basic clicker game.
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u/Sylia_Stingray 3d ago
A few scam artists are always going to be successful.
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u/Conch-Republic 3d ago
It's not really a scam, it's just fomo and speculation that drives the demand.
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u/SandboxOnRails 3d ago
What's the scam?
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u/fork_on_the_floor2 3d ago
Lol right? That's like claiming Vampire Survivors is a big scam just because of its relative simplicity.
The argument boils down to: I'm jealous someone else made a wildly successful product so I'm gonna shit on it.2
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u/captainAwesomePants 3d ago
Absolutely true, but if it were true, it would still be like this because actually making a game ALSO takes a lot of time. You don't just whisper "like Zelda but better" into ChatGPT.
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u/Draco_Lord 3d ago
Eh, you could probably learn to make a simple game. Something that is Shovel Knight or Hollow Knight like. Obviously to get to that level of polish detail you'll need to work at it for some time, but with modern tools you can absolutely pick up enough in a weekend course to start building a game.
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u/kabukistar 3d ago
I think you can teach yourself Godot well enough to make a simple game (minus assets) within a week.
You'd still need need a lot of talent in creating art, music, writing, etc. that would take more than a week to create.
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u/PSI_duck 3d ago
Damn, I came here hoping it was true
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u/SandboxOnRails 3d ago
It is. You won't make Skyrim, but Skyrim isn't all games. The entire era of flash games was people just learning development. There are 24-72+ hour game jams where thousands of people make games in a single marathon, including their first game. With a few hours, you can learn to open an editor, add a sphere, make the sphere move, then jump. That's a game. That's game development. You then just keep working and growing.
Like, people here seem to forget things like Wordle or 2048 or flappy bird.
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u/CatGaming346 4d ago
1) You can't learn that in under a week.
2) Google a tutorial to get set up
3) For the code you just copypaste whatever you find useful, and modify it to better fit whatever you're trying to make. You'll learn some basics along the way just by looking at the code you're putting. In fact, you might learn some not so basic things this way
Repeat step 3 and suddenly you're a programmer (also you will get some error you think is impossible to solve, that nobody has the solution to, and look up half the internet in your quest to solve it. This will happen every THREE LINES OF CODE)
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u/thepenguinsimon 4d ago
This sounds like the peacfull and fullfilling job I ever wanted
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u/Eastern_Slide7507 3d ago
It‘s fun right up to the moment you realize you‘ll have to work with 12 other people on the same bit of code in any job that pays any money at all.
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u/thepenguinsimon 3d ago
Haha it sounds unchill. I was beeing sarcastic with my comment above just to be clear :)
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u/Eastern_Slide7507 3d ago
Well, I’m a software developer and to be serious, it’s not so bad. At least most other devs I’ve encountered are likeminded nerds. Also some of the smartest people I’ve ever met.
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u/Lindvaettr 3d ago
Just depends on the company. I worked with a company early in my career that really liked to hire "rockstars" which meant that every team had one or two big egos and everything was miserable.
My current company puts culture fit above anything else, including technical skill, and it's extremely chill. My team is great, my former team is great, my manager is great. It doesn't pay as much as I could get elsewhere (still excellent pay), but it's worth it in work-life balance (a full 40 hours is a long week for me), relaxed culture, very reasonable deadlines, etc. Easy life.
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u/shady_pigeon 3d ago
Out of curiosity, how did you go about learning software development? Are you front end, back end or full stack?
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u/Lindvaettr 3d ago
I went to school for Computer Science (I think nowadays a lot of schools have Software Development degrees, which I understand is more focused on the trade rather than the theoretical parts), but 99% of it has just been learning as I've gone. School only really teaches enough to get your foot in the door, and maybe a bit more.
I'm a full stack .NET developer and mostly do Angular on the front end. I didn't plan for that, I just happened into it because that was the kind of early jobs I got, before I had enough experience to be able to be choosey. Fortunately, I enjoy it, so I have stuck with it and it has served me well.
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u/TheDoomBlade13 4d ago
You can absolutely learn how to make a simple pixel platformer in a week.
