How to figure out what genre to go for (Indie game success roadmap course)

[CoryR]

im stuck on how to think of a genre to focus on because I love all types of games such as: fighters, third-person games, and simulator games the only thing that ik I would not like to create is first-person games but I love competitive Games: examples of games I enjoy/enjoyed - Ark, Overwatch 2, Valorant, For honor, 2k and more just need a little advice on how I should go about figuring it out

[bOBaN]

I wouldn’t go for anything that requires multiplayer, at least not at start. Aside from that, I think you have to experiment a bit and see what you enjoy doing the most. If you have done some other GDTV courses they usually show a few game genres there, so that should give you a hint. If after that you still can’t decide… just pick randomly

[JerryHobby]

A couple ideas worthy of consideration:

1. Any genre is good. But you might have your best luck with a genre you’ve played enough that you know a lot about the trends, power-ups, game play styles, etc. It’s hard to build a game in a genre where the entire industry is better at it than you will be.

2. Know your own limits. For any genre, you’ll need assets. Art, models, music, etc. You’ll also need to be able write all the logic for whatever you build. One game I like to play has potentially 1000 different weapons / shields / power-ups. Make sure you choose a project that fits within your skills and capabilities and that you have time to build. A lot of games out there were built by teams and took many months to construct. Especially RPG games. Just pick something that fits in what you can realistically complete.

3. If you want to build a larger game, like those types you mentioned, consider how you can build the team to help you construct that. Ark, Overwatch, etc., were all built by teams of full time game designers, artists, musicians, etc. I would suggest looking specifically at smaller indie games and consider what’s achievable. Look at games that were built by one to five people. Games like Stardew Valley, Terraria, Faster Than Light, etc. Much smaller games but still rich and playable for countless hours.