From Gamer to Developer: My First Steps

[Side_Burn]

Hey everyone, glad you stopped by and got interested in this topic!


First, I want to share a bit about where I’m starting from and where I’d like to go. Here I’ll be writing about the challenges I’ve run into, and sometimes just throwing in some “philosophical” thoughts on the subject. I’m posting here because this forum has the kind of audience that’s really into this stuff. On Patreon or similar platforms it’s hard to find the same level of engagement (though I’ll probably repost some things there too).


I’ve been playing games of this kind for a long time, and I really enjoy them. So a lot of the time I look at things from the player’s perspective. But I only started making games very recently — just a couple of months ago. At first, I just wanted to learn more about AI, finally get into programming, and improve my English (which is still pretty weak). Somehow, all of this naturally led me to start working on a visual novel. I always dreamed of making one, but I never thought I’d actually try. Guess fate had other plans.


There are plenty of great beginner guides on this forum, but I want to focus on the small details and nuances that are also important, yet don’t get talked about much.


So, here’s my very first takeaway — something I picked up through years of playing games, and that I only now see from the developer’s side.


The first and most important thing: if you start making a game, you need to know how it ends. The ending should be written before you even begin. Create a scenario — doesn’t matter if it’s on paper or in some app. I used XMind myself. Think carefully about the ending (or endings, if you plan on having multiple).


If your game has no ending, then it has no goal. And if there’s no goal, it’s just a dream — which almost always turns into another unfinished project. I’d say there’s a 99% chance it’ll be dropped. And as a player who has seen this many times, I can tell you: it’s frustrating. Especially when the game had real potential. That’s why you shouldn’t take it too personally if someone leaves a not-so-nice comment about it — it’s a fair point.


That’s it for now. Next time I’ll probably write about Git — I’m learning it this week.
If you’re curious, you can check out what I’ve done so far via this link:

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[Side_Burn]

Just a quick note: the game is focused on the theme of the NTR. If this topic isn't for you, the game might not be what you're looking for. Here, I'll be sharing content related only to the development process, not the game itself. Thank you for your understanding.

 

[Side_Burn]

Today I want to share how I first discovered GIT. For experienced programmers, this might sound funny, but for me it was a real revelation.


When I started programming a simple game, everything went quite smoothly. But as soon as I tried to make it a little more complex, everything broke. I made a copy of the project folder, then broke it again, then made another copy… and repeated this process several times.


Eventually, I learned about GIT, watched some tutorials on YouTube, and now I really enjoy using it. If you’re just starting your journey in programming like I was, I highly recommend learning the basics of GIT as early as possible. It takes your project organization to an entirely new level. With GIT, you gain confidence: you won’t ruin anything permanently, and even if you make mistakes, you can always roll back.


With that sense of security, learning programming becomes much easier. So, if you’re a beginner and you’ve already thought about making backup copies of your folders, it means you should have learned the basics of GIT yesterday. Maybe for many people this is obvious, which is why it’s rarely mentioned in beginner guides. But for me, it was an important discovery, and I hope it will help someone else too.

 

[notjamesboon]

Nice insight! I just want to add something about game development milestones. You’re right about the creating scenario at first, it’s important to sketch out the whole storyline from beginning to end. On paper it feels easy but actually making it happen takes a lot of determination and willpower.

Speaking from my own experience as a solo dev (doing the art, programming, and story myself), the hardest enemy isn’t bugs but time. If development stalls for any reason whether due to life events or personal struggles, it doesn’t just steal progress, it also risks losing potential players.

That’s why I think having the story fully sketched out first is a must. But honestly, making it real feels like a gamble with your life sometimes (not exaggerating here). Progress takes time, money, food, bills, basically every aspect part of life. And yeah, AI can speed things up, but for people like me, there’s still that passion for keeping the arts handcrafted.

One last piece of advice: before diving in, choose your genre first and write it down. That makes it so much easier to brainstorm the story around it.

 

[Side_Burn]

I want to share another little discovery I made — and it may sound funny, but it’s true.
Once you’ve written your script and planned out the endings, it’s the right time to think about the visual side of your game.

Out of everything I tried, I liked Figma the most (watch a couple of tutorials and you’re ready to go). Try to draw out your game in as much detail as possible: every screen, every button, every menu, etc.

Unfortunately, I didn’t do this, and it turned out to be a serious mistake. My GUI will only appear starting from the third version. Personally, I’m not too upset about it, since I always make it clear (even inside the game) that this is my learning project, and I don’t expect it to be financially successful.
But if you’re making a game and financial success matters to you, then give this stage your full attention — it’s truly important. Even the biggest movie studios create storyboards for their blockbusters before they start shooting. Looks like they know something

 

[Side_Burn]

Today I want to share a few thoughts about the “inner perfectionist” and the Pareto principle.
I’m sure most of you know the 20/80 rule: 20% of effort brings 80% of the result, but reaching the remaining 20% takes 80% of the effort.


Here’s what I mean. Unless you’re a top-level professional in every field of game development, or you have a big team behind you, focusing on the essentials is usually the best idea. Speaking for myself, I try to keep this rule in mind because it helps me deal with my inner perfectionist. You probably know the type: people who study endlessly, prepare, and plan to make things “perfect” — but in the end, never actually do anything.


So if you’ve ever struggled with this (and I’m sure many have), just do what you can right now. I’m certain there will be people who support you. That’s exactly what happened with me: I released my first version, got one star, but I didn’t care — because far more people supported me. And it’s only thanks to them that I keep going and have already made great progress. If I hadn’t released that very first version, there probably never would’ve been a second one.

 

[FredFappy]

Now you need to do a consistent, bi-weekly (at least) update to stay on track! Plan your roadmap and see if you can hit your goals.

I totally hear you on the 20/80 rule! Maybe put a big WIP (work in progress) sign on everything so people understand that his is the first pass.

 

[Side_Burn]

Now you need to do a consistent, bi-weekly (at least) update to stay on track! Plan your roadmap and see if you can hit your goals.

I totally hear you on the 20/80 rule! Maybe put a big WIP (work in progress) sign on everything so people understand that his is the first pass.

Yes, releasing updates every two weeks really is ideal. I originally had the same plan, but working on version 0.3 ended up taking me three weeks. I’m still learning everything from scratch.


Version 0.4 will probably take even longer, because now I no longer see the game as just a learning project — it has become something bigger for me. There are many more details to consider, and I want to make it significantly more complex.


That said, I hope that over time things will get easier for me, and then I’ll be able to release updates more frequently.


Personally, I also think that releasing every two weeks is the golden standard for creators.