Ask HN: Any recommend resources that helped your game dev journey?
50 comments
·February 25, 2025modernerd
I don't think books and tutorials help that much. Playing and making games — a lot of games — might help you grow more as a designer than reading and watching YouTube.
1. Do master studies. Take a tiny environment or mechanic of a game you love and reproduce it for education, knowing you'll throw it away. Do this often. Get faster at it.
2. Ask people what their favourite game is. Play it. If it's fun to you, why? If it doesn't resonate with you, why?
3. Internalise the idea that ideas don't matter that much, execution is what matters. Good game designers can make otherwise boring games feel fun to play. (See "the art of screenshake" below.)
4. Make a lot of games. Make them small enough to finish. You don't have to release them all, but you should watch other people play them sometimes.
5. Don't listen to people who tell you not to watch YouTube for game design ideas, there are plenty of great videos out there that have positively changed how I think about game design:
The art of screenshake (starts a little slow, but stick with it!):
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AJdEqssNZ-U
Designing to reveal the nature of the universe:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OGSeLSmOALU
Game design is a search algorithm:
AJ007
You need to make multiple games and think about what did and didn't work. Very few developers it was their first game. The early PC developers were pumping out multiple games a year.
While it won't help with real time games, Building Blocks of Tabletop Game Design: An Encyclopedia of Mechanism, will get you thinking about game mechanics.
If you want to make social games, then read The Lessons of Lucasfilm's Habitat http://www.fudco.com/chip/lessons.html There's also 21 years of blog posts worth reading here http://habitatchronicles.com/category/general/
Also don't signup-gate web games, players need to be able to play them instantly, without an account.
mikepurvis
Not a gamedev myself, but I think playing a bunch of board games is huge— the complexity constraints for a board game are way tougher than they are for a computer, so designers (the good ones, anyway) are really forced to consider if each new resource, token, turn phase, victory condition, etc is really pulling its weight in the final product. The mechanics have to be ruthlessly stripped back to be just what is absolutely essential to make it work. Games like Patchwork, Santorini, Azul, Carcassonne, etc are a master class in this.
A computer can be doing mountains of bookkeeping behind the scenes, and that not only obscures what is actually going on from the player, but it can make the designer believe they have "depth" when all they really have is an overcomplicated mess.
Watch YouTube channels where board games are taught, and pay attention to the structure of a video like that— it's "you play as X in setting Y, your ultimate goal is to Z, and along the way you're going have to A, B, and C to achieve that. The game will end when conditions Q are met. The hook that makes this game unique is that ____."
A video game (especially an indie game) should be able to pitched exactly as succinctly as that.
ericmcer
I just read a great quote about this in an Italo Calvino novel:
"If I think I must write `one` book, all the problems of how this book should be and how it should not be block me and keep me from going forward. If, on the contrary, I think that I am writing a whole library, I feel suddenly lightened: I know that whatever I write will be integrated, contradicted, balanced, amplified, buried by the hundreds of volumes that remain for me to write"
peckemys
In this spirit of practicing and making multiple small games before a big one, I find the 20 Games Challenge[0] interesting. It's a list of known games sorted in increasing difficulty to reproduce, introducing new concepts progressively.
dejobaan
There's a lot of great advice in this thread. My take, after 30 years in the industry and stubbing my toe a lot:
1. Make as many small games as possible, but also mod as many games as possible and/or take existing games and tweak/twist them in a bunch of interesting ways. You'll explore some interesting design space without having to build everything from scratch.
2. Show your games off to friendly colleagues/other devs early and often. Earlier than you're ready for (because we're never quite ready!), and in person, if possible. Ask them what they'd do next, if they started with the game you just showed them. Most game devs at a physical community event want you to succeed, and are good at saying, "I'd do XYZ next." You don't have to listen to them, but if you do that enough, you'll get a good picture of how others see your work.
3. Whether you agree with them or not, be aware that GenAI is a sensitive topic for many game devs. Your Reddit post, if I'm seeing the right one, says "AI-powered browser game," which will be strongly divisive. I'd just focus on finding out what people like/dislike about gameplay, as that seems to be what you're looking for feedback on.