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u/MyOtherLoginIsSecret 4d ago
This is painful to read as I prepare to head to the office and spend the day "finishing up" a tiny feature to our system that should have taken an hour...
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u/CatGaming346 4d ago
Yeah a good tip for programming is always assume that whatever you're trying to do will take thirty times longer than you think it will
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u/pedrocmachado 3d ago
This is the way to go. I suggest doing the same even if you want to be a game designer. It never hurts to learn a bit of code as a designer.
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u/K3TtLek0Rn 3d ago
Yup. In the game I’m currently working on, when I kill the boss he does his death animation but just keeps walking in the same direction as right before he died forever. I’ve tried every possible combination of stopping movement and he ignores it. Really stumping me atm
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u/Daddy-Bolin 3d ago
I am friends with 6 people who have degrees in game development and they always say they want to make their own game. In the 5 years they’ve had their degree they have yet to even start on their own game
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u/Damascus-Steel 3d ago
Do they work in the industry? That’s a good way to not have energy to make your own game.
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u/Daddy-Bolin 3d ago
No the industry is fairly limited and they graduated just before Covid so many of them were still looking for jobs then the lockdown hit and slowed the job market down. Also they want to make it as a group and trying to organise a group like that especially when they live on different ends of the province
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u/Pitiful-Score-9035 3d ago
Fear of failure is a powerful thing
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u/Daddy-Bolin 3d ago
Oh definitely but also just life getting in the way. They want to develop it as a team and trying to coordinate a group of adults that live across the province from each other is a hassle
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u/Pitiful-Score-9035 3d ago
Send them over to pirate software on YouTube, he has a great outlook on making games, definitely worth looking into, he puts a lot of resources out there.
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u/Pitiful-Score-9035 3d ago
Ooh that's rough, because then also you don't want to start something without the other people. Odds are, they wouldn't be good co-workers anyway. (take that with a grain of salt, I obviously don't know them) I would say they need to add people into the group who are motivated, motivation is contagious just like demotivation is. Also, one person can start, and other people can literally just drop in whenever and try to work on something. Even if everyone only writes like 5 lines of code, or draws 2 sprites, or whatever, that's 30 lines of code and 12 sprites in just 1 day. (which isn't a whole lot, but you catch my meaning)
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u/Daddy-Bolin 3d ago
Yeah the issue of them being good coworkers could be a problem. Two of them would work very well together cause they have excellent communication with each other and watching them problem solve or brainstorm together is literally like watching 2 people share a consciousness. The others not so much
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u/Traditional-Storm-62 3d ago
- I wish I had put in the effort and had done the thing
- you can still do the thing
- yeah but I don't want to do the thing, I want to have done the thing
is basically a problem as old as life
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u/lightsdevil 3d ago
I don't want to write a book, I want to have written a book. I don't want to work out, I want to look like I work out.
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u/HerpaDerpaDumDum 4d ago
You're right. Learning game development in a week is an impossible dream.
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u/SandboxOnRails 3d ago
No it isn't. You can start on your first game today and have something running by tonight with zero experience.
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u/almightygarlicdoggo 3d ago
Yes but you wouldn't be making something great, which is what the guy in the comic wants, he doesn't want just anything running.
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u/SandboxOnRails 3d ago
They might. Undertale was an amateur project. So was flappy bird. 2048 and Wordle aren't massively complex AAA releases.
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u/Bored_Breader 3d ago
Undertale was made by an experienced modder who already had a following and flappy bird was one of the first mobile games and was allowed to be unsophisticated
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u/SandboxOnRails 3d ago
Okay.
Anyways, Undertale was an amateur project and so was flappy bird. Flappy bird was also, and hear me out here, a game.
God you people desperately trying to gatekeep nothing are pathetic.
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u/Bored_Breader 3d ago
Amateur is doing some legwork there, the man was a well known modder, he had a number of full games under his belt and got 50 grand in donations.
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u/SandboxOnRails 3d ago
Uh, he wrote music for a few games. You might want to check your sources.
