Front page | Learning to Program in HTML | Chaos in the Orchard
I have been trying to make a video game recently, and while it has been a blast, I have run into a lot of issues. The reason I am writing this is so that when I overcome those issues, I can look back at how far ive come.Even though I have just started, I am not new to gamedev. I have always wanted to make games, and I even tried making a game once. This time though, I actually made some progress! Nowadays I can create a platformer game without really thinking! Its easy enough to say that all this has happened, but how this has happened is a whole other story. A long time ago, I decided that I wanted to create a puzzle game. I was inspired by the lamps in Minecraft that could turn on and of, and thought it would be a cool idea to make a game out of. So I asked my dad if I could borrow his computer, and I told him what I wanted to make. He asked me if I wanted to use Unity or Unreal. I simply just chose Unreal because the pricing made sense. After 30 minutes of messing around with it, I grew frustrated at all the menues and buttons. I just gave up and was pushed back from the gamedev space for a while. That was until Autumn 2024, when I jumped back into the dev, this time with Unity. After what happened with Unreal, I wanted to create an RPG. For some reason I thought it would be easier to make than a puzzle game, but maybe thats just because you don't have to learn level design. Regardless, I was pumped! I started by wacthing Youtube videos. For a bit I got stuck because I couldnt figure out how to download Visual Studio, but I got it eventually. I found this top-down movement tutorial, and I followed dilligently. Everything he did, I did. But when I finished, Unity began to talk about compiler errors. And I had no idea what to do. After a while, I gave up trying. Until I found Gamemaker.
Gamemaker was a lifesaver, it taught me everything I need to know about gamedev. And I actually made a game! it wasnt an RPG (role playing game) or anything, but it was somthing I made! The game I made was a platformer, and that wasnt really the game I wanted to make. I quickly started watching top-down movement tutorials, but this one video kept popping up on my screen. It was for a game engine called Godot. Now I have seen Godot before and almost tried using it, (before I started Gamemaker) so im not too in the dark about how it works. So one day, I watched that video. And oh boy, does Godot have a lot of tools! But one really stuck out to me. Sprite sheets. The entire time I was using Gamemaker, I couldnt use sprite sheets. And it was annoying! Everything I had to chop up manually, which was really discouraging. Regardless, I pressed on. I have been using Gamemaker's visual scripting system, but now I was trying its scripting language. which was actually really fun! Now everything I did was with that. But during that time, my brother said he wanted to make a game. It was a FPS, (first person shooter) which seemed really daunting to me. But he wanted me to do it, so who am I to argue? I quickly realized Gamemaker can't do 3D. But I had a Raspberry PI with Godot on it so it seemed like a no-brainer. I watched a tutorial but couldnt find the thing they were talking about. I gave up quickly. But I wouldnt give up on his idea! I heard about this thing called Construct and it said it had 3D capabillities, so I tried it out. But once again, faliure struck me. I couldnt figure out how to program in it! Then I realized Gamemaker has 3D capabillities. They were complicated, but they worked! First, I wanted to make my game though. I had kind of lost intrest in the RPG idea, so I decided to make a platformer. I could not figure out what kind, though. "Maybe this? No. Maybe this? No." Back and forth between different genres. I kind of gave up after a while. Until Christmas 2024, when I got a Mac Mini.
My dad downloaded Gamemaker on the Mac because I could stop using my moms computer to make games, but I didn't really use that. Instead, I downloaded Godot again. But this time, it worked! I could make games using Godot! It felt amazing. Like I had a magical power. All that was left to do now was. Make it. The reason im hesitating is because I had no idea what game to make. It felt like before I could just will game ideas into existance, but now I can barely choose between top-down and side-scroller. So I started to make a platformer, and failed. Then I started to make a puzzle game, and failed. Really, I can talk about my failed projects all day, So ill skip to the chase. One night I decided I would finish my RPG, so I got to work right away. At this time I started watching a Youtube channel where they make games, one of which was an MMORPG. Theirs was a side-scroller, so I though I should just make that. I made a platformer charecter that could run, jump, and climb. Then I added an enemy, followed by a weapon. Things were looking bright! But I realized my dad didn't really want me to make an online game, and thought it would be too ambitious. But without online it might feel empty. And I didn't have time to think about what to do because I was working on my website. So I decided to sleep on it. That night I realized I should just make the puzzle game I started in the beginning! The future is looking bright.
I have a lot of trouble deciding what to do first. Originaly I tried making an inventory system, but thats silly. I should probably start with something like, levers! I know, I know. Thats very simple to do, but thats kinda the point. I want to see what I really like about this game before I dive into stuff like chests or combat. Plus it would save me a lot of time. Back when I tried Unreal, I sketched out some levels. I have been trying to replicate the first one I made called Astrophobia, (yes, its a stupid name) but the puzzle seemed kinda boring. You basically have to flip two levers in a curtain combination. And that combination was flip the left one four times, and flip the right one four times. The only challenge was that there are no clues, but if you do one side correctly then one door opens! It was definately the easiest puzzle ive ever made. But I still had another one, this time called Green Mechanizms. Once again, a stupid name. This level is better though! It featured enemies, trapdoors, locks and keys, and chests.
Currently in progress. :\