It's Hard To Make Games

To try everything Brilliant has to offer for free for a full 30 days, visit brilliant.org/Acerola/ you’ll also get 20% off an annual premium subscription! #ad Had to put the monthly project on hold because some things came up so I decided to write a bit about some stuff I've been thinking about lately. I don't think there's anything particularly enlightening or deep in this video but hopefully it can put the industry into perspective for those interested in entering or prevent someone from wasting years of their life on a dream they aren't seriously actualizing. I suppose this is also an argument against the jack of all trades approach many try to take, but really, you can do whatever you want. Also, everyone that hated on me for my simple poll question can submit their apology forms to my twitter dms, thanks. See you all at SIGGRAPH!

but acerola,

Sick. The Stardew valley guy also had a girlfriend that paid all his bills for about 3 years. Even when you have a budget of $0, you are costing someone something.

Hey, good video, I also loved your video about Lethal Company's wacky rendering and I still come back to it sometimes. I'd like to note that development on Lethal Company started in April of 2022 with very little knowledge of multiplayer game code. But when I think about it, I didn't really make the game alone at all; I leaned heavily on assets others had made for me, whether it be the Unity game engine, the netcode framework/API, the tutorials and forums, the random level generation logic, or the textures and sound samples. My friends constantly playtested with me. And I was able to spend basically every waking moment working on the game as I still lived in my parents' home. If all those people didn't have my back, this thing would not exist. True solo projects are probably even more rare than it would seem.

I'm a little disappointed you didn't mention Cave Story. Developed by a solo developer, Pixel, in C++ from scratch in his free time over 5 years. The Quintessential Indie Game made by the Grandfather of Indie Game Development! He's such an inspiration

Having started game dev and programming a year ago i was pretty shocked at how people underestimated how complex simple looking games actually are, especially after seeing the poll you made

In the past, I have made no secret of my disdain for Chef Gusteau's famous motto, "Anyone can cook." But I realize, only now do I truly understand what he meant. Not everyone can become a great artist; but a great artist can come from *anywhere*. - Ratatouille's Monster, Ratatouille

Another factor that was only kinda hinted at is time. As someone who hypothetically has all the skills i would need to make the game i want to make, but also has a completely separate unrelated full time job, it is incredibly easy to burn yourself out. Doubly so if you dislike your full time job. Not having enough free time can be just as much, if not more of a hinderance than not having the needed skills.

10:47 Slight correction: Lethal Company actually begun development sometime around early 2022 according to Zeekerss’ patreon, so it took about a year and a half to make

i think the biggest issue with peoples expectations of making games is that they don't factor in the time it takes to make an enjoyable, cohesive, and polished experience. Making all the features and assets for a game like undertale seems like it wouldnt take too much time, but bringing them together, testing, iterating, and polishing these features to make for an enjoyable gameplay experience is what takes up most of the development process imo

I love how most other Acerola videos are so complex that the one about making a whole ass game is the one where I go: yea I think I could do that

"Torrent Adobe Products". Caught me off guard. Was said with such normalcy 😅.

Semi related, but man I really hated the period where people thought it was cool to hate on GameMaker, mainly just because it's "too easy and simple" and it comes with its own coding language. There were a lot of egotistical programmers back in the 2010s acting like middle schoolers with how much they were trashing on GameMaker. The game engine doesn't matter as you still need to learn how to code and make a game either way 💀

In general I wish more people were open to the idea of making stuff on RPGmaker and other similar programs to start with. Game dev isn’t easy, but it gets a lot easier if you start small. I think a lot of people forget that basically every breakout indie hit has a wealth of history behind it rooted in creating romhacks, mods or other, simpler games. If your goal is to become the next Toby Fox with your first game, then it’s no wonder it seems daunting - you’ve set a standard for yourself that you simply cannot feasibly attain. Start small and learn a little with every small thing you try and things get a lot easier

the fact that the ad for Star Citizen popped EXACTLY at the moment you said "a game like Star Citizen" is quite unsettling

Rather than demotivate me, this video allowed me to realize that the progress I'm making on my own game is actually going well. I was getting very bummed out that the first level of my game was taking several months, but considering I'm learning programming as I go, making all my 3D assets, texturing it by hand painting, and want the game to have very interactive features, I'm probably doing alright! Especially considering I work full time and can only dedicate 3-4 hours a day to it. Thank Acerola! Your videos are what keep me going on this journey(:

Working at a AAA studio (a PSS one) on build systems and CI and automation and source control has made me wonder how on earth anyone works efficiently without all of the support you get from having a team who can focus on optimising all that stuff. Mad respect to indies who just about have enough people to cover the requirements and just have to get by with all the non essentials. Also: the piano piece sounded great! I have almost the same piano but mine is red 🔴

I shall stay in denial and continue to over-scope every project I ever touch.

Might sound weird, but this actually motivated me! I guess I've convinced myself I'm stupid for not being able to make my dream game in 2 months completely solo with no art skill and no budget and college homework and constant pressure to get a "real" job.... Sounds crazy when you say it out loud... So now that I have a realistic perspective, I actually feel relaxed and hopeful. Starting small will feel good this time.

I really liked the piano at the end, thanks for the video it definitely helps me feel better about my overscoped projects.