How I made my FIRST GAME and how much MONEY I made - Devlog

I started on my first game about two years ago and this is the story of how I made it. I also tell you how much money the game made and what I learnt from making it.
Wishlist my game:
store.steampowered.com/app/2511160/Cleanup_Squad
Follow me on twitter:
/ jensven1
Software I normally use:
Engine: Unreal engine 4
3D software: Blender 3D
2D software: GIMP
Music and Audio: Reaper
Music by Karl Casey @ White Bat Audio
Song Names: Hackers, New Beginnings, Glitch in reality, End Credits
/ @whitebataudio

[@JonasTyroller]

Lovely. The YT algorithm was finally so gracious to show this to me. Nice video. :)

[@JensDev]

Glad it found its way to you Jonas, the algorithm has started moving in my favor! Thanks a lot :)

[@changedev.198]

Well the algorithm doesn't understand I searched for 'Jens' and not 'Jeans' 😂

[@pravardhcv490]

I'm glad there's finally a game developer who doesn't try to just blindly copy dani's jokes. Great video!

[@JensDev]

Trying to do my own thing but taking just some inspiration from other creators, thanks a lot! :)

[@themonocleguy371]

yup exactly, it's funny the first time I hear those "thicc" jokes or "hippity hoppity your code is now my property" but after hearing so much of them it becomes boring

[@pravardhcv490]

@@themonocleguy371 I know right!

[@kwombat5306]

Who's dani?

[@coolraygaming]

Right! So many people who are wannabe Danis

[@changedev.198]

If that was your first game, you are seriously talented...

[@JensDev]

It was my first game! (Except for that witness game haha).

[@OcnarfPro]

It was also my first

[@sverige7586]

@@OcnarfPro what?

[@blinkachu5275]

Skilled*

[@ORTyOW]

@@blinkachu5275 bruh

[@itzderpdoodle6937]

Cool stuff, definitely subbing! Can't wait to see what else you make!!

[@grogdizzy5814]

I love your sense of humor. Thank you for the laughs and for sharing the great video

[@JonLarsen.]

A few minutes into the video I realized that it was a game tested by Jonas, nice. Really interesting to hear about "failed" releases, as mostly you just hear about the good ones. The game looks good, and it could have a lot more potential. But as you already know and said, your first game is all about harvesting experience, more than creating a super awesome blockbusting AAA product. I wish I could do that as well, but currently I am just slobbing through my 10+ years project which I think is fun to make. Hopefully one day I will come up with a smaller project and gain the same experience :) I'm really impressed by your 3D modeling. It is such a huge advantage for making games. Keep up the good work!

[@JensDev]

Yes, I believe it is important to share all experiences so that people are aware your first game(s) most likely won't be a huge success. To me it's more about learning and having fun though :) Sounds like a dream project in the works after such a long development, hope you'll get it done! :) Thanks a lot, it was really a joy for me to get back into using blender after such a long time and do some modeling. It's probably my favourite part of making games!

[@BuvesaGameDevelopment]

Great to see your progress on the game and video, keep going ;)

[@JensDev]

Thanks a lot, will do :)

[@HH-xi7vh]

@@JensDev cost the game for free

[@arasbuilds611]

Wonderful videos once again. you are now my favorit swedish youtuber. Keep up the good work and quality. 💪

[@JensDev]

Gotta improve my videos further now with that title :o Thanks a lot!

[@bingoae8413]

You are awsome man !! you inspired me, i hope things works well for you new coming game

[@deviouspolarbear4707]

It looks amazing and motivates me, very cool!

[@ASMRaphael]

Such a wonderful and super epic video to watch :) I enjoyed it so much! :)

[@JensDev]

Glad you enjoyed it!

[@VJ4rawr2]

Amazing video. You're a really good presenter. I watched the whole thing and enjoyed it.

[@JensDev]

Glad you enjoyed it!

[@fourletterwordgames6135]

What a journey! Keep up the good work!

[@JensDev]

Thanks a lot!

[@local9]

I've always looked at game development and dabbled in it, just never set out to make anything. Inspirational.

[@kltorvanger]

Great video for inspiration. Thanks man :)

[@laytonvicars4606]

I like this type of videos. They are very inspiring.

[@kirbofn524]

Bra editing och mega bra humor! Subbad direkt.

[@jacksondanielles3347]

Love your personality

[@kmfsuavin]

man i love your channel, Nice vídeo !

