what 6 months of game dev looks like for a hobbyist

Hello! thanks for clicking on this video and reading this!!
Just wanted to share my experience learning and exploring the game dev world as a hobbyist. I'm not a game dev expert and I'm only learning how to do things. Feedback is welcome!!
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[@redundancyful]

Thanks for making this video. This is the side of solo game dev I'm interested in and have trouble finding information on elsewhere. Specifically, I'd love to see deep dives on the topics you thought would "put everybody to sleep": as you said, there are so many tutorials out there which introduce the basics of patterns, but I have trouble finding content which shows how they can be used and scaled out in a practical way. Concrete examples of how you've designed classes and decoupled scenes to take advantage of composition would be gold.

[@jamie_dev]

Thanks for the feedback, the game design patterns I mentioned have a good tutorial on gdquest 😊 if you want to take a look before I make a video on these topics again (not sure when though)

[@BlaiseArath]

This is an amazingly helpful video on the "unfun" backround of making a game. Its a LOT of documents and planning before you actually dive in. You can still add new mechanics and such, which is why stuff like an Agile development cycle, even as a solo dev, can allow you to go "Oh well this sucks" and change it on the fly after learning new information. As for your game? You know, I don't know what you got in it already but in a game like what youre saying here some ideas, all spitballs as I don't know what mechanics are already planned lol. 1) Your villagers being able to "improve" through work. Like level up, work faster, move faster, etc, increasing their efficiency, ability to find "rarer" crafting items, movement speeds, such things like that. 2) In light of the above, some way to "buff" your villagers? Imagine a research tree that lets you craft floaters, which ignore water, and eventually craft balloons, which ignore water/fence? The price of said items could be very high, and "Slower" than the villagers who can do this naturall. I.E if you equip a balloon to an otter, he can ignore fences, but only at 50% speed of the Squirrel as to not take away the value of the squirrels mechanics. It would obviously be a late game upgrade. 3) As with the above, a research tree for your village? Unlockable housing or locations (Like a MIll that maybe speeds up production of (X) supply), little "village wide" buffs that improve your gathering speeds or movement speeds or some such, maybe even combat improvements for the dungeon parts, all with the additional benefit of being additional ways to beautify/build your own unique village and layouts. 4) A Rogue-like mode. Honestly if you're going through the trouble of adding all these rescue dungeons, you can set up a semi-randomized tileset generator for the rooms you've created and add some kind of infinitely replayable "endgame" version might add some much needed post-completion elements to your game for relatively little effort once you have the tilesets down. Inside instead of gaining villagers, rescuing the animals inside will give you an option of a selection of buffs, or equipment/weapons to power you up, with incremental floor difficulty, and some sort of reward for completing higher and higher levels. IDK what the reward loop for your game is so the reward is up to you, maybe even just a leaderboard! 5) Different Homes in different Biomes with more villager options and their own dungeons to go through? Think of this as maybe a continuation of the idea, adding a few new "Areas" to explore after you rescue all from the forest area. Maybe add a sort of settlement transfer mechanic for resources, or a shared inventory space so you can craft from anywhere. I'm thinking like, how in Valheim going to new biomes unlocks new crafting stations and items that help you tackle the newer, harder areas. Good luck!

[@jamie_dev]

Thank you so much for your detailed and insightful feedback! I appreciate your suggestions and will definitely consider them for future updates.

[@NotGeri]

Awesome stuff! Definitely do not feel any pressure for time. You are here to learn things, not just to build a cool project!

[@jamie_dev]

Very true! Thanks!

[@m00nreal]

The way you talk about the game tells you have a lot of passion for this!

