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Sustainable living as an Indie bottom feeder
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The MOST IMPORTANT Skill to be a Successful Game Developer! (How to go Full Time Game Dev on Steam) • The MOST IMPORTANT Ski...
💬 Six years ago, before I ever started this KZbin channel, I wrote a really interesting article about how I was making a living as an indie dev that no one knew.
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Hello and Welcome!
I'm your Code Monkey and here you will learn everything about Game Development in Unity using C#.
I've been developing games for several years with 8 published games on Steam and now I'm sharing my knowledge to help you on your own game development journey.
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[@CodeMonkeyUnity]

💬 Six years ago, before I ever started this KZbin channel, I wrote this really interesting article, and nowadays everything is still pretty accurate! 🎮 Wishlist my Steam game! cmonkey.co/dinkyguardians ❤ Watch my FREE Complete Course kzbin.info/www/bejne/d56qhHh-bLaWesk Sustainable living as an Indie bottom feeder cmonkey.co/sustainablelivingindiebottomfeeder 🔴 RELATED VIDEOS 🔴 My Game Dev Journey (40+ Games! | mIRC to Flash to Steam) kzbin.info/www/bejne/ZqvWlIOclLpkjLs Announcing my Steam game! Wait... another? (How I calculate Goals for SUCCESS - Dinky Guardians) kzbin.info/www/bejne/poaom2mPaparZs0 The MOST IMPORTANT Skill to be a Successful Game Developer! (How to go Full Time Game Dev on Steam) kzbin.info/www/bejne/e2eQd4SteKp2m9U

[@Multimedia_Artist]

Hey C.M. You make useful videos. I always like their content. I would like to join you on this journey. If you need a teammate in game production, please let me know.

[@kheireddineattala1281]

Do you have a video on monetization strategies for an indie dev (selling, ads, in app purchases, ...etc.) from an indie dev perspective and what strategies work and do not work in your opinion If you don't please make one lol

[@jasontoddchampion]

I started full-time game dev this year after getting laid off from a tech company. I released my first Steam game in July and the second is coming out in October. My inspirations are Jeff Vogel and Hugo Cardoso because that's the path I'm following. I know it will probably take a few years before I'm making a decent living, but since I'm in a second-world country that's a bit easier. Your channel has been very helpful in this journey. Thank you.

[@CodeMonkeyUnity]

That's awesome, congrats! Really great job on completing a project so quickly, I hope you find success!

[@Arteelz]

Congrats on following your inspiration! Hope everything goes well on your path!

[@jon-tyrelladolpho4800]

I’ve been trying to be a full time Indie developer for 4 years now and man cost of living expenses are dream killers 😂. But I finally got my cost of living way down and I’ll be able to use my current job to supplement my game dev Journey.

[@loux6153]

Yo drop your game here please

[@chrish7308]

Good luck, rooting for you

[@hamzahgamedev]

This guys wrote a timeless article which is 6years old and still relevant to this day specially in an industry which is continuously changing as we speak. If this is not inspiring I don't know what is .!? If I ever go up on stage to receive GOTY Award, you will definitely be in the list of people I will be thanking that day. ✌

[@CodeMonkeyUnity]

Yeah I was surprised how much of the article is still very much up to date, sometimes it feels like this industry is constantly changing but some general concepts are always true.

[@tdr7481]

"If I ever go up on stage to receive GOTY Award, you will definitely be in the list of people I will be thanking that day." This resonated with me. With the exception that I wanted to credit him on all my future games lol.

[@user-unknown1705]

the gamming industry is continuously changing ? i feel like aside from some exception they've just been doing the same shit over & over

[@PyxelLab]

You're honestly my inspiration on so many levels . I took up Clean Code because of you , I don't know if I'll ever get to your level but damn, I sure enjoy working on this. One thing I'd love you to comment on is your game design process how do you decide what features to code , the art , all of that.

[@CodeMonkeyUnity]

Thanks for the kind words, I'm glad my videos have helped you! I have thought about making some game design videos but honestly I'm not sure I'm the best person to teach that, my design process is super basic, I just write down basic ideas on paper or a text file and then build a prototype, I don't do complex diagrams or super detailed Game Design Documents. I spoke a bit about my design process in the first Devlog for Dinky Guardians unitycodemonkey.com/video.php?v=JGnbmRkZj3U

[@hawkgamedev]

to think that you are now inspiring tons of devs to follow their passion, keep up the good work!

