Hi there! 
Back in April, I was put on furlough. Keen to find a new direction for my life, I took the Unity 2D Course with the aim of eventually becoming a full time game dev. But what do you do after the course? How do you keep progressing?
Seriously, just do it. It’s the absolute perfect way of crystallising what you’ve learnt and really get going making games, from a learning perspective at least.
I’ve now participated in three 48h game jams. Each one has taught me how to work under pressure, how to stick to a deadline, and most of all, how to finish games!
I think when you’re starting up, it’s important to keep producing as many games as you can. Yes, sure, you can have a long term project, and when that finally comes out, hopefully you’ll find success! But I don’t think going dark for the entire length of your big project is the best idea.
Especially as a beginner, you’re still learning every day, figuring out new ways of doing things that work better, and you risk falling in a loop of never-ending refactoring, without actually making any demonstrable progress.
Additionally, your motivation might dip at that “lack of progress.” Working on side projects is a great way to keep motivated, but these side projects can take a life of their own and end up becoming as big as your main project, and now you’ve got two giants to tackle.
Game Jams solved that issue for me. The extreme time limit allows to force yourself to really scope down, and the subsequent rating period means you really want to make a game that’s actually playable, not a half-done start-of-something. Yes, you might fail, but failure is also a key part of learning. Plus, you’ll get to meet other game devs and maybe make some contacts that will fuel future collaborations!
If you’re still reading this until now, I hope I’ve convinced you to join a game jam. Pick any of the ones coming up next on itch.io when you’re free, and do it. Some of the biggest game jams are Ludum Dare, GMTK, Brackeys Game Jam…
Here’s a couple of tips from a beginner to keep in mind for your first game jam:
- Use what you know, don’t try something new
- Keep it simple. If you’re unsure how simple your idea is, cut it in half.
- Focus on the bare minimum of what makes your idea fun. Anything that doesn’t contribute to that, cut it down.
- Rate other people’s games during the rating period. Most game jams use the number of ratings and insightful feedback you’ve given to drive traffic to your entry. Also, come on, are you not curious what other people can do in the same amount of time?
If you’re unsure what to expect joining a game jam, there are a lot of great videos on Youtube depicting other devs’ experience. They’re a great way to get into the mindset and manage your expectations, I highly recommend checking these out.
Here’s my own video for the latest game jam I joined which should give you an idea of how to structure your time during the jam. I’ve got more videos on the channel along the same line if you find it useful.
Thanks for reading, and see you around!