7 Tips for Solo Game Developers 

I'm already disappointed before starting, there is no risk of bigger disappointment

Important distinction I just want to point out for anyone trying to match 3d art assets. You don't need a similar poly COUNT, but a similar poly DENSITY between assets.

For most solo indie devs, I think it is important to sit down and actually play what you're making. I don't mean short 5-15 minute sessions as you're testing a new implementation, or playing through a little segment. I mean actually playing your own game. If you can't play your own game for hours as a biased player, then customers are not going to play your game for long either. I believe that will lead to refunds or no reviews, which will affect your Steam visibility

The best tip for me is not to give up and to try take everything positively. Good Luck Boyz!

Been working on my game for 3+ years now. It was nice to hear another solo dev having some of the same struggles. Thank you!

You may be solo, but not alone. I’m on the same journey. Let’s keep moving forward. Good luck and may you reach your goals!

As a solo dev (vids under my channel) I feel this in my soul. The work is daunting. Even with the skills necessary to complete the game (mostly) there is always something to do that I need to learn about. Having people to help with anything, ANYTHING can make a world of difference. I should write some code to automate making friends.

hey buddy I'm in the same ride as yours! last night I published my first devlog .. lets see how solo's succeed!☺💞

Thanks for the tips, I managed to make a Pong Clone and a flappy bird clone! I think I have a new idea what I want to work on next! Thanks for this wonderful video! Been an animator first and foremost and decided a few years ago to start dabbling into game dev and now I want to take it seriously

Thank you for you advice! Definitely have some great tips!

really grateful. thank you mate 😊. wish you and all of us luck)

Great video, wished listed your game and look forward to trying it out. Keep up the good work!

great info, not just for gamedev but for any project or product that one would like to produce, the Pareto principle is single handedly the most useful abstraction for development, it allows you to focus on the import aspects. The hardest part is finding the actual 20% it takes time and experience to understand what that actual entails. Good luck to you bud

A well thought out set of tips. Thank you.

damn this is crazy you summed up in 10 minutes all the knowledge ive seen in hours of gamedev and productivity training material. this is a brilliant summary, i'd recommend this video to anyone

Hey man! I've been 17 years in this industry and there is nothing more terrifying to me than going solo. I've tried many times and I faced the same problems you mention in this video, so your advices all are wise and legit. I started a solo project (Again!) after a few years since my last attempt and this time I'm trying to be as patient and methodic as possible. Thanks for your tips! And good luck with your game! ❤

Good video! Lots of good tips.

Really good tips. Thanks a lot. :)

Hi ❤️ glad I got to get to your channel.

Your game looks great man. keep it up.

Just started my unreal journey. See you at the top bro 👾

Loved it!

Would be interesting to know what skill level you had when you started developing (coding, design etc.). Fingers crossed for your game!

The best tip would be to stop looking for tips on RU-vid. Just get to work and put the hours.

great video

Great video, thanks! As for your game, it looks interesting but I can’t help but feel the enemies are just bullet-(not really, but you get what I’m saying) sponges. You hit them for so little amount of damage and they kind of don’t do much so the fight really drags on, even if it’s dynamic enough. At least that’s what I was able to see during the video. Wish you luck!

I've just started the same thing, I quit the company after 5 years gaming industry for 2 months- I started making my own top down Hades like combat mechanism :) Keep it up!

I'm ready to play your top-down game.

This, will help

Man. You can do it. 😢 Don't give up on life. Hope you find your happy place

As a solo dev there's many hurdles to face. I don't know if I'm extremely optimistic or just stupid, but the only thing that really has me bothered about the 'solo' aspect is what to do with the credits. An explanation: if I'm making a game with 4 or more hours of gameplay, I need at least a few minutes of credits w/music for the player to unwind with after beating the game. But I really don't see "Art by: ZarHakkar, Programming by: ZarHakkar, Design by: ZarHakkar, etc." as very graceful.

hell yeah. This game looks fun.

Your game looks pretty good already tbh. I'm not sure if I missed it or is the game only single player, but it would be so cool if you could play coop!

Thanks a ton! Wishlisted. Do you have a community? I'm looking to learn and probably collaborate if possible. (I'm a newbie with weeks of experience.)

Yeah, the tip #6 can be turned into an IRL rhythm game by setting timer and stay in it. Todo list isn't a big deal, but timed session really is all you need. It's like a barrier that blocks off everything. I find win11 built-in focus mode (timer) is enough to kick your productivity up. It defaults at 30 active minutes with 5 relax minutes pattern, this works for me.

can you recommend me what 3d game project should i make for exercise as a beginner? that can be done more or less in 2 weeks

Wow! Incredible stuff. I'm not a game dev, I'm a filmmaker, but these tips are super helpful in my field too! Thanks! What game is at 6:56? I am enthralled with the perspective switching in combat, incredible!

"If you're not a complete beginner and you have already made some projects" Define: "some"... like how many specifically, and what kind of projects you must have done before?

what is the unique selling point of your game?