4. Design books are good, but I actually think they're an advanced maneuver. This is personal experience only, so take with a grain of salt, but I tend to kinda navel gaze and design-bible a project to death if I'm reading things too early in the process. So, if you've already digested Schell's book, I don't think you need to read a pile more yet.
5. Play as many games as possible, in the area of design you're interested in working. You'll see how people do stuff, you'll avoid making some obvious mistakes, and you'll get a bunch of ideas for stuff that devs aren't doing, that you could try.
Gamedev is tough but fun, and I wish you the best of luck!
jezzamon
Do game jams! They let you practice skills and helps you learn what sticks.
Big ones like Ludum Dare will also give you feedback on the game, which is good not for improving that gamejam game you made but for learning what things are important with a first impression. You often are meant to leave feedback on other games which is another good way to learn what works and potential pitfalls.
You're welcome to try hard on your first project but project ideas often have to be really really good to stick. Another advantage of doing gamejams is it let's you make something that you can easily just walk away from
namrog84
Also you can still personally take old ludumdare themes. Do them in 48 hours. And then go and see what others did. Even if you can't submit. They can still be fun mini challenges.
samiv
I think the thing that applies here is the story about the potters making one perfect pot vs. 1000 imperfect ones. In the end the ones who were going for volume were the ones who were making the more beautiful ones too.
The best way to learn is just keep hammering. Keep your eyes open, whenever you find a game that you like or even just a demo or youtube video keep that around as a reference and then just copy it. Repeat it, think how it's done and then try to improve it or adapt it to make it your game.
Also remember, as an indie developer nobody will play your games. So keep that in mind and ask yourself what is your goal when making games. If you're trying to make it big and make a living and get yourself celeb status as an indie game dev it's not going to happen. Well I mean, every once in a while there's some dev who lucks out and has the perfect combination of stumbling on a good game idea and the right channels to actually make something out of it but that's not going to be you or me or anyone else really. (it's that one lucky guy out of a million).
Of course you might want to make gemos or demos just to sell yourself as a developer candidate to go work at some other studio.
Anyway, just keep iterating and copy without shame and keep making games.
PS. Actually you should be very encouraged by getting any feedback at all. That's already 10000x more than what most indie game devs ever get. Most common feedback is 0 feedback.
hmmokidk
If low level find someone find apprentice under and or Find a job in the industry.
If on with higher level stuff (using an engine) use youtube.
I am doing the self teaching thing for low level with a web and CS background and it is brutal. I am currently on a one month break because one of the challenges I faced was too much.
There are discord channels I join to discuss, ask questions and learn.
I rely heavily on youtube but yeah sometimes it’s a lot. Gamdev is insane.
If you’re just using an engine just focus on shipping small games and start from there.
Even if it means copying a tutorial and changing one little bit.
nickledave
Since no one mentioned it yet AFAICT I'll shout out CS50's Intro to Game Dev that uses Love2d (Lua framework): https://cs50.harvard.edu/games/2018/notes/0/
I also really like pico8 for initial dev with lots of rapid feedback. Lazy Devs Academy on YouTube has lots of good Pico8 tutorials, like this intro: https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLea8cjCua_P3Sfq4XJqNV... Since pico8 source is often available you can look at it for inspiration, see for example Celeste: https://www.lexaloffle.com/bbs/?tid=2145
Along the same lines suggest the Spelunky book from Derek Yu where he walks through his whole process (and all these Boss Fight Books are great for that) going from GameMaker Studio prototype to finished product: https://bossfightbooks.com/products/spelunky-by-derek-yu
Last but not least, Itch is doing a California Fire Relief Bundle right now https://itch.io/b/2863/california-fire-relief-bundle that includes good gamedev books from Chris DeLeon. See his "Why are you making your own games? " quiz, https://form.jotform.com/233546996151162/
edit: add link to DeLeon to explain
jbluepolarbear
I’ve been a Game Engineer for 15+ years and there are many things that can help improve your toolkit. Experiment, learn new tech, and selectively copy. Experiment: make micro demos and test out features and gameplay you think of, try and find the fun. Learn new tech: new tech is popping up every day and it can give you more freedom to make what you want. Copy: if you see something in a game, movie, etc you think is cool, try and copy it and see if it fits what you’re trying to achieve.
