So, the question seems vague but I will elaborate.
I’m a software developer, but I don’t do games; yet I have an urge to try and make something.
It just seems so overwhelming, I know I want to make a game where the main character is a cat and you have to complete missions, but where do you even begin. Where does the art come from? How do you refine your idea, if all you know is you want a cat game? How do you choose an engine? Do you just start with the basics and get a cat walking around and see what comes next? If you can’t hash out the idea then so you have a right to even try and make a game? Is it best to follow tutorials to get used to making games? I feel the answer to that is no as before I become a software developer, tutorial hell was a thing and I realised I needed to make things for me to actually learn.
Sorry for all the questions, this was just a stream of thought.
Well, for someone like me who had no inkling of programming skill until I forced myself to learn, let me tell you it was HARD. Everything about my game was a learning process but I took that as a challenge to improve myself and make myself more adaptable for future projects.
To give you basically a rundown of how I’m making my game is I first started with an idea. I liked playing Paper Mario and Super Smash Bros so I decided on gameplay similar to those two. Then, I chose Unity based on a recommendation from a teacher. As I learned coding through YouTube tutorials and asking questions on forums, I started with a simple script to control a tic tac that runs around a quick map I made with primitive shapes. And from that initial prototype I added more and more things. Different mechanics, quests, etc. For art, I’m making most of it on my own since I’m an artist first thing but most I’m getting from free sites like turbo squid or the Unity Asset Store. Music and sounds I’m using temp stuff until I can get to making them.
For myself, even making a simple mechanic of controlling your cat to explore an environment is a game. Sure, it might not be GTA quality, but it’s still a game. From here you can make something more interesting. I always say that in order for something to look beautiful, first it has to look ugly. Even a beautiful butterfly has to start as a worm.