Game development

ONE APPROACH FOR LEARNING GAME DEVELOPMENT

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Game developers everywhere!

So you thought you were going to learn to develop your own games? Well so do almost anyone else that have played any game… ever… Nowadays it seems like there is popping up new indie game developers all the time, everywhere, and everyone wants to be the new Markus Persson, or Luke Hodorowicz or even Sean Murray! Well I guess no one wants to be Sean right now, but anyway…

I’ve been there as well. For some time now I’ve been dreaming of creating my own game. Not necessarily with the goal of becoming a successful developer. Just for the thought of having someone else playing something I created, and possibly even enjoying it.

There are numerous programming courses online, and offline. Both free, and for a fee. Everyone claiming to be the best for learning programming. I have been through some of them and thought I’d share my thoughts on the different resources, in the order that I tried them.[/vc_column_text][/vc_column][/vc_row][vc_row][vc_column][mk_padding_divider][vc_separator][/vc_column][/vc_row][vc_row][vc_column width=”1/2″][mk_image src=”https://www.mellowism.com/wp-content/uploads/2018/06/codecademy.svg_.png” image_size=”full” link=”https://www.codecademy.com/” target=”_blank”][/vc_column][vc_column width=”1/2″][vc_column_text css=”.vc_custom_1529869281889{margin-bottom: 0px !important;}”]

Codecademy

Codecademy was my first experience with coding ever, and I really recommend this site as a first step in to the world of coding. Codecademy has a variety of courses, ranging from Ruby and Java, to HTML and JavaScript. It’s intuitive, has an in-browser code editor, the exercises are short, and it starts you off very lightly.

It’s free, but it also has a pro membership, with more support and a more personalized learning experience.[/vc_column_text][/vc_column][/vc_row][vc_row][vc_column][mk_padding_divider][vc_separator][/vc_column][/vc_row][vc_row][vc_column width=”1/2″][mk_image src=”https://www.mellowism.com/wp-content/uploads/2018/06/treehouses_logo_jan_2015.png” image_size=”full” link=”https://teamtreehouse.com/” target=”_blank”][/vc_column][vc_column width=”1/2″][vc_column_text css=”.vc_custom_1529869312846{margin-bottom: 0px !important;}”]

Team Treehouse

A friend who is a web designer recommended Team Treehouse since he had a discount code for me. I only tried it for at most a couple of days but it’s similar to Codecademy, only with a lot more courses, and different languages including C#.

It’s a paid membership, starting at $25/month with a free 7-day trial when signing up.[/vc_column_text][/vc_column][/vc_row][vc_row][vc_column][mk_padding_divider][vc_separator][/vc_column][/vc_row][vc_row][vc_column][vc_column_text css=”.vc_custom_1529869394411{margin-bottom: 0px !important;}”]

Moving on to game development

After getting familiar with coding in general, it was time to start focusing on trying to learn to develop my first game. It would have been great to know what programming language I should go for but I didn’t know the difference between Java and JavaScript at this point.

I came across a couple of articles in my search for the best way to learn game development. The first one was this one from Kotaku. It’s getting a bit old but I still recommend reading it. They go over some of the different tools available, but also some other helpful tips for creating your first game.

Another article I came across were this one from MCVUK. It was here I first read about Gamemaker studio and seeing that it was free, I felt that was a natural first choice.[/vc_column_text][/vc_column][/vc_row][vc_row][vc_column][mk_padding_divider][vc_separator][/vc_column][/vc_row][vc_row][vc_column width=”1/2″][vc_video link=”https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DN6dZWXUEzA”][/vc_column][vc_column width=”1/2″][vc_column_text css=”.vc_custom_1529869605542{margin-bottom: 0px !important;}”]

Tom Francis’s YouTube channel

So this was one of the first YouTubers focused on game development I started watching.

Tom Francis is an indie game developer. He’s behind games such as Gunpoint and Heat signature, both made in GameMaker Studio.

His GameMaker Studio tutorials are in my opinion really good. He’s a very laid back kinda guy. He’s good at explaining what he’s doing and why. I don’t recommend the series for learning programming, rather just to understand some very basic concepts when it comes to game development.

The main reason however why I actually recommend watching this series is that after you have watched a couple of episodes, you have your first playable game! Which is a huge milestone in the process of learning game development.

It was after this course I created my first game, called HTP, or Hit The Palmtree! It was a fun game, at least I thought so… The art and sounds were awful though…[/vc_column_text][/vc_column][/vc_row][vc_row][vc_column][mk_padding_divider][vc_separator][/vc_column][/vc_row][vc_row][vc_column width=”1/2″][vc_video link=”https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=m-iEOIXT19k”][/vc_column][vc_column width=”1/2″][vc_column_text css=”.vc_custom_1529869721699{margin-bottom: 0px !important;}”]

GTGD

The next YouTuber I started watching was GTGD, or Gamer To Game Developer. I actually bought his course on Steam, both season 1 and 2. Haven’t finished any of them though…

This was however the first time I saw Unity in action. The video series is getting a bit old though since it’s an old version of Unity he’s using but you could still learn C# from watching his videos. He has some newer videos on his channel that I haven’t watched but I would recommend rather watching them so you get to follow along in the same version of Unity as the course.

