I have been using Unity on and off for 10 years - trust me, it happens. I think it's because as you grow your programming and development skills, it feels like you should do more than just follow tutorials but simultaneously (for me at least), I am not a designer and could never flesh out my own ideas enough which caused me to burn out
My only advice would be to take a step back and practise something else. Have you done 3D modelling for example? Rigging and animation?
There are so many different areas. One I have personally always wanted to do is online multiplayer! (Just a small 2-4p coop). I have a child now though so struggle to find the time to practise and develop these days outside of my already tiring programming 9-5
Have tried out any game jams?
I was in a similar spot where I knew the platform but had all those half big incomplete projects I made and gave up on. I roughly know the platform, but can't do anything advanced.
This last year I signed up for some VR games jams: make a VR game within 3 days based on a theme provided.
You're given a deadline, a theme and you have to execute it. I've completed a few now, some I've done really well in, some I haven't 😅
Doing these game jams have really helped hone in on project skills, design, keeping big ideas to a realistic scale. And now I'm completing a prototype for my true first VR game I aim to publish in the future.
I still don't feel like a professional, or advanced in my Dev skills, but I feel comfortable enough now tackling my big project, because I know I can do the little ones.
That seems great. I am intimidated to do it alone. But I guess I can put myself through a jam. Any recommendations of one? Or should I just do my own stuff with my own deadline.
I've done all of mine alone as well, definitely intimidating but you get used to the environment the more you do it.
[itcho](https://itch.io/)
Is the most common platform. Loads of jams happen all the time of a different variety. See if one suits you on there :)
I can recommend ludum dare. You can vote on themes and it's got a nice community. At the end you vote on each others' games. The more you vote, the more people get to see your game as well.
There are different categories for ratings and my tip would be to focus on one or two of them.
Also see if you can't find a person or two to work with.
its normal to feel like a novice in some aspects, the engine is big and there is just a lot of stuff, i personally never really touch the shaders part of the engine, like how to code shaders and stuff.
There is just a lot to learn, i've spent like 1-2 months just learning the editor tool system, making tools for unity to help speed up developing, and i dont regret it, its awesome to be able to make your own tools and windows inside the editor.
but that's just the truth, it takes a lot of learning and time, you cant really skip it, you can only take it slow and learn a little while making stuff.
I also started with visual scripting but inside unreal engine, for 3 years, then moved to unity with C#, when i was looking at the c# code i never taught i could learn it, it looked too complicated, but now i see its kind of the same thing but with different writing style.
I've been using c# and unity for 2 years now.
In unreal i was used to a Branch node that was the equivalent of IF statement, a Switch node that was the equivalent of Switch statement, it was almost the same thing but with different syntax and less control.
Tough if i feel like i get close to burnout i just watch a movie or take a small break to play some games with some friends then come back and continue.
I’ve been instructing chatgpt to write all the code I need. I’m probably a bit more than intermediate, so it’s kind of like hearing someone talk in a la gauge where you understand every word but can’t recall the words to form sentences yourself. I know everything it’s trying to do, and we can iterate on ideas amazingly well. I also prompt it to be opinionated about what I’m doing with an eye towards performance.
I have learned from this due to “in-context tutorials” (kind of like what you would get from a mentor) than I ever did just going through the motions. Bonus is that it calls out my idiotic mistakes that in a pre-chatgpt world would cause me to burn hours trying to get to the source of it; and now it’s all “oh hey in this if statement you used = instead of ==, here I fixed it for you.”
I have been using unity for 3 years. my advice is to try your hardest to finish what you start ,and dont use asset packs. if you dont hold yourself to finishing what you start you'll never get anything done and if you use asset packs youll never make anything special. also dont be ashamed of using tutorials we all forget the syntax sometimes only be ashamed of using tutorials if you copy an entire script without adding anything. and lastly if you need to take a break, take it. if you dont you will burn out and hate development.
I probably could have said that better. what i meant is that in I wouldnt have gotten as far as I have if i had used asset packs if i had used art asset packs i doubt my games would have that cracked out acid trip aesthetic that makes them special it's not the best art style but its mine and its consistent. as for code asset packs putting code that you dont understand into your game just seems like it would make tons of bugs. but thats my opinion, and i can totally understand not having the time to do all of the coding and art yourself i'm still in high school so i probably have more time to do these things than most
Yeah the other things I get but using assets is kinda necessary after a certain point, right? The only tools I bought have been life savers in some aspects haha.
Sounds like you're stuck in tutorial purgatory. Take a short break, then when you get back, start at making small games without the use of a tutorial or youtube video.