[@iampaullo2489]

This scares me a little, I'm nowhere near good as you were when you started and I already feel obsolete.

[@iampaullo2489]

But thanks for covering that!

[@PwnzorFTW]

we all have our own paths to follow. yours is at a different, earlier crossroad. if you're truly passionate about game development, keep honing your skills, abilities, and knowledge base, and you will find a way to make things work!

[@Alucard_Seven]

Don't feel like that dude. We all learn at different rates. Just take it one project at a time.

[@damsen978]

Then work your ass off. It's literally a skill.

[@CodeMonkeyUnity]

The great news is that it is so much easier to learn nowadays then when I got started. For example if you go through my free course you will learn in one month what took me years to learn unitycodemonkey.com/kitchenchaoscourse.php As long as you're doing better today than you were yesterday then you're doing great, just keep at it! Best of luck!

[@Dominik-K]

Thanks a bunch for this article reading, highly interesting to see how your htoughts changed over the years or largely stayed the same

[@schouffy]

You're really inspiring and if it makes you happy I really hope you can keep on doing this as long as you want.

[@HaydenJohnson]

You are seriously one of kind! I can't tell you how much I admire your dedication and consistency over the years. That is a rare talent to say the least. Thank you for this honest look at your experience pursuing your development dreams! I hope to be even a fraction of the success you are one day.

[@TurboMakesGames]

Great write up/breakdown - the act of making games is a ton of fun, but there are so many interesting topics around the strategy of making it work long term. Sharing real numbers like this is super helpful to put things in perspective and learn - congrats on $1M gross by the way 💪💪 Also you already seem very comfortable and natural on camera, keep it up!

[@CodeMonkeyUnity]

Thanks Johnny!

[@zayniacgames]

Glad to see you sharing your story and setting real expectations.

[@Caphalem]

I really like the down to earth, realist attitude. You can't go into game dev expecting that you'll make the next Valheim or even be the next Dani. I firmly believe that it's best to assume that your game will sell 0 copies. If you still want to make that game then congratulations, you've got what it takes to get started. Eventually, your games will start selling at least some amount of copies and even later, with some luck, you can even replace your day job with game dev (This would be my personal dream come true). Now when it comes to Clean Code. It is incredibly important but you will only really understand this once you have a decent amount of experience coding so go ham if you're new and make that Flying Spaghetti Monster. Ultimately, if you just try to write Clean Code from the get go you will not respect it and subconsciously avoid it, writing it off as a hassle. I went through Code Monkey's massive free courses and they are incredibly good though I need to find the time (and remember) to leave a big feedback comment as I'm curious to learn why some decisions were made making the code a bit messy in places.

[@Director414]

So good to get insight into this very important aspect of indie game development. Thanks 👍👍

[@TintoGamesCo]

Great advice!! So happy for all the honesty and real expectations

[@Pixelskill]

Excellent follow up on your own advise. A lot of good points, all realistic. Thank you for the insight

[@sampixel3453]

I like your videos, they are very high quality and easy to understand. ⚡️ Your videos really helped a beginner like me to made my first Unity prototypes and I want to make game on platforms soon. ✨ Therefore thank you for your hard work and I wish your channel to exceed the mark of a million subscribers. ⭐️

[@erikm9768]

Thank you for sharing all of this information!

[@Alucard_Seven]

Even though I'm learning Unreal engine I still find your channel very inspiring and a good source of concepts that one day I can apply to my own projects. When I decided to get back into learning game development again a few weeks ago, Your channel was the first thing I googled for motivation and to learn more about Unity/Game Development in General for future endeavours.

[@CodeMonkeyUnity]

That's awesome! Yup there's a lot of game dev that is completely engine independent, I've learned lots of stuff from various GDC talks despite the fact that those games are usually using custom engines

[@mohamedmusthafa1057]

Code Monkey Videos Always Top Of My Suggestions ❤

[@carndacier]

Thank you for this video, it really help seeing the reality of game dev, and what to expect. I started working on my game about 6 months ago, right after finishing your paid course - game changer for me. I only work on it after work, so it takes longer, but that's the first time I managed to work so long on a single game, thanks to your code logic. Thanks again, and keep the videos coming ! :)

[@CodeMonkeyUnity]

Nice, best of luck with your game!