[@JensDev]

Appreciate it, coming with a new video in a day or two! :)

[@sabih__]

ngl the false witness game was such an incredible idea ngl. this video was pretty inspiring 😊

[@Kennyisgoated]

lol I like your channel your super underrated 1st ;)

[@JensDev]

Wow u so fast :o Thanks :D

[@Kennyisgoated]

@@JensDev Lol

[@SDev]

Amazing, bro!!

[@JensDev]

Thank you! Appreciate it!

[@_georgesh]

Great game but even better video here! Sjukt bra jobbbat. Blir spännande att följa din utveckling!

[@sursomsatan1225]

Lugna ner dig Jimmy

[@Blinkers2007GameDev]

Bra jobbat. Hoppas också mitt första release blir såhär bra

[@ITGirlll]

You game devs seem so fun, y’all are making me want to switch to game building now! 😊

[@BitsOfCoding]

That was pretty cool. The game looks kinda fun.

[@halfbakedproductions7887]

I've literally just downloaded your game after stumbling across this vid. It's actually quite good fun, even if you "pick up" the hitchhiker by simply crashing into them. Great job and much more polished than I was expecting based on what was shown here.

[@JensDev]

Thanks, it's some skilled hitchhikers that can jump on at speed ;)

[@LunarAxe]

how can you download it?

[@thetwobros24]

yo bro, really thankya. Big respect

[@MemeMonke551]

Thats amazing! Im making my second game soon. I hope it will turn out just as good

[@JensDev]

Thanks, good luck with your game!

[@Abdullah.Masrur]

Downloaded ✅

[@zenniegames]

very good video actually haha I thought you were a youtube channel with 100k subs. Now subscribed and happy :)

[@JensDev]

I'm working on it haha ;) Thanks :)

[@ya-ilya]

It's rare to see someone new on gamedev KZbin who's both a programmer and a 3D artist!

[@avospelar8899]

Hej Jens Bra Vid😊👍

[@jonmcf2592]

It's cool time well spent!

[@JensDev]

Thanks a lot :D

[@rashidregiste-charles5514]

Very impressive. Amazing game idea. Your game is a success with the time and work you put into it. I don't even have the software to make a game. Congratulations to you.

[@JuanSumChninezeFue]

Why not? Most game dev software is free to learn how to use.

[@theanalyst9629]

I tried it lol, it's enjoyable man

[@xAdypt]

Seeing league of legends with a controller gave me neuralgia. Also dope video👍 can't wait to see the multi-player game you're working on

[@DylanHedger]

Man Equlinox was the best game dev serious I ever found. I watched when he was working on his RPG

[@gabriellecabato7629]

this inspired me and gave me a good lesson what not to do stuff.

[@JensDev]

happy to help! ;)

[@doctordescargas]

Thanks for sharing your journey. Greetings from LATAM 🙂😝👌

[@YahyaDanboos]

Really interesting game idea, for a first game I would totally call this a success even if it didn't make any money

[@JensDev]

Thanks! I agree, my intention in the beginning was not to make money off the game, it would have just been a bonus :)

[@freeus6085]

You should start your own game jam event and invite us to compete! Good content man!

[@JensDev]

That would be cool! I'm going to look into that :)

[@leoedwards4179]

Bra jobbat hehe

[@thegaming4886]

why does this channel only have 3000 subscribers? Your videos sre really good and you deserve more followers!

[@JensDev]

Thanks a lot, really appreciate it! :)

[@Chris_t0]

niec video good to see game dev videos that dont make me feel like shit ahahah, good job man

[@JensDev]

Thanks! Not everyone can win all the time right? haha

[@ohtheyloveme]

Love it

[@drawmaster77]

Fun video, love the humor. That was like my just like my first game too, except I've made an alien shooter. Had sick graphics though.

[@TheChipmonks]

Whatever, but this was motivating. Thanks man ❤️

[@kaushik4038]

liked video just because you used blender.....good work...keep up

[@kevincrinklaw7422]

LMAO so the carmageddon thing takes me back. Played that game a lot. Warped my fragile little mind.

[@patryk3772]

I propose to make two large invisible buttons for changing the direction of drive on both halves of the screen

[@dogeminedoge]

I like your content

[@me-ld2gq]

Him: "I switched to unreal." Me: now thats quality content. Subbed.

[@JensDev]

Haha, honestly a game changer for me to work in unreal, don't think I'll ever go back to unity!

