Current Events > Is it a bad idea to try to make an indie game?

(+) Yeah! (+)

I finished a coding boot camp recently and I havent been able to find a software engineering job yet. Ive sent out a lot of applications and only had 1 interview so far. When I graduated from college I applied to jobs for an entire year before I finally had to settle for a dead end job that I hated and plunged me deep into depression. It feels like things are going to turn out the same way if I keep on doing what Im doing.

So today I started wondering if I should take matters into my own hands and try to create something on my own instead of waiting for someone to hire me. I loved drawing from elementary school all the way through high school and I wanted to become a comic book artist back then. So if I combine my decent art skills and my basic coding skills maybe I can make an okay game and get it on Steam or something. Is it worth it to make an indie game? I really feel like my situation is kind of hopeless right now

Bump

solo? yes

Adding anything to your portfolio would be helpful.

Nukazie posted...

solo? yes

I was thinking that I would make a point and click adventure or a visual novel so that it would be easy to code. Id draw designs for all the characters and write the script and then find someone whos way better at art than me to polish up all the art and make the background. And then Id make a Kickstarter for the game so I could hire a composer for the music and maybe get voice actors for the dialogue. Is that still too optimistic?

LightHawKnight posted...

Adding anything to your portfolio would be helpful.

I started 2 new projects after finishing the boot camp but I ran into bugs that I just couldnt find a way around. One of those projects is literally 99% done except for that one error

Feline_Heart posted...

Is that still too optimistic?

i just wanna say that i was optimistic too, i wasted 5 years on my project and i wish i could take it back and got a shitty job instead, you can try it out but remember not to dwell on it for too long like i did

what kind of degree

Do both. Start a game project for practice, but also keep applying. Since you already finished the bootcamp, I'm sure you have some idea of how time consuming your point and click adventure will be. It won't be quick.

How difficult's the code stuff to learn? That's the part that always looked impenetrable for me.

Nukazie posted...

i just wanna say that i was optimistic too, i wasted 5 years on my project and i wish i could take it back and got a shitty job instead, you can try it out but remember not to dwell on it for too long like i did

Yeah, thats a problem that I have too. I have a lot of ideas that I think are interesting and then I spend a long time planning things out but I become too scared to actually follow through on executing them and then I just move on to the next idea. I really want to see something through for once

Dakimakura posted...

what kind of degree

Business Administration. What a waste of time lol

NoxObscuras posted...

Do both. Start a game project for practice, but also keep applying. Since you already finished the bootcamp, I'm sure you have some idea of how time consuming your point and click adventure will be. It won't be quick.

Yeah, thats the plan

ViewtifulJoe posted...

How difficult's the code stuff to learn? That's the part that always looked impenetrable for me.

Surprisingly easy. And there are a ton of tutorials on YouTube to help you out.

Feline_Heart posted...

Business Administration. What a waste of time lol

You are trying to get a job in an already over-saturated field without the right degree?

I want to create an indie game too, but I have not gone to coding camp :(

I managed to create a title screen in Unity tho

Feline_Heart posted...

Surprisingly easy. And there are a ton of tutorials on YouTube to help you out.

Is that after you find your way past the wall of people telling you what programs you need and which languages you do and don't need and which are pre-requisites for each other? No field has me going "What the hell are you people even saying anymore?" faster than this one.

Dakimakura posted...

You are trying to get a job in an already over-saturated field without the right degree?

The alternative was to stay in my customer service job where people screamed at me all day long about things that were out of my control and treated me like complete garbage. I was fighting back tears at that job every day and the schedule was awful so I had no time to do anything outside of work. My anxiety became even worse which I didnt think was possible and Ive had to start seeing a therapist. I was so happy when I finally got fired

Since that was the only real job Ive had since graduating I didnt have enough experience to get any other job besides another customer service job and I just cant put myself through that again. It felt like I had no options left so out of desperation I decided to go to a coding boot camp to gain the skills to become a web developer

Feline_Heart posted...

to gain the skills to become a web developer

you might want to get a job with that instead of going solo dev

Nukazie posted...

you might want to get a job with that instead of going solo dev

I'll keep trying

Would you program your visual novel from scratch or use something like Ren'Py? Also, do you have any experience writing stories? Probably best to start with something short (5-10k words).

smoke_break posted...

Would you program your visual novel from scratch or use something like Ren'Py? Also, do you have any experience writing stories? Probably best to start with something short (5-10k words).

I wrote the scripts for a 6 issue comic series once. And I've tried to write novels for the last 10 years but I usually give up on them 1/3 of the way through. Maybe it really is a bad idea to try to make a game

ViewtifulJoe posted...

Is that after you find your way past the wall of people telling you what programs you need and which languages you do and don't need and which are pre-requisites for each other? No field has me going "What the hell are you people even saying anymore?" faster than this one.

Look up a Python tutorial on YouTube and learn at your pace. One of the easiest languages to learn. No-prerequisites.

NoxObscuras posted...

Look up a Python tutorial on YouTube and learn at your pace. One of the easiest languages to learn. No-prerequisites.

Are there big shortcomings to picking an easy one like that?
I get the funniest knot in my stomach talking about all this code stuff, it's like I'm choosing whether I want to go into a flooded cave, a pitch black tunnel with weird noises coming out of it or a fire.

ViewtifulJoe posted...

Are there big shortcomings to picking an easy one like that?
I get the funniest knot in my stomach talking about all this code stuff, it's like I'm choosing whether I want to go into a flooded cave, a pitch black tunnel with weird noises coming out of it or a fire.

No, Python is really in demand

And just to clarify this isn't specifically for a point and click like TC's thinking of, right? If I wanted to make a run left and right/punch/shoot/jump kind of game this would let me believe for a while before the horrible reality sets in?

ViewtifulJoe posted...

And just to clarify this isn't specifically for a point and click like TC's thinking of, right? If I wanted to make a run left and right/punch/shoot/jump kind of game this would let me believe for a while before the horrible reality sets in?

Yep. Python can do that. And there are even frameworks out there, like Pygame and Pykyra, that you can use to make a simple game.

Feline_Heart posted...

I wrote the scripts for a 6 issue comic series once. And I've tried to write novels for the last 10 years but I usually give up on them 1/3 of the way through. Maybe it really is a bad idea to try to make a game

It's not a bad idea, making a game even a short one is a fun experience.