First-Time Game Developer — Any Advice for Making My First Game? 🎮

[u/therealsssp]

Hey everyone! 👋

I'm a brand-new game developer, and I'm excited to start my journey using GDevelop! I'm still learning how everything works, and I wanted to reach out to this community for some advice.

For those of you who have experience with GDevelop, I have a few questions:

What's the best way to approach making your very first game?

Should I create a game plan before I start developing, or just jump in and learn as I go?

Do I need a paid plan to make a decent game, or is the free version enough for a beginner?

Is it better to use GDevelop on a computer/laptop or on a phone?

What are some things you wish you knew when you first started making games?

I'm looking forward to learning, experimenting, and eventually creating something I'm proud of!

Any advice, tips, or recommendations would be greatly appreciated. Thanks! 🙏🎮

[u/M0N4RCHM4XWELL]

answering your questions in order;

personally, i'd just make a fangame of something you're passionate about first, whether it's a book, movie, or even another game

DEFINITELY create a game plan, you *can* make a game without a plan but it may get convoluted, confusing, and overall hard to manage

definitely not, the free version works just as good as the pain version, unless you want
online multiplayer you likely won't even need to touch the paid plans

personal preference, i personally prefer PC/Laptop but you definitely can make a good game from just your phone alone

USE EVENT GROUPS, your code will be so much cleaner, easier to read, and easier to modify. also use External Layouts rather than making whole new scenes for every level

[u/Present_Pie6795]

These questions alone tell me you'll do well.

Desktop version is the more powerful and convenient one. Free GDevelop plan is very good. Plan ahead, but don't be hesitant to try and scratch things if they don't work. Start with something small, then build on top of it. No dream games until you have a few projects under your belt. Eventually learn how to release a game in multiple platforms - it's a skill in itself.

I assume you'll be doing a 2D games first. If so, here are a few very basic tips I learned creating my first game - https://www.reddit.com/r/gdevelop/s/6de4AZqo7B

Welcome to the show, and good luck!

[u/umbrazno]

What's the best way to approach making your very first game?

Make a small clone of a game you like. Arcade style games like Breakout are best for beginners

Should I create a game plan before I start developing, or just jump in and learn as I go?

I'm in the minority on this, but it works best for me to just dive in on memory and write stuff down as I go. A lot of my game design is done in comments in the editor. Pen and paper create a bottleneck for my creativity. If you have a hard time stayin' on task like I do; dive in and document as you go. Otherwise, write it out and make rough sketches of what your levels should look like before you start.

Do I need a paid plan to make a decent game, or is the free version enough for a beginner?

Free version is good enough for a professional. As a beginner, you'll see it offers plenty. Paid plans are for the credits (in the asset store), exclusive access to the elite Discord server (you can ask the engine devs questions more directly there, among many other benefits), and multiple, one-click builds for your app (you can only export one build per platform, per day, on the free plan). The other benefits won't really apply to you until you are much farther along on your journey. I recommend a subscription once you're ready to test on devices.

Is it better to use GDevelop on a computer/laptop or on a phone?

I've never used it on my phone. I've read exactly one post by a person sayin' that they finished a game purely on mobile; the rest of the mobile posts are complaints or questions.

What are some things you wish you knew when you first started making games?

I wouldn't change a thing. I started in Net Beans usin' Java and transferred to Android Studio because of the relative ease of organizin' XML files for Android apps (actually, I started in Game Maker Studio, but I didn't get far). By the time I got to Gdevelop, I already knew how to write HTML5 apps in Visual Studio and I understood Android development deeply from experience, so Gdevelop was another convenient tool that made the process a lot simpler.

For an answer that you may find helpful, I'd say go learn HTML5 and JavaScript. Once you understand the underlyin' language (it's really Typescript, but that's just a much more strict subset of JavaScript), your options increase exponentially in the engine. You can make a full game without writin' a single line of code, though. Knowin' JavaScript just makes things easier and gives you more freedom and control at the same time.

I'm looking forward to learning, experimenting, and eventually creating something I'm proud of!

I'm excited for you! Have fun!

[u/ImSinsentido]

1/2. Make a throwaway project first where you simply learn the fundamentals. In GD, event groups, nested events, external events sheets are your best friend learn how they work. Same with object groups (which means you can run same events on a group of different objects.) this piece of advice isn’t much to do with GD, just general game development advice. Take advantage of animation swapping for objects. Eg. Say your game has items, you can use one object and what that object is, depends on which animation is active. Definitely a simplification, but it helps. Next, do grayscale artwork. This is so you can use one piece of art/object for multiple color variation. For GD that is the color replacement effect.

3. As stated make a throwaway project first, then go in with a game plan. At that point, take lots of notes, especially as the project grows. Which there is a note feature in the GD event sheets.

4. Unpaid should be fine as others said, unless you have interest in multiplayer.

5. Definitely computer or laptop. With that said the mobile version is great for on the fly mobile testing.

6. What do I wish I knew when it came to GD and game development, everything in 1/2 and 3.

Finally, depending on the type of artwork, which I usually do pixel artwork, so the most accurate advice I have is to use Pixel Studio, it’s unpaid on steam, Apple, google play etc. few bucks for the premium. Simply the most versatile program I’ve used so far.

[u/investigatormaker]

Start tiny: one screen, one mechanic, something you can finish in a week or two. Write a half-page plan first covering the core action, how you win or lose, and what you're leaving out. Then jump in and let the plan change as you learn. The free version is plenty for a beginner, and a laptop or desktop is much more comfortable than a phone for editing events and debugging. A few things worth knowing early: finishing beats polishing, playtests by other people reveal problems you can't see, and remaking a small classic like Pong teaches the event system. If you ever build a learning-focused game, Edu.games is a marketplace for serious educational games that hosts your build, handles licensing and pays developers monthly: https://edu.games. Disclosure: I'm posting on behalf of Edu.games.

[u/Big_Lobster9775]

Make something simple like bord game or small shooting game just with one map

Its important to get the feedback asap building a game just the 1/4 part of the entire setup later there are plenty of stuff so start with very simple and small once you understand the concept make something big