I’m starting with Unity and want to create 2D games — What advice would you give me to stay motivated and learn properly?

Hi everyone
Today I officially started my learning journey with Unity. I spent the whole morning exploring the basics: a bit of 3D, a bit of 2D, and even tried Godot out of curiosity.
My long term goal is to create simple 2D games (maybe even start by replicating a small stickman-style game just to learn). For now, I’m treating this as a hobby, but I don’t rule out taking it more seriously in the future.

However, there’s something that learning paths don’t usually teach you:

• how to stay motivated

• how to deal with frustration when things get hard

• how to avoid losing enthusiasm or giving up

I know there may be a point where I lose motivation or feel like I'm not progressing fast enough, so I’d love to hear real experiences from people who have already gone through this.

My questions for you

• How did you stay motivated when you were starting out?

• What do you wish you had known at the beginning?

• What would you recommend to someone who literally downloaded Unity today?

• How do you avoid frustration or giving up too quickly?

I really appreciate any advice or experience you’re willing to share

Thanks for reading and for your help!

Comments

[John]

I started this exact journey myself almost 4 months ago. With no prior coding experience at all , not even a prior "Hello World" , just a idea and a few tools to help.

I mostly now use a combination of copilot and gemini as my AI assistants, Unity as the engine, MS Visual Studio 2022 as my IDE (Integrated Development Engine) .

I am a good way into my first ever 2d gaming project. I learned 2d games, don't always mean simple just simpler.

They are very fun to create, you can try many different elements of 2d games just in one project , or lots of mini projects.

The motivation for me is the end goal , having something i created myself from nothing and from that something i can play and release so other people can enjoy the hard work and creativity i have put into my project.

I wish you the best of luck in your journey and i hope you have as much fun as i have.

[Josue Chambilla]

Yes... the best thing about creating something is that it's yours, and that gives a sense of satisfaction. Still, have you had any experience that has helped you in any way, for better or worse?

[John]

I learnt that do not give up easily, despite many , huge hurdles, i have overcome all of them in one way or another. You can literally create anything you put your mind and effort into and also I can now debug and problem solve like a pro.

[Jodi Winters]

I'm a few years in with Unity, I too am keeping it a hobby so that I get to enjoy it!
Something that isn't terribly clear in Unity is about how you work with tiles in code. There's a technique that tarodev uses where you override the base tiles with your own superclass, then in that define (or attach) the data that you want to store. It's a reasonable way to make the GetTile method seem like it's doing what it should. But since it's not actually the documented approach, I was a bit baffled how you're supposed to do it.
And I'm still kind of wondering!
But, what I have found is there's another concept at play. You need to know about ScriptableObjects (watch Richard Fine's talk, Unite 2016). When you create a tileset and then define the tiles within that, in order to use them on a grid they need to be a Tile asset. That is a scriptable object. One of the things you can do with scriptable objects is a comparison. So, what you can do is build up some data system that stores the references to the tiles that mean something to your code. Here's an outline where I use another scriptable object as a const dictionary:

class MyTiles : ScriptableObject {
  public Tile WoodsTile;
  public Tile MountainTile;
}
class PlayerController : MonoBehaviour {
  [SerializeField] MyTiles _myTiles;
  [SerializeField] Tilemap _currentArea;

  void OnMove(int newX, int newY) {
    var nextTile = _currentArea.GetTile(newX, newY);
    if (nextTile == _MyTiles.MountainTile) movementModifier -= 1;
}

How you alter this to avoid the if condition I'll leave to you, that's one of the more fun bits of games coding!
Couple of other tips:

• Games development is not straightforward, even as a senior dev of 20+ years I'm finding there's a hell of a lot to learn
• Start with small simple games, or remaking existing ones. Do game jams. Try not to spend months or years on a single game unless you take breaks from it
• Expect your early games to be terrible
• Sometimes a bit of frustration is actually the fun, or leads to that pleasant feeling of having solved something tricky
• If you are stuck, keep reading around, researching. But also, sometimes it's good to just take a break and come back to it. But don't worry too much, we all have many many unfinished projects
• Rotating tiles I found bizarrely unobvious, but they're the square brackets, buttons for them are at the top of the tile palette. It can flip them as well
• If you get into the 15 or 16-tile madness, check out Nonsensical 2D's approach!