[@HoisinDuckWrap]

Nice vid! Thanks for covering this

[@gameworkerty]

I've worked on projects featured by Kotaku, the Verge, Polygon etc before and I think what they are looking for is a novel concept that's easy to write about and makes headlines. Games like Dinky Guardians are seemingly quite fun but there's really nothing about the concept or look that stands out from the other games in the genre. 'Genre Chasing' makes a living but it sacrifices recognition. Instead of thinking of the super mega hits like Stardew Valley, I think if you want to be unique and get noticed you should look at other long-term devs who have been able to achieve that like Brendan Chung's studio Blendo Games with Quadrilateral Cowboy, Thirty Flights of Loving, and the upcoming game Skin Deep. These games balance a variety of deadlines and scopes while all being singularly unique both aesthetically and with game mechanics and get written about plenty.

[@Jess_stpierre]

Thanks man!!! This is motivating me to continue my side-project once again :) cheers

[@rrrainville]

Parabens! Voce e uma inspiracao para todos nos!

[@codered_dev]

I've loved this channel for years

[@thehambone1454]

Thank you o much for sharing, pretty inspirational! How did you go about marketing your games?

[@MDtech_186]

Love you 3000000000000000000000000 Times! : Basically, I was stuck on a problem in multiplayer, and your tutorial helped me! and I am just excited! to implement multiplayer into my games!

[@seth-blank]

Really enjoyed this video, pretty inspiring to keep finishing my game and possibly do for a long time career.

[@GamesAreArt1]

I like how honest you where at the beginning of the article describing about your life. i have nothing to add to this it perfectly cover everything but just few note i like to mentions the tools used for game dev(Unity, unreal, blender, and So on) has been change for the better of course even though it's still hard to success but it's easier than ever so the chances of success become high. about the early access on steam i think it is ok to has some issues since it is an early version of the game making more chance to improve stuff before the final release any review for the early access version on steam will be marked as Early access review(no idea if this feature was available back then), and it's different from Demo(Demonstration version) witch should be the best approach to the final version since it's purpose is to appeal the player. so yeah very nice article it still make sense to this day and as you said it is up to the developer himself to define success thanks for reading this comment.

[@austinlambdin]

You’re famous to me, Hugo. You’re one of the best KZbinrs I’ve come across and I appreciate you more than you know. Thank you for all of your content and courses 💯

[@CodeMonkeyUnity]

Thanks for the kind words!

[@GrahamOfLegend]

Definitely happy this video exists. Thanks man! Glad to see that you don't need to be a rockstar to be sustainable.

[@MehmetSarkd]

This is a great and enlighting video. Thank you for the tips!

[@darzeon]

I love Jeff's games, especially avernum and avadon series, he inspired me to go on this path, it's been rough but I'm getting there.

[@ComfortZoneGames]

Thank you for your advises and insides!

[@noodle-eater]

Thanks I read your article a few weeks ago and decide to try the same thing and making my game scope smaller so I can finish it fast and polish it. I can relate with this I want to make hit game ofc but the path right there is not an easy one I guess and your article and video give me inspiration and hope that I can still make profit from my game, thank you love it.

[@DrBossKey]

Good stuff, thanks for sharing!

[@Btmodz]

Really liked this video! You are truly someone I aspire to be one day.

[@ChrisNoeth]

Fantastic Vid! Thank you! And keep it up! :)

[@imDanoush]

Very insightful video! Thanks for sharing this video!

[@TheGuayeah]

Great video, thanks for the advices you give from your own experience! By the way I miss your tutorial videos on specific features, I know they take so long to make but I really used to enjoy them.

[@CodeMonkeyUnity]

Yeah I've actually got an upcoming video talking about exactly that topic The quick answer is right now I'm super busy working on my game and tutorials are some of the most time consuming videos to make so until the game is out in early October I don't think I have much time to do many tutorials. But after the game is done yup definitely expect plenty of tutorial videos

[@djaracolman4259]

Extremely motivating!