[@joaquimneto5617]

I'd totally buy a game called CAT RPG

[@jamie_dev]

well noted

[@Vohtwomax]

There's a new one coming out called "Llama RPG", dunno if you're interested in that. Looks similar to cat rpg lol

[@carloseduardoviana971]

Same

[@catfan5618]

Making own rpg is literally the same dream I always had. I also struggle with this state of mind that I have to do everything from scratch and being unorganized. Seeing your journey seems be really helpful and interesting. 😊

[@jean-baptistedeclerfayt8288]

My 2 cents: adding some juice/game feel would be very nice. Some screen shakes, some particule effects, some animations to your UIs, maybe some camera zoom-ins/zoom-outs. It's a bit of extra work, but it could brings lots of appeal to your game. Also, the grass tile is "just" a green solid colour. Maybe add a bit of texture to the grass would give more visual stimulation (as grass is 80% of what is displayed on the game's screen). Anyway, keep on the great work. I'm curious to see the final game :)

[@cinesia.fr.]

The narration is really nice, and storytelling got me hooked until the end, very interesting to see you strategise on how to keep motivated and get the game done. (just discovered ur channel) My favorite part personnaly was the one where you hinted about how to organise coding and files along a big project I would be really interested in an in depth video about the concepts you explained (finite state machine - event bus singleton - entity component pattern) and how to apply it to godot to have a well structured medium sized project.

[@jamie_dev]

Hello! have you checked this out yet? if not, I think you'll find it interesting 😊 www.gdquest.com/tutorial/godot/design-patterns/intro-to-design-patterns/

[@cinesia.fr.]

thank you :)

[@zachend2750]

You are back! Thank you!

[@CreativeSteve69]

Welcome back Jamie, it's such a joy to see a new video from ya. Its really fun watching your progress of what your learning on your journey of gamedev land. I'm learning godot myself from a real through course and been having lots of fun with it.

[@jamie_dev]

Oh yes, coming from Unity, I love Godot so much

[@jayadky5983]

Junmin is back!!! Great to learn about the game updates!

[@SideQuest_Obsessed]

I am currently in the inventory system building phase of my game development journey, with no prior experience. I totally vibe with the confetti feeling on the success of a drag and drop moment! LOL

[@smc_onetwo]

Learned a lot from this video. You're so organized. Great job.

[@jarppe22]

Awesome video and helpful. Keep it up good work! :)

[@user-fw4nv4pv6x]

me as beginner who just start learning game dev in godot for 1 month. your video give me a lot valuable lesson and motivation, ty for this vid. i will looking for your next dev log :)

[@foreducation408]

the idea of your game sounds really interesting, looking forward to your game's progress, all the best.

[@jamie_dev]

Thanks!

[@alperensarac856]

This is not a type of game that I personally would play. But I can imagine a whole lot of people that would, your progress is amazing and your videos are really chill. Looking forward to see you progress!!!

[@tom.wallis]

Ive been following your channel for a while - you’re making amazing progress! I think you need to stop undermining yourself, you’re doing great. Would love to see just a generic morning routine (of coding) and how you frame your morning.

[@JuniperDev_]

Oh wow, starting with the hook/marketing in mind is a really important part I hadn't ever thought about :O

[@TheCoderHulk]

Great video and good luck with you game. I'd be interested in learning more about the patterns you're using and your implementations.

[@jamie_dev]

If you're using godot, they have a tutorial on these patterns at gdquest edit: adding the link: www.gdquest.com/tutorial/godot/design-patterns/intro-to-design-patterns/

[@lb1823]

She's back!

[@jean-baptistedeclerfayt8288]

All the best for your game's developement! :)

[@jamie_dev]

Thanks so much!!

[@darshan4096]

welcome back!! Nice video

[@sleexox]

Welcome back!

[@compyz74]

this game and video are beautiful thank you

[@edhotraveller]

Welcome Back!!!!

[@JarlThorson]

One of the things I struggle with on my game is Story. I usually find a fun mechanic and go from there....and yeah....the games are fun but not engaging. The story of "escaped cat helps other animals escape the testing facility" is a GREAT start. I can see many directions where this story could feed into your current design. Maybe a Mad Scientist trying to track the animals down or somesuch. Not suggesting combat orientation or anything but trying to stay hidden from an enemy tracking you down or mascarading as humans in a human world would drastically change how the player approaches their base design. Just some thoughts.