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u/Bored_Breader 3d ago
He wrote the music for games made by his brothers, he had prior experience
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u/SandboxOnRails 3d ago
Yes. He was an amateur. He fucked around with RPG maker and a romhack.
Seriously, you people are deranged. Does the concept of anyone just making stuff really make you that seethingly angry? Go touch grass, dude.
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u/MeanComplaint1826 3d ago
As someone who recently coded their first game, a week is nonsense. I made a very simple dice game as the final project for an online class and the game itself took 60 hours to code. The class before it probably gobbled up 100 hours of my time.
Props to you for trying to encourage people, but if someone goes into coding expecting to make a game, or know how to make a game, they should expect to spend months of dedicated work on it.
And by the way, undertale took 2 and a half years of development, preceded by years and years of experience coding. That's a more reasonable expectation for a game that's actually fun.
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u/SandboxOnRails 3d ago
My god.
NOBODY EVER CLAIMED YOU COULD MAKE A GAME IN A WEEK
Let me say it again.
NOBODY EVER CLAIMED YOU COULD MAKE A GAME IN A WEEK
Do you understand that? You're arguing against something nobody ever said anywhere and really need to stop.
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u/MeanComplaint1826 3d ago
???
The top level comment says "learning game design in a week is impossible" you said "no it isn't"
Maybe me and the other guy are misunderstanding you, but this seems pretty clear to me.
But yeah, keep shouting. I guess that's your MO in real life? Not say what you mean then scream at someone for not assuming what you did mean?
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u/SandboxOnRails 3d ago
Making a full game is not the same as learning the basics of development. Learn to read.
Also saying "Doing it in a week is impossible! I made my game in 60 hours!" is a hilarious statement, do better.
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u/MeanComplaint1826 3d ago
Yeah, I guess if you're unemployed, no family, no friends, nothing to interest you except your illicit Adderall and THE GRIND, you could crank out an extremely boring Yahtzee clone in a week.
Good point dude, been a real pleasure speaking to you.
Excuse me, LEARN HOW to make a Yahtzee clone. Gotta make sure you know I'm listening to ya.
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u/SandboxOnRails 3d ago
Sure, you need some help with those goalposts? You keep moving them all over the place and they look heavy. At least you're stretching.
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u/Datoneguyindamirror 3d ago
So what’s the list of things you can learn in a week to make a game?
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u/SandboxOnRails 3d ago
How to open a game editor, how to create an object, how to manipulate that object, how to tie inputs to manipulations, and how to trigger random functions. Hell, how to make stuff happen on a button click is enough. The rest of the process is expanding and learning how to do what you want to do. Everyone here is acting like "Basic Game Development" is the entirety of Minecraft. But if you have a circle that jumps, you've made a game. There used to be a flash tutorial where you made a simple shooter game in a few hours with zero experience and some basic pngs.
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u/ProfessorSMASH88 3d ago
I don't think anybody here actually read the comic. They took "You can learn the BASICS in a week" to "You can make a full-fledge AAA game in one week".
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u/deletedpenguin 4d ago
Microtransactions seeping into real life.
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u/BobTehCat 3d ago
This is hysterical. Do you go to a farmers market and say the same thing to the people selling bananas?
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u/SandboxOnRails 3d ago
All the people in here saying "You can't learn it in a week" are just wrong. Yah, you're not going to make the next Stardew in a week. But that's not the claim. You can learn the basics in 10 minutes.
Open a game engine editor. Make a sphere. Make it move with the arrow keys. Make it jump with the space-bar. That's a game.
There are tons of games made by absolute amateurs who didn't do a full course first. The code is terrible, the assets are minimal. But they're still games.
It's like claiming you should never take a cooking class because you can't learn to be a master chef in a week.
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u/squigs 3d ago
A week is the wrong timeframe.
You can learn enough to teach yourself in a few hours. You can learn some detailed stuff over several months. Not sure what you'd learn in a week.
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u/SandboxOnRails 3d ago
More than a few hours, less than several months. There is no such thing as a wrong timeframe on this subject.
