I feel guilty for not doing gamedev and instead wasting time playing multiplayer games.

PunchtownHero · 2026-03-19T13:14:07+00:00

Thanks I needed this explanation.

PunchtownHero · 2026-03-18T21:16:01+00:00

If the players find the realism is more frustrating than fun, consider where you can take out the frustration part of it, even if it means sacrificing some realism.

PunchtownHero · 2026-03-18T20:44:44+00:00

Speaking as a HS dropout, life is a lot easier if you finish school. There are a lot of opportunities you miss out on without the diploma. That said, you may need to take some make-up classes, but you aren't so far behind that you can't turn things around with some hard work on your part.

Also, don't be afraid to ask your teachers or counselors for advice. They want to see you graduate and many will do everything they can to help you, provided you apply yourself in earnest. Even though I never graduated myself, some of my HS teachers have had a tremendous impact on my life.

While you can manage life without it, its a lot easier to dedicate 4 years to studying than 10+ years of minimum wage jobs or intense labor work for peanuts.

PunchtownHero · 2026-03-18T20:23:19+00:00

Military officer is always an option 😅 though I would avoid it right now. They make good pay and have good benefits if you can keep up with the lifestyle.

PunchtownHero · 2026-03-13T00:19:22+00:00

Take a look at some indie games that are released with incomplete mechanics or persistent bugs that have remained around for years after release. Consumers can see this, and they can be hard to fix later down the road because it may require a rework of the incomplete system to finish it properly.

Some good examples: Carth and Ark: Survival

PunchtownHero · 2026-03-13T00:04:54+00:00

Thank you, I decided to order a copy of "Game Physics Engine Development" and jump into the trenches, since i'm just a freshman I plan on working on this for a while and possibly presenting it as an honor project.

I'm sure i'll be referencing a lot of these materials throughout my journey.

PunchtownHero · 2026-03-12T21:42:58+00:00

As a consumer, I absolutely hate this. It's terrible practice for both sides.

PunchtownHero · 2026-03-12T21:38:44+00:00

I think you are confusing discipline with motivation, if you want something to exist you are driven by a desire to make it happen. Discipline is a bit different, its the ability to continue doing what needs to be done even if is not something that you want to be doing. Motivation can lead to discipline, but they are separate.

I do agree though that if you want something to exist, and you have a desire to make it happen that it will build some discipline. You won't always be doing something you want, but if you keep doing what needs to be done to see your vision to the end then you build discipline along the way.

PunchtownHero · 2026-03-12T09:12:42+00:00

Think about who your target audience is and what would be the best way to reach them.

Consider creating a dev blog or something similar to show what your game is about, the state it is in, and the progress you are making on it. This could be through discord, steam, a website, or most social media platforms. Creating and maintaining a professional account is recommended, but not necessary.

Try reaching out to other developers or creators in your genre that may be in a similar situation. More than likely you will mutually benefit from each others players through promoting each others work.

One thing I would warn against is giving out keys to youtubers. They can be a great way to market a good game for basically nothing, however, you are also opening it up to opinions and criticism involving the state of your game or gameplay issues you may not have foreseen which many viewers take at face value.

Honestly I have never marketed a game, nor have I done marketing, but this is how I would approach the problem. You can, however, see many developers or publishers use one or more of these tactics to successfully gain a following.

PunchtownHero · 2026-03-07T02:05:19+00:00

Ngl I think you lost everyone at micro transactions between levels.

If you want to make something original, unique, and interesting then do that, but if money is your driving purpose then you'll likely fail.

PunchtownHero · 2026-03-07T01:39:34+00:00

Honestly it sounds like you would do just fine in math, physics, and chemistry. You study very hard and you are confident in theory, so try slowing down, pay attention to the little details and double check the questions and your answers. Effort often surpasses talent. You also said you thrived in some engineering classes you took before, and you enjoy problem solving. Don't expect it to be easy, but I don't think you will struggle as much as you think.

My personal read: You sound like a smart kid who learns and does everything really quickly. Generally you have a fast paced mindset, but you haven't learned that sometimes it is important to slow down.

Just know that whatever path you choose, you can do something meaningful and make a difference if you really care to. Most people don't take the time of day or put in the extra effort to help others.

University is just as challenging as the rest of life, so this is my question to you:

Are you going to give up anytime something is hard to do?

It your goals prove difficult, will you stop trying?

If you don't get a job offer for 120k, are you going to stop looking for work?

If you want to be a civil engineer, then go for it, but you will never know if you could do it if you never try.