[@alexsilva42361]

Thank you so much for this rich advice!

[@Banaaani]

It's insane how helpful this channel is. I really need to put a shoutout to my game when its a bit closer to release.

[@CodeMonkeyUnity]

I'm glad the videos have helped you, best of luck with your game!

[@ElianeGameDev]

Really interesting video, thanks for all these advices !

[@ElianeGameDev]

By the way, it would be fun to count how many times you said "nowadays" in the video 😄

[@blazeDev_vlog]

Very interesting video, I really enjoyed it!

[@kaiser724]

A plan I have w my brother for a big game is basically just our day job as an entertaining game. We work at a farm stand so we know all the ins and outs of it. We also love started valley and that has inspired us. However we have never made games or programs (I have made tiny things), so we are gonna make small games first.

[@kimjiro4591]

I need to hear this so much. There are times that I wanted to give up, more than I care to count actually,

[@chuckdude514]

I loved this video! Thanks for sharing your article (I didn't know about it). I have learned a lot since I found your channel, I even truly believe I will be capable of making my first steam game after I finish my current game! My only problem is that I'm currently in a phase that I labelled as "learning-hell", where I found myself addicted to learning as many features as possible about Unity and C# to be able to save huge amounts of time later on (similar to the incredible amount I saved so far by using design patterns). For example, right now I'm really interested in learning and testing the powers of unit testing and Netcode.

[@CodeMonkeyUnity]

If you're doing game dev as a fun hobby then it's not necessarily a problem to be constantly learning new things, if you enjoy it then keep learning! But if you do want to complete a project then honestly the best advice is make projects, I know that sounds overly simplistic but it really is the answer to escaping tutorial hell, take some tiny projects to completion, the more projects you finish the easier it is to finish the next one. Start with Flappy Bird, then Space Invaders, then Snake, etc, etc Best of luck in your learning journey!

[@reibeatall]

I really appreciate this video and the info. I've always wanted to make smaller games that make a small amount of money instead of trying to make a giant beast for millions

[@knightoftheblood1841]

I made my first game for 8 months and I didn't do marketing. Just release it. The result is only 500 people who buy it. It's been 9 days and it's over. My 8 months of hard work really wasn't worth it. I think I need a publisher for my next game.

[@CodeMonkeyUnity]

It might not seem like it but that is an EXCELLENT result! Most first games don't even sell 10 copies, 90% of games on Steam don't make $1000, so congrats! You don't necessarily need a publisher but yes you do need marketing. Best of luck with your next project!

[@project-gladiator]

I once saw an excelent video by the guy from The Last Tree about $0 Marketing. I dont remember if it was a GDC talk or something on his channel, but you should look for it. Good Luck on your next game.

[@leocrabe2253]

It's so funny to learn after all these years that I've played (and liked) like 4 of your games! Game Corp DX, Battle Royale Tycoon, Ninja Tycoon and Hyper Knights! These are all great games even if they are niche I guess .. Keep up the great work!

[@CodeMonkeyUnity]

heh nice! I hope you enjoyed them! Thanks!

[@isaacsnowcarini4808]

when i started the video i did not recognize your name, but then realised i played Hyper Knight (and loved it) and also did your udemy course :)

[@457Deniz457]

Nice Video, thanks ! :)

[@Skye-Games]

Haha I am so glad you decided to start making content on camera. Personally, I started engaging with your content more and feel more 'connected' to your channel because I know who is making the content😁 Congrats!

[@Nhauste]

This is a great video, filled with plenty of good advices to follow. I've always worked on personal games on my spare time because I didn't feel like quitting my job to go full solo mode (especially because I'm happy with my current situation), so I expect the burn rate to be more about my workload rather than my revenues. I am determined to make something good, but it'll take some time. Better not fall into a burnout situation 😄 Thanks again for your great videos, they are precious and super helpful!

[@CodeMonkeyUnity]

That's a great, safe, plan! Yup take your time and don't burn out. Best of luck with the game!

[@jugglingjsons]

You have just made me realise you are the mastermind behind Hyper Knights which was one of the first titles to light my passion for indies. You rock, even more so no, keep going!