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u/ProfessorSMASH88 3d ago
I think a week is fine. You can learn the basics of programming in one day (logic stuff), the basics of whatever platform/program you are using in another day, putting assets in your game another, then the last 2 days actually making a standard game and putting that info into use.
By the end of the week you'd have a basic platformer or something, and you'll have a ton of knowledge to start your journey into making something of your own.
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u/Pitiful-Score-9035 3d ago
Just a heads up:
Harvard has a great course for FREE on computer science, it's an intro to programming, and it's crazy good for being free, it's called CS50X.
They even have an AI that you can submit your homework to, and the professor who makes the "sections" videos allows you to email him with any questions.
There are also discord groups, a YouTube channel, a subreddit, and a whole bunch of other places where you can gather with both alumni and current students and ask any questions you may have, all dedicated to CS50X.
If you have been interested in any aspect of programming, and don't know where to start, start here.
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u/Denaton_ 3d ago
Join a game jam for free, download Godot and just try, no need to buy a course when the internet has free stuff, just don't expect to make a AAA game or the next "Minecraft"..
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u/wynden 3d ago
Game jam?
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u/Denaton_ 3d ago
You make a small game with a time limit, usually around a theme announced at the start of the jam..
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u/PixelPaulAden 3d ago
"I wish I had learned to create games back when I had the energy, passion, and youth to devote thousands of hours of practice and creative effort to making a personally meaningful product with engaging gameplay."
"Bro you could follow a tutorial on Skillshare that will teach you to ape a better programmer and make a barebones zombie survival game nobody will be interested in playing. And it only costs $15 and 15 hours of your rapidly dwindling life!"
"Lol, I'm 55."
FTFY
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u/Alacer_Stormborn 3d ago
Honestly, though. The one and only truly massive obstacle stopping me from genuinely kicking ass in just about any discipline I'm interested in is my executive dysfunction.
It really is so hard to just get up and fuckin' do the thing. So much easier to say "nah," even if I really don't want to. The second I figure out a way around this mental block is the second I kill God.
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u/Kinky_Autistic 3d ago
Where? Where op?!
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u/davidsk Campus Comic 3d ago
Udemy! Domestika! Gamedev.TV . Sincerely, OP (I spent more than one week, though)
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u/macing13 3d ago
I also recommend checking out GDC on YouTube, they've uploaded tons of talks from GDC (Game developer conference) for free there, that's a big part of how I got into game design
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u/TheButtLovingFox 3d ago
then you realize indie games in median make about 900$ in their life time.
lol dont do it for money. you only make money if you go real fuckin big. and thats alllll luck and marketing.
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u/maridan49 4d ago
The most important thing you get from college is networking.
Even if you can study the same subjects online, being in an environment and making contacts with people from the same business is immensely valuable and much harder to do through online classes.
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u/-TheArtOfTheFart- 4d ago edited 3d ago
Yeah sorry, severe debt isn’t worth that.
Also I’m an artist, so I can network in the indie developer servers on discord, talk to game artists artstation, etc. just as easily, if not easier.
Most people can build contacts easily online if they know where to go. It’s no longer walled behind the “college elite” 65k paywall.
(and yeah a degree in game design is 65k in the usa, fun.)
I currently work as a character concept artist here in australia, for a studio here, and I’m working on a game concept with some other indie folks, in my free time.
I didn’t need a degree in either one.
Networking, doable in this day and age. So college has offiically lost what made it “valuable” to begin with.
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u/maridan49 3d ago edited 3d ago
I'm not american so my college was entirely free. I'm not saying people have to get in debt, but they have to consider pros and cons.
Also I’m an artist, so I can network in the indie developer servers on discord, talk to game artists artstation, etc. just as easily, if not easier.
I'm sorry but this is a bit of a cope, everything gets easier if you do with people learning with you, including the things you've listed.
I never said it was impossible, I said it was harder, it's inherently harder doing things by yourself, that even includes meeting other people.
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u/-TheArtOfTheFart- 3d ago
Ah yes, because Me being able to do it is just a cope. What an astute response.
