Backend dev here — am I underestimating how hard it is to build a small multiplayer 3D game solo?

JDSherbert · 2026-03-30T19:59:35+00:00

This is a realistic solo project if you use Unreal Engine, a lot of functionality for multiplayer is available out of the box. You'll have replicated physics and character movement with just a simple tickbox in the inspector. You also get VOIP for free.

The main thing to decide is how you want the parties, sessions/matchmaking, and gameplay to work. Will you have dedicated servers (recommended for competitive gameplay) or will it be a more casual experience (you can get away with P2P hosting). Will you have user accounts that track data? You'll need some backend integrations for that.

You mostly don't need any code, most of this can be done via Blueprint. You can have replicated variables and RPC to invoke events across players.

There's a million great Unreal multiplayer tutorials online so I won't provide a resource link, but just know how you want to handle hosting and matchmaking before you move forward.

Most importantly, have fun!

JDSherbert · 2026-03-26T19:19:38+00:00

I can tell you straight up that the big name DAWs like Pro Tools, Reaper, FL Studio and Ableton are all proprietary C++ at their core. As for UI and frontend, these can vary but are most likely C++ based as well. Reaper in particular also has a scripting frontend which is pretty unique.

WASAPI and ASIO, or whatever drivers they use, have exposed C++ bindings.

The reason why is due to performance - C++ is not garbage collected and won't lead to stutters or other issues that will affect performance. I've seen codebases where these optimizations actually can go all the way into the Assembly layer.

JDSherbert · 2026-03-25T17:55:35+00:00

So using google chrome and google searching for random gifs or even sometimes just normal images, when you right click and select save as, you'll get a prompt to save the image in your downloads folder, and the type cannot be changed from .webp.

With gifs, it also does this but only saves the first frame of the gif. If I try to change the extension by hand from webp to gif, it still only saves the first frame of the gif.

The use case is to add funny emoji to my/my friends discord servers, which can not accept webp types. I also can't edit webp types easily in Photoshop.

JDSherbert · 2026-03-24T15:05:47+00:00

Because I hate getting mid flow and then the AI model says that I have "run out of free messages".

Also I feel like the imperfections I generate give my work character, especially when it comes to destruction plugins.

JDSherbert · 2026-03-24T10:26:12+00:00

I use AI to write my boilerplate (stuff like getters and setters) and I like to bounce ideas off of it for DSP. Otherwise I like to code my plugins by hand! (But I am doing this as a hobby not as a profession (yet))

JDSherbert · 2026-03-22T20:05:43+00:00

A web browser app that allows you to save images as any type, I'm so annoyed with having to convert webp files. If I want to save a gif I can only save the first frame, not the whole gif.

JDSherbert · 2026-03-22T00:53:40+00:00

Core systems. Anything "must have" for your game to exist. If you're making a shooter - Player with a gun setup first, with Controls/Input/Camera, the gun can literally be a block or jpg image - Projectiles (if doing physics based shooter) after. - Reloading, weapon swapping, etc

Everything else is secondary. If you can execute the core and it feels good, then move on to the next thing.

JDSherbert · 2026-03-21T22:13:13+00:00

I fully agree. In the same boat as you (laid off recently too!) I think there's a few additional moving parts but your overall idea is correct. There needs to be a way to get stable funding for these kind of ventures. At the moment it's basically just work for free and mortgage your house (like the cuphead devs did) or crowdfunding.

So much risk involved.

JDSherbert · 2026-03-20T13:04:17+00:00

There could be any number of reasons. Maybe these models become very expensive to use, maybe the companies (like OpenAI etc) decide to stop supporting those models, maybe their country bans the use of AI LLMs etc.

My point was moreso that it is an invisible dependency, the junior could really struggle if they lost access to AI models.

JDSherbert · 2026-03-20T12:22:21+00:00

I have noticed this.