[@Dunkable]

Now I'm imagining a cat wearing a poorly fitted "human costume," stumbling around and trying to blend in with humans

[@JarlThorson]

@@Dunkable 3 Racoons in a trench coat

[@HidinginPublic]

Honestly looks like it could be a lot of fun. I'm making something a bit different but has the dungeon crawling part in common and it was interesting to see your process. I can relate to having like 10 excel sheets filled with stats and stuff. Please finish the game! I'll be on the lookout!

[@jamie_dev]

thanks! do you post about your game dev somewhere?

[@HidinginPublic]

@@jamie_dev oh no, not for another couple months I think haha. Not trying to redirect it to my work just empathizing and wishing you the best!

[@jamie_dev]

well let me know when you do. thanks so much and wish you the best too

[@thomasrichards8055]

Woo! Welcome back!

[@thomasrichards8055]

It’s really awesome to see the progress you’ve been making along with all the lessons learnt. You seem really happy with how things are going! The concepts you’ve been talking about in terms of game design is really insightful. I wonder how much of this could be applied to board game designs; like could you take a design like this, and use it to implement a board game as well as a video game? Also, Mlemtopia is a really awesome name ‘though it reminds me of Yoshi mleming everything haha!

[@liankerlopes240]

Amazing pixelart

[@paulbarriosduque1101]

Nice, looks like palworld with heart roots. Is there any chance we can take a deeper look at your design doc as a reference for own projects? Yours look solid. Thanks!

[@afailable]

Seems interesting. Landing on the 3 most powerful game design strategies straight up is pretty impressive. You obviously did your research in that month off doing the gdd

[@douglosu]

Brilliant video. Also, I really liked your hook. I've been thinking about something similar lately, wondering how I can combine my two favorite games of all-time: Diablo II and Stardew Valley. I've subbed and look forward to more videos. Also, I would love to see videos about how you implemented systems like your FSM, ECS, etc.

[@jamie_dev]

Thanks!! you can read a bit more about those design patterns from gdquest edit: adding the link www.gdquest.com/tutorial/godot/design-patterns/intro-to-design-patterns/

[@emilyweston460]

Huh. When we were learning finite state machines in school, I had no idea of application. Now I do :D this makes sooooo much sense - thank you!!!! I think the whole design process is important to talk about and something I've definitely not seen enough information on. Do you have any recommendations for other resources beyond the Level Up book?

[@jamie_dev]

I didn't go through more books, but the GMTK youtube channel was very helpful

[@iaminthenowhereinn]

Wowee! This video has given me alot of game design insight compared to my game design teacher hahaha... This game has alot of potential! Do the animals you save have backstories, or the cat per se? It's always good to have a thing that can provide players some sort of emotional attachment to the characters! Just this video alone gives me a good feeling that I will be subscribing to your content for quite a while! Thank you for this and I hope you keep inspiring fellow creatives!

[@jamie_dev]

Good questions haha. I do plan on a story and there are so many things I want to add. Maybe after the prototype?

[@iaminthenowhereinn]

@@jamie_dev THIS IS A PROTOTYPE?!?! 😵😵

[@jamie_dev]

haha, yeah. you'll notice that the assets don't match each other. just sticking in everything together at the moment

[@kcfos5324]

I totally get that feeling of just adding mechanics then landing at this sense of "Now what?". I think the question a game designer needs to ask is WHY are they making this game? Why does it NEED to exist? Things that are so fun that you would stop what you're doing right now and go play this game if someone else had already made it.

[@Montegasppa]

Why does the cat use a sword instead of its own claws?

[@jamie_dev]

I also plan to add projectile attacks as well... actually bullet shooting claws don't sound so bad....

[@Montegasppa]

@@jamie_dev I actually think it’s an amazing idea.

[@rebekahmarinos2260]

Looks interesting!

[@hawkgamedev]

great video, altough that part with the many lines for project planning gave me nightmares. Also as a marketer I wouldn't recommend names that are hard to pronounce in other languages like the one you shared.

