5 TIPS for SOLO Indie Game Developers (Focus, Motivation, Devlogs?) 

1. 1:35 Shiny new ideas and distractions 2. 5:35 Fun versus not-so-fun tasks 3. 8:34 Devlog and extra burdens 4. 14:44 Hyper-focus and polish 5. 16:54 Motivation vs discipline

you've been doing a lot of these motivational/advice type videos, and honestly, for me personally, this market is over-saturated, there's hundreds of not thousands of youtubers giving advice, but the reason I started following you was for the technical stuff, guides, entire courses, specific mechanics. I feel that's been missing a LOT recently. I understand that this content is much easier to produce, but just food for thought. I'll still follow you, but I look forward to seeing more technical stuff in the New Year. Happy holidays!

I really like this style of video! It really helps me whilst I'm making my first game, very real and down to earth

Shoutout to paper notes! I tend to organize everything in virtual backlogs (Notion, Clickup - I used to work as a game producer) but nothing beats good old pen & paper :)

This dropped at the perfect time! Was debating about making a video of myself doing gamedev just a few hours ago haha but I'm just getting back into it, and I almost overwhelmed myself, this relaxed me a lot and I took some very important points from this video such as to not punish myself lol xD very very nice! Thanks! :)

Thank You for analyzing these Indie Dev Tips... 💯👍🏻💵😄 It reminded me of some very important aspects, especially the one about: "focusing on every task equally, avoiding hyper focusing on only one or two features" (this one sounds easy and intuitive, but at the end of the day it requires to be very well organized and keeping awareness of the 🎮 Scope 🎮 of your game... and what you really want to achieve in terms of features and Mechanics). Awareness of your Game Design Document (GDD) is essential for succeeding with this Tip.

I would suggest entering a lot of Game Jams. I've only done one so far, but in the week that it took place I actually managed to create a working game - as opposed to the 20 unfinished projects that I've given up on over the last 3 or so years. Mind you, I did learn new things when working on those different games, but I think it would've been much better time spent had I finished them. 1) An account on itch is a nice and easy first step in marketing your work. 2) You build a catalog of games to show-off at one central location. 3) You're more motivated to finish the projects due to the strict time limit. 4) The strict theme forces you to settle with one idea and helps limit distractions. 5) The feedback from people reviewing your games can be very important. "I loved your game" is a great motivator. The list of benefits goes on and on!

I love your videos they help me a lot. Thank you very much. ❤

Thank you, sir. The to do list advice is a great help. I'm always a more motivation driven person, that can help me a lot to balance myself.

Hey Codemonkey, I commented on your previous video saying I created my first game, where you advised me to upload it on itch I’ve listened to your advice and If it does well, I’m definitely uploading it on steam, thank you for your consistency and thank you for giving tips as an experienced game developer, really means a lot for us beginners

One of your best videos.

Hi, do you have same tips material for those who are in learning phase in game dev? For example for people who are learning Unity in free time, whilst their main job is not being related to game dev, but willing in near future to switch to game dev (as indie or as company employed). For example, my main job is different than the game dev, but in my free time I research Unity and learn all necessary features for my future projects/goals. For past 2 years I studied Unity and learned a lot, and currently my plan is to complete the following steps: - Finish mastering DOTS (I view it quite potential since it's in released stage, but sadly no animation support yet) - Learn and master Netcode for GO and Netcode for Entities - Learn and master UGS (Lobby, matchmaking, leaderboards, Relay, Cloud Save, Cloud code) - Learn addressables (to managed build size and modding) - Learn zenject (some devs recommended this) I've picked these steps, because my future goal is to make fast paced online PVP FPS with short sessions. So, sometimes I find it it difficult to build my project since I lack some necessary knowledge, and don't know how much time I could spend learning them

