[HN Gopher] Show HN: I'm 48 and finally learning how to be a gam...
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Show HN: I'm 48 and finally learning how to be a game developer
Author : bananabat
Score : 99 points
Date : 2021-11-09 21:14 UTC (1 hours ago)
(HTM) web link (apps.apple.com)
(TXT) w3m dump (apps.apple.com)
| zerr wrote:
| Not sure if I'm the only one - I loathe games and gaming in
| general, think that it is a lifewasting activity mostly... But I
| love game development, engine development to be precise.
| bananabat wrote:
| Mhm...I love games so I'm not sure how to respond lol.
|
| Ok, but maybe I can relate in a way...I love cultivating pot.
| For real, my other dream is to be a boutique grower one day
| when regulations aren't so red-tapey. But I really don't care
| for it. I don't like being sleepy. Just gimme a beer.
|
| Btw, do you have a game engine I can check out?
| paulhart wrote:
| Thank you for both the inspiration and distraction! As a fellow-
| traveler (similar age, similar situation), I completely empathize
| with the struggle needed to accomplish something like this.
|
| Bought!
|
| Also: great set of credits including the tutorials and such, and
| _waves to fellow Canadians_
| bananabat wrote:
| Thanks, fellow Canadian, for giving our game a chance!
| skinkestek wrote:
| Cool! Can you promise no stupid trackers?
| bananabat wrote:
| https://github.com/13Bananas/policies/blob/main/13_bananas_p...
| eitland wrote:
| Perfect. I just bought it just because of that. (I might have
| bought it otherwise to if I remembered it tomorrow, but this
| was enough to get me to do it now :-)
| sgt wrote:
| Looks great man, keep it up!
| bananabat wrote:
| Thank you so much!
| sci_prog wrote:
| Congratulations! Game development is what got me interested in
| programming in the first place. Once I put my first pixel on the
| screen and I figured out how to interact with it blew my mind,
| limitless possibilities. Since the pandemic started my wife and I
| have published one game [0] and currently have a second one [1]
| in a pre-release phase (probably going to make a separate SHOW HN
| post once it is live).
|
| Keep up the great work! We use Unity3D for our development
|
| [0]: https://apps.apple.com/us/app/gibberish-game-against-
| friends...
|
| [1]: https://apps.apple.com/us/app/the-setting-sun-block-
| puzzle/i...
| thebrain wrote:
| Here, take my Google Survey money. Best of luck!
| bananabat wrote:
| Thanks! :)
| Osiris wrote:
| My son wants to learn how to make games but I have no game
| development experience.
|
| What path did you take to start learning game development?
| oumua_don17 wrote:
| Coding Games in scratch [1]
|
| [1] https://www.dk.com/us/book/9781465477330-coding-games-in-
| scr...
| debaserab2 wrote:
| This may not be age appropriate depending on your kid, but the
| (free) CS50 course for games from Harvard [1] is outstanding
| and accessible to someone with a beginner level of experience.
| It's not as intro level as something like Scratch would be, but
| it's very practical hands on learning with tons of resources
| for anyone who wants to get "serious" about game programming.
|
| [1] https://cs50.harvard.edu/games/2018/
| andrewstuart wrote:
| Some really great resources for kids to learn to program games:
|
| CodeCombat
|
| Construct 3
| bananabat wrote:
| I'm entirely self-taught. My personal experience is this:
|
| - Try a bunch of free engines and platforms. Depending on your
| son's age, this might mean starting with something like
| Scratch. I've played around with it myself and it's fun. It at
| least gives you a feel for game logic and how a game loop
| should feel.
|
| - GDevelop has come a long way. My son prefers it when he's
| just doodling around.
|
| - My husband prefers GameMaker Studio 2. But it's a paid
| program and the export modules (mobile, console, html5) are
| extra expenses that can add up. Also, GML is a nightmare (just
| my opinion).
|
| - I use Godot Engine. It's free, lightweight, GDScript is
| Python-like so pretty easy to get a handle on. It's perfect for
| 2D development. And the teaching community is very rich.
|
| - There's really no "x is better than y" as far as game
| engines, IMO...all depends on what you're trying to do and how
| far you are in expertise/experience. And it also comes down to
| what engine feels right to you.
|
| - Start with 2D, cannot stress this enough. Make as simple a
| game as possible when you're starting. This also means staying
| away from Unity and Unreal because both are simply too much
| engine for a beginner.
|
| - At some point, you're gonna have to learn how to code for
| real. Don't have to be a wiz...just enough to be competent.
|
| - Be a generalist, if possible. Depending on what you want to
| do and/or whether you have collaborators or not...you might
| also need to have basic art skills. I'm a graphic designer by
| trade so this wasn't an issue. But I had to learn Blender
| because I wanted to incorporate 3D art in my games. My husband
| learned how to make music. I also learned video editing so I
| could make good trailers. Etc, etc.
|
| - Love games. All kinds of games. I think this should've been
| first.
