From Player to Creator: Balancing the Challenge and Joy in Game Development

What the report says

By: Ulises RubinoHello there!A lot of us who have played games for most of our lives have had a moment such as this: You’re sitting on your couch, controller in hand, fully immersed in a game that you just found out about, and you have played it at least 5 or more hours a day in the past week. The graphics might not be mindblowing, but you are captivated by the gameplay, you picture yourself inside the game’s world and suddenly, a spark ignites in your mind. “I want to do this!” you declare, as you envision bringing your game ideas to life.When we are just teenagers there’s nothing to stop us, besides well, having to study and all that.

But when you are to the point where you have to juggle a 9-to-5, spending quality time with your family, having a hobby and also trying to get into game development, that’s when things get complicated. Before you start dreaming up the next Crusader Kings or how would you make a narrative-based Clash Royale clone, let’s talk about the journey you’re about to embark on. Transitioning from a game player to a game creator is no easy feat. It’s a whole perspective shift from what we are already familiar with, but a thrilling transition nonetheless.The Daunting Start: Embracing the Learning CurveLet’s acknowledge the monumental task ahead of you.

Shifting from a consumer mindset to a creator mindset can feel overwhelming, and it is completely normal to feel a bit crushed when you finally have a personal perspective on the amount of work you’ve got ahead of yourself if you want your game idea to become an actual game. You might find yourself staring at a blank canvas, wondering how on earth you’ll ever bring your vision to life, or wondering what the heck is a Rigidbody or a Finite State Machine. But fear not, for this is where the magic begins.It’s completely normal to face fears and insecurities during this transition.

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Will your ideas be good enough? Will you be able to learn the necessary skills? These doubts might creep into your mind and make you feel like you are just wasting time you could be using to do something else but do not let yourself be consumed by those thoughts. Perseverance is your superpower here friend. Embrace the learning process, gather your courage, and take one step at a time.The first time I got into game development was when I was around 18 (between 2011 and 2012), and I started with RPGMaker VX Ace, the latest at the time.

I had seen some promo videos about RPG Maker and loved the style of the games done in it. I remember I asked my grandpa to buy it for me because at the time it was the only way I could have access to digital USD, and he saw how passionate I was about it that he bought it for me almost without the need of convincing him. I worked on the mechanics and basic game design of that first game without any idea of what was waiting for me down the line. I got pretty far into that game, which was an adaptation of a fantasy world that I’m still working on to this day, but eventually, I figured out that what was on my mind would not be able to be done in RPG Maker without a deep understanding of code because of all of the modifications I would have to do.

After researching game engines for the first time, I concluded that the best match for my idea would be Unity, and then I got into it. Without any training or reading beforehand. Big mistake. It felt like I overcame a small bump in the road only to be faced with a steel-reinforced concrete wall. What were all these script files? What was a polygon collider? What did I get myself into?I tried watching some tutorial videos but at the time there wasn’t really enough free content out there to easily understand all of the basics, most of the playlists on YouTube were incomplete, and paying for an online course was out of the question due to how expensive they were compared to what my family could earn in a month.

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Then, I learned about Playmaker and how people were using it to make games without coding, then after a day of watching videos about it, I once again asked my grandpa about it and once again he helped me, $99 it costed, still remember that price tag.