[@me-ld2gq]

I never used unity but i just started using unreal and i love it. Especially the bluepeints. They feel so good and intuitive to use.

[@JensDev]

@@me-ld2gq Yeah, the stuff I can produce with unreal would have taken me so much longer with unity and the process is really enjoyable too!

[@ActionGamingLegends]

@@JensDev I also worked with unity first and then switched to unreal engine 🤣

[@657rem1]

I literally did the exact same thing haha 😂

[@phille8176]

Snyggt Jens! Din engelska är ju super bra, kunde aldrig tro att du var svensk 😅

[@cvspvr]

that's a really pretty van

[@dynamisticality998]

I've actually played this game lol, i remember playing it on my phone... crazy

[@JensDev]

Yeah actually, it doesn't have that many downloads, how did you find it? :o

[@yanasitta]

Will you be releasing the SHYT UI library as open source?

[@ORTyOW]

😳😳😳Happy to hear that you switched to Unreal Engine

[@Bylem_]

cool idea, I've made 2 endless run games but also thinking about something car related :D

[@tomeberhard74]

Actually great for a first game! Maybe spend a week to 1) do in-app purchases for car upgrades and remove the ads, and 2) make it player vs player? Learned a lot thx for the vid.

[@merian21]

good video thank you

[@JensDev]

Glad you enjoyed it!

[@cgbasic808]

cool

[@T8T-]

Awesome video! Do you work on your games full time, or do you only do it part time and have a traditional job as well?

[@JensDev]

Thanks! Only part time, I work full time with something totally different :)

[@johnterpack3940]

You can start with your dream game so long as your dream game has smaller bits you can complete to see things working. Maybe if you're making an FPS you can begin with the shooting. Work on targeting, firing, and getting targets to react. Don't worry about movement, health, reloading... just shoot stuff. Then you can add other bits.

[@b4rtmod]

Definitelly, one step at time.

[@slurve0h]

You've made more money on a video about your first game now. Impressive!

[@Leqend]

Hi Jens. Do you have any videos that you used to make this game. Also what’s programming language do you use.

[@Leqend]

Hi jens can you tell me what programming language u use

[@plazadz2322]

From my experience as game developer the most important ASO Try find what people search and make game for it

[@jenssundqvist17]

Nice name! Och snyggt spel ;)

[@aryanx3405]

Congratulations KZbin started to recommend your video

[@RinoaCraft]

How did you learn how to publish it?

[@juliangjulien]

Nice video but what was the reason for you to switch from Unity to Unreal Engine after spending all that time using Unity for your mobile game? I know that the workflow can be similar but I’m curious.

[@JuanSumChninezeFue]

Because it has better graphics and optimization.

[@kamilaltug5670]

Bro, I have some game ideas for mobile but dont like C# at all but everyone says if you go into mobile, you should focus on Unity. On the other hand, UE seemed to me like increadible. What I want to do is to create VR/AR and mobile games so what do you suggest to me? I'm hard worker man and no problem with coding but like creative/art side much more but scaring to fail in 3d Mobiles if I use UE since I'm solo developer for now. Any help would be appreciated!

[@PigJarHut]

Download both go through a basic game tutorial (flappy bird clone or similar) and see which one you prefer

[@JensDev]

I have not made any VR/AR games so I'm not sure what I would recommend in that case. I personally prefer Unreal because in my case I work much quicker in it, but I would try out both to see.

[@hazedraisin2198]

I thought he was replacing the coins with pedestrians you run over 💀

[@Tomasz3kk]

This game looks very good ;)

[@ryuoni1966]

🔥🔥🔥🔥

[@computercrazies]

Jens... try making a mode that is next to impossible and challenge a few youtubers that people like to watch get frustrated and or beats insane hard type games. Examples of what to look for is "Jump King" and "Getting Over It" and those are the KZbinrs you want to sucker in with your almost impossible mode. That is just one angle but I do know many ways to hype a game.

[@deanwilliams433]

I like in the end where you said now you are making a multi-player horror game.... mistake #2 coming up

[@Harsh_Singh1111]

lol I like your channel too your super underrated 2nd ;)

[@JensDev]

Hey thanks! I appreciate all the support :)

[@Harsh_Singh1111]

@@JensDev Lol

[@danieldiehl6063]

where can we see the game False Witness? kinda looked interesting

[@dawoodahmed5793]

I m a medical student and i started learning game dev n coding during vacations , it was a lot more fun and intresting tho i didnt make amy game cz i was learning c# , then vacations ended , and i went back to medical studies , but whenever i open yt, it recommends me these game dev videos which r just awosome , and i really want to make games now , waiting for vacations 😂 i will make a medical game

[@Mohd_Zaid_khan]

Any updates?