[@CodeMonkeyUnity]

That's awesome! I'm glad you liked that game! It's definitely one of my favorites that I've made, even nowadays I still love looking at the trailer and watching the enemies fly off screen heh

[@PatrickEn]

Im trying to release my first Steam game at the end of this year and i am pretty exited about it! I have watched a lot of stuff on your channel and it really helped me out to learn quite fast. Without these videos it would not be possible and im highly greatful for this :) On my part, this is all still a hobby and i guess i will not make a penny but i really enjoy the journey!

[@CodeMonkeyUnity]

Nice! Best of luck with your game!

[@birne587]

Great Video!

[@ExpensivePizza]

This is one of the most inspiring videos I've ever watched.

[@Jamie_Gamedev]

This was the perfect video for me today.

[@johannes4510]

Nice video. A lot of people strive to become the very best and this desire can lead to you quitting just because you don't reach a certain standard. It is ok to just be average too, espeically if you can live a comfortable life being average. If you don't get rich but get to do something your passionate about full-time, I think you've already won at life. Sure, you can still strive to make some amazing masterpiece, but maybe you should not be too serious in this striving.

[@GlassVaultStudio]

Ty Hugo! Great advice. Following most of this. Going to try something different for marketing. Instead of getting my game noticed and dev logging as soon as possible, I'm going to wait until it is complete. Then I will push marketing hard for a few months before release and also dev log over interesting things like new maps and characters. Once people discover a game, there is a small window of opportunity that they are willing to stay excited and wait for it to be released. I want to make sure I'm able to ride and feed that wave of excitement all the way to release; which is 2 to 3 months max in my opinion.

[@CodeMonkeyUnity]

That's an interesting strategy although I would still recommend start marketing as soon as you have the game idea set. The more time you have to gather wishlists the better

[@zen-ov7rf]

I been following you for a very long time I love your content Could you please make a tutorial on how to create physics based tank tracks since there isn't any tutorial like that on KZbin or anywhere THANK YOUUU!!!

[@Epsio0]

How do you come up with game loops? I get stuck with (probably analysis paralysis) with figuring out what kind of game I want to make

I'm not a game dev, but I follow your channel because Game Corp DX is one of my favorite games ever. That game manages to keep me more entertained than a AAA game from a big studio when I feel bored and just want to have some mindless fun, so thank you!! Have you ever thought about remastering that game or possibly making a sequel with some harder challanges, milestones to reach?

[@CodeMonkeyUnity]

That's awesome, I'm glad you liked the game! The concept of remastering/sequels is always very interesting, but at the same time I have so many ideas that I'd love to build, so the question is always do I make a sequel to something I've already done or something completely new? That's always tricky

[@alec_almartson]

Thank You 💯👍🏻 for sharing your knowledge and personal experience. I find this information very useful, to put things into perspective. As we can see when comparing your experience with Thomas Brush and Jason Weimann's (three successful Game Developers and influencers), we can conclude there's more than one way to make a living out of Game Dev'ing... the important thing is to choose according to our personality... study, make (serious) Plans, and just do it!

[@CodeMonkeyUnity]

Yup there are plenty of ways to find success in the industry!

[@macadamion-]

i'm near brand new to making games on unity and for one game i'm trying to make a toolbar where you can drag drop items into an area to build something, my current problem is that i cant figure out how to duplicate an item when i drag it. if you know what space flight simulator is than its similar to that, could you possibly help me?

[@QuangNguyen-lf4lu]

I just started learning Game Dev for several months, hoping to join game industry in some ways. However, I barely knew anything about this industry, or had anything other than my gaming hobby. Your videos have inspired me a lot. Your free course is where I first learned Clean Code, and I loved it so much that I may be a little bit too obsessed with it. On the other hand, these videos about your indie game journey give me a direction to head to. I like your path, I feel it's kinda suitable for me. I dont know how far I can go, but I will do my best. Now I nearly finish your Turn-Based Strategy course, I will start making my game after finishing it.

[@CodeMonkeyUnity]

That's awesome to hear! Best of luck in your game dev journey!

