18:06 That was the best 4th wall break i have ever seen. I'm sitting here at 4:00 AM watching videos to prepare to make my first finished game and he's just like *Why are you here watching youtube videos and not starting?*
Thank you so much for making this video. I will be completely honest, I'm 36 and have TONS of anxiety and guilt about making games. I try to work on my games and my hands shake, I feel like I'm near tears, and I walk away and don't come back for months at a time. I want to makes games again, but I'm afraid of getting stuck and not having someone to go to to help me figure out my bugs or other errors. I'm afraid I'll get the same response I did when I first started to learn Unity, where I went to others for help and was told I was using the "wrong language type" and "I needed to go back to school and learn how to code" when I was in school and was learning while trying to learn Unity. And the best one was someone telling me "my code made their eyes burn with how bad it was." That hurt. And all of this on top of people telling e I can't make game graphics using something other than Maya or 3DMax and have years of training to learn the material before I should even try to make a wooden 2x4 asset. That really hurt. And I've been trying to go back since, but those responses keep haunting me. I'm guessing it's a combination of fear and anxiety and guilt from my past time trying to learn Unity. So, to get to the end of the very long comment, I'm glad you had the bonus #11 point, because that's exactly where I am right now. And I'm going to try and fight it to the best of my ability. Because I don't want to be on my deathbed saying I wish I had done something when I didn't even get started. So thank you Tim for making this video. It really has helped me. ^_^
You may be procrastinating because you don't know what to do. Or you may be procastinating because you don't know how to do it. Ever realize that when you realize exactly what you have to do, it's easier? Usually when you are going to do art and have enough references to cover every aspect of what you are going to do, to the point that is obvious. This process of moving from the unknown to the known. From chaos to order. From not knowing to knowing. Why do you study? To Learn. Why do you want to learn ? To Know. Why do you want know? To Do. Why do you want to do? To Have. What do you want to have !?!? So when you study. It's because in somewhere in your mind, you know that you don't know what is needed to complete this thing that you call "your game". Of course, this process can go one hundred years, this only depends how far your goal is. So when you say that while you are studying you may be procrastinating. Maybe this is an internal sign, a feeling that you still don't have enough. And that can be real. You see only until the horizon line, then you need to rethink again.
Tim's list 1 - you don't need a degree 2 - you don't need a team to get started 3 - you don't need a company 4 - you don't need permission to make a game 5 - you don't need to know everything 6 - no one wants your idea 7 - people will always reject/hate on you 8 - now is the best time to start 9 - you will be older anyway 10 - your not scared of success - that is laziness. bonus 11 - don't let anxiety cripple you (mistakes) Comments 1 - true, but the comments about it not being needed isn't true for everyone (see talk from Rami of Vlammer were he said the same thing in a country were not having a degree -> no skilled labor work) 2 - true, if your willing to do everything/purchase assets/learn everything/etc. 3 - partly true... if you have a team, you should have a company, you may need one to publish to a platform also. (so not to start, but before anything 'real' happens) 4 - true and not true, the wife example specifically if wrong.. that could take a wrong turn because you need to have healthy relationships and part of that is thinking about other people around you. 5 - true, but you also can't know _everything_ 6 - true 99.9% of the time 7 - true 8 - ???? 9 - rehash of #8 10 - true bonus 11 - owning your mistakes is the only way for them to not own you.
The point of 8 and 9 is hesitation. If you have the motivation and inspiration, get started, download Unreal Engine or Unity or whatever and just get started. You got time now? DO IT now, I think that's the point he's trying to hammer home and the same issue I had with getting started, I never thought I had time because I never knew how long it would take. But essentially, Game Development, to my experience, is something you can pick up and place down rather easily, as long as you remember to save your progress.
I agree with Rami's perspective, because he travels and talks to people all around the world with a varied amount of ability and connectivity. My point stands though, if you have an internet connection and a device capable of viewing this video, you have everything you need to make a game. As for the relationship stuff, if your wife is actively trying to prevent you from doing something you love, I don't think you have a very healthy relationship to begin with.
You're going to make mistakes. The key is to learn from them. My mistakes helped me a great deal as when I started future projects they came together much better with far fewer mistakes. But mistakes only never happen when you don't do anything. :)
Good point! Totally agree with "consisntent little progress over time". This approach helped me A LOT. I've basically made an Xcom 2 like game on my own lol. But, i think team could actually be a problem. My case: I've almost done a vertical slice of my game. (btw there is a tech footage on my channel) And now when i will try to pitch this game and ask for (3d graphics is so expensive when you need to outsource it) people will have reasonable doubts about it, because im just a single dev. People rather want to invest in teams which could grow , gain experience and produce better things over time, but... a single person is not quite what they're expecting im afraid. Meanwhile teams are almost impossible to form, because most people are lazy and quit very fast without funding. Its really hard to keep going without any feedback or paycheck while your life is passing through leaving nothing(exept your game) behind, so...its hard to blame them, but still. I've heard about several successfull cases, but there was always an enthusiastic investor behind them who really wanted to build a game of his dreams.