|
| - I hope that helps.
| pbourke wrote:
| Did you use Godot for this game?
|
| Are you working on a next game?
|
| Congratulations on getting it finished and out there!
| bananabat wrote:
| Used Godot for this game. I started my journey with Unity
| but my C# is, at the moment, utterly mediocre.
|
| Maintaining this game but also starting on next ideas.
|
| Thank you very much!
| nassimsoftware wrote:
| You should look into replit with kaboomjs. Nothing to install
| easy setup and very easy to pick up game library.
|
| https://replit.com/site/kaboom
| lmilcin wrote:
| I am developer with over 20 years of experience. I have learned
| programming from books where computers were generally not
| available where I grew up.
|
| But my son is learning programming (started when he was 6, he
| just turned 8 recently).
|
| He started by goofing off with some robots programmed in visual
| languages. Then moved to goofing off even more in Scratch. When
| pandemic started we found a school that teaches programming
| online and they used Scratch to program Minecraft which got my
| son hooked up -- he likes Minecraft a lot and having it do
| stuff that wouldn't otherwise be possible was a huge motivation
| for him to learn. He is now attending a second semester in that
| school and they are using Kodu for some more advanced, 3d
| goofing off.
|
| My son became big fan of Undertale recently and he approached
| me to learn to make some fan content based on Undertale. We did
| some research and found Undertale was made in Game Maker -- a
| game engine for 2d games. So this is what we just recently
| started learning. He is excited to finally start learning
| something that can be used to make professionally looking games
| and says that if it was good enough to make Undertale it is
| good enough for him:)
|
| He also just got his own Minecraft server (ehm... Raspberry Pi
| 4 with 8GB of RAM) and I am hoping that when he is bored with
| vanilla gameplay with his school friends he will want to start
| modding the game in some ways.
| andrecarini wrote:
| Congratulations on working in your childhood dream and seeing it
| to completion!
| bananabat wrote:
| Thank you very much, appreciate it!
| bdowling wrote:
| So, you've published your first game. What's your goal? Is it to
| make money from this game or do you just want people to play it?
| Are you going to make a second game? If so, will the goal be any
| different?
| [deleted]
| hoffspot wrote:
| I love it! I'm finding it really hard to find the time,
| motivation, and focus to sit down and learn the prerequisites
| required to accomplish something truly challenging later in life
| (I'm in my late 40's too). Congratulations on shipping your first
| game! That is a tremendous accomplishment and you should be very
| proud!
| bananabat wrote:
| Thank you, I appreciate it. Yeah, it really is hard. Time and
| motivation are rare currencies. There is just so much shit to
| do in "life-ing." I hope that you get to do the things that
| make you happy.
| bovermyer wrote:
| This is a fun little game and worth the money. Easy to get into,
| easy to just play for a few seconds or a few minutes.
| bananabat wrote:
| Thank you very much!
| mathgladiator wrote:
| Congrats on shipping a game. I'm almost 40 and have started so
| many engines and infrastructure projects that I'm looking forward
| to retiring early to make games. Carry on!
| robofanatic wrote:
| great story and the game looks cool from the screen shots and
| videos in the app store. wonder if you have plans to introduce a
| free version with in-app purchases. bet you will get more users.
| bovermyer wrote:
| I'm not the author, but personally, I'm hostile to freemium
| games.
|
| This is especially the case in multiplayer games. Making it
| free removes a check on "low quality users" - e.g., hackers,
| griefers, etc.
| bananabat wrote:
| You know, we've considered it and we've been approached by a
| couple of publishers in the "hyper casual" space to go the
| route of free-but-with-IAPs. First the terms of industry-
| standard contracts are onerous. And second...well, I personally
| love casual games. And I never minded paying a reasonable
| amount for games I play. And then there are games like Two Dots
| that I really, really liked but the endless monetization just
| gets to be too much.
|
| This is just our preference. We don't have anything against ad-
| supported or IAP-supported games. We just feel that there is
| still a pool of mobile players out there who don't mind
| purchasing a casual game outright.
|
| And who knows, we might decide to collaborate with a publisher
| on a future game. We'll see what the future brings.
| mysterydip wrote:
| Congrats on the release!
|
| I can only say anecdotally from my own experience, but the
| games we had listed for a price got 1% or less of the
| downloads of the same game after we made it free. People
| complain about free with IAP, but the $ shows otherwise.
| bitwize wrote:
| Indeed. Free with IAP is _the_ model for mobile gaming,
| because nothing else makes nearly as much money.
|
| If you want to do this as a business, free with IAP is a
| must.
| armagon wrote:
| Mysterydip, how do the sales compare of a game with IAP vs
| one with an upfront cost? (I ask as it is conceivably that
| fewer than 1% of people who get the IAP version pay, in
| which case you've made as much either way).
| bananabat wrote:
| This is something that's a dilemma for us. Thanks for your
| input!