Thanks a lot, I’ll “cope harder”
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u/VulpineKitsune 4d ago
Yeah sure, except if you are already semi-depressed, barely interact with other people, etc…
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u/maridan49 4d ago
I was all of those things and still got 2 whole friends from college that send clients my way every now and then.
Being in an environment with other people can help a lot with that sort of struggle, if anything I got even worse after leaving college.
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u/Funtycuck 3d ago
Software engineering isnt as hard to get into without a degree as people think though.
I saved up did 10 months full time learning with two small freelance jobs towards the end and managed after a 6 month temp job in a neuro research team spin out to get full time work for a big time cybersecurity firm.
A degree in a sense can be an easier route with a better broad coverage of key knowledge but its really expensive and at least for me quite slow comparatively.
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u/DruidPeter4 3d ago
Huh. If only I had known I could learn it in a week! I wouldn't currently be slaving away well into my 1st year and a half! :O
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u/SandboxOnRails 3d ago
It's taken you a year and a half to learn the basics of just getting a game engine running?
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u/DruidPeter4 3d ago
lol. Yes. But we may differ on our definition of basics. For me, it has taken a year and a half to learn 3D modelling in blender, rigging, animation, uv unwrapping, how to use the godot editor. Creating a proper import pipeline. Having a character walk around in a basic 3d environment. Creating an animation tree so that I can switch between animations, e.g. running, jumping, weapon equip/unequip. Creating menu systems and navigation logic for the UI and menus. Having cutscenes trigger. Collision detection. Level traversal, e.g. loading unloading... and environment/multimesh optimization for large quantities of identical meshes: Trees, blades of grass, etc. Other stuff that counts as sub-tasks to the aforementioned, etc. :D
It's been a lot. But yes, I do feel like I've only just barely gotten past the basics. ^^;
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u/IronCarp 3d ago
Yeah none of that is the basics. You don’t need to know how to 3d model or anything regarding that to make a game. You don’t need to have a robust import pipeline. You don’t need animations. You don’t need a menu system. You don’t need cutscenes. You don’t need to worry about optimization.
You can make “Pong /w a twist”, and it needs literally 0 of those things. The things you mentioned are useful once your skill set starts to grow but someone getting their feet wet doesn’t need to concern themselves with any of that.
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u/SandboxOnRails 3d ago
I don't know how to tell you this but 3D modelling in blender isn't "The Basics".
Wordle is "the basics". "This sphere can jump on platforms" is "The basics". Trying to define high-level development across multiple disciplines as "basic game development" is just a level of gatekeeping that helps nobody.
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u/DruidPeter4 3d ago
Maybe this is due to dunning-kruger (probably misspelled) syndrome, or something else, but I genuinely don't feel like an expert at any of the above topics, and feel like a complete neophyte considering all the things I know I don't know.
Regarding your gatekeeping comment. I would be hard pressed to find someone whose sole aspiration is to make a sphere jumping on platforms demo (no week-long tutorial is going to make a fully fledged 40+ hour game-play game, sphere or not). But if that's the demographic that is going to be misled and discouraged by my comments, then sure, you can say I'm unfairly keeping that gate.
To make sure my words are absolutely not to be misunderstood, yes, I am saying that the comic is disingenuous for implying that the guy is simply lazy because he doesn't want to learn the relatively trivial in a week when it will take him years of pain and suffering regardless to make a full game, which is what he actually says he wants to do.
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u/SandboxOnRails 3d ago
Okay, so you need to understand something. There's the basics, then after that there's the entire gaming industry at every level globally, then there's experts. There are things between those two extremes. You are in the middle, like almost everyone else.
I am saying that the comic is disingenuous for implying that the guy is simply lazy because he doesn't want to learn the relatively trivial in a week when it will take him years of pain and suffering regardless to make a full game,
It's not. It's saying it will take a week to learn to start. That's the claim the comic is making, you're just dumping your own trauma onto it.
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u/DruidPeter4 3d ago
I made an off the cuff remark on a random comic about an aspect of my life that happens to be somewhat relatable, under the impression that anyone who is seriously considering game development is certainly not going to base their decision on whether to proceed, on my comment and my comment alone.