To-do list and Devlog (I called it devlog but it's more like dev diary where I write down whatever I've done in my project on each day) are the 2 best things that I have ever made since I started my first game about a month ago. To-do list, which is checklist, keep track for me what I should do and what I have done, so I dont have to remember myself. Every time I open my project, I will first check my To-do list to immediately remember what I need to do next. Devlog help me with both motivation and discipline. I wrote down every small thing that I have done, no matter if it's new feature, fix bug, rename class, or even learn new knowledge or buy new assets that can apply in the project. So that whenever I look back, I know that I have done so many things for my game, and that keeps my motivation almost always high. It is also used as self-discipline, as I will try to do at least one thing to write in it everyday, no matter how small it is, so my game will continue to progress, slowly but steadily.

thank you very much, these tips are very helpful, especially that "write down the new idea so it won't distract you", I have this idea stuck in my head for a while and after writing it down, I feel less concern about it.

Mixed thoughts on this video, but take them with a grain of salt since I'm a nobody-- - 'Don't spend 1-2 years on your first game': Ultimately, I do agree. However, some people may feel as if they don't know enough about gamedev, especially for the target genre they want to approach. It may take them longer to train skills OR find skilled individuals to help them complete a project within a short period of time. Obviously, the solution to this question would be to advise against genres that may take more time (RPGs, for example), though that genre may be what gave them the drive to want to approach gamedev in the first place. - 'Don't be distracted by new ideas (Stay Focused)': This one is something I have mixed feelings about, as it depends on the context of the game as well as at what point in development that the new ideas are thought about. A game's design is like a recipe, and then you use code to implement the recipe... Assets and modules acting as live 'Ingredients' for the recipe, and the finished game being the finished product that adheres to the recipe. However, the end-product might not be very good, and require a fundamental change... and often times it is better to catch the issue in the middle of development to try to fix as opposed to the wishful thinking of being able to fix it near the end of development. I think new ideas can be helpful for making a better recipe and ultimately a better product, but they should definitely be considered near the start of development, or maybe no further than the middle, unless the game is designed in such a way to allow for those new things to be easily added. - 'Don't be distracted by new ideas (Bouncing between Projects)': Mixed feelings on this one as well, because it might be more appropriate to save the desire and energy that you might have to put into one project and isolate it to another future project idea later on. Bouncing between projects might also be a good way to keep practicing gamedev while the drive to complete a particular project is low, but I do admit that it should be no more than 1-2 other projects that one is bouncing between to be reasonable. - 'Fun versus non-fun parts': Agree that the non-fun stuff is still just as important as the fun stuff. It can't be helped. However, to make certain aspects easier and possibly feel more fun, it might help to use Assets to supplement any aspect that might not be fun due to taking a long time to implement and bugfix, etc. - 'Devlogs and extra burdens (You disagree)': I actually understand where that developer is coming from. A devlog typically requires video editing in order to properly communicate the progress of development in an entertaining way. Video editing alone can take time. Not only that, but a devlog typically resonates more with Game Developers more-so than people who want to play games, creating a situation where it feels like you're preaching to a choir as opposed to reaching out to a target audience for your content. My opinion is that there should be a RU-vid channel dedicated strictly towards gameplay elements for the game, showcasing actual gameplay without any technical stuff, so the appropriate target audience can be built up. - 'Hyper-Focus and Polish ( balanced polish )': I do agree that polish should be balanced across many aspects of gameplay, not just one. If the end-user (the Player) doesn't complain about something, it means it was good enough to not get in the way of their enjoyment of the game. That is minimum level of polish that gamedevs should strive for. - 'Hyper-Focus and Polish (the developer emphasizes that taking too long to polish can be bad)': I'm biased since I am a perfectionist. I personally think the polishing phase should take the longest, as polish typically involves good Gamefeel and good UX so the game just feels better from the Player's perspective, and that should never be undermined in any capacity. - 'Motivation versus Discipline (both you and the developer of the video agree that Motivation should not be relied upon)': I have mixed feelings about this because it is highly likely that the motivation to complete the game might become low as a consequence of the game not feeling fun to play. Low motivation can be an indicator that something is fundamentally flawed about the design, and can be utilized to fix things at an early stage. Low motivation could also just be due to the task being much larger than the developer originally envisioned, causing them to realize that maybe they should focus on smaller-scoped projects before they work on large ones, or consider scoping the project down. I guess I believe motivation is important for potentially identifying issues at a fundamental level in some scenarios, and should give the developer a moment to think and realign with OR change the game design directions and goals.

