Indie developers struggle to gain recognition without money or coding experience

“So I was told that nyu has actually good game design program but very expensive about 400k but the thing is on xello(website with info about colleges and careers and stuff) it says that the average tuition of students with average scholarships and aid is about 30,000k which is pretty good. is xello just wrong or are people exaggerating cause I really like the program but it seems expensive. submitted by /u/Redspiderman12 [link] [comments]”

“How's it going, my fellow game devs? I've got a question for y'all: I'm thinking about enrolling in a Coursera course, but I want to make sure I make the right decision before I burn my money. I don't want to spend any money on something that may not move me forward. Do y'all think I should do this? submitted by /u/Mechanic_Willing [link] [comments]”

“I've been making this game throughout highschool(7-8months)(this shouldn't affect how harsh you are with this game, it's just for engagement lol). Ive attached the steam page / demo and discord links below so go wishlist and play it! also let me know what you like/ dislike/ want to see!! https://store.steampowered.com/app/5357520/Dealers_Hand_Demo/ https://discord.com/invite/gjmkyKRQXb submitted by /u/Fun_Journalist9141 [link] [comments]”

“I’m a concept artist who’s been in the game industry for over 10 years. I don’t know how to code, and I only have a basic understanding of 3D. As the industry evolves, I know many artists are hesitant or against using AI. I completely understand where they’re coming from, but I’ve always been open to AI tools once they became truly practical for a workflow for making my own game. Since creating art is what I love most, I drew and modeled the core assets myself because that’s the most enjoyable p”

“I want to publish my game but i don't have any knowledge of coding and I'm like 15 (I'm asian so i don't have weekends, i have 3 extra classes after school, i also have additional school work to do) so i am extremely busy with my academics so i can't give learning coding any time so i researched for a few more solutions and got to mainly 2 ways, vibe coding and visual scripting like bolt so I'm looking for suggestions on how can I make my game, i kind of tried using ai on”

“Hey all, hopefully this is okay as a topic here. I'm married to an indie dev who is ~6 months away from launching his game. I'd love to make or commission for him a gift of some kind tied to his game, but I'm not exactly sure what would be fitting. My first thought was commissioning some trading/collectible cards with his game's art - his team has an absolute ton of concept art and have put a ton of time into world building, and it would be easy for me to ask his friends for copi”

“Hi all! I'm 19 years old, and I've spent over two years trying to become an indie game developer. I've probably invested around 5,000 hours into game development so far. I've released games, learned new skills, tried different platforms, contacted publishers, experimented with marketing, and spent countless hours improving my projects. I wanted to share my journey honestly, including the failures and personal struggles I don't usually talk about. 1. THE DARK PROJECT — MY FIRS”

submitted by /u/Element3991 [link] [comments]

“Hey y’all Game devs, at first I want to say that I barely know anything about coding. Making a game is an art and I don’t want to make anything commercially. Just having fun and being creative as a hobby. I had two semesters of engineering computer science classes in university but this won’t help me for making a game. I really like to get creative and think about my favourite game that I would want to play or make. With AI it’s easy to get a prototype of code, build of a game but usually the pr”

“I'm a full-time programmer and I've always dreamed of going full-time indie. Where do you guys think the game market is headed in the next 3 years? Is it gonna stay about the same, or get worse - like sales dropping? Or maybe the opposite and we'll see a boom? submitted by /u/eclpsr [link] [comments]”

“I am studying Computer Science at a reputed University in Bangladesh. As a kid, I have been into video games(mostly singleplayer) and still am. I want to go into game development and am well on my well into learning unity and making my first game. But I need a better guideline. How do I make myself stand out in this economy? What other skills should I work for as backups? What can make me stand out from everyone and get hired more easily? I am already networking between many people in my Univers”

“I have a bachelor's in computer science and have been a software engineer for 11 years. I have been thinking about maybe taking a course in game design at a local community college so that I could possibly meet other game designers (I'm having a real hard time doing this currently) and get more of a formal education in game design and game programming. Everything I've done so far has been game jams, and I think I am getting the hang of things but I definitely struggle in some areas,”

“Hey! So I’m currently solo developing a game (which i’m not ready to show anything yet, but i’ve already been working on it for a long time and have what I consider to be a great prototype in terms of how developed it is already) But recently I saw people saying that open world and role playing game tags, are red flags when its developed by an indie developer. I believe this might be more directed to someone trying to make a city like gta v or a map like skyrim, but in my case, its procedually g”

Here's a little background story for you fellow gamedevs: I started game dev when I was in grade school. My first game was an arkanoid clone. Like, you know, Ball X Pit.…

Here's a little background story for you fellow gamedevs: I started game dev when I was in grade school. My first game was an arkanoid clone. Like, you know, Ball X Pit.…