| james-skemp wrote:
| First thing I thought when I looked at the Apple Store
| version was 'good on you for charging, and for more than
| $0.99.'
|
| Out of curiosity, when were you approached by publishers?
| After you had launched?
| bananabat wrote:
| Yep, after. And all hyper casual (lol @ the term)
| publishers have a free-to-IAP business model.
| robofanatic wrote:
| I meant kind of trial to buy model, not ad-supported per se.
| There may be a lot of users who might give a try to the trial
| version which may just be a skimmed down version, if they
| like it they'll buy! I think a lot of people are afraid to
| spend money (no matter how little) and then get disappointed
| (not saying this game is disappointing)
|
| Just my 2 cents.
| bananabat wrote:
| I appreciate your 2 cents, seriously.
| yboris wrote:
| Great work! Reminds me of _Gravity Wars_ - the game that got me
| into some "hardcore" coding with Visual C++ (using a book from
| the library).
|
| I've re-written the game several times over the years - always a
| pleasure.
|
| Current iteration: https://github.com/whyboris/Gravity-Wars
| bananabat wrote:
| Will check that out! Thank you.
| JeremyReimer wrote:
| Congrats on releasing the game! Great work!
|
| I'm 49 and I have basically the same story you did... and also
| share the same secret dream to write games "one day", so I'm
| starting really small with a simple little 2D game in GameMaker
| Studio. So far it's slow going but super fun. But you've inspired
| me to keep going, so thanks!
|
| EDIT: Purchased! Looking forward to playing it!
| debaserab2 wrote:
| Congratulations!
|
| I'm going through a similar phase myself spurred on by the
| pandemic (games are, after all, why I started programming in the
| first place).
|
| I'm continuously amazed by how complex even simple games can be,
| especially if you're not using one of the big game engines. It's
| incredibly easy to get sidetracked or over-engineer a certain
| aspect. It's made me realize just how tough shipping a game - so
| congratulations on that. It's a huge feat.
| bananabat wrote:
| Thank you! It's really nice that someone sees this. I
| appreciate it.
| bananabat wrote:
| I've always loved playing video games. From the moment I realized
| there were places called arcades with wonderful machines that ate
| your coins, I was hooked. Game and Watch? Nagged my mom for every
| single one. Nintendo Famicom? We had ALL the bootleg cartridges.
| Gameboy? Couldn't afford it so I burned with envy. Original Xbox?
| I have 4 of 'em stashed away somewhere. Playstation 1-5? Heck,
| yeah. Mobile? My husband bought our first iPad because we saw
| someone playing Angry Birds on it. PC? I'm playing The Ascent
| with my whole family right now.
|
| More than playing video games, though, what I wanted to do as a
| kid was to MAKE games. I still remember punching in a borrowed
| Mario Bros cartridge for the first time, pressing START and
| having a freaking epiphany. How cool was it that someone MADE
| this?? To heck with being an astronaut, when I grew up, I was
| going to do THIS. I knew it with all the certainty of 8-year-old
| me. But you know how it goes: like most childhood dreams, I put
| this one on a shelf and gradually left it behind. I didn't become
| an astronaut either (in case you were wondering).
|
| What I did was drop out of university in my third year. And since
| then, I've been a copywriter, graphic designer, business owner,
| immigrant, stay-at-home spouse, and for a long time, the stay-at-
| home parent. And it's been great. Life with all its up-up-down-
| down-left-right-left-right-B-A's...it's all been wonderful.
|
| "Hold up," you might say, if you're still reading this. "Why are
| you telling us all this? Boring."
|
| Right. Let me get to it. I'm 48 and if there's a lesson that has
| been inescapable these past two years is that we may not see
| tomorrow. So, I've decided to focus on happiness in the here and
| now. Carpet diem, as my kid used to say when he was little. And
| you know one thing that has added to my happiness? Dusting off my
| dream, sitting my ass down and finally learning how to be a game
| developer. And happier still? I've done this with my husband.
|
| So we've published our first mobile game. It's called "Slingshot
| Effect" and it's available on App Store or on Google Play. It's
| an infinite jumper that's easy to just pick up and play. Perfect
| for commutes or if you're stuck in a waiting room somewhere. It's
| a paid app because we feel strongly that the level of
| monetization in the casual game space is just...ugh...it's bad.
| Thanks for listening, I really appreciate it.
|
| TLDR: When I was a kid, I wanted to make video games. And now
| that I'm kind of old, my husband and I made one.
|
| App Store: https://apps.apple.com/us/app/slingshot-
| effect/id1537916631?...
|
| Google Play:
| https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.thirteenba...
| SimianLogic wrote:
| I've been doing it on and off for 14 years and I'm still learning
| how to do it. Started a new prototype last night after the kids
| went to bed.
| danielvaughn wrote:
| This is very inspiring - I started out life as an artist and then
| became a programmer in my late 20's. I'm now 37 and feel that I
| could have been a game developer but that I'm a bit too old to
| start.
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