Just to say, as indie dev who jumped on the train from nowhere(no any background in gamedev), your help is priceless for me! I really like your tutorials and review videos, they are so helpfull and interesting. I managed to learned a lot in last 3 years, and following your instructions, I will release my first steam game next year. Thank you so much! You can see some videos of gameplay and teasers on my chanell if you like

great vid

Great!

Another reason to use YT: As a solo dev with a small YT channel, the biggest benefit is the comments. I get feedback, ideas, validation and use a huge community of people to sound off. Not a great fan of you reacting to other's tip videos - especially if the tips are essentially "man up", "get gud". More than happy to hear your original perspective but not as a reaction.

Brilliant video as usual, thanks Hugo! One question though, you mentioned twitter isn't a good platform for reaching a game playing audience, but what are the good ones? I mean I get you'll need to build a community and setup a mailing list etc, but which platform do you think is an actual good one for advertising your game is? Thanks!

About devlog, imo I think its not a bad idea even if no one is looking at it, because it forces you to have a better view of what you are doing, prevent tunnel vision and be able to put words on what you are doing. Also it helps you sometimes to find that one thing that you made a week to do wasn't very important for the final game because its a side feature and you are lacking of main features

My devlogs really helped me get feedback from my audience. True that it is time consuming, but it's all worth it. Not to mention getting wishlists for every video i published, definetly worth the time to make them. 😊

first time using unity.. i started 1 month ago and finished first game.. I am happy with it, but still want to progress more as I know I can.. but also I already want to create another one.. prob will finish this one first after 3...4 months and go to another one

burnout can be deadly too. I had so bad I couldn't even look at code for more than year sometimes. It's like being allergic to it. But that only comes after years in field

My first game was a 3D asteroids game in UE3 (long time ago) it took me about 3 days. I am a firm believer in picking a project to use to learn with, and it can be a project that takes days, weeks or months. But it shouldn't be something you intend to release as a finished, paid game. If you intend it to become a finished, released and monetized game then you are 100% going to run into 1 of 2 problems. 1) Highly optimized code that will cause problems either just with the game its self or with computers as well. Or 2) You will be rewriting code over and over again to fix the optimization issues causing development delays and potentially burn out. Or both if you are unlucky. Just pick some quick and easy to build projects. Even if you are an established programmer with heaps of experience as a software developer, or a beginner. Start small.

nice one! who is the artist of the thumbnail? I like it!

I'm working on my main project rn and I realize that I'm lacking in many different skills such as character modeling, animating, ... I had planned to learn these skills along the way and to continue to work on the game. Would you recommend to rather pause the main game development to build those skills first with smaller projects and then come back to that project?

speaking of discipline, what is your recommended schedule for a 3 -6 month game, like how many hour I need to spend on this project a week of how many days in a week I need to spend working on this project and how many hour a day I need to spend on this project ??

Those kind of tips are basically everywhere not the first or last time i hear those tips the Difference is The Perspective of View each have different experience resulting in different result and methods to solve problems, If you make a Game Dev Tips video some will agree others won't. Something that's need to be mention is Those Tips simply doesn't apply on Everyone each have there own case and situation to handle. Thanks.

Hey, monkey! thank you a lot for your advices, mostly the first one, you say to start with short games and gain experience from them and publishing, I am actually working on a game that, making it in my free time, would take like 1,5 / 2 years to finnish, it bugged me and didn't know what to do but if you say so, I'll pospone it and make a short one first i guess. I want to ask you, you say twitter is a bad platform for making a dev blog, wich ones would you recommend? including maybe forums.