Here's a little background story for you fellow gamedevs: I started game dev when I was in grade school. My first game was an arkanoid clone. Like, you know, Ball X Pit.…

“I've been working as a backend engineer, but recently I started getting into indie game development in my spare time. I've been enjoying making games, but honestly, I have no idea how to get people to actually discover and play them. Marketing feels like a whole different challenge from development. I'm curious how you guys promote your games and get them in front of people. What channels or strategies have worked for you? I'm completely new to marketing, so I'd really apprec”

“Hi guys, I realize that I will probably be roasted in the comments but I need some honest advice. I've always wanted to make my own game, and I thought as my first game I'll try to make a mobile game. So here I am, 1 month and a half later, I got the system down, I was working on the UI, and a friend of mine actually gave me some valuable feedback, and ever since now it's been gnawing at me. I've been using AI artwork for everything so far, especially the UI. Today I wanted to up”

“Hey everyone, I'm a 3D artist with 4+ years in the AR/VR industry, and I'm working on my first Steam title as a solo dev. I need to bring in income as a 3D artist to sustain myself until the game is profitable, and I'd love advice from people who've been through this. - What kinds of 3D work actually pay the bills: freelance, contract, asset packs, commissions, something else? - Where do you find reliable clients (platforms, communities, networking, referrals)? - How do you balan”

“Hey everyone, I'm a 3D artist with 4+ years in the AR/VR industry, and I'm working on my first Steam title as a solo dev. I need to bring in income as a 3D artist to sustain myself until the game is profitable, and I'd love advice from people who've been through this. - What kinds of 3D work actually pay the bills: freelance, contract, asset packs, commissions, something else? - Where do you find reliable clients (platforms, communities, networking, referrals)? - How do you balan”

“How can I make it a reality ? How much would I need to spend ? I don’t know anything about coding or devoloping? Any small info is appreciated. I don’t expect to do something large submitted by /u/Thatcoolkid11 [link] [comments]”

“Hi everyone, I’m a junior 3D artist based in Spain. I’ve been trying to break into the games and animation industry for a few years now, but as many of you know, the entry-level market right now is brutal. I recently picked up a part-time café job to cover expenses, but hospitality is burning me out fast. After a shift, I barely have the physical or mental energy to work on personal projects. I’m not giving up on art entirely, but I’ve accepted that I need to step back from trying to make it my”

“Hi indie devs! I am working on an indie game dev business plan and would like to have your advice on the section that describes the product/the game. The purpose of this plan is to share it with investors, publishers, and funding programs. It is really not clear to me how much I should go in depth of actually describing the game, for now I have 2 pages that describe the whole game loop + vision statement and specifications like engine, platform, age rating etc. The rest of the document is most m”

“I’ve been running an indie game company and one of the biggest challenges I keep coming up against is the gap between having something promising and having something that feels “fundable.” You can get a prototype or demo to the point where the idea is there, the core gameplay is starting to work, and you can see what the game could become. But getting from that point to a genuinely polished vertical slice takes money, time and people. And that seems to be exactly the point where funding is harde”

“Hey everyone, I've been learning game development for about a year now and have worked on several small projects using different technologies. I've made small games with SDL2/C++ , Roblox Studio , and Three.js , so I've had the chance to try both traditional game development and web-based/online game development. Most of my projects are still small and mainly focused on learning, experimenting, and actually finishing something rather than trying to make a commercial game. Now I want”

“First day Finally, the first game from our Game Bureau has been released. The game was made by two students who came to get some practical experience. As a result, they now have a full game in their portfolio. Just take a look at the median time in the game. For an aspiring game developer, I consider this a success. submitted by /u/Zvyaginsky [link] [comments]”

“I've designed things for most of my working life (and before my working life) but I never got far with code other than maintaining and editing some code or fiddling with some smaller projects. This is the first game I've actually finished and put out there, so I figured this was the place to share how it went. It's called Lie of Sight. Every day you get a small room seen from above and a family, the Fibbersons. Each of them tells you what they could or couldn't see from where the”

“So, how is the indie industry doing, and what advice would you give to someone who wants to get into it? submitted by /u/Bitter-Advisor-1279 [link] [comments]”

“Hello World, For the past months, I've set my mind on developing my own video game. My background is IT and mathematics engineering degree, and I have a solid understanding of basic of object-oriented programming. I am currently taking a Unity course to familiarize myself with the engine, as well as with Unity-specific C#. Right now, I have a rough draft of the beginning of a Zelda-like style game, but I feel like I might be a bit overly ambitious about my ability to build this kind of game.”