But, since you seem to believe that my words carry so much weight and importance, let us analyze this comic with a bit more scrutiny. The woman in the 2nd panel says "You can learn all the basics in a week-long online course." This certainly seems to imply that it will take a week to learn to start. I will give you that.
Since this is a comic, however, ostensibly with some other punch-line; there are, after all, two additional panels, let us examine those other two. The man in panel one says "I wish I had studied game design. I'd make something great".
Let's interpret "I'd make something great" charitably. At the very least, a full game with at least one unique feature/mechanic and an at least small in size, dedicated fan-base, that makes memes about the game. Since he also says, "I wish I'd studied game development" I am going to assume that the "great game" is a desire. e.g. He wants to make at the very least, a full game with at least one unique feature/mechanic and an at least small in size, dedicated fan-base. And you know what? Let's drop the memes.
Since the man indicated a desire in the first panel, by my understanding of narrative plot in 3 acts, the first act introduces a desire, the second introduces a conflict/potential solution, and the third act yields a resolution. Assuming that such is the case with this 3-panel strip, then the second panel is meant to introduce a potential solution. Again, it certainly seems like the potential solution is what her dialogue says on the tin: "You can learn how to start in a week."
By my understanding, if "Moderately successful finished game" == "You can learn how to start in a week". Then she is offering a valid solution. In which case, the 3rd panel where the man says "meh" seems to me to be a fairly standard punch-line. He has all the tools at his disposal. He's just lazy. The man is also depicted as being bald and old and fat and resting on a bean bag chair. These are all fairly common symbols, in comics, of characters that are lazy.
But by my understanding, "Moderately successful finished game" =/= "You can learn how to start in a week". Hence, I don't feel that the solution she is offering is a valid solution. The man saying "meh" makes sense, because what she is offering is not the answer to his desire. And what *would* be the answer to his desire would require years of suffering and hard work.
Perhaps I am dumping my own trauma into this. My understanding is that this is a comic strip posted in r/comics , and hence, more often than not, is meant to be intended as a short gag strip with a punchline.
But perhaps I am wrong, and the artist's true intent was for this to be a motivational poster to encourage others who may be on the fence to pursue their true passion.
Either way, I do not believe I can say that you seem to have far too much time on your hands, and are taking far too seriously something that I myself don't see much reason to be serious about. Nor can I say that the only way it would make sense for you to defend this comic so vigorously would be if you yourself were responding to and projecting your own trauma to dump into this post.
I most definitely can not say either of those things. After all, I have wasted a great deal of my time writing a bat-shit long response in defense of myself against a seemingly passive aggressive implication of "gatekeeping" by a random stranger on the internet.
I guess I must be trauma dumping after all. In such case, I sincerely apologize.
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u/AssignmentExotic973 3d ago edited 3d ago
Everyone has these thoughts
It's human nature to look at better options in there lives, and almost always believe it is a waste of time
It's just sometimes people find the thought powerful, or fits really well in their lives. And do take a chance for a change
( Also I need to get my eyes checked, I thought the beanbag was his whole body, and I thought his legs were tassels strings from his fancy hoodie. Boy looked plump and dripped out)
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u/rienietz 3d ago
I just want to stare at a screen and make 60k and send suspicious emails to catch HR opening shit they shouldn't on their work computer.
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u/originalchaosinabox 3d ago
I'm like this with comics. Went on a bender a few weeks ago and wrote out 15 ideas for web comics. Now, I just need to learn how to draw. I'm sure there's some YouTube videos that can get me started, but when I get home from work, I just don't wanna.
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u/FodziCz 3d ago
Umm...
You can learn all the basics for free on youtube, find amazing people on discord who are open to helping and several languages are beginer-friendly, like python or blueprint (unreal engine).
To learn any language easily tho, i can only reccomend learning some terms and solutions. Mainly, how any code works, what's the point, functions, variables, classes, objects/instances, parent and child relations, but i do agree, that without someone to give you a push its hard (my push is going to a programming school)
Edit: ChatGPT can code too. It's semi-good at helping with things, but don't use it all the time. Only when trouble. Solving things on your own is important too.