Do I stick with tutorials after being experienced with an engine or do I make personal projects instead?

Do you think its ok to plan a 8-12 months game afteer doing differents complete projects (8,3,6,2 months each).?

The original video sounds like it was written by ChatGPT (in addition to being voiced by an AI)

He's becoming a reaction channel🤣

Could you please make a video on blocking and parrying system like the SoulsBorne games?

As a starter game developer which a plan of a game i cant buy any assets because of my bank. If i have idea my game to have better graphics what should i do. (i wont be very good at designing)

I knew that I have to make todo lists and store my ideas somewhere but for me there's a problem where 1) I constantly switch between todo lists on a paper and digital ones; 2) I have some ideas in one place and another ideas in another place and this results in an antrackable mess. How and where do you manage your todo lists? (2:45) And where exactly do you store your ideas? (4:45)

9:26 Devlogs are the most inefficient form of marketing. As mentioned, they attract devs, not players, and they tend to be visually boring and don't show your game's strengths. I think those "1yr of game-dev in 100 seconds" or "these bugs are crazy!" montages are cool, so feel free to record screengrabs throughout development. But most people are not good at both charismatic video production *AND* game development. If you want to teach, or share skills, then create videos/blogs/channels for that. If yoh want to advertise your upcoming games (and your backcatalog), then create videos/channels for that. Cross-promotion is cool, but do treat them as separate things, and each is probably more likely to find its actual target audience.

do you sell merch?

I think strong considerations for devlogs should be taken that.... many people watching them doesn't mean many people will buy them: Game Devs will be more drawn to watching those than gamers. So not the audience you want to appeal to to actually sell.

i need help, i get half way through my games then start thinking, well this be fun? then i start losing interest in it. i feel i get to driven by money, rather then just making something from my view

What method of marketing would you recommend then? Devlogs are something I don’t think I am capable. I’ve been doing twitter but it’s honestly pretty sad so far. I’ve so far only been getting game developers as followers.

du you know how to delet tiles on contatc with a object

code monkey, what would be the social networks that are really effective for marketing a video game?

Have I seen this video before? Code monkey is this a repost?

So if twitter is bad for marketing, which social media platform is good?

Hey, CM. Are you working on a course?

The market is so oversaturated that developers are trying to convince other developers to buy their game)))

Shiny new object syndrome is so real!

i dont like animation system in ureal engine and particle system textures system for me its hard but i making music 20 years its easy to make symphonic music or effects

İ dont want be solo but i also dont want to make relaying connection with strangers , sometimes i have work and the idea can wait but others cant . İ cant quit my jop but also can't give up on game developments and if i keep like this it will take me 10 years when my idea is outdated , i cant he the only one but i dont seem to find somone who can deal with it

I get bored of every project that I start and I make a new project. I never have been able to finish a game project due to that. I've been doing that for over 6 years now and I have bought a ton of assets in hope that they will make it easy enough for me to actually finish a project. It's not easy and I keep wanting to make a huge project that I can't finish anyway. I see AAA games and think, "I want to make one like that!", start a new project, use Gaia Pro 2023 to generate a huge game world, place a few game objects, and then realize it's extremely boring and I don't want to do it anymore.

Sir how will I polish my coding skill?!

I think that this dev made an initial mistake, that being is that he probably speaks a fluent English and instead of text to speech he should have imho used his actual thoughts and voice, and also from those 2 years at some point I hope that he opted for audience or gamer feedback, because indie game solo dev is basically a one man business, and lots oftimes I have heard people say that they would rather go and do a full time job as to have a "clear head" as opposed to having a business, because unless you or your associates are a company, and if you decide to become a solo, then you have to manage a lot of things APART from just creating a game, marketing, even the sole basics of a marketing seem to me like laready a 2 people job so doing everything solo it probably means a lot of time and efficiency has to be included and pretty much a dedication to such direction, with the absolute realisation that despite your best efforts, as in 100 % effort given, one still might fail. I cannot help but feel like that nowadays going a small dev team is still much better than solo dev, because after all we are still humans and in such business I feel like that most valued resources are time, manpower, willpower, and stress - you can only go so far as solo until you reach your limit, meanwhile with a small team you can share such resources across and probably avoid a burn out.