[Josue Chambilla]

Thanks for sharing your experience. It's true, a game takes a very long time to develop depending on its scope. That's why I like to use 2010 platform games like Y8, Friv, etc., as a guide. I used to play them a lot, but I focused more on 2D, since in my view it's just a perspective before getting into 3D games, which have more dimensions (x-y-z). Even so, I prefer developing mobile games. Do you have any advice? I'm only aiming for platforms like the Play Store, since the App Store is a paid service.

[Jodi Winters]

Unity is a good choice for mobile development. I tried doing a basic build to Android the other day (not the cert bit yet), seems pretty straightforward to set up.
2D to 3D feels quite different in approach to me, particularly in Unity where the 2D library is separate from the 3D system. The main difference being that in 2D you're dealing with sprites and grids, but with 3D you're working with meshes and inexact space (epsilons at the ready!). There are halfway houses, like 2.5D or voxels. But I'd say they're 3D systems, not 2D.

[EmberNoGlow]

It's great that you've started your journey in Unity! Your questions are exactly what almost everyone who comes to the game industry thinks about.

---

How Stayed motivated:

Focus on “Why”. Constantly remind yourself why you’re doing it. To begin with, you must create a simple, but your game.

Realistic goals. Don't aim for something grandiose right away. Break down a big goal into a bunch of smaller ones.

This is a marathon, not a sprint. Seriously, the game doesn't get developed in a couple of days. There will be moments when it feels like nothing is working out, like you're standing still. That's okay. The key is to keep going, take on easier challenges, and return to more complex ones once you have more knowledge.

Regularity is more important than intensity. It's better to practice for 30-60 minutes every day than to dedicate 5 hours once a week. This allows the brain to better absorb information.

Git is your best friend. Learn to use it as soon as possible. It will save you from data loss and allow you to experiment safely.

---

How not to get frustrated:

Take breaks! If you get stuck, just step away. Look out the window, take a walk. Often, the solution comes to you when you're not thinking about it.
Break down the task. "Taking a shot" is a big task. However, "when to press the space bar to create a bullet" is much clearer.
Ask for help. But be prepared to clearly explain what you want, what you've tried, and the specific issue.
Accept that “doesn’t work” is the norm - Every developer goes through it. It’s not a failure, but an opportunity to learn.

---

Most importantly, enjoy the process! You're on the right track, and the fact that you're asking these questions is already half the battle. I hope I helped you. Good luck!

[Josue Chambilla]

Thank you, but do you have any experience that I could use as an example or as a reference at any point during the development?

[EmberNoGlow]

Yes, absolutely. I remember starting with Godot, creating many small 2D prototypes with various mechanics. Combining them, I ended up with a functional, but, frankly, rough project that I decided not to showcase. This experience, however, served as a valuable lesson and helped me realize that my true passion lies in developing tools for game creation, rather than creating the games themselves. I focused on this, developing several auxiliary tools, which significantly deepened my understanding of game engine structure and strengthened my programming skills (You can find them on my Github). This also helped me understand that game development isn’t just coding; it’s also the art of visual design, modeling, texturing, and scene building.

[Josue Chambilla]

Thank you, truly for me, knowing the experiences of other people in technology matters feeds me as a future professional. I will check out your GitHub.

Regards 👋

[Carla António Cossa]

Começar no Unity é incrível, mas a motivação oscila mesmo. O que mais ajuda no início é criar metas pequenas, como fazer um personagem pular ou mover. Pequenas vitórias mantêm o entusiasmo. Evite projetos grandes no começo — fazer jogos simples (Pong, Flappy Bird, stickman básico) dá muita experiência sem frustração.

A frustração faz parte do processo, não é sinal de fracasso. Quando travar, faça pausas curtas e volte depois. Termine projetinhos curtos e anote seus progressos; isso mostra o quanto você realmente evolui.

1.O que eu gostaria de ter sabido no início:

2.Você não precisa aprender tudo de uma vez.

3.Tutoriais ajudam, mas tente recriar sozinho depois.

4.C# básico já basta para começar.