[@jamie_dev]

got it, thanks for the feedback! very helpful. I think the comments for the title is leaning towards don't use that title haha

[@lovekiller8299]

I like to know what if you make an attacker / worker squad with an animal / pets and assign a weapon to them. Make a limit to the squad group and animals that are going to be placed. And, a system that can assign jobs for the work on the dungeons that the player is going to travel. Eg: the materials that are limited to the player can be found in dungeons or with attacker squad you can rescue animals / pets. It's just an idea you can develop the scenarios if you were like it.

[@jamie_dev]

Hey, thanks for sharing your cool idea

[@thelightsilent]

this is a nice small niche game the target audience would be about 400 players throughout its lifespan. would make a good example to show off your skills on a cv.

[@bartz0rt928]

I like Mlemtopia, but it's kinda hard to pronounce. Nyantopia might be better? I recommend against Cat RPG, since there already is a Cat Quest (trilogy, in fact), Cat Cafe Manager, Cat Goes Fishing, Cat God Ranch, Cat Museum, Cat Warrior, Bad Cat, Hustle Cat, Apocalyptic Cat (seriously, Apocatlyptic was _right there_ ), Alien Cat... Some other game dev KZbinrs (Yahtzee, Extra Credits) have given similar advice though they all phrase it slightly differently. Yahtzee really stresses to focus on the primary gameplay loop (so what you're doing on a moment-to-moment basis while playing), and Extra Credits has pointed out that you should start with a mechanic that in some way stands out.

[@AstroTechGuy]

First: I liked your game-idea and your video very much! Good work so far. Second: Your use of shadows is a bit strange. Some of the objects have a shadow ( like the fence), but others don't have them. Look at the trees. That's very odd in my eyes. Also the animals, which were freed from the laboratory look like they were flying around. They should cast a shadow on the ground. Or a simple solultion would be to draw some dark pixels below them with some alpha-value. Thumbs up so far :)

[@jean-baptistedeclerfayt8288]

I'm curious: had you some cool ressources/videos/articles to share about how you balance your crafting system? I think it could interest a lots of fellow game devs. Thanks :)

[@franquealencar]

Hi Jamie, i like this video! What game engine are you using? I'm also learning gamedev, thank you and good luck!

[@jamie_dev]

Hi! I'm using Godot 😊

[@16bitdev]

Mlemtopia, utopia for animals lead by cat, quite interesting title, and the game looks fun too! Amazing work 👏 Amazing progress!

[@jamie_dev]

Thanks so much!!

[@probablyadog]

i was interested in jamie's comment about art and prototypes. is it considered best to make the prototype before starting on the art?

[@jamie_dev]

It seems like game devs experiment with just basic shapes for the prototype

[@ConorKelly86]

Great video! What were you using for the game design document?

[@jamie_dev]

if you mean the tools, I use google sheets, google docs and miro

[@ConorKelly86]

@@jamie_dev Cool! Keep up the good work 👍

[@playonchris5447]

What software did you use to make those flow charts? They look great.

[@jamie_dev]

I think you mean the mind maps? that would be Miro 😊

[@aniksarker05]

Can you make more detailed videos about game design patterns? It would be very helpful 😊

[@jamie_dev]

if you want to see more details on them there is a really good tutorial article on gdquest

[@sunny99179]

What engine you used? I definitively would play your game,like eastward, i finished because i love this mechanic of craft and sell and make money to reinvest on the farm and buy machines... so an manager is also an job that many like to do inside these style of games but for me the contact with nature elements make it more rich for me. Interesting the document part that you explained,i think of design always on start of every story i plan, but i need to study more gamedesign😊 thank you

[@jamie_dev]

Thanks for watching! I'm using Godot 😊

[@dkyo]

I’m also trying to make a game on my spare time, thank you for the tips. The title is too complicated to remember, you should choose something unique, but also easy to market. Try to think about a person wanting to share your game to a friend, how will he talk about it, would he be able to remember and write the title?

[@jamie_dev]

Thanks for the feedback!

