prototyping games & learning
After realizing that the game engine I was using wasn’t quite the right fit for me, I’ve spent the last two months evaluating and experimenting. It’s been a fun and challenging process.
Through this process, the game engine I’ve landed on using is Godot. It’s a free and open source engine that’s been around for many years. I can make all kinds of games in it, even 3D ones! More on that later… I’ve really been digging Godot. Because it’s open source, I was even able to help fix some typos in the official documentation, which I love being able to do.
While the technology my games get made with doesn’t matter much to the people playing the games, I think it’s helpful to share that there’s a real process to finding the right tooling. Games are pretty complex software, and there are so many options out there for making them. For me, I’m viewing this process of evaluating game engines as an investment in myself and my dreams of earning a living making games. So it’s really important to me that I can grow with the game engine I choose and that it can meet the needs of the games I want to make. Godot sure seems like it checks those boxes!
Godotypes
The little games I’ve been making are part of a collection called Godotypes (Godot Prototypes). I’ve made a little space shooter, a platformer, and a 2D action game like Mega Man. They all use free, public domain assets since I’m mostly focused on learning Godot and not making art.
I’ve learned a lot by making these small games, and that’s why I really think Godot is a great fit. The process of taking ideas for game mechanics and coding them up just flows. And it’s fun, which matters a lot to me.
You can play these prototypes in the web browser. The project is even open source if they’d help you make your own games. If you’re not into playing games, here’s a video showing more of the prototypes off.
I’ve got more prototypes I’m going to make, but the big difference in the next few prototypes is that they’re going to be in 3D! That’s a whole new dimension for me, so I’m learning about modeling with Blender and coding in 3D space. More to come soon there!
Godot Skeleton
I made a little project called Godot Skeleton to help make games more quickly with Godot by handling the boring stuff like menus, pause screens, and input. This is some technical junk, but you’re interested in making games, maybe you’ll find it useful:
It was neat seeing people online being supportive of the project!
Bub on the Run
Between projects, I finished up a very small game from 2020 called Bub on the Run. It’s an infinite runner where you just try to survive as long as possible. You can play it for free in your browser!
Destroy goblins from your web browser
I also went back and optimized the code for Destroy All Goblins, which means you can play it in the browser! It’s important to me that I support the projects I finish so that they’re available to play for as long as possible on as many devices as possible. For these small games I’ve been making, being able to play them in a web browser versus downloading a program means they’re much more likely to be played.
Weekly videos
Marketing is a bit of a mystery to me. I don’t really understand it, and I tend to just think about it as “make neat things and share it.” This newsletter is a great venue for collecting what I’ve been up to every month or so, plus I like writing. But games are such a visual medium, so they make a great fit for videos. I’ve started publishing videos every Sunday. You can watch along on YouTube.
On my YouTube channel, I’ll be sharing videos about what I’m working on (known as devlogs), what I’m learning, and what I’m thinking about. Hopefully it’s useful to people!
I’ll still be sending emails through this here newsletter too, aggregating the good stuff and sharing what I’m working on.
My next project
After nearly two months of experimenting and making little prototypes, I’m itching to dig into making a full game. I don’t know what that game will be, but I’ve got some ideas. It’ll feature original art by me and be a complete experience. Maybe it’ll even be 3D? I really don’t know! Part of making the prototypes in Godot is that it’ll help me know what project I’m most excited about. I’ll share more once I’ve begun digging into it.
Hope you’re doing well. Let me know what you’ve been working on or enjoying. Until next time!