Devlog and marketing are different. Devlog will draw some gamers, but more fellow game developers. You need solid plan for marketing if you think similar to me.

I'm thinking too ambitious I wanna make a simple game but then I get all these ideas, then I think I can't make the game cause it's out of my skill level

I have made my second game called Bird Universe. It is available for Android!

keeping a RU-vid channel active takes a lot of time, if you only have 20 hours a week to develop the game, you may not have time for RU-vid, but if you have 50-60 hours a week then it is possible

Not sure how your audience skews, but I'm one of the more professional game devs that likes to watch. Even tho you tend to skew less so. I don't wanna say don't do this content, as I do think there's an audience for it in your subs. However, it isn't what I usually tune in for. That being said, your channel does ride that line so can't complain. That being said, I feel like you should add something more substantial to the conversation than this review. That or a source video with better advice? Most of the points really aren't game dev specific, but just executing on a idea.

How much money you earn

I will love to see you making a mobile game because i am also making a mobile game and it will be very fun to see you make a mobile game.

I agree, spending 2 years on a crappy looking platformer is way too long…

Whats devlog

Is nobody going to mention this guy's protagonist is Donald Trump jumping and gunning with a mini 14? Lmao kudos mate

1:55 for about a month? I get bored and want to make new game ideas after 1 day 🤭

I'm six minutes in to this video and decided to listen to something else. Too many ads

shoul i use unity ?

'Don't do gamedev youtube as it distracts and makes your game take longer to make' says gamedev, who has taken 2 years for their first game, on youtube

bro is andrew tate of gamedev

Hard disagree on number 3

Your game Dinky Guardians needs a lot of work in terms of marketing on steam, I see the game has potential, but the intro text to me is quite confusing, full of emojis, don’t really describe anything about the game rather than enumerating features it has, that’s not how users get attracted to buying a game. I would suggest you hiring someone to do that for you, the arts and teasers could also use some work from a professional designer and marketer. Cheers

You said like 19 times in different ways why not develop a game for two years... 😂

I dont even use unity why yt recommends these videos?

Why are we listening to this game Dev, he is just regurgitating and trying to justify why he spent 2 years on this type of game that should have taken less than year. Btw this dev posts this game everywhere and never takes any feedback or advice to improve.

these videos are always so depressing. I assume everyone watching these is like me and only making a SOLO indie game because none of your friends are interested in game design and the ones who are only want to make their own game ideas and you dont trust people enough to team up with strangers on the internet. so you just chug along forever alone and the only one who actually believes in your game being a success.

Lo único peor que los video de youtuber de reacción son lo que son en reacción a otro youtuber

This sounded quite generic and bland to be honest. If his devlogs use an AI voice and the most basic one at that, of course they won't do great. There is 0 personality, 0 humanity and it feels like even the text was generated by AI so it's hardly a valid argument in that case.

We a reaction channel now? Where are all the tutorials?

This guy is creating crappy RU-vid videos and wondering why his videos aren't being watched.

Some advice, I am trying to learn unity from your videos, stop with the constant intrusions of self promotion, don't waste our time, mellow out your voice, this low to high pitch per sentence is very annoying, and slow down a bit, you have to make sure you guide the users to what your clicking on, having to rewatch just to see what your clicking is not helpful, so take this criticism how you like, I am learning but am not having fun doing it due to what I mentioned! BTW, I like that you try to be a clean coder, but coming from someone that has 20 years coding c#, you are still far from clean, I refractor everything you write, you have some bad practices, probably due to learning another language first (Java Maybe?)! Just mentioning this as it seems to me you brag a lot about this vs other content creators but all in all, your no better on the code side!