[@muhammadobaidullahhashmi4334]

Do you know unity then already or you learned that from vedios while making the game??

[@MikeCore]

niceee

[@liam.4809]

I’m currently making my first game, mobile game but I’m still proud

[@d_range211]

What specifically prompted you to switch to Unreal engine ?

[@JensDev]

I had some issues with unity that I didn't manage to solve (I can't remember specifically what it was now) and I just thought I'd try the same thing in unreal and after having worked in it for a few weeks I realized I could create stuff much faster than I was able to in unity so that's why I switched.

[@mamasabjbbestcakeinjb5631]

Dear all new producers - don’t give up on that hope of making good soft

[@speggeri90]

Jätte bra mycket spelar Jens gubbe. Vörlåta mig jag talar inte bra svenska jag är från Fineland. Jag tycker om ge dig pengar men jag har inte pengar. Skål! And no, I didn't check with google translate. Sue me. Looks great!

[@JensDev]

Inte illa alls, tack för komplimangen! Själv vågar jag inte ge mig på finska 😅

[@IntellectualAbyss]

Jens I have a question, what would be the best game maker for IPhone I can’t seem to find any good game maker engines for it would u have any recommendations?

[@JensDev]

I created my game in unity and it works to create iphone games too, differences should not be that big

[@TechnicPraveen]

CAN I Know your blender software version

[@JensDev]

I currently use the latest blender version (3.3). It automatically updates if you download via microsoft store. When making this game I am not sure what I used tho.

[@MrZero-se6hb]

I have downloaded your game right now, few suggestions from me after playing game for about 2 minutes are; --->The smoke/dust effect ( not smoke coming from car, I am says about the smoke/dust which randomly generates on map as your car passes) is bad, may be it shouldn't be their or Smoke should be less. --->Everything is very small, I see car, trees and other things very small, I think I need to zoom-in to play this game. --->The game is Difficult, I have not succeeded in going far in game. Even as a Beginner I think 🤔. --->Too much Adds. Adds should be less.

[@Eagervul]

Here's one for KZbin's bots to chew on. Great content, cheers!

[@TheMrBush]

Could you share how you made the car controller? Looks really cool!

[@JensDev]

I have based the main car controller script of some tutorials by Imphenzia and then adjusted them to fit what I wanted to create. Go check out his videos on it!

[@TheMrBush]

@@JensDev Thanks, I had no clue he had included the scripts! Couldn't find it last time. :)

[@kclark5382]

Almost 4 minutes in and already surpasses the gameplay mechanics of Big Rigs lol

[@___Mahmood___]

NEXT TIME YOU WILL MAKE MORE!! BEST OF LUCK FOR NEXT GAME ON UNREAL ENGINE.

[@jeremyallen9624]

As far as the game itself, it's simple, but decent. But people really need to stop flooding the game market with these high-school projects.

[@carlosemiralonso7997]

I like that you show us real experience and not some fabricated story. The way the video goes, well is entertain to watch and is only 10 minutes. So i would see more videos whenever youtube recomends me your channel (yeah, sorry, not sub/follow here).

[@imthebest7043]

Hi I am wondering how you learned to code an create games, And the process of how long it takes, I’m just getting into making games. And tips please of how I can learn please.

[@JensDev]

I have learnt some programming on my own when I was younger, then I took two courses of basic Java at university (not related to gamedev). The rest is self taught. As I show in the video I was using blender a long time ago when I was like 12 so I had some memory of how to make 3D models from back then so I picked up Blender fairly quickly. For the time it takes I cannot say, some people find coding quite difficult to pick up at first so I would just suggest to start doing easy projects. I would definitely try to really understand how it works so you don't just copy tutorials. Good luck!

[@imthebest7043]

@@JensDev ok, Thank you for taking the time to write that I will use your advice, Thank you.

[@AlekMat]

I will play your game !

[@rorygillen1]

just hopped on playstore to download this.

[@JensDev]

Was it any good? 😅

[@sursomsatan1225]

Hiding inside the couch eh.. yeah that sounds about right with how people responded to the fearmongering

[@blouberguy4647]

Turns out you can play league with a controller thanks man !