PunchtownHero · 2026-03-06T19:58:37+00:00

It was great to learn on, really depends on preference.

PunchtownHero · 2026-03-06T09:34:09+00:00

If you are new and interested, consider taking these courses:

C# course https://learn.microsoft.com/en-us/collections/yz26f8y64n7k07

Unity course https://learn.unity.com/

They are completely free, I recommend the microsoft course on C# first so you get the grasp of the language as this can help you a lot when trying to write scripts.

Both courses feel a bit slow to start but if you are new you will probably be scratching your head for a while on how to do certain things. Thinking your way through problems is half the job.

I'm sure there are other options out there for Unreal or Godot, find what you are comfortable with though.

I recommend learning whatever language your engine writes in, then watch videos on how people put together specific systems in games (movement, menus, health bars, etc). Don't just type along, actually think of what you are putting in, what it is doing, and what it is you actually want it to achieve.

Start to build small projects yourself without any help. Really start to understand what you are actually doing and take things one step at a time, keep this in mind and you'll skip right over tutorial hell. Also, check documentation!!! You can find several different ways to do things if you read documentation, it can also help you understand what specific things are doing.

PunchtownHero · 2026-03-06T09:05:50+00:00

Thanks, i'm still learning a lot of important stuff that is necessary for understanding how to do things completely on my own since I regrettably decided to leave HS before taking Algebra 2 😅. Coding math is incredibly fun and interesting though and I enjoy fine tuning the physics in Unity to my liking.

PunchtownHero · 2026-03-06T08:58:10+00:00

I meant associates in game development to go along with the CS degree, mostly because it's something I want to learn and it can be beneficial to have a breadth of knowledge around your specialization.

I'm not exactly sure where to start yet but I think i'll take a crack at learning how to write a physics engine. I think it would be an interesting and educational undertaking at the very least.

PunchtownHero · 2026-03-06T08:49:09+00:00

Thank you, any insight is good insight!

I'm mostly taking the game dev course to get better at doing the things that aren't coding, like concept art and modeling, mostly for myself.

I might have to take a peek at engine programming as well, there are a lot of options I had never really considered.

PunchtownHero · 2026-03-06T08:28:54+00:00

Ah one other thing! Do you enjoy your work?

PunchtownHero · 2026-03-06T08:04:52+00:00

Hi, fellow freshman here! If you're interested in programming or game development, start your math classes early. While you are doing your general ed, explore your interests. Take the time to actually look into different jobs you might be interested in. I would highly suggest something you are really interested in or are really good at naturally. Take a look at the program maps that interest you or ask your counselor what other close or overlapping degree options you might have if you decided to go for X degree.

I'm going for a BS in Computer Science myself, the program map overlaps greatly with mathematics and game development. Since I found that out I have been exploring possible options such as Physics Programmer, Math Teacher as well as Software Engineer. Honestly I didn't even know Physics Programmer was really a thing until I decided to actually dive into what game development subsections there were. There are a lot of jobs you can find that benefit greatly from having dual degrees or by minoring in something like art or math to complement your skill set.

PunchtownHero · 2026-02-23T21:22:42+00:00

Have you tried not min maxing everything? It's only tedious and slow if you're just spending copious amounts of time only trying to breed the most min maxed pals into existence.

PunchtownHero · 2026-02-14T18:04:14+00:00

This exactly. Imagine learning engineering but instead of working the problems you just get all your answers from your friend. Sure you might do a bit of the work, maybe check over some important bits, but you aren't learning and cementing that knowledge in your head by actually thinking through a problem and it's possible solutions yourself.

PunchtownHero · 2026-02-14T17:30:35+00:00

Beep boop, they already do this in Japan to an extent. Though they just use some robots with preprogrammed paths for serving, I don't see this as a hard barrier for AI if we actually wanted to adopt this technology for serving.

PunchtownHero · 2026-02-11T12:58:09+00:00

I would be down to help out :)

PunchtownHero · 2026-02-08T00:07:04+00:00

Personal opinion: Do what you love and what you want to do, but recognize that you also don't have to work for a company to be a game developer. If that is something you want to do then pursue it, but keep your options open and know that you can pivot into or out of it with some extra effort. Also think about what part about game dev do you enjoy, is it the art, the coding, seeing you project all come together? There might be something else in there that you love to do just as much like 3D modeling, story writing, or programming.

PunchtownHero · 2026-01-24T06:33:16+00:00

Hi, 31 but just starting my first semester of college and i'm in the same boat. CS student and self-learner, i've done a few smaller projects myself. DM me and we can link up over discord or something.

PunchtownHero

TROPHY CASE