the best way to succeed is to try because well duh that's just how it works so this episode would be the 25th official episode of how to fail at any game development and it seemed like a good time to do how to fail at failure because I decided to not because you told me to the double negative of how to fail at failure means it's basically just how to succeed so we're going to summarize everything we've talked about so far but without the sarcasm because I mean you'd be surprised how many comments I get where people just don't even understand what I was talking about more than two it's just sarcasm people but anyway let's get into it try to come up with unique gameplay ideas and mechanics this is is one of the best ways to stand out especially as an indie Dev don't be afraid to share your ideas with other people they will give you helpful feedback and honestly no one is interested in stealing your idea because everyone thinks they have the best idea also good execution is often more important than the idea itself don't build your own game engine the chances that your game requires a custom game engine is extremely unlikely especially if you're a new Game Dev instead find a free game engine and take the time to try it out by making a really small test game or following some tutorials to see if the game engine will work for you I recommend gdau because it is open source meaning it will likely only improve as time goes by you can customize it if the need does come up and you don't have to worry about an evil Corporation sticking claim on your game or game sales through fine print for your first game don't pursue your dream game right away whatever the heck that is instead make a small arcade game or participate in game jams this will help you further learn your game engine as well as general game development skills for any game you make create a design document and come up with plans that break down the development into bite-sized manageable pieces start with prototyping and have a goal of making a minimum viable product meaning a playable skeleton of your game even if it looks and feels like crap first It won't always look and feel that way this way you can appropriately adjust your plans if needs be just do your best to avoid scope creep where you plan to add stuff to your game until it becomes too large to make if you make a platformer or really any popular genre again come up with a unique mechanic why would I want to play your platformer over all the other Platformers out there and no the answer should not be your story but we'll get to that later give special care to developing your player movement mechanics because that's a core part of Platformers don't assume double jump and dash are necessary you can avoid these cliches by thinking outside the box for more interesting movement mechanics or ones that tie in with your main mechanic plus it will help your game stand out also in a platformer try to make the player only feel frustrated with their own mistakes not with your design mistakes you can do this by adding jump buffering and coyote time among many other methods of compensating for computers precise calculations and try not to make a Precision platformer they suck I mean I mean you can if you want to but I'm not going to play it if you decide to make an RPG try to find a balance between creating a world to role playay in and interesting mechanics your game won't have much draw if all you have is a unique story on top of the same old mechanics that have always been and it can't really be considered a role playing game if there isn't an immersive world to be a part of if the player can make gameplay choices such as class career or other skills make sure these choices Impact gameplay and play style instead of just boosting slightly different stats try to avoid the cliche XP system and instead tie leveling up to in world achievements or items come up with a system that doesn't require pointless unimmersive grinding if you decide to make a Rog like and yes I'm just going to call it a rogue like because the difference between between Rogue likee and Rogue light doesn't really matter instead just make whatever run-based game you want and worry about defining it after there's no need to pigeon hole yourself make the ability skills or items in your Rog like have interesting mechanics and compelling synergies don't just give lame stat boosts these abilities should also tie into the environment and enemies make sure the environment isn't repetitive and boring and make your enemies complex not just big and mean the goal is to have a high skill ceiling that can be reached through practice and knowledge try to keep in mind that game field is a lot more than just screen shake and en compasses all feedback to the player this does mean impact of course but also includes level design environment music art polish controls and animations also keep in mind that making your game feel good to play can help sell it but if you don't have an interesting game underneath then the superficiality of your game will only hold people's attention for so long make your tutorial a part of your game Teach mechanics to the player by creating situations through level design that encourages or compels the player to use the mechanics you want them to learn the only time you should have text on screen to explain anything is to show what buttons to press with the exception being incredibly complex typically City Builder style games even then the player should be able to learn everything they need to know in game if they have to look at a separate document outside of the game even if it's on the same web page where the game is being hosted then you failed don't skimp on the music and sound music and sound contribute to the emotional feel of a game more than anything else for music take the time to learn about gaming and cinematic music and what makes it work well if you don't write music yourself consider that if you're willing to pay $100 to upload a game to steam then save give up another 100 to find and pay for an affordable musician for sound effects take the time to find and mix believable sounds stop hitting your desk or burping into your mic and add sounds to everything you possibly can for full immersion as humans were're used to everything making a sound and when they don't we notice if you make an arcade game and make the game play simple and repeatable yet difficult over time the biggest challenge you will have is learning to not add too much stuff this is why it's such a great genre to try first because it will help you learn to avoid scope creep and should be easy in fact it can be used as a way to measure if game development is a thing for you if you can can't make an arcade game then maybe you should pursue another Endeavor if you're making a puzzle game or just puzzles in general try to avoid cliches like buttons boxes and keys these are just arbitrary steps that need to be taken in the right order come up with Unique Mechanics that will draw out the natural desires to learn from your players don't make your puzzles too convoluted or too simple puzzle design is highly complex so take the time to read and watch as much as you can on the subject and perhaps practice by using level editors of already existing puzzle games or even Minecraft to practice the principles of puzzle design interactive stories and visual novels are not games things that are similar to games but are