I could write a book on excuses. I'm a 49 year old over-the-road truck driver who went to school 20 years ago to get a CS degree. Never finished getting the CS degree. All my ideas to create a game were too big; still are. I get stuck more into learning mode than to actually doing mode. Even though I live in a truck, I am going to try to work on my game idea at least an hour a day until I get my first real game out.
Great video Tim, I am glad you mentioned the "5 minute rule" (small steps every day). Because that is what made the difference for me. Nothing else worked till I actually did this.
I stopped making my game. But the reason is, my youngest sister, the person who inspired it, the one who it was essentially for... They died. So the game is on indefinite hold for now, and if I'm ever going to finish it, I will have to think about its direction, and I know it will always hurt, but I'm just not ready.
You are right. I am 60 and still making excuses. Started to learn Unreal Engine because I love it. Just my health does not permits me. Huge problems with hearth fibrillation and taking medicaments... I wish I am less in hospital, more at home.
18:14 - 18:24 you scared the hell out of me. That moment struck me and stayed with me. I am going to watch this video at least once every week, it was so much needed in my life right now. Thanks a lot Tim.
Dude! I wish I had you around years ago. All the things you are saying are the truth. i'm almost 50 and over those 25 years I have pretty much felt everything from your list from time to time. It's nice to hear I wasn't the only one with those demons on my back. Thanks for your time to get these thoughts organized and out for others to learn from. At this time, there is so many resources to make games happen for the little guy that there really isn't any excuses.
I started from the very beginning about a year ago, learning Unity and C# from scratch on my own by watching youtube tutorials and udemy courses. Making videogames has always been a dream of mine, I grew up playing The Mummy on an Amstrad and never stopped playing videogames since then. I'm so glad I just started, because today I can code pretty well and my first game is taking shape, plus it helped me develop a small 3D editor app for my workplace and a prototype for an augmented reality app. If you are reading this and your dream is to make videogames, please just start today, you won't regret it, if you are anything like me you will enjoy every second of figuring out how to solve a problem or fix a bug.
I'm glad i already started it. I'm confident my game can be very successful, i just hope that i wont give up in the middle like i did with all my previous ones.
Before looking to start the team im working with now. I wrote out how the game will look and the breakdown of everything within the game will look. Characters and there bios/personalities
its allways good to hear good ideas on going about things... thats just it, thats the one that keeps people from becoming better, and thats just the point in whatever you do, do everything that you want, try it out and become better that way, try to keep destructive behaviours to a minimum...
Very good motivational video, thank you. My only tiny "complaint" is that you put TimRoswik in the video too often imo, but like I said, its just a tiny one, very useful video.
One problem I've always had with any creative venture is searching around aimlessly for somebody like-minded who may have the passion for the thing in question. In my experience it's very rare. It has happened and I've found people who are very dedicated and have been great to work with. Keep in mind that despite my search, I was actually approached instead. Essentially my own effort there was a bit of a waste and indeed procrastination. If it's something like a game, my better solution would be to outsource graphics and music, etc. Save money if you can't afford it right away. Remember that there are great artists/composers from developing countries who do it cheaper. Waiting for "that person" did me no favours. And in my procrastination I likely ended up spending more money (than I'd have done if spent productively) on ultimately useless things. Though I'd prefer to make a game solo, being solo doesn't necessarily mean you can't outsource what you're not good at.
Agree, I have found an accountability buddy I talk to online (#BeLikeBart) and we don't even work on the same game! But I found him because we are both making our RPGs separately and I gave him some feedback on his videos, we got talking and we have been ever since. Both following the same passion. Without starting solo myself, I would have never met him and he helps me stay on this journey I try to do that for him too.
@@DungeonWard Well, that's certainly handy. So, are you handling most of your RPG's assets, etc.? Even if you're using a lot of templates, implementing the gameplay and story is the most important part.
@@OutlawMantis I do outsource them via asset store, but what I actually know now is that it takes still a lot of time to change them so they are usable for my game. I develop solo, so I knew I had to pick battles where I am good at and not fight everywhere at the same time. Because I am a programmer by the day, that is my strength so that is where I concentrate. Otherwise the results would have been poor and the time investment even bigger (RPG's have scope very high, usually counting in couple years).