“Hi, I always wanted to be a indie game developer, currently working as a backend dev for some random company but I was doing some stuff with game development as a hobby. I saw the new eu act bs and the other stuff going around the world, should I consider my switch to game development? Game development (design, world build, story etc...) had always connection with me and it was what I wanted from beginning when I applied to computer engineering. Considering todays and upcoming future world, woul”

“I am 1 year post grad with a game design and programming degree. I have been participating in game jams and enrolled in online courses to further improve my programming skills but I am struggling to find a reason to keep learning when I see what you can code with AI. Why should I improve as a developer and programmer when AI is improving at 10x the speed I possibly could? I understand that you need to be able to check what AI writes for bugs. I also understand that higher level knowledge is more”

“I’m planning to participate in GameDev India’s BYOG 2026, and I have a simple question: Can a full-stack web developer build a game within 72 hours and submit it? submitted by /u/PSG07 [link] [comments]”

submitted by /u/kraMItten [link] [comments]

“Hi im 22 and ive been developing game for game jams for over 3 and a half years as a part of a research group at my college, we use Godot. Tbh im realizing game dev is what i truly like as any other specialization in software engineering doesn't call for me, in my country the opportunities for a game dev position lack a lot, in my collage the job fair is usually defense company which is not something im interested in. so i wanted to know of tips on how to maybe find a remote job or to what s”

“Tl;Dr: would you be ok with making 0$ or little money from the games you make? And do you already have a job that lets you live comfortably? I'm messing around a bit with game dev and have completed a couple of simple games, and it was pretty fun! I never tried monetizing, mostly because I fall into the category of people who likes "crazy" ideas and already have an income that lets me and my family live at a lower-middle class standard. Given the amount of awesome prototypes that I”

“i think of learning a skill to help to having chance to having a job in one of them it will be helpful and thanks :'') submitted by /u/Solid-Career5688 [link] [comments]”

“I’m a game dev from India with 5 years of experience in Unity and C#. I know C++ but haven't used it professionally, so I don't feel confident with it yet. I’m currently working in Dubai as a Cocos Creator developer. It’s always been my dream to work as a gameplay programmer at a AAA studio like Rockstar or CDPR, ideally in Europe. I’m planning to spend the next year and a half transitioning my skills to make this happen, so what advice would you give me? submitted by /u/__ch”

“Let's face it, not all advice is good. What is some bad advice that could have potentially derailed your project? Or worse, demotivated you. I'll go first: Your first indie game should be free. I got this one a lot and almost followed it. While not necessarily bad advice, I think this one is very situational. I have half a million reasons I am glad I didn't follow this one. I'd say reach out to a professional mentor before you put your multi-year pursuit for free. submitted”

“Hey r/IndieDev , I'm Blake, a solo dev (DracoSoftware) with 30+ years of programming experience and a lot of teaching experience. I know how hard it is to ship a game and watch it get no traction. I'm doing this as a hobby, to support the community of indie game developers. I'm starting a series on my YouTube channel, Blake Schreurs . Each week I'll pick one game from a fellow dev, -buy it myself- (no free keys, so you get a sale), play it for at least 30 minutes, and share what&”

“Hey friends, I'm an aspiring indie dev still fairly new to game development. I'm quite sorted in terms of programming and actually designing games, but my art skills are lacklustre to say the least and I'm vehemently against using AI in any way for art. It feels like a big blocker at the moment if I'm to make cool games by myself. I'm currently just designing strategy games so nothing too artistically intensive I guess, but for anything graphics or UI related I resort to maki”

“ive been researching game development over the past week and im slowly getting kinda obsessed with it. One day I wanna make a 3d survival game because I fckin love minecraft. and Im gonna make it hard as hell. Im learning C# during school because half my classes are easy because its senior year, i still have other hard classes but you get the idea. I dont have to pay attention to english.. Im gonna solo dev the entire thing, ik how to animate well, modeling is trash, programming im working on, i”

“Intro I want to share my game development journey, mistakes, and lessons learned with the community in the hope of opening a discussion around it and as a reference point for other developers. This is going to be a long post, and there is no TLDR, so feel free to press the back button if you are not interested in an honest, transparent, and first-hand story of a 40-year-old father who is trying to be a solo indie game dev. First, I share my personal timeline, then my game dev timeline and some n”

“I’m a college graduate, I don’t specifically have skills in game dev in general, though I worked on 5 personal small games, so my background is mostly 2D concept artist. The thing is that, with the current state of the industry, I fear that there is no hope for people who want to start their career. Every job listing that I looked up was always asking for a minimum of 2 years or 3 years of experience, question is, how do I get that experience if there’s no entry level positions? Doing stuff on m”

“Im just curious if its possible to someday make a living from gamedev or if its better off staying a hobby? What have you tried and where at? what should others avoid? submitted by /u/Any-Landscape434 [link] [comments]”

“Hey guys, First time solo dev and Im building a prototype for my idea in Godot. I had a question: How much should I focus on getting the main aspect of my game down before moving on to other aspects? For instance, my game will feature an autobattler/simulation portion and a manager portion. In my mind, making the fighting fun to watch is the thing that matters most because it is the reward for doing the manager aspect well. But would you say that means most of my time on the prototype should be”