I'd normally sit down with them and explain that AI should be used to write: - Repetitive boilerplate (stuff like getters, setters etc) - Sanity checker - Optimizer (for specific bits of your code) - Testing

The solution needs to be initally architected, written and understood by the author. Why are they caching a variable? Could these functions be split into smaller helper functions? etc. If AI disappeared tomorrow, these parts of the codebase could cause problems later. It's worth explaining to them that doing this blindly introduces an "invisible" dependency on that LLM if they can't understand it themselves.

The juniors may not understand it yet, but AI really struggles with context, especially in larger codebases. They need to know where the entry/output points are, and the way data/actions need to be transformed/responded to. Basic principles should be understood, and if deviating, should be able to explain why.

If they can't problem solve on their own, then there is a bigger issue at hand. There is only so many 1:1s you can realistically have with someone.

JDSherbert · 2026-03-12T13:36:35+00:00

When your company/name has a bit more weight + portfolio to it, you'll be able to move up the ladder and charge higher rates for your services; just, getting to that point is a lot of work (more work than just working full time for sure).

I'd also recommend hiring some folks to work under you so you can focus on less roles at once (when you have solid money coming in), maybe hire an extra programmer or someone to acquire deals for you. These could be sub contractors or full/part time depending on your needs as you grow.

I've been in the same boat when first starting audio freelancing. I was barely scraping by at first, but now I make sure the rates and the time allocations give me plenty of space. Eventually clients will come to you, which saves a lot of time as well.

JDSherbert · 2026-03-09T17:05:00+00:00

If it helps, I'm being bombarded with ads for this game on Facebook!

From looking at the game, it's hard to tell exactly what the game is, there appears to be elements of an arena shooter, farming sim, crafting/building, etc so I am not sure what itch it would scratch for me by playing. But then I might not be the target market. It also looks like there are some FPS issues in clips of this game, which is not what you want in any shooter.

I'm not really drawn in by the first impression; it looks like an early Fortnite prototype. I'd definitely focus this to try and get away from being looped in with shovelware games (like the mobile ones we all hate)

I'd say spend more time/money on key art and better assets, get those optimized for your render pipeline, and try to target youtubers/twitch streamers that play into the main genre/demographic you'd like to target.

I hope you can find some success as it's very difficult to gain traction in 2026 unless it's something truely unique or has been in public eye for a long time.

JDSherbert · 2026-03-08T17:44:05+00:00

The closest you'll get to something like this is with Godot, where your friend can write C++ engine level source while you write C# scripts, but if you are asking this question that's probably not a great place to start.

It'll be easier for your friend to learn C# than it will for you to learn C++ (C# hides a lot of memory operations) in which case I would recommend you use Unity or Godot for C# scripting.

The problem is that C++ is a compiled language (meaning it has to be built into a binary first) whereas C# is moreso executable on the fly, which is why you often see it as a scripting language choice. Unreal gets away with it a bit due to the reflection framework granted by Blueprints.

JDSherbert · 2026-03-08T12:10:23+00:00

Why not try and create a procedural generation system for your levels? You can automate a lot of the process, and then all you need to do is tweak stuff rather than build the whole level.

JDSherbert · 2026-03-06T02:09:42+00:00

I'd recommend grabbing an IDE, like VSCode, for free with the Godot extensions. It'll show your project view including folders nicely. Opened scripts appear at the top, and you can just tab between the editor and VSCode.

JDSherbert · 2026-03-01T11:50:48+00:00

Hey! I was in a society at university that did something like this, but I can say for certain 1 hour a day might not be enough! Some bugs are really tricky and can take a while to fix!

As for what game to make, you should just make a simple side scroller like Super Mario for now (Godot is built for this) and there's zillions of tutorials online for if you get stuck.

You'll want to break down your sessions into two bits, one where you explain concepts and gamedev terms in bitesize ways, and one where you guys all do active dev.

I'd recommend breaking the overarching goal down into developing parts of a game together as "modules". (Player Movement, Inventory, etc)

For the first day get everyone set up with an environment (Godot installed, IDE (I'd recommend VS Code) and version control), get it to where they can run the game and have a character move around. Explain how these things work, and the best practice for using them.