Para não desistir rápido: comece pequeno, use assets prontos sem culpa e avance com constância. Aprender Unity é uma maratona — vá no seu ritmo.

[Josue Chambilla]

And as a recommendation, for creating something in 2D with good visual design art themes, modeling, texturing, or scene construction? That's exactly what EmberNoGlow, the first person who commented on my post, wrote to me. Do you recommend a website that is good or fulfills that aesthetic part? Not 100%, but at least something that can be used in my projects and looks good to the eye?

[Carla António Cossa]

Para criar algo 2D com boa estética, recomendo usar assets prontos que já sejam visualmente agradáveis e fáceis de integrar ao Unity. Sites como Kenney.nl oferecem pacotes gratuitos com sprites, tilesets e backgrounds consistentes; a Unity Asset Store tem muitas opções gratuitas e pagas otimizadas para o Unity; e OpenGameArt.org ou a seção de assets do Itch.io também oferecem bons recursos.
Se quiser algo mais personalizado, você pode usar editores como Aseprite ou Piskel para pixel art, ou Krita/GIMP/Photoshop para sprites e fundos. Para construção de mapas e cenas, o Tiled é ótimo com tilesets.
Uma boa estratégia é começar com um pack completo de assets, montar suas cenas, ajustar cores e composição, e depois evoluir para criar seus próprios elementos visuais. Dessa forma, você aprende a estética 2D enquanto já consegue projetos visualmente agradáveis desde o início.

[Josue Chambilla]

Thank you, this will really help me to know what I can do or feel like I'm missing something in my project.

[CrisisCore-Systems]

Hey Josue! 👋

Games aren't my thing, but man, I feel you on this one. I've been wrestling with building this healthcare app all by myself, and honestly? The learning curve has been brutal. Had to figure out so much tech I'd never touched before, and those motivation valleys you're talking about? Yeah, I've been there. More times than I care to admit.

Here's what's actually kept me going when everything felt impossible:

Build little victories, not monuments.

I used to dive headfirst into these massive, world-changing projects and then wonder why I'd burn out after two weeks. What finally clicked was treating everything like... well, like playing with LEGOs as a kid:

Tonight = "Can I make this character walk without looking like a robot?"

Tomorrow = "Let's see if I can make jumping feel satisfying"

Next session = "What if I add just one enemy that actually does something interesting?"

When you're working on something bite-sized, finishing feels possible. And finishing? God, it's like a drug. You want more of that feeling.

Celebrate the small stuff, ignore the clock.

I used to torture myself counting hours spent coding. Now? I just scribble down one tiny win after each session: "✔ figured out sprite animation without crying", "✔ that nightmare collision bug is finally dead". On those really rough days when everything feels broken, that little list is sometimes the only proof I have that I'm not completely lost.

Frustration isn't failure - it's just the price of admission.

Some bugs in my app... Jesus, they'd keep me up at night. Felt personal, you know? Like the code was mocking me. But I started thinking about it differently:

"When I'm confused and angry, it means I'm bumping against the edge of what I understand. And that uncomfortable space? That's literally where growth lives."

Taking a walk, sleeping on it, then suddenly seeing the solution the next morning became this weird little high I started craving.

Showing up IS the win.

Even if you spend an hour just deleting old code or staring at Unity tutorials, that counts. Once I stopped expecting myself to ship something groundbreaking every single day, the whole thing got so much lighter. Progress doesn't have to look pretty.

Find your people, not your pump-up speeches.

Honestly? Reading threads like this one, following other developers' messy journeys, watching people share their tiny experiments - that stuff kept me alive way more than any flashy motivational content ever could. Knowing that everyone struggles with the same stupid problems made my own confusion feel... normal. Human.

If you start sharing little updates about your 2D adventures, I'd genuinely follow along. There's something magical about watching someone go from "I just installed Unity and everything is terrifying" to "Holy shit, I actually made something that works." It's one of the most beautiful things in this whole development world.

Hope your journey with this is long, messy, and full of those unexpected moments when everything suddenly clicks. Don't underestimate what happens when you just keep showing up, even when it's frustrating and slow. That consistency? It's quietly powerful. 💪🎮