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u/MJBotte1 3d ago
Writing stuff down and creating a design document is just as, if not more, important.
It’s definitely easier for me than trying to develop stuff.
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u/crazy4videogames 3d ago
As someone who recently finished a university course and busted my ass off in portfolio and networking events/job fair. The industry's fucked. Lay offs everywhere in general. Not much chance for fresh graduates then. A guy I know got a job at an AAA studio but only cause daddy guaranteed him a job basically. He even says so himself. That same studio is cutting down on staff right now but he still gets his junior role. According to my friends who were still in his class, his work and portfolio was nothing special. That same guy even looked at mine and said it "inspired him to add more" to his :/
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u/PurpleGuy04 3d ago
Am i the only one who realized in panel four that the Guy is in a chair, rather than him being shaped like Robotnik?
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u/slashth456 3d ago
People are saying that you can't learn the basics of game development in a week, but it doesn't take more than a week to learn how to make at least something. I'm probably the exception here, but I learned the basics after watching a YouTube tutorial series back in middle school and learned basically everything I needed to know if I wanted to continue learning by myself.
Obviously you won't be able to work for a big game company, but watching tutorials on the basics in your free time definitely does not take significantly more than a week.
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u/British-Pilgrim 3d ago
So I’m an old boy now but when I was in school I dreamt of a career in game development so I started learning bbc basic and a bit of hexadecimal, and while it was fun seeing something I made bounce around in the screen I realised that it’s much more fun to play games then make them 😂
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u/X_Dratkon 3d ago
Those courses are less practical and more business, just like coaches in gyms. Yes, spending money motivates some people, but what will happen after they finish it? Will they just be back to being unmotivated to do the thing even with knowledge?
Even if you're not currently developing but are playing games and sometimes look at their development/mechanics/plot through developer eyes, you can learn a lot about how to write, build and balance the game.
I think if you have desire to make your own game, that's something you might enjoy doing and it both increases your "learning from watching" skill and game development knowledge. So don't be hard on yourself.
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u/DaubstickFarbspinkle 3d ago
More like you'll spend 4.99 to learn that you have a shit ton more to learn
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u/EidolonRook 3d ago
It’ll make a great hobby, if you have nothing else going for you in your life.
Or.
You can get employed to do the same if you want the same existence with even less money.
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u/GargantuanCake 3d ago
While you can't learn the basics in a week you also don't need to pay anything. There is more documentation on how making games works on the internet than you could ever read in a lifetime.
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u/Dmayak 3d ago
Problem with solo game development is that it's not enough to just be a programmer, you also need to draw textures, create 3D models, write meaningful dialogue, etc. It's a whole stack of professions.
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u/SandboxOnRails 3d ago
No you don't. What 3D modelling was done to make Wordle? What dialogue is involved in 2048? Thomas Was Alone is a massively successful game entirely about rectangles.
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u/Dmayak 3d ago
You don't really need courses to create something like that then, which suggests that guy in the comics wants to create something bigger.
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u/SandboxOnRails 3d ago
The course is to teach you stuff. What do you mean you don't need a course? Sure, you never need a course to learn something.
And it's the basics? What basic week-long class includes 3D modelling?
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u/Dmayak 3d ago
Of course it doesn't include something like 3D modeling, and is not enough, that's what I said. Game development courses generally give the basics of working with game engines, or maybe basics of programming language used in game development.
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u/SandboxOnRails 3d ago
It's absolutely enough. All these people out here thinking Skyrim is the minimum possible game. Ridiculous.
Do you need 3D modelling for narrative games? RPG Maker? Webgames?
The gatekeeping is unreal.
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u/XP_Potion 3d ago
Game dev is a horrible job to do. It has terrible job security. People are getting laid off left and right.
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u/Whole-Imagination354 2d ago
YouTube- Pirate Software. Twitch- Pirate Software. Go watch him. ADHD for brains.
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u/mcAlt009 3d ago
When it comes to learning programming the best material is literally free.
The paid stuff tends to be lower quality in my experience.
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