[@gustavo3220]

Amo como você trata a área de games de forma realista

[@stevenxmoreno]

Your awesome Hugo!

[@buttjunkie7956]

Had a massive laugh at 0:34. I'm doing exactly that, minus the masterpiece (not yet released, so I guess we'll see!). I knew going into it that a big, complex project is a high risk approach that rarely pays off, but it's what I wanted to do. I minimised reduced my expenses to under $100 a month and I'm 4 years in now, releasing in 2024. Hopefully with good success, but I could make nothing. Either way, the journey has been worthwhile. Would also like to mention that I got started about time you did your first ECS tutorials and they were a great help in understanding it, so many thanks for those.

[@MathsPlusGames]

Great video

[@Gino12164]

Some people told me to focus on risk instead of reward. If you know your risk and it is significant you are going to focus on something better without losing too much. Second for me is fun it is higher than quantity in the idea of having 10 good levels is better than 40 mediocre ones. Third enjoy the process. You make a game and finished it is a larger and easier achievement then selling 100.000 copy's.

[@SEOTADEO]

I have never seen someone where the look and voice are so so different, it is hard to connect in my head. But great video.

[@flamart9703]

I was shocked too. Until then, I thought that he spoke this way just to entertain the audience. :)

[@alexanderkulaev541]

Thanks for this video! This really makes me think differently about my indie game I just started with my girlfriend. Perhaps I should change the concept and make even simpler game. And you act in camera perfectly! So no worries, you're a great teacher and narrator. You look great, too :) Do continue such videos! Btw, what country do you live in? My burn rate can be relatively low too, since I live in Russia.

[@CodeMonkeyUnity]

I'm in Portugal which I think has a similar cost of living compared to Russia so you're on the right place to try making indie games!

[@MisterBlaster_ILV]

Heya Hugo wanted yo ask do you use any Version Control when you develop your games?

[@CodeMonkeyUnity]

Not really, since I work solo I have never really found that to be very useful. I know some people say it's not just for working with others but for keeping track of changes in case you break something, and for that usually the way I think is simply if I break something I should be able to fix it myself rather than have to rollback I do obviously do backups, but they are super basic, I literally just do a .zip of the entire project folder and save it somewhere, usually once per day

[@zurrutikGames]

what cities in Portugal would you recommend to live in in order to have the lowest burn rate?

[@jamesmillerjo]

Good points.

[@rrahll]

thanks mate!

[@TESkyrimizer]

I took these tips to heart! But unfortunately my current project has been 4 months in and still maybe 4 months away from a vertical slice. ☹️ Specifically I take too long on art and bugfixing while features keep on getting delayed. And of course as the months drag on your motivation dwindles cuz you cant see the finishline. Being an indie dev is kinda hard on those of us with impostor syndrome 😅 oof! Great video though I feel inspired. Thank you Hugo!

[@trantuananh421]

Wow now I know my idol's name 👀.Really appreciate your contribution

[@malfagaming7739]

I loved to read this article and hear more about you. You are certainly a great inspiration to me. Have you ever thought about releasing android/ios games? My main goal is to develop PC games for steam, but for a start I thought about making simple android games for a few months.. probably to gather audience/players. I don't want to overwhelm them with ads or any IAP, you know.. even trying to be a game dev I'm still a player and I want to enjoy my games as well. Thank you for all your work!

[@CodeMonkeyUnity]

Mobile discover is 10x more difficult than Steam, it's nearly impossible unless you're willing to spend tons of money in advertising But for learning, sure that can work, although personally I would still go the Steam route but if you enjoy mobile games then sure make some mobile games

[@malfagaming7739]

@@CodeMonkeyUnity Makes sense, the mobile games list is endless, must be really hard to be discovered. I will re-think and might skip the mobile games. Although they are easier ideas, there are a lot of optimization topics to care about.

[@Kaikaku]

About reusable code: A tutorial on how to (plan,) prepare, extract and reuse code from a project would be nice. I have started a project with the inital idea to reuse two parts in future projects. As the project became (still) more complex than expected I may abandon it or massivley strip down its scope. What I absolutely want to do is to make use of the two parts: 1) The easy one: A sound manager script with a scriptable object for sound. 2) The trickey (and messy) one: Several scripts, prefabs, shaders, animators, and graphics for 2D animation. Probably, I will not be able to save #2 (learnt so much on the way), but it would be helpful to know about the practical approach on how to do better the next time (and I know, read clean code 😉).