Hi, i really want to get into game development, ive always wanted to every since i played my first game on the original ds. However, i have no idea where to look, how to learn, what to learn in what order or anything. I also dont know what to use for making a game. I use a chromebook and cant afford a real computer at the moment. The game idea i have as my first game is a very simple layout. So, where do i start and what should i use?

Coming from my own experience as well as inexperience, make your game work for you. What I mean by that is lean into your personal strengths while covering for your weaknesses. Bad at programming? Use a graphical language. Bad at art? Throw on some shaders and dramatic lighting to hide that. Bad at gameplay? Make a narrative game. Bad at narrative? Make a shooter. Everyone will have differences in their aspirations, wants, skills, and vulnerabilities, but do not let that stop you.

Keep it up Big Man, You've got the Magic

I am starting to build and learn Unity just days ago. But my motivation was very simple. I just want to make a game i want to play that other wouldn't do it for me. I am not plan for big hit or money success heck I don't even plan to sell it too. I just tried of mod on top of other game and gacha rolling that why the desire characters just don't come.

Im studying Game Design, I would like to learn about programming, how should i start? i don't know anything about it D: but i would like to support that process

it's like writing a book..

You should change up your voice tone. Loved the video and you seem competent by the gameplay you have shown. If you want to get noticed by more viewers, you should put more of your passion and energy into your voice!

Any suggestions to get more views and followers on RU-vid and itch?

i made a similar game to that one.. but i had a lot of platformers but i they got trashed because someone took my computers... and i was dating that person so i can't call cops and get any of them back or anything..

i made a similar game to that one.. but i had a lot of platformers but i they got trashed because someone took my computers...

making games is like a more fun version of writing a book though..

The discord link does not work on mobile :( Which games do you show in your video, I only recognize hollow knight.

yo yea i was doing dev part time half the time.. cuzi had jobs..

With 40 games a day coming out on Steam, the biggest challenge is getting people to even see your game once. The Steam algorithms are no help at all to either devs or players. They only show you clones of what you've already played. Your on your own if you want to find games that are new for you.

Can you make the game so you get OP?

Its def not easy 😅 especially as i do it while balancing a toddler son, full time work, and gaming

Dude, what happened to your accent? Anyway, I'm in a very similar situation as you. But probably a few months earlier. You're doing pretty good in growing your channel it looks like. But it is hard and takes time. Good luck!

swords..

Hello, I would like to join but discord link is invalid

Why is your voice different in this video? Are you using an AI voice?

ool what is that fox game..

bro you sound really sad lol are you okay great video though:))

hey dude whenever u get a chance wanna colab on a video?

This is the first time I hear of your game, so I'm sorry if this is irrelevant, and I didn't watch your other promotional material (and cannot go watch at this moment), but from this video alone, I believe I can give you some feedback. The combat seems too simple. You keep dodging the skeletons and bats, but they don't do much other than just walk forward and try to hit you. Try to implement better AI, have the enemies try to outmaneuver the player. Otherwise the game will just become a game of circling around the enemies and spamming range/mage attacks until they die, which isn't fun. Someone at some point (don't remember where) said that, given the chance, players will optimize the fun out of a game. If you want players to engage in melee combat, give them a reason to. Things like a smarter AI that keeps you on your toes, rewards for melee kills (such as doom's glory kills), etc.

Is this even you talking in this vid? This voice is different to the other in the other videos

Asd

Yo 3 months and you're already made a tips video? Oh, just the tips eh? xDD

Isn't this stressful if you have no income and just make indie game that won't probably succed? Aren't you scared of running out of money?

I will give you my impression about your game as a player. Watching it is kinda boring because everything seems so slow and common, maybe a problem with the game’s pacing. It also lacks a differential between the games you mentioned like Hades. Players need a reason to choose your game instead of Hades and that’s why it’s hard to be a solo dev, it’s hard to make people choose your game over the ones that already exist. Having something unique helps because then it’s hard to make comparisons. Monsters and environments are super generic. If you check Rotwood (a new game), the monsters’ designs are very unique and you can’t compare them with enemies from other games. Skeletons and bats are overused. You can change the thematic or just change from where you take your enemies. Maybe you’re fighting robots with an aquarium as head while the fish inside it is controlling it as a mecha or a carrot that uses psychic powers to hurt you while it can’t move because it is stuck on the ground. I don’t know, but people like different concepts, just using a generic skeleton and bat again doesn't seem to be a good first impression. Good luck with your game!

game in background looks incredibly underwhelming and dissatisfying to watch ,you do 1 damage to the enemies

Marketing mostly helps mediocre games, it helps those to raise above other mediocre games... good or stellar games that do 95% of things in their context right, usually become popular, no matter what - word of mouth, recommended by friends, overly positive Steam comments. For example, I don't think Hollow Knight had huge marketing campaign, or did Vampire Survivors have (I don't know).

After I watched the video, I could feel that you're desperate. You know yourself best pal, so maybe stop making YT vid for a while and focus on the game or try to get a job which might be super hard since the market is so competitive. Well anyway, everything is about learning and your game seems to be in far better state than mine. Just focus on your survival, that's the advice I can give you.

Hi I am new indie dev too. I would like to build a connection with you. I tried to join your discord but link is expired. Would you like to share a new one to let me in?