When making games feels easier than it actually is (but still fun tho)
Make your own game sounds like one of those things people say casually, like “yeah I’ll start a YouTube channel” and then never do anything about it. But lately, I’ve been noticing something weird… more people are actually trying it. maybe it’s because of all those reels and TikToks where someone builds a basic game in 2 hours and gets like 2M views. makes it look stupid easy, honestly.
I remember the first time I tried it, I thought I’d build something like a mini GTA (yeah… very realistic expectations). ended up making a square jump over another square. That was it. I still felt like a genius for 5 minutes though.
and if you’ve been searching around, you’ve probably seen stuff like, especially on gaming platforms that mix playing and creating. That’s kind a where things get interesting now. it’s not just coding from scratch anymore, it’s more like dragging, dropping, testing, breaking things, fixing them again… like building with digital logo but sometimes the logo fights back.
So yeah, making games isn’t exactly “easy”, but it’s also not as impossible as it used to be. Back in the early 2000s, you basically needed hardcore coding knowledge. Now? you can literally open a game maker online tool and just start messing around. No one’s stopping you except your patience level.
and patience is the real boss fight here.
I think what people don’t talk about enough is how boring some parts get. like you imagine designing characters and epic storylines, but instead you’re sitting there fixing why your character keeps falling through the ground. I spent 40 minutes once just fixing a jump animation… for a character that barely even needed to jump.
but weirdly, that’s also what makes it addictive.
there’s this small dopamine hit when something finally works. like, your button actually clicks, your score actually updates, your game doesn’t crash after 3 seconds… feels like you just solved world hunger or something.
I’ve seen a lot of chatter online too, especially on Reddit threads and Discord groups, where beginners share their first projects. Most of them are kinda rough (okay, very rough), but the vibe is supportive. People don’t really care if your graphics look like 2005 flash games. they care that you made something. that’s it.
and speaking of that, platforms like spaces are lowkey helping beginners get into it without feeling overwhelmed. You don’t need to install heavy software or worry about your laptop exploding. You just open a browser and start experimenting. I tried one of those once on a slow internet connection and yeah… it lagged, but still worked better than I expected.
Another thing people kinda underestimate is how much gaming itself helps in making games. sounds obvious, but it’s true. like when you’ve played enough games, you start noticing patterns. Why certain levels feel fun, why some controls feel annoying, why you rage quit sometimes. All of that becomes useful when you’re designing your own stuff.
I used to play this random mobile cricket game (can’t even remember the name now), and it had this super satisfying hit sound whenever you scored a boundary. small thing, but it made the whole experience better. Later when I tried making games, I realized audio is actually a big deal. Like, silence makes games feel dead. I didn’t expect that at all.
Also, a random stat I came across (not sure how accurate but still interesting), apparently a huge percentage of indie games never get more than a few hundred downloads. kinda harsh reality. but it also makes sense, because there are sooo many games now. like, thousands being uploaded every month. It’s crowded out there.
but honestly, not everyone is trying to become the next big developer. Some people just want to create something for fun. maybe share it with friends. maybe post it online and see if strangers play it. and that’s enough.
I think that’s the part I like the most. It doesn’t have to be serious.
like one time I made this stupid game where you just dodge falling objects… except the objects were randomly shaped blobs because I didn’t know how to design properly. My friend played it for like 10 minutes and kept laughing for no reason. said it was “weirdly fun”. I’ll take that as a win.
Another thing worth mentioning is how trends shift fast in gaming. what works today might feel outdated tomorrow. battle royale games exploded, then suddenly everyone was tired of them. Now it’s like casual multiplayer and quick-play games are getting attention again. So if you’re thinking about making games, chasing trends might not be the best idea.
just make something you’d actually play yourself.
and yeah, there will be frustration. a lot of it. things won’t work, tutorials won’t match your problem, and sometimes you’ll just stare at the screen doing nothing. happens to everyone. Even people who’ve been doing this for years.
but there’s also something kinda satisfying about building something from nothing. like literally starting with a blank screen and ending up with a playable game, even if it’s super basic. It’s messy, it’s confusing, but it’s yours.
and honestly, in a world where most people just consume content all day, creating something feels… different. better, maybe.
So yeah, if you’ve been thinking about it, just try it once. don’t overthink. don’t aim for perfection. your first game will probably suck (mine definitely did), but that’s part of the process.
and who knows, maybe that tiny project turns into something bigger later. Or maybe it doesn’t, and you just had fun messing around.