[@CodeMonkeyUnity]

The main thing is really just make the code as decoupled as possible, however there are definitely some systems that are very specific to whatever game they were made for so it's perfectly normal for those not to be reusable. Sound systems are indeed pretty easy, basic scene management Loading is another easy one to port, for Save Systems you can just port the basic structure (I always use SaveObjects and JSON) even though the save data itself will be different, etc

[@JustinWatson23]

Thanks for the useful video. I'm thinking of starting to write a game. I've kind of done the hardwork already in the fact that i've worked in IT for over 25 years and own a house now, so i can cut my burn rate right down. But what i think i'll do is come up with some ideas and flesh out a few i have and see what i think might work and start writing it in my spare time. I am curious though whether you think its better to perhaps publish games on more platforms. ie i'm a huge switch gamer and that has some awesome indie games on it and thats where i was planning to start writing games for, but obviously steam is possibly bigger. But i guess if the effort to write for multiple platforms is too great then its not profitable either.

[@CodeMonkeyUnity]

I have never published on console so really don't know how hard/easy that process is but it is definitely more complex than Steam, on Steam you just pay $100 and that's it whereas on console you need to sign up as a dev, be accepted into their program, go through their validation process, etc, etc. It's definitely something I'd love to go through myself, I'm working on making sure Dinky Guardians is fully playable with a gamepad so that potentially after the Steam launch I can explore that area

[@JustinWatson23]

@@CodeMonkeyUnity Thanks for your response. I did more research and it looks like the best way is to get games on steam first then if any are worthwile apply fior a dev license and port them over. Anyway jumping the gun need to brush up on my programming skills (learnt some C years ago and lots of pascal, basic and scripting since) and watch that awesome tutorial you've done to learn a bit of unity

[@DiSyllar25]

This is very motivating. As someone from the same 2nd world country as you, the low burn rate helps a lot. I would love to see game dev as something other than a hobby someday, but I can't risk leaving my job, at least not for a few years until I know what I'm doing and have something to show for it. When and how did you know you could basically be Code Monkey as a full-time job?

[@CodeMonkeyUnity]

I was living with my parents as I was learning, I only moved out after making 40 Flash games and after my first Steam game was successful, so yeah I avoided risk as much as possible

[@emmanuelgonzalezcaseira9141]

Wow, it surely must have felt like a time capsule for you, reading this :) On an somewhat unrelated note, this may be one of the best thumbnails you have had for a video, ever :P

[@CodeMonkeyUnity]

heh actually making the thumbnail for this one was really difficult, I had no idea how I could visualize "sustainable living", then I went to see Oppenheimer and suddenly realized the word "survive" would also make sense which suddenly made it very clear!

[@MUT-Studios]

My strategy is that to make small games to invest in my big titles i love lore and i make each games with deep loor about life and each game is kinda connected so i make small games to grow a community for the big ones that will take time to come out. So what do you think of this plan ??🤨

[@CodeMonkeyUnity]

Sure, that can work but it's incredibly difficult. It's very hard to get people invested in your lore, your writing needs to be absolutely perfect

[@nixonscherbarth1974]

Heyyy, this comment doesn’t really fit too much. But I wanna give you huge props & say thanks! You’re an excellent programmer & game dev! Your videos about setting up the NetworkGO, Lobby and Relay were sooo crazy good. Especially the Lobby one. I learned so much, it’s crazy what you covered in one video. Super insane! Biggest Hug from Germany, if I ever see you, I’ll give you a huge Pasteis de Nata or however that’s written 😂😂😂

[@CodeMonkeyUnity]

Thanks for the kind words! I'm glad the videos have helped you! I do love Pasteis de Nata heh

[@itsnazake]

You the goat!

[@jamesbester7520]

What advice would you provide to someone who finds developing fun and is interested in heading down this route, but has a full time job and is the main breadwinner? Currently only spending 4-5hours a week focusing on C# and Unity.