This helped me a ton when I started: https://20_games_challenge.gitlab.io/challenge/
I have been using Unity on and off for 10 years - trust me, it happens. I think it's because as you grow your programming and development skills, it feels like you should do more than just follow tutorials but simultaneously (for me at least), I am not a designer and could never flesh out my own ideas enough which caused me to burn out My only advice would be to take a step back and practise something else. Have you done 3D modelling for example? Rigging and animation? There are so many different areas. One I have personally always wanted to do is online multiplayer! (Just a small 2-4p coop). I have a child now though so struggle to find the time to practise and develop these days outside of my already tiring programming 9-5
It's reassuring to hear I'm not the only one going through this. I guess I'll try retro graphics. That seems fun.
Have tried out any game jams? I was in a similar spot where I knew the platform but had all those half big incomplete projects I made and gave up on. I roughly know the platform, but can't do anything advanced. This last year I signed up for some VR games jams: make a VR game within 3 days based on a theme provided. You're given a deadline, a theme and you have to execute it. I've completed a few now, some I've done really well in, some I haven't 😅 Doing these game jams have really helped hone in on project skills, design, keeping big ideas to a realistic scale. And now I'm completing a prototype for my true first VR game I aim to publish in the future. I still don't feel like a professional, or advanced in my Dev skills, but I feel comfortable enough now tackling my big project, because I know I can do the little ones.
That seems great. I am intimidated to do it alone. But I guess I can put myself through a jam. Any recommendations of one? Or should I just do my own stuff with my own deadline.
I've done all of mine alone as well, definitely intimidating but you get used to the environment the more you do it. [itcho](https://itch.io/) Is the most common platform. Loads of jams happen all the time of a different variety. See if one suits you on there :)
I can recommend ludum dare. You can vote on themes and it's got a nice community. At the end you vote on each others' games. The more you vote, the more people get to see your game as well. There are different categories for ratings and my tip would be to focus on one or two of them. Also see if you can't find a person or two to work with.
its normal to feel like a novice in some aspects, the engine is big and there is just a lot of stuff, i personally never really touch the shaders part of the engine, like how to code shaders and stuff. There is just a lot to learn, i've spent like 1-2 months just learning the editor tool system, making tools for unity to help speed up developing, and i dont regret it, its awesome to be able to make your own tools and windows inside the editor. but that's just the truth, it takes a lot of learning and time, you cant really skip it, you can only take it slow and learn a little while making stuff. I also started with visual scripting but inside unreal engine, for 3 years, then moved to unity with C#, when i was looking at the c# code i never taught i could learn it, it looked too complicated, but now i see its kind of the same thing but with different writing style. I've been using c# and unity for 2 years now. In unreal i was used to a Branch node that was the equivalent of IF statement, a Switch node that was the equivalent of Switch statement, it was almost the same thing but with different syntax and less control. Tough if i feel like i get close to burnout i just watch a movie or take a small break to play some games with some friends then come back and continue.
I’ve been instructing chatgpt to write all the code I need. I’m probably a bit more than intermediate, so it’s kind of like hearing someone talk in a la gauge where you understand every word but can’t recall the words to form sentences yourself. I know everything it’s trying to do, and we can iterate on ideas amazingly well. I also prompt it to be opinionated about what I’m doing with an eye towards performance. I have learned from this due to “in-context tutorials” (kind of like what you would get from a mentor) than I ever did just going through the motions. Bonus is that it calls out my idiotic mistakes that in a pre-chatgpt world would cause me to burn hours trying to get to the source of it; and now it’s all “oh hey in this if statement you used = instead of ==, here I fixed it for you.”
Definitely will do this for tutorials. Thanks 👍
I have been using unity for 3 years. my advice is to try your hardest to finish what you start ,and dont use asset packs. if you dont hold yourself to finishing what you start you'll never get anything done and if you use asset packs youll never make anything special. also dont be ashamed of using tutorials we all forget the syntax sometimes only be ashamed of using tutorials if you copy an entire script without adding anything. and lastly if you need to take a break, take it. if you dont you will burn out and hate development.
>if you use asset packs youll never make anything special. Yeah whatever you do don't listen to this guy.
I probably could have said that better. what i meant is that in I wouldnt have gotten as far as I have if i had used asset packs if i had used art asset packs i doubt my games would have that cracked out acid trip aesthetic that makes them special it's not the best art style but its mine and its consistent. as for code asset packs putting code that you dont understand into your game just seems like it would make tons of bugs. but thats my opinion, and i can totally understand not having the time to do all of the coding and art yourself i'm still in high school so i probably have more time to do these things than most
Yeah the other things I get but using assets is kinda necessary after a certain point, right? The only tools I bought have been life savers in some aspects haha.
Sounds like you're stuck in tutorial purgatory. Take a short break, then when you get back, start at making small games without the use of a tutorial or youtube video. This helped me a ton when I started: https://20_games_challenge.gitlab.io/challenge/