also not games include visual novels simulations sandboxes tools and toys nothing against any of these if that's what you want to make by all means please do these are awesome things but they are not games again don't pigeon hole yourself just make something enjoyable and Define it after but if you are in fact trying to make a game specifically be sure to include an objectively measurable goal established by the medium this is what sets a game apart from all the rest for the visual ual of your game try to Branch out further than just geometric shapes keep in mind that art is hard even pixel art take time to add variety to your visuals but be consistent with your art style throughout your game choose colors to help important interactable parts of your game be easily identified don't be ashamed of using art assets free or otherwise especially if it's your first few games most importantly the best games don't need good art to still be fun but good visuals sure help sell the experience when adding a story to your game take advantage of the storytelling medium that only games can provide which is having the story immersively take place around you don't force the player to read walls of text or watch hours of video in your game if you want the player to truly impact the story with their choices my recommendation is to forget a handcrafted story altogether and use Dynamic emerging storytelling otherwise just embrace the handcrafted story and realize the illusion of choice handcrafted stories try to provide really doesn't matter all that much to the players they just like a good story use level design to teach the player new mechanics and skills and to communicate story progress and goals when level design is done right it removes the need for tutorials thoughtful effort should be used to keep the levels from feeling repetitive you don't want to just Shuffle assets around and call it a day each level should have a purpose and add to the progress in pacing ask yourself what does this level add and if it doesn't bring anything new to the table then redesign or throw it out if you make a horror game try to avoid the cliché of the genre such as walking simulators jump scares and too much Darkness try to build tension by not showing the threat and instead letting the player's imagination do the scaring you can do this by allowing the player to interact with built-in consequences in order to build Stakes instead of just moving forward and watching by giving moments of calm and safety to contrast against the intensity of the scary parts and by trying to come up with something unique that hasn't been done before if you're making a tower defense game as usual try to think outside the box because Tower Defense games have been done so many times and so often this is maybe one of the few times where you do want to scope creep add options and synergies give the player as many strategies as possible but also do your best to balance it you want the player to feel like they can play your game many many times and still have new things to try don't make an open world game as an indie Dev until you have plenty of experience making games then if you do remember content is more important than scale give the player a reason to travel around your world and tie it into the gameplay and progress don't block off areas by arbitrary numbers like player level and design your world for optimal immersion in mind particularly when it comes to traveling around that world if you make a survival game consider how hardcore SL complex you want your game to be try to balance it in such a way that the player feels a sense of Victory when they accomplish something but not so hard that they feel like they're just dying over and over again without making any progress make difficult y based on the player skills and not RNG you want them to feel frustrated with themselves not at your game give the player lots of options and strategies for progression and don't Nerf valid strategies against the wishes of your player base that's just stupid if you decide to make a Metroid Vania the best kind of open world again try to think outside the box come up with original ways to lock off areas of your open world until the players acquired a certain item or ability don't make them one use keys but instead have them interact with the world in more ways than just unlocking the next area take special care to create a world that's interesting and changes as you travel and doesn't require long checks of backtracking it is a really good idea to participate in game jams especially if you are new to Game Dev a jam is a great way to learn some of the most important skills an indie Dev can learn such as how to recognize and avoid scope creep and how to prioritize different parts of a project and you will also gain practical skills in all the categories of Game Dev plus it's just a great way to be part of the community if you decide to make a firstperson shooter game again be creative come up with original Unique Mechanics that haven't been seen before or at least done in the way that you will do them you cannot compete with the big FPS games out there so try to stand out by being unique also take special care to develop the player movement so it feels natural and appropriate for the space of your game and be careful with the UI to not overcrowd the screen when adding a boss fight to your game don't make the boss just a scaled up version of a normal enemy also make the fight more interesting than just dodging attacks until the boss becomes vulnerable have the fight take place in an interesting Arena instead of just a big empty room communicate clearly what the player needs to do to win the fight and how long it will take don't add hidden second or third phases communicate this all upfront to the player at the start of the fight managing your time as an indie Dev will be very difficult your time will already be limited if you have a job or go to school but on top of this there are many things that can distract you or pull you away for the most part it will take a healthy amount of self control to keep focused but also if you find yourself getting bored try to work on a different part of your game if you're coding something and getting stuck or feeling motivated try working on some art if you're bored of doing art write the story if you're tired of writing the story work on a new level or add an animation that's that's the great thing about indie game development there's always lots to do now this is just the Baseline most important stuff for each of these 24 subjects and for each of these there's a lot more that could be learned there is a full video of each of these subjects on my channel if you like sarcasm but that's okay I'm never sarcastic like like ever like I'm I'm always 100% serious but yeah if you follow all these instructions carefully then you are bound to succeed and that's it that's that's that's my outro cuz it's just succeed that's there's no twist here that's it hey thanks for watching and we are breaking records this is the longest how of failed Episode by far maybe we'll break the record again when we reach the 50th episode and do another How To Succeed but you know until then thanks everybody for sticking around so much and and enjoying this show it's amazing and it's it's because of you guys that this show is keeps going and it's awesome and and um and I lost it I I don't know what I'm doing all right bye-bye