I’d recommend YouTube channel Game Makers Toolkit to learn about game design and mechanics and Mix and Jam to learn about recreating existing features from games.
Most of all you need to make sure you pursue what you’re interested in and have fun.
bavell
I've learned a lot of great general game dev info from Tynan Sylvester's book [0] (creator of Rimworld). Has good info on motivation, rewards, timing, goals, design philosophy, etc.
I have next to no game dev experience and the book is a great intro to a lot of foundational topics imo. NB: the book isn't very technical and is an easy read!
[0] Designing Games: A Guide to Engineering Experiences https://a.co/d/8Im68r8
Kapura
The Art of Game Design is a very good jumping off point; it's how i got my start, and it gives you a lot of windows to look through.
A few years after getting that book, I started to work professionally with people building games, mostly white-labelled projects or contract work, which was the studio's bread and butter. But actually working with people developed my understanding of a) the relative value that artists, designers, and animators bring to the project, relative to my own set of skills and b) how to solve the sorts of problems that ship games. I am a programmer, and I use my programmer skills to give designers and artists what they ask for.
All of that to say: the best next step is working with folks, ideally some who have had experience. Book learning will only get you so far.
That being said, here are a few more books I have seen recommended in my sphere:
- The Timeless Way of Building by Christopher Alexander (this is not about games, but design generally)
- Finite and Infinite Games by James P. Carse
- Game Engine Architecture by Jason Gregory (this is a technical book about modern game engines)
Finally, Liz England (a designer who lowkey helped me not lose hope when I was breaking into the industry) has/had a blog where she talks about game design books. I cannot personally vouch for the titles, but I trust Liz England [1]
aaarrm
I've been meaning to make the jump into joining random teams' game jams that are looking for additional people. I get nervous about it, that my skills aren't up to par, but I know it would be a great way to increase them.
I'm curious about anyone's experiences who has joined random teams in game jams and how it turned out.
raytopia
Gamedev City [0] is a new community and could be a good place for feedback and finding resources in general. As for sharing demos and collecting feedback I personally think itch.io [1] is pretty good.
As far as game improvement is concerned it's important to get in a growth mindset and keep focusing on improving the game, which it sounds like you're already doing.
Finally if you haven't already I would recommend creating a discord or some kind of forum for you game (itch.io has free hosting for them) just so you can collect feedback from people who are interested and invested in it.
[1] https://itch.io/
astockwell
The inimitable https://gameprogrammingpatterns.com/contents.html, which is a great read for any programmer, not just game devs.
I’m new to game dev and struggling with my first project, Space Zero. I’d love recommendations for resources (books, tutorials) to learn game design—especially after my demo flopped. For context, I shared it on Hacker News, Reddit, and Product Hunt recently, and here’s why I’m making it, plus what I learned.
I grew up in Korea, a quiet kid hooked on Civilization and Minecraft—games were my escape, teaching me through play. After military service, I dropped college to co-found Disquiet, a social network for software builders. Now, 1.5 months into Space Zero with friends, I want it to be a space where people create and play together. Personally games shaped me, and I’d love to give that back.
But I’m clueless. don’t know design or mechanics. Our demo (collecting/crafting) got 500 signups in 4 days on HN/PH, but feedback was tough: - No clear goal, felt aimless. - AI crafting items lacked purpose, just swing the result. - Too barebones for a demo.
Posting on Reddit’s indie dev sub (my first try) got some “you did it wrong” too. It stung, but I see now: purpose matters, mechanics need depth. I’m reading The Art of Game Design by Jesse Schell—it’s great so far, but I need more.
Any books, videos, or communities that helped you grasp design or make fun mechanics? I’ll keep building Space Zero quietly, aiming to fix these gaps. Any recs mean a lot to a newbie like me!