The first rule is one that I agree with the most. A university will only be a waste of money. My degree is in electronic engineering, and I can tell you that I went to less than half of the classes, and youtube taught me my calculus and later years I just taught myself out of books. It is the biggest waste of money and the biggest benefit I get from my degree is just someone saying I have a degree which allows me to find jobs overseas, that's IT. It is a complete joke, you can teach yourself ANYTHING these days with the internet within the comfort of your own bedroom. Universities needs to die, we have to approach the way we learn things differently in this golden age with the internet at your fingertips!!!!!
You are doing something that people on first countrys get mentaly sick of because they cant even do it infront of just one person (doctor). Opening up!
My biggest problem why I don't start is that I have zero inspiration, I just don't have ideas for games (maybe because I try to think of the perfect game, and not finding an answer to this...) :/ And so, I fall back to number 5, doing courses, thinking I will get ideas when I have watched enough tutorials... But I know it won't make a difference. So how can I get over my "writer's block" and start to produce game ideas ?
Watch "Get Good Design Ideas! || But... Design Method!" from Jonas Tyroller. Great stuff, helps a ton. Or read some gamejam themes (they give you the limitation). Limiting yourself actually produces much more results in terms of creativity. Combine two genres that nobody did before you, Combine things from real life with games. There are so many options and you cannot find the idea because you are not constraining yourself enough.
@@DungeonWard I already watched the "But" method, but still can't come up with ideas, because the things I come up with are totally absurd and then I think: "nah, not good". But I'll take a look at "Get Good Design Ideas" and also thanks for the game jam tip ! Problem is I'm an extreme perfectionist/OCD person and I will search for something until I find the perfect idea/picture/drawing/etc... which results most of the time in nothing, except in time I have lost...
@@lucvw1975 I think it's not about finding something perfect, but doing something and making it better. The idea for my game came quite simple. I just wanted to make a dungeon grid game that I liked back then. During implementation I was testing different camera angles and then I found out that it's actually extremely rare to see realtime third person grid based game. So I went with it and just iterated over time. As you see the originality actually came when I did the thing. You are looking for that big diamond, but you could pick something smaller that's easier to do and try to finish it in span of weeks and ideas come to you as you get better. I actually also didn't have many ideas, most of the ideas for some next games I could do came when developing this one.
wise words man. non the cheesy ones but the kind that comes from a real experience. anyway.. i personally never care about haters. because haters are meaningless. 99% of the time they just live in front of a monitor typing rage about everything
Tim, my biggest impediment is the futile daily soundtrack. It begins, inevitably as a playlist capable of inducing Flow, the most essential state in any endeavor. Alas, the playlist, which once worked wonders, meanders until it’s function begins to vanish. At this point, you know, “I need another soundtrack!” And so you begin to peruse. To no avail. Usually. But sometimes, inspiration can be found in the strangest places. For example, I despise manual labor, since I studied and worked so hard to rise above it. However, some of my greatest ideas come to me in the long stretches of time spent toiling, because it allows me to commiserate with others, and empathize with just how broken the dreams of the greats have become. There is no reason for any of the suffering humans are forced to endure. After my tenth TED talk, I still haven’t figured out what I want to listen to while I draw sprites for a game I have been working on for way too long... I can’t listen to college girl anymore, it makes shit a little too real! I love Sovietwave, but I can’t say that out loud... This one guy is spinnin Japanese jazz from the 70’s in the hipsterest way possible oh god it’s 6pm, and my girlfriend is pulling into the driveway and i ent done a foken thin oll dehhhh..... And i ent even got a playlist for tomorrow. Hayzeus, meurtraux me now!
Avoid those as they don't have any real value. If anything you should probably go computer science and study hard, if game making fails for you at least you would have a degree that finds you a job. Besides, that's what AAA studios are looking for.
I'm my opinion you can spend that money better. You can have a very good knowledge by buying books about design, watch everything about game design on the internet, buy iconic games and analize them by playing, start create something and maybe spend some money on coders/artists on fiverr or else. In 1/2 years of this you can become a very good designer in my opinion
Game design and game development are very different degrees. Development can get you specializing in niche aspects of game development that are in high demand (high recommend being in either graphics or distributed systems, personally). Design can be nice if you're going to a top school for the subject, because you'll be able to collaborate with other students and have a robust portfolio.
I get it, but I recommend putting it on x1.5 speed, half hour videos earn a little more revenue and personally I appreciate when he goes in depth instead of just reading the list