GTGD’s videos is a bit harder to follow along with than Tom Francis’s. But then again, it’s more focused on programming so you should expect as much. It’s a bit fast paced so for someone that hasn’t programmed anything before, it can be a bit hard to keep up.

I started watching more random videos of Unity after watching GTGD, and saw that there were, compared to GameMaker Studio at least, a lot of really nice looking games made with this engine. You can check out games that are made with Unity here.[/vc_column_text][/vc_column][/vc_row][vc_row][vc_column][mk_padding_divider][vc_separator][/vc_column][/vc_row][vc_row][vc_column width=”1/2″][vc_video link=”https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=j48LtUkZRjU&list=PLPV2KyIb3jR53Jce9hP7G5xC4O9AgnOuL&index=1″][/vc_column][vc_column width=”1/2″][vc_column_text css=”.vc_custom_1529869790647{margin-bottom: 0px !important;}”]

Brackeys

One of the YouTubers using Unity I came across was Brackeys. Compared to GTGD he is in my opinion much easier to follow along with.

The video series I’m linking to is newer than the one I watched, but if you want to watch those instead you can find them on his channel. In this series he’s programming in C#, in the one I watched he used JavaScript.

After watching a couple of episodes of Brackeys series you will have made your first game in Unity, and hopefully learn some of the basics in Unity in the process.

I really recommend continue watching Brackeys. He makes really professional, and instructive videos and you learn a lot by watching his videos.[/vc_column_text][/vc_column][/vc_row][vc_row][vc_column][mk_padding_divider][vc_separator][/vc_column][/vc_row][vc_row][vc_column width=”1/2″][mk_image src=”https://www.mellowism.com/wp-content/uploads/2018/06/udemy-1.png” image_size=”full” link=”https://www.udemy.com/unitycourse/” target=”_blank”][/vc_column][vc_column width=”1/2″][vc_column_text css=”.vc_custom_1529869968412{margin-bottom: 0px !important;}”]

Udemy

Udemy has a lot of courses on game development, and Unity courses. I HIGHLY recommend Complete C# Unity Developer 2D – Learn to Code Making Games. A course made by mainly Ben Tristrem but lately Rick Davidson also has joined as tutor.

You start off by creating a very simple game within the console of Unity and before you know it, you have created real, playable and enjoyable games that can look stunning and sound awesome. Either by using assets that they, the tutors or others provide. If you’re an artist you can of course create them yourself.

The tutors are thorough, calm, and the courses are therefor easy to follow along. The Udemy community is also helpful and you have fun sharing your games for others to play, and play many different versions of the game you have just made yourself.

The course can be a bit expensive, but Udemy usually have their courses on sale so add it to your wishlist, and purchase it as soon as it’s back on sale.

Since the last time I watched the videos, they have updated the course to a newer version of Unity. This is where I’m at now and I will finish this course… some day…[/vc_column_text][/vc_column][/vc_row][vc_row][vc_column][mk_padding_divider][vc_separator][/vc_column][/vc_row][vc_row][vc_column][vc_column_text css=”.vc_custom_1529870010443{margin-bottom: 0px !important;}”]

Other resources

I could say, “purchase that Udemy course and that’s all you need”, but we all have different preferences.

This is the path I took, and although I still can’t call myself a game developer, no way near actually, I still recommend watching many different courses until you find a course that you like.

There were other resources that I came across as well that I want to mention.[/vc_column_text][mk_padding_divider size=”30″][/vc_column][/vc_row][vc_row][vc_column width=”1/2″][vc_column_text css=”.vc_custom_1529870062173{margin-bottom: 0px !important;}”]

Unity3d.com

 

If you decide on going with Unity as a tool for learning to create games, I recommend browsing around Unity’s website. They have their own course for learning Unity, they have a Unity blog, different articles, for example on how to make money from games, different assets you can find in the asset store and so on.[/vc_column_text][/vc_column][vc_column width=”1/2″][vc_column_text css=”.vc_custom_1529438043422{margin-bottom: 0px !important;}”]

Minecraft plugin

 

If you play Minecraft, or if you have kids that do, I recommend creating your own Minecraft server. That’s what I did. I created a Spigot Minecraft server, with plugins. This made me want to try to create my own Minecraft plugin. So I did. If you want to learn Java this is a good way to learn that. You can read more about that here.[/vc_column_text][/vc_column][/vc_row][vc_row][vc_column][mk_padding_divider][vc_separator][/vc_column][/vc_row][vc_row][vc_column width=”1/2″][vc_column_text css=”.vc_custom_1529438461700{margin-bottom: 0px !important;}”]

The Coding Train

 

There are many on YouTube focusing on teaching programming and some stands out. The Coding Train is one of them. He is funny, informative and has videos that is easy to follow.[/vc_column_text][/vc_column][vc_column width=”1/2″][vc_column_text css=”.vc_custom_1529438697594{margin-bottom: 0px !important;}”]

