I don't have a regular job, but I'm a freelance writer + marketing consultant working way more than 8 hours a day, plus I'm learning game development as a side project.
I'm also a single mom of two kids.
Since it's not a normal job, I can really optimize my schedule for what works best for me, based on the type of work I'm doing and what I'm interested in at the moment. Since you don't have that, just get clear on the time you do have for your side project. Think about the kind of work you need to do for your project and if the time you've allotted for it is when you do that kind of work best.
From there, figure out what your end goal is and define it.
For me, it's to create playable games. It's not necessarily to learn everything about C# or Unity. It's not even to make a high-quality commercial game.
(Let's be real: I'm not creating the next Dark Souls as a solo creator lol.)
Once you know your end point, think about the big rocks that get you there -- the stuff you absolutely can't skimp on.
(For me, it's learning the game engine, game logic, mechanics, animation, audio, etc. The stuff that goes into actually making the game.)
If you know people who've already done what you're trying to accomplish, talk to them and see what common things they did to make meaningful progress quickly. Think broad strokes of doing the thing, not perfecting the thing or adding details.
Focus 80% of your effort on these big things.
Focus 20% of your effort on the nice to haves that make whatever you're doing sparkle.
That's not literally dividing an hour into 48 mins doing the big stuff and 12 mins doing the details. We're looking at this macroscopically, in terms of weeks, months, or even years.
Most people waste a LOT of time learning and obsessing over the little things that don't actually matter right now in accomplishing their goal and feel discouraged when they don't have a lot to show for their time/effort.
Also, I have ZERO work-life balance, and I'm okay with that. We all have seasons in life, and there's nothing wrong with you if you shut out the world for a few months (ahem a few years, if you're like me) to throw yourself into your goals and passions to build something meaningful.
So if finding balance to be able to still work, play, socialize, build, gym, other hobbies, cook from scratch every meal, etc is important to you, that's okay, but my approach wouldn't be the best.
That is cool! I always wanted to try game dev, did Unity courses sometime ago, but gave up half way. Was about to try out Godot, but got work stacked up recently, so have to put it on hold.
A LOT of people have jumped ship from Unity and moved to Godot, so it's definitely worth checking out again when you have time! That'd be cool to see another newbie game dev in the WIP community too.
There are Skillshare courses for Godot, but I'm not sure they walk you through a class project game or if it's just instructional/theoretical. (I prefer the former since it's more practical and you have something tangible to show for your effort.)
Omg I just signed up for his game jam on itch.io next month when I have literally ZERO SKILLS right now, which is laughably hilarious. I expect to either not finish a game in a week or submit something so horrible that people won't know what to comment for feedback. 🤣🤣
He's a great one to follow, though! I can share other good dev creators if you'd like.
I also like following other newbies to remind me that we all start somewhere and so we can cheer each other on :)
YES! I recently watched a great video about him and what he went through to create Stardew Valley. So inspirational! I don't have that kind of support he had (especially as a single mom), but I've got persistence to make up for it. :)
I don't have a regular job, but I'm a freelance writer + marketing consultant working way more than 8 hours a day, plus I'm learning game development as a side project.
I'm also a single mom of two kids.
Since it's not a normal job, I can really optimize my schedule for what works best for me, based on the type of work I'm doing and what I'm interested in at the moment. Since you don't have that, just get clear on the time you do have for your side project. Think about the kind of work you need to do for your project and if the time you've allotted for it is when you do that kind of work best.
From there, figure out what your end goal is and define it.
For me, it's to create playable games. It's not necessarily to learn everything about C# or Unity. It's not even to make a high-quality commercial game.
(Let's be real: I'm not creating the next Dark Souls as a solo creator lol.)
Once you know your end point, think about the big rocks that get you there -- the stuff you absolutely can't skimp on.
(For me, it's learning the game engine, game logic, mechanics, animation, audio, etc. The stuff that goes into actually making the game.)
If you know people who've already done what you're trying to accomplish, talk to them and see what common things they did to make meaningful progress quickly. Think broad strokes of doing the thing, not perfecting the thing or adding details.
Focus 80% of your effort on these big things.
Focus 20% of your effort on the nice to haves that make whatever you're doing sparkle.
That's not literally dividing an hour into 48 mins doing the big stuff and 12 mins doing the details. We're looking at this macroscopically, in terms of weeks, months, or even years.
Most people waste a LOT of time learning and obsessing over the little things that don't actually matter right now in accomplishing their goal and feel discouraged when they don't have a lot to show for their time/effort.
Also, I have ZERO work-life balance, and I'm okay with that. We all have seasons in life, and there's nothing wrong with you if you shut out the world for a few months (ahem a few years, if you're like me) to throw yourself into your goals and passions to build something meaningful.
So if finding balance to be able to still work, play, socialize, build, gym, other hobbies, cook from scratch every meal, etc is important to you, that's okay, but my approach wouldn't be the best.
That is cool! I always wanted to try game dev, did Unity courses sometime ago, but gave up half way. Was about to try out Godot, but got work stacked up recently, so have to put it on hold.
A LOT of people have jumped ship from Unity and moved to Godot, so it's definitely worth checking out again when you have time! That'd be cool to see another newbie game dev in the WIP community too.
There are Skillshare courses for Godot, but I'm not sure they walk you through a class project game or if it's just instructional/theoretical. (I prefer the former since it's more practical and you have something tangible to show for your effort.)
Cool! I'm following Brackeys on Youtube. He makes it look easy.
Omg I just signed up for his game jam on itch.io next month when I have literally ZERO SKILLS right now, which is laughably hilarious. I expect to either not finish a game in a week or submit something so horrible that people won't know what to comment for feedback. 🤣🤣
He's a great one to follow, though! I can share other good dev creators if you'd like.
I also like following other newbies to remind me that we all start somewhere and so we can cheer each other on :)
Ooo I'll check that out later. Let's continue on DM!
You might not create Dar Souls, but Eric Barone is a huge inspiration and example of everything possible :)
YES! I recently watched a great video about him and what he went through to create Stardew Valley. So inspirational! I don't have that kind of support he had (especially as a single mom), but I've got persistence to make up for it. :)