Where can I learn? submitted by /u/Dorval_Filho [link] [comments]

“Hi everyone, I just started game dev because I’m getting bored with my job. I’ve been working as a web programmer since 2018. Although I think I’m not so bad at programming, I’m having a very hard time with math and the different mindset. It’s hard not to be overwhelmed by everything. How did you get over it? submitted by /u/Franalyst [link] [comments]”

“I'm trying to step into the gaming industry in various roles. I think my organization and admin skills might work well with production or operational roles, but I went to school for visual development and would love to work on concept art. I recently found a role and it is a revshare concept art role. I dont know the expectations of hours/work yet, they want to make sure I am comfortable with the revshare before setting up a meeting. Is this normal? Or is this a red flag? Thank you for any a”

“I've been thinking about something for a while now, and I'd love to hear what other developers think... the first-time indie dev dilemma. I'm an indie dev working on a game. I spent quite a while getting the prototype into decent shape, made the Steam page, released a demo, and even jumped into Steam Next Fest with no experience. The problem is that after launching the Steam page and demo, I've noticed that wishlist growth has basically stalled. After 12 months, I'm at around”

“I want to help my brother launch his indie game he's been developing over the past few years, but reading through the threads it all seems like there's no obvious path to launching one. Context below, any and all advice appreciated. The game: RPG fantasy type game but set on modern earth. The world is extremely well thought out, with a lot of creative aspects inspired by a lot of genres, we're from gaming family, mostly PC games in late 90's & 00's, we played both lots of”

“If you were an indie dev lf a designer, what would make you stop scrolling and check someone’s work? And what are the biggest red flags you see in amateur sound-design portfolios? I’m practicing sound design everyday, but I’m really new to presenting ideas and wonder how to get into the game. I’ll probably ask the same thing in filmmaking and commercials community. Thanks in advance. submitted by /u/Traditional-Pen-8545 [link] [comments]”

“I spent most of my time in college (CS grad) really wanting to get into the game dev industry, but ultimately couldn't land any internships summer after summer and got a job as a full-stack developer instead just to pay the bills. I've been working in that field for 3-4 years now, and I got laid off a few months ago (boss got the idea that he could replace me with AI lol). Job search hasn't been going great, and I've started asking myself why I'm putting all my effort into ge”

“Are game marketing, idea validation and appeal to content creators almost more important than the game itself nowadays? After reading yesterday's post on r/gamedev The game is secondary now , I decided to share my take on the topic and show some actual numbers of the 100% passion project I've been working on for almost 13 years so far (that's crazy, I know)! Can the pure passion project work? I mean, even if the only reason you started to develop the game was your pure passion and lo”

“I work as a software engineer for my day job, primarily in Java and Typescript, and I want to get into gamedev in a broad sense as a hobby, but honestly I struggle with getting too into any one tool or platform. I find myself fiddling around with them for a bit but can never really get myself to commit. Right now I want to give the 20 game challenge a go but struggling to decide on what to focus on, some stuff Ive considered: Raw Java with Swing and AWT (How useful is learning more Swing?) LWJGL”

“Genuinely just want to read inspiring stories regarding why people got into game deving. submitted by /u/ilikemyname21 [link] [comments]”

“Hi, I've got acceptance from University of Klagenfurt to study GSE master's degree. However, I am not coming from IT background and don't know how to code. I have designed games and taken some game design courses though. I have interest in this field, but I have doubts about getting a job in the field after completing my studies. What's your opinion? Should I go for it? submitted by /u/AdministrativeList30 [link] [comments]”

“Hello! I'm starting to learn game dev but I'm a story maker and artist at heart. How possible it is for people to volunteer to help me make a game? Like... People who can code and things like that. Thank you for the help in advance! (Disclaimer: not asking for people to join in this post, just wanted to know realistically how possible it is to have people like that) submitted by /u/Bunnyu-u [link] [comments]”

“I’m a 3D artist, now i try to make my first indie game development course, there is a reason to think that it might be interesting, but my weak side has always been self-presentation on the Internet, plus I’m not very familiar with reddit and I don’t know where I can post this and how not to go too far with self-promo, because i heard like some subs get banned for it.. In general, what advice can you give me on promoting a paid course, in what subs can i safely write about it, and on what platfo”

“I’m a 3D artist, now i try to make my first indie game development course, there is a reason to think that it might be interesting, but my weak side has always been self-presentation on the Internet, plus I’m not very familiar with reddit and I don’t know where I can post this and how not to go too far with self-promo, because i heard like some subs get banned for it.. In general, what advice can you give me on promoting a paid course, in what subs can i safely write about it, and on what platfo”