TairaGames

 

Another fun YouTuber to watch is Taira games. He has a more talk show approach to game development and I highly recommend watching his videos if you want to get in to game development.[/vc_column_text][/vc_column][/vc_row][vc_row][vc_column][mk_padding_divider][vc_separator][/vc_column][/vc_row][vc_row][vc_column width=”1/2″][vc_column_text css=”.vc_custom_1529439154522{margin-bottom: 0px !important;}”]

Sololearn

If you feel like taking a course on your mobile there are also different apps you can try. I have some experience with SoloLearn. They have courses in many different languages, and a helpful community within the app.[/vc_column_text][/vc_column][vc_column width=”1/2″][vc_column_text css=”.vc_custom_1529439367191{margin-bottom: 0px !important;}”]

Scratch

 

If you feel like you should start from the VERY beginning, or at least if you have kids that you want to learn programming, Scratch is a very nice website. I know I’m going to introduce this to my kids eventually.[/vc_column_text][/vc_column][/vc_row][vc_row][vc_column][mk_padding_divider][vc_separator][/vc_column][/vc_row][vc_row][vc_column][vc_column_text css=”.vc_custom_1529870194417{margin-bottom: 0px !important;}”]So this is some of the resources that I recommend you check out if you as well want to learn programming. I will continue with the Udemy course that I am currently on, perhaps even start over, to see the new updated videos. Hopefully I will have some games I have created on the course that I can share here.

If you have any other resources you recommend, I would love to hear about them. Feel free to contact me or just write some of the resources you recommend in the comments. [/vc_column_text][/vc_column][/vc_row] READ MORE

Learning to code…

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Learning to code… the hard way…

 

I want to be an expert at something. But I’m not. I don’t put enough time in anything to have the chance of becoming really good at it. Nothing.

So many times have I found something on the internet and thought to myself; “Wow, this is really cool. I want to learn more about that. This is how I can see myself doing for the rest of my life!”. After a couple of days, I lose interest again. Find something even cooler, and start focusing on that instead.

I don’t have a life motto. But my approach to becoming aware of new and interesting stuff is; Can someone else do that, then there is no reason why I can’t. So this is mainly the reason why I started trying to learn to code.

 

What I started with…

There are so many coders out there. And there is a lot of ways to learn to code. And every one has the best way to learn. The following is just a handful of resources I have been through while trying to learn to code:

• https://www.codecademy.com/
• https://www.freecodecamp.org/
• https://teamtreehouse.com/
• https://scratch.mit.edu/

The last one was when I thought I REALLY had to start from scratch.

 

Udemy is REALLY nice!

The one I’ve spent most time in is a Udemy course: Complete C# Unity Developer 2D – Learn to Code Making Games which is on sale at the moment of typing this for $15. But Udemy often has it classes on sale so if you are interested in it and it’s not for sale, I recommend adding it to your wishlist and buy it when it’s back on sale.

It says I’ve finished 30% of that course but I’ve done more than that. They have re-recorded some of the material, I guess because Unity has been updated, so my progress isn’t registered correctly.

But I want to do more of that course. It was really good and I learned a lot. It’s just that I… lost interest at that time and it’s hard to start again…

If you have the tenacity, or perhaps I should say; if you just have ANY determination, since mine is very low, I really recommend this course as something to go through if you have no experience in coding, and want to start learning just that.

 

My dream of creating my own game

When in high school, you are (in Sweden at least) 18 years old and deciding on what you want to do for the rest of your life. I played a lot of games back then (as I still do), and wanted to be a game developer. I had no experience in coding what so ever, I just enjoyed playing games and I knew that if given the opportunity, and acquiring the skills necessary, I would be able to create good games that other would enjoy playing. And I still believe that.

However, the game industry back then didn’t flourish as it does now. At least not the indie game industry. So going after a game development career was a big risk. A risk my family didn’t want me to take. And I agreed. I came to my senses, and choose to do something that was guaranteed in giving me a job; International economics. Exciting…!

So to this day, I still want to become a game developer. And it’s not to late! At least that’s what I keep telling myself…

 

What did I learn from this?

I have of course learned some C# from the Udemy course, and other courses, but I am nowhere near being able to teach anyone any coding. I’m at that stage where I can read a code and somewhat understand what it does, but couldn’t correct it if it had bugs. I still haven’t understand the syntax so that I can by myself figure out what I should write after a certain class or a function and so on. Hopefully I am there someday, so that I can just reference the API to be able to finish my code.

I can however list some of the many different resources I have come across, and give you some of my feedback in regards to those resources, and HOPEFULLY I will help someone get started with coding.

If you have any tips on resources that are fun and educational I really appreciate your thoughts in the comments.

For my part, I just have to complete the Udemy course… I. Just. Have to…

[/vc_column_text][/vc_column][/vc_row][vc_row][vc_column][mk_blockquote font_family=”none”]For a more in-depth article on how I approach learning game development check out my latest article post here.[/mk_blockquote][/vc_column][/vc_row] READ MORE