[@cheesymcnuggets]

I like this content, good video. 6 months of game dev hobbyist for me was: Learn and Transition to Godot from Unity -> Brainstorm game ideas -> Find a theme -> Brainstorm gameplay mechanics -> Brainstorm story -> Design gameplay -> Start project in Godot -> Write story, world, characters -> Create concept art for player character and tilemap -> Realise this shouldn't have taken me 6 months and at most only 2 months -> be sad -> watch devlogs on youtube -> suck it up -> back to concept art (now)

[@jamie_dev]

totally understand watch devlogs on youtube -> suck it up -> back to xyz 🤣

[@nellfs]

YAAAAY JAMIEEE IS BAAACK

[@li_tsz_fung]

I know palworld wasn't released 6months ago. But... you should also play pal world. The base management is so similar. But I would also want to play your game for a bit because I also struggle with game design, and art an everything.

[@kylejameswalker]

For the cat hook, maybe Meowlemtopia?

[@kybinz]

오랜만에 뵈어 반갑습니다! 제목으로 mewtopia는 어떠신가요?

[@pitfriend]

What's that planning thing at 1:20?

[@raysandrarexxia941]

Me in my vicious cycle of scrapping projects: 6:55

[@jamie_dev]

that cycle would also be a summary of my life

[@raysandrarexxia941]

@@jamie_dev Yeah I've been in the cycle for many years

[@sethjackson2010]

I love this. I'd love to pick your brain, makes me want to switch to using Godot haha.

[@jamie_dev]

Are you using Unity?

[@sethjackson2010]

@jamie_dev Gamemaker Studio 2, as well as Love2d and Lua! I'm still very very green though. Only been developing for 3 months.

[@q12team]

I am not a pro at any point but i would like to add some bits to your conclusions - your game basically contains two very different parts: village sim and dungeon crawler. If i was you - i would stop working on both parts in the same time, because you maybe don't need them both to be in the same project. I mean, if managing your animal village isn't fun enough - you will not play at all, and if your dungeon part isn't fun enough - you will be really upset when time for dungeon run comes. I would instead focus on polishing (to some degree) managing part first, make it very comfy and fun to play, and then i would consider to work on dungeon part, if i ever even need this one to be in the first place, because it is often that some parts looks important on paper but actually not needed in game. Also with this approach after polishing village sim part i would give it for my friends to test and see if it is working. Testing things on which you worked long enough is very crucial part, that i know very well. When you work on something for a long time your eyesight becomes very blurry, you know every little detail and you can't reproduce the experience that a person will get when entering the game for the first time. P.S. btw game looks really comfy right now, i would like to play it some day, good job! Also sorry if my english isn't good enough to be understandable :D

[@Pranjal_Raut]

Meowtopia🍀✨

[@squ34ky]

Welcome back! Why the name change?

[@jamie_dev]

Looking for something more marketable

[@caspernotghost5089]

Mlemtopia seems like a catchy name

[@jamie_dev]

yay! you're the first person to say that 🤣🤣

[@martinsedlon]

@@jamie_dev I think it should me Meowtopia, no?

[@cosgunmelihcreation8929]

There is someone making nearly exactly the same game. The hook is the same; just the art style is a little different.

[@DaDodoDev]

it looks a bit like cult of the lamb but the one thing i doesnt like is that you have really little control over your followers (i gave one of my followers a farmer outfit and made him farm but when he was done farming he would just forget his job) so maybe you could assign a job to one of your animals and make them keep that job, and personally i would really like to have a way to see all of my followers

[@nellfs]

Please do an account at Mastodon or something else so that we can keep up with minor game updates and interact with you during the process! ❤❤ I'm Happy for the new video :)

[@jamie_dev]

I was thinking of sharing updates on twitter? I'll look into Mastodon though. Haven't used it before

[@nellfs]

@jamie_dev the gamedev people I follow have moved to mastodon instances due to the current situation of twitter and the reduced reach if you do not pay, but do the best for you and that matches with your audience! 😄

[@cherradiyacyn]

Hello, what did you use to create it ?

