The Title is a brief of what I am gonna rant here. Having started learning Unity(and game development) not so long ago, I am too insecure about my code, my art and my game design. I want to work on projects as a team, but it feels like I’d be a liability.
It’s not that I am a complete newb when it comes to coding. But seeing all the awesome projects being devlogged and uploaded on YouTube almost everyday makes me think that I still have a lot to learn, which obviously I do. But it also makes me think that I have to be a complete pro at game development to be able to work with others and to make connections.
How can I heal the insecure part of my soul and how can I improve my team communication skills(keeping in mind that I just completed Highschool)?
So yeah, that was it, thanks for listening…!!!
By forcing yourself to communicate with people. Practice make perfect. It should pass with age, and teens are more likely to be shy/awkward around strangers.
Watching “awesome projects” on youtube might give you skewed impression of the industry. Those people are showing only one carefully facet of their life, and based on that you’re making a likely incorrect conclusions about their skills and situation. (Also see all the “instagram vs real life” jokes).
Also, regarding code and art, there are people who are worse than you are at that and yet that doesn’t stop them from publishing their stuff.
Basically, it might help to keep in mind that ultimately “pro” is a label and it as a label it barely has no meaning. Judgement of other people doesn’t matter much either, because they don’t know real you, and for them you’re most of the time an extra in a crowd that they’ll forget about as soon as you leave their field of vision.
I’m going to sound like a broken record, because I make the same recommendation all the time, but see if there are any local gamedev communities in your area that do game jams. It’s a great way to get experience working with a team.
All of the jams that I’ve been in have been very inclusive and friendly to newcomers. Since it’s only 48 hours and just-for-fun, no one’s going to be stressing out like their mortgage riding on the project.
Sadly, there isn’t that great of a coding or dev culture around where I live, but I sure will keep my eyes open for that. And yeah it would have been really helpful in developing my communication skills. I will have to resort to some other alternatives for now.
I know that they give a wrong impression by only showing the ups and not the downs. But it still makes me feel so, idk, ignorant? Take Dani, for example, he makes it look so easy in his gamedev videos, and I know deep inside that he struggles too, but it makes me feel like I lag behind. Can you recommend me any good youtube or twitch channels that give a transparent take on game development.
And also, yeah the programming fails videos on YouTube, always a treat to see xD
Every day I thrutch through development. When I start working I don’t have a clue what is happening, and when I finish I am more confused than when I started. Half the time I am writing something, I don’t even know where it is going. I just making it up as I go along.
Somehow, most of the time, what I write just ends up working. Other times it’s all broken and nothing makes any sense. Then I just have to debug carefully one thing at a time. Moments like that get me down. Make tired. So after I solve the problem, I take a break until I got energy again.
If after a break and try again I still can’t get things to work, then I get help. That’s important. You need to get help from somebody who knows at least 10% more than you and has good communication skills.
Somehow the work keeps getting done. Every day has a few victories and a few setbacks, but every day the ball gets a little closer to touchdown zone.
I don’t wait until I know how to do. I just crash onto the scene and thrash my way around until something is working. THEN I can refine from there. This is the only way to make progress as far as I can tell. Make a big mess until things work, then clean up, refine, reiterate.
The process of refinement is what polishes a turd into a diamond. It’s the part you don’t see on youtube. It’s long, arduous, boring, ugly, stinky, and everybody hates it. It’s not fun at all. It makes people quit.
When I look at the finished, published work of other game developers, I see all the corners they cut. And then I know, they must be just like me.
One important thing: project I am working on is within my skill level. Almost every feature it includes is covered not just by one youtube tutorial, but many.
So I am not developing on my own. Everything I want to do with the project has examples already I can follow.
Tying it all together is uncharted territory no matter what, but that doesn’t negate the advantages I get from sailing well-documented territory.
So give yourself advantage by piggy backing off the wealth of resources available.
Game jams, hackathons, meetups (when they come back to in person).
It sucks how varied it is though in different areas, like Portland Oregon doesn’t have squat going on while Seattle, San Fran, LA, Austin, NYC are off the charts with activity.
I moved from Seattle to Portland, then moved back to Seattle mainly because of the community. Seattle has 167 jobs listed on indeed at the moment, same search “unity 3d” in Portland has 7 which only came after covid work from home, in 2019 there were 0-2 at any given time.
Other than that just keep practicing, expertise comes from experience. Do online game jams.
Have you finished any games on your own yet? Maybe finishing some simple projects will bolster your confidence. Be realistic about what a lone developer can accomplish and make small, simple games that focus on one core mechanic.
Everyone starts somewhere. You’re saying that you’re just starting, so comparing yourself to experienced people will only set unrealistic expectations. Learn from them, for sure, but don’t compare yourself to them. It’s not productive.
Those are three different sets of skills, each of which people spend years of dedicated study on. If you’re trying to learn all three of them then you’re spreading yourself really thin.
Keep in mind that most non-trivial games are made by teams. The larger a team gets the more specialised the individuals within it can be. In my team the artists don’t write code and the coders don’t make art. The designers do a little of each of those things, but mostly they design, and whatever code/art they do make usually gets replaced by a specialist afterwards.
So my advice is to pick an area to focus. You’re still allowed to do the other things as well, but settle on a role to focus on and then start giving it dedicated study.
I think its ok to feel you are new, ignorant and and unskilled. The important point is to not be afraid to learn. Tutorials are good and all, but as mentioned, actually working on a project (game jams etc) are the best. The point in joining is to gain experience and learn. If its a same skill level team, great! You can learn together! If you team mates are better then you, even better! Time to steal their code… i mean learn how things are done. The important thing is to actually be proactive and learn, and to use use gaming speak, not just be a leech and expect them to carry you. Make sure you come out of the project with more experience, knowledge and connections.
For the record, all coders are insecure about their code. Every single one of them.
It’s one of the reasons that coders are also hyper fast to criticize other code, because for a moment they can feel like their own code isn’t trash (it is).
Deep down, even @ippdev is secretly insecure about his code.
There’s nothing wrong with being insecure about your code, you probably should be (since your code is trash), it’s just how you handle it. Productive people accept their insecurities and make progress anyway.
Its kind of like courage. Having courage isn’t not being scared, everyone gets scared. Having courage is accepting your fear and acting anyway.