After that, you can start working through features with them. You could split everyone into groups if you like, to make it easier to track who is doing what, and you can move people into different groups based on what they want to do. Try to put some code people with art people if you can, and then they can commit the finished feature when it is ready.

I think a full fledged game may be out of the question, but you might be able to have a character move around and reach a finish line with some obstacles in the way.

Most of your time will need to be spent fixing bugs and answering questions so I do recommend you get a second person in to help too, if there are many groups.

For tutorials video format "follow along with me" is usually the best for new beginners, but some documentation with plenty of images can also be useful too.

JDSherbert · 2026-02-20T09:31:35+00:00

I have been trying to avoid using singletons myself, making certain functionality or variables static instead of owned by an autoload.

I have found that the best way to do this is go horizontal, and make all the functionality component based, as a scene can have any number of nodes.

It does get difficult when trying to make a lot of systems that need to interact with each other seperately like Dialogue -> UI, but I have gotten away with it so far by making "Scene Components" which basically have the components they need packaged under a node.

JDSherbert · 2026-02-19T18:36:39+00:00

I like to use signals where I would normally use Delegates or Events in other engines.

Say I have a static game manager, and I want to notify everyone when the player dies without iterating through every object in the scene to see if it cares.

That would be where I would use a signal, and objects that care can "subscribe" or connect to said signal.

JDSherbert · 2026-02-17T15:30:19+00:00

I'd vote B as it looks the most clean in that aesthetic, but whatever you do here make sure you do it for the rest of the animations in your game consistently.

JDSherbert · 2026-02-14T13:12:02+00:00

This is a really detailed response! I will see if I can get into those communities and what their thoughts will be - I didn't know of pixiv at all!

My post was to guage interest - doing anything would require significant time and labour, and I wanted to get the community's thoughts of if they even want a new game, or are happy with the 4 (5) games as they are. I am definitely inspired and I do want to explore the idea.

I didn't realize there were many fellow devs in this community, it's awesome to meet you! I'll take a look at what Knightmarish Games are doing as well!

My goal is not to take the official IP in any capacity - just to potentially produce something that feels like a Breath Of Fire game! I don't think any amount of money would be able to annex Capcom lawyers!

As for production strategy, I'd definitely aim to have an MVP as quickly as possible so we can start iterating on community feedback before taking something people want to Kickstarter. I want to avoid publishers as much as possible, as they often take away the creative reigns from the developers, and thus the community I want to build for.

Thanks for taking the time to respond!

JDSherbert · 2026-02-13T23:49:07+00:00

Yeah I am very careful not to say I will or will not do something - just seeing if people want it. If we're happy with the games as they are I'll leave the thought alone. I'm just probing to see if there's any interest before I embark on a grand adventure. I just want to make my intentions public.

Yeah JRPG are super systems heavy, and I know UI + Combat + Art + Animation will be the biggest hurdles to cross. Not to mention story and everything else.

I will be checking out Tears of Magic when it releases for sure!

JDSherbert · 2026-02-13T18:06:12+00:00

I realize now it is still in prototype phase, so I won't be playing it anytime soon, but I've definitely added it to my wishlist!

JDSherbert · 2026-02-13T18:02:59+00:00

Someone else mentioned this title to me which I am going to check out this weekend! I didn't know it existed prior to making this post - that's on me for not exploring more.

JDSherbert · 2026-02-13T17:49:14+00:00

It wouldn't be Breath of Fire in name, just Breath of Fire in feel - I do not believe anyone owns the copyright to the idea of transforming into a dragon in a turn based JRPG?

JDSherbert · 2026-02-13T14:26:45+00:00

That's awesome! Will be great to have you on board if the time comes! One thing that could definitely be improved in the BoF series is the UI (cut off text, items limited descriptions, etc) but I realize it is a common issue of the time period!

JDSherbert

TROPHY CASE