[@jamie_dev]

Hi! you mean the game engine? I'm using Godot 😊

[@cherradiyacyn]

​@@jamie_devawesome ! and as usual your videos are very informative.

[@ZalaanAli]

Why didnt you go for unity? There is more information/data of unity than Godot. Btw your games looks good. Keep it up.

[@jamie_dev]

I actually transitioned from unity about a year ago. Godot is free and open source and also light weight which I think is better for a 2d pixel art game. I love Godot so much

[@thequipseeker]

Nice to see another Godot-user

[@nathanhajek9039]

Fun looking game and good video. If you told me your new name out of context, I'd have no Idea what it was about, nor would I remember it if I wanted to tell others. Not trying to be mean, just answering your question. Best to you!

[@jamie_dev]

thanks for the input!

[@DanimationMovies]

Would legitimately play your game

[@jamie_dev]

wow! thanks so much!!

[@silvo72]

You could always just call it Catdew Meowmeow

[@chriswinslow]

How about Fur ball for a title? The cat could cough one up while idling every and and then and also make that sound they make while doing it! lol

[@jamie_dev]

genius. you and me we speak the same language

[@chriswinslow]

@@jamie_dev Maybe the cat could have the ability to attack with its nails, but after a while the nail strength weakens and you have to sharpen them back up while near objects like posts or tress etc? Or even just have it as a Easter egg, so when the cat is near a wooden post or tree while idling it will began to scratch it. Another idle movement, could be having the cat stretching and scratching the floor lol there’s loads of stuff it can do. A good item could be Cat Nip it could resort health or make the cat invincible for a 10 seconds good for fighting a boss, that’s if the game will have bosses.

[@DustedAsh3]

Seems like Stardew Valley meets PalWorld. Nice.

[@alfiankann3505]

hello. hello. hello!!

[@jamie_dev]

hello hello to you too

[@_ShinobiToB]

I think your hook is that it's a cute, cosy game where you play as a cat and it's animal themed. What you described as the hook is just the genre of the game. No one is gonna be like "oh no way it's a management sim meets dungeon crawler?! Now I have to play it" It's more likely that players will get excited/hooked by the cat theme. But regardless, your progress so far is great and the game looks really interesting, keep it up! (This comment is meant to be helpful not judgemental) Subbed :)

[@jamie_dev]

thanks for your insight and yes I agree. the visual hook would be the cute pixel art animals but wasn't confident to say that yet because this is a prototype (you might have already noticed that they are all assets put together 🤣) and I don't have a specific story yet too. but thanks heaps for taking your time to watch the video and help me out. all the best!

[@LeandroConrado14]

Maybe catopia or Kittytopia sounds better

[@cheekyrabbit]

What about "A Cat's Tale"? As it is the story/RPG from the cat's p.o.v., and its adventure of rescuing other animals and creating a society. I'm getting Cult of Lamb vibes without the "sinister" underbelly. Nah, that might be too cutesy.

[@jamie_dev]

hahaha

[@celsladroma8048]

STORY.. the game stardew valley is all about story , story is verything

[@mythrando]

Catopia

[@jamie_dev]

nice!

[@und3rgunn3r]

How long ago did you swap to Godot?

[@jamie_dev]

think it was around last year around April?

[@vicc8881]

insert meme here: Shut up and take my money.

[@jamie_dev]

🤣

[@CooldownCentral]

cute game. title is a bit too much

[@jamie_dev]

thanks for the input. yeah, i think other comments are also saying that the title is not a good idea

[@RatoGetsRich]

wow blew my expectations out of the water with that name, i don't like it.

[@jamie_dev]

haha, got it

[@montoliodebrouchee3838]

Mlemtopia? That’s the worst game title, Catopia or Pawtopia, Meowtoia or sorta is much better TBH.

[@iaminthenowhereinn]

no

[@0x.Vincent]

Welcome back!

[@jamie_dev]

Thanks!! I was never gone, just took a long break haha 😄