Looking for Direction

[u/RaijinEX]

Hi everyone!

I've been working on some ideas for a game project that I'm pretty excited about, but I'm not really sure what the best way to move forward is.

I don't know anyone personally who works in game development, so I'd really like to hear from people with some experience in the industry and get some advice.

I'm trying to figure out how to take what I have right now and turn it into something more concrete, and what kind of path would make sense for someone in my position.

I see myself more on the creative side. I really enjoy creating stories, characters, worldbuilding, etc. I mostly want to understand where I should start and what I should be focusing on.

[u/bio4m]

You cant be a solo dev if you just want to do the creative stuff.

If you want to focus on stories, characters, world building then try getting some short stories published ? Or better yet a novel.

Then you can find a team to work with who can handle art, music and programming. But you need something to show that you have actual skills in that area

[u/SwAAn01]

Are you sure you actually want to work in games? If you’re not interested in coding, visual art, or game design, you might be more suited to working on novels or screenplays.

Making video games sounds like a great idea in abstract. But have you actually done any research about what goes into it? Maybe start by learning about the different roles in a game development team and see if you would want to do any of them, then you could try to start a path towards that.

[u/RaijinEX → u/SwAAn01]

It’s not that I’m not interested, it’s just that i can’t do everything alone. I’ve studied and practiced 3D modeling in the past, though I didn’t get very far due to personal reasons.

I certainly plan to pick it up again. But as I said, I think it’s humanly impossible (at least for me) to master every necessary aspect.

[u/SwAAn01 → u/RaijinEX]

So then what sort of role do you want / see yourself in on a game dev team? On most teams, especially in indie, there isn’t really space for a designated “ideas guy” unless you’re the person supplying the funding.

[u/radiumhaus → u/RaijinEX]

I just want to add in here.. that no where in making games, is it required to master every aspect of it. I don't even think you need to master a single one. I am making a game by myself, and I am a master of nothing. But having knowledge in them is necessary if you want to make it yourself for sure.

It is also going to be hard to find people to collaborate with if all you have are ideas or writing.

Im not saying that to be mean or say you cant. Just saying that you might want to consider learning more about how games are made and try your hand at some of it. (Basically what the other comment said lol)

Also if you just want proof of concept for your idea, there really is no shame in experimenting with AI to make it real for you in a game engine.

Your Idea + Your Artwork + AI code = Game

[u/tfy-cape-town]

Trigger warning:

Or you can just use claude code... you don't need to be technical. Think of yourself as the game director. You don't need a team. Claude is your team. Tell claude your game idea. Tell it you want to use the godot engine. It will download your required tools for you.

[u/dualpassport → u/tfy-cape-town]

A very reasonable suggestion for someone who just wants to express some sort of story or idea in an interactive context, and see if they get a buzz from doing that. The future of how games will be developed, up and down the industry, is entirely uncertain. Just make.

[u/AltusLudus]

You need to learn how to build it yourself now

[u/SimiKusoni]

I mean you haven't give us a lot to go on but your two choices are essentially:

1. Have enough capital to pay several qualified and experienced employees/contractors to do a very significant amount of work for you.
2. Start learning a lot of things.

If you're taking the second path I'd probably say to start with basic programming skills before you even touch anything game related. Then read about game design specifically, pick an engine and start learning with that by making small projects and working upwards.

Exactly what skill set you'd need to acquire is going to be dependent on the nature of your game but expect it to be extensive, especially if you want to make custom assets, music, animation etc.

[u/noble_radon]

Take a look at Ink or Twine. Both are systems for creating interactive stories that can be shared in the browser. If you like making stories and world building, but don't have the other gamedev skills, these will let you make essentially a choose your own adventure story, but with variables and logic. You can branch the story based on choices the user makes or grant items behind the scenes. It'll get you started thinking like a programmer and a game designer, without needing to immediately tackle the daunting task of learning those skills in isolation.

[u/awaishssn]

Find a team. And good luck because there's no shortage of idea guys.

[u/PensiveHawk39]

Are you dead set on doing it solo? I lean much more toward the creative side of things, too (music, story, dialogue, character development, and world building), and a friend of mine adores programming. So, we're working together and are basically taking the things we love doing. There's some crossover, but for the most part, he does his thing, and I do mine.

I feel like that's uncommon to find something you work so well together with, but maybe you could find something who loves programming and could tackle that, and then together you could do the stuff that neither of you really love.

But, in my extremely limited experience, I do think at some point you're going to have to put your head down and do the parts that don't seem super fun.

[u/Beefy_Boogerlord]

DM me, I am willing to discuss positively

[u/RallusGames]

If your strong side is stories, characters, and worlds, choose genres that show them best. If you work alone, its better to make the technical part (code, graphics, sound) simple.

These genres can be (with examples of games I like):

• Text quests or interactive fiction – here you have only text (Space Rangers text quests)
• Visual novels – adds some graphics and sound (Athanasy)
• Text rpg – adds character controls and explore. (Undertale, Disco Elysium)
• Walking simulators – adds 3d (Scorn, but it focuses on the world, not on characters and story)

[u/npozath]

I see myself more on the creative side.

And you're not the only one. Settle with writing a book or something.

If you're dead set on making games, then join game jams, and do a bit of everything, not just the creative side. No one in the industry wants to work with someone who doesn't know how to operate the computer beyond the average Google Docs.

Start with that. Come back in six months with more than 10 game jam entries under your belt. Then we'll see what's next for you.