[@CodeMonkeyUnity]

Make sure you pick a game idea/scope that matches that time, if you're just starting out then begin by making simple clones of games or following my free course unitycodemonkey.com/kitchenchaoscourse.php After that, come up with something that you can build in 50 hours and build that in three months. I recommend doing that on the side to gain experience, I wouldn't recommend quitting your job until you already have a solid hit

[@suspecm6316]

I always wondered how those huge bundles make any profit for the devs. Turns out, they don't.

[@CodeMonkeyUnity]

Yeah unless you get in a really special HumbleBundle then the devs really don't get much. If you look at it as a simple small bonus when the game has reached the end of life stage then it can be nice, but definitely don't bundle within 3-4 years.

[@silcoish]

What are your thoughts on releasing your games on console? I don't think I've ever heard you talk about that before, and your focus is definitely on Steam, but with future games is that something you'd consider? Do you think it could have a good return on your time investment?

[@CodeMonkeyUnity]

Yup that is an area that I haven't yet explored but definitely want to. That was one of my main goals with Hyper Knights which is why that game's controls are gamepad focused. But when the game didn't do as well as I thought I had to refocus and didn't have the time to explore that area. For Dinky Guardians I'm also making sure everything is fully playable with a gamepad so I'm hoping this time I will finally be able to research that topic. I don't think consoles nowadays do very well for tiny indies like me but I've love to play my own game on a console someday

[@silcoish]

@@CodeMonkeyUnity Thanks, I hope you're able to explore this space some more eventually and be able to share insights with us too! From personal experience, Switch has been pretty favourable - because the way the eShop works, all news games are getting visibility as it's not prioritised by wishlists, but instead by release date. We have a few examples of games with very little marketing out performing steam 10x there just by the fact they're getting visibility. Anyway, all the best with Dinky Gardens and hope to see it on console eventually :)

[@TheRealCzechmark]

When you were making your first game that took you 10 months. Where you working on it part-time or full-time? How many hours per day were you working on it? Great content!!

[@CodeMonkeyUnity]

It was a really long time ago so I don't remember, technically full time since that's the only thing that I was doing, but back then I didn't have as much self discipline as I do today so I'm pretty sure I wasn't working 8-10 hour days 7 days a week like I do nowadays.

[@LegoRobotic-no7pl]

Im not close as good as you in coding but i know holy books information about gamedev and im feelin safe. Haddith about alive pictures. It looks simple...not in de deepness of it.

[@randomragtags]

When you speak of burn rate, is that including rent/food etc?

[@CodeMonkeyUnity]

Yup, everything that I need to live for one month

[@dcat1832]

Please make a video how to make the movement on the slopes and stairs🙏🏻🙏🏻🙏🏻. Like in caracter controller but in 2D.

[@CodeMonkeyUnity]

For the most part that's a raycast, so pretty much the same logic for testing IsGrounded unitycodemonkey.com/video.php?v=c3iEl5AwUF8 You check where the floor is and move the player up/down For stairs you do the same thing but instead of pointing the raycast directly down you pick a point in front of the player move position and raycast down, if the stair height is acceptable then move the player up

[@TheAlexGameChannel]

How many you spend on marketing making your first games? Is there any chance to have 1000~5000 copies if you make good game without marketing, because you don't have enough money for marketing?

[@vedoxg]

I'm sure if Hugo was to put all of his free time in developing some game he would make a huge success, but he chose to record these tutorials to help us become better at game development (also he needs to make a living but u get what I mean) what I want to say is it is a bit sad that people do not appreciate people like Hugo, he is like a mentor to all of us... 😊

[@StealthKing-nu3gi]

Can u make a tutorial for a fps controller for multiplayer

[@JacobBroderick]

I have always thought Survivor Squad Gauntlet was DLC for Survivor Squad. I never knew that it was a sequel that was improved. If it had a different logo so that it looked like a sequel, I probably would've bought it. I might go buy it, now that I see you say that it was improved in every way.

[@CodeMonkeyUnity]

Oh that's interesting! I did consider just naming it "Survivor Squad 2" but since the main concept was building the levels (Gauntlets) I ended up going with that name I wonder how many more people felt that same confusion, perhaps the game would have done better if it just had a 2 at the end, interesting