Have you wanted to start making games but don't know where to start? If you are anything like me, then the answer is most likely yes. Deciding on where to start or even how to start can be a daunting task.
When I first started considering to get into the gaming world, it was more than a decade ago. With lack of options for school I decided to pass on that and went into something else instead. I sometimes look back and wonder what would have happened had I been a little more adventurous, but in the end it really doesn't matter.
I decided to try and start on my own after a few years back while going through some forums on a video game. I was part of a thread and could not keep up with all of the technical terms and found out very fast that what I knew 10 years ago was way out of date.
So began the constant search after search just to understand what I didn't understand about games. After a while I started getting into different game engines and what programming languages to use for each, and honestly, that almost stopped me dead in my tracks. How would I be able to even start to learn while working a full time job, but more importantly how much would it all cost?
To my surprise, I found tons of free training material online in the form of eBooks and YouTube videos. Doing some more digging I found websites that taught online courses specifically for what I was wanting to learn. Then came looking at a game engine to use in order to build a game, I thought surely these would cost me in the thousands a year to even get started.
When I found out just how many of these game engines were free or next to nothing in cost, I couldn't believe I had never even tried to look into it again until now. I had spent countless nights playing video games and wondering what it would be like to make one, where instead I could have started trying to make one the whole time.
Now, was it a daunting task after all? Yes and no. The biggest issue is trying to decide on where to start and sticking with it. I have tried 3 game engines and started learning 3 programming languages to date. Why did I try so many? Because I didn't stop to research what I wanted to do for a game, all I knew was that I wanted to make them. Fast-forward 2 years, I had wasted hours learning and relearning interfaces and definitions because I couldn't decide on what I wanted to do.
So, if you are wanting to get started yourself but don't know where to start? Open up your browser and type up "Top Free Game Engines" in the search bar to start your journey. I will create more posts about some do's and don'ts to help better understand about why you should pick something over another, but more over what YOU as a designer will want to get out of your game.
If you want to stay posted on more ways to get started on games and how to do it without breaking your budget then subscribe and notified of posts on a weekly basis.