When I started making games, I had no clue what I was doing. I loved gaming. I had ideas. I had the motivation. But I also made a lot of mistakes.
Looking back, some of them were obvious. Others? Not so much. If you're just starting your game dev journey, maybe this post will help you avoid the mess I walked into.
Here are five real mistakes I made when I first started out and what I’d do differently now.
1. I Jumped In With No Plan
The excitement hit me fast. I opened up my engine, started coding, and just built whatever came to mind. No outline. No direction. No clear goal.
The problem? I had no idea where I was going. I'd change ideas halfway through. Add random features. Eventually, the project felt like a mess, and I gave up on it.
What I’d do now is simple. Before opening any tool, I take 30 minutes to write down the basics. What kind of game is it? What does the player do? What's the end goal? Just enough to stay on track.
2. I Tried to Build a Huge Game Alone
My first real idea was an open-world survival RPG. I wanted crafting, a full story, enemies, weather systems, and cutscenes. I genuinely thought I could pull it off in a few months.
Of course, I burned out. The more I added, the more broken everything became. I spent more time fixing than creating. I never finished that game.
Now I focus on small, finishable projects. If it’s my first time trying something new, I build a simple version first. Later, I can go bigger if it works.
3. I Ignored Player Feedback
I built a full prototype once and showed it to a few friends. They said it was confusing. The controls were clunky. The tutorial didn’t explain anything. I brushed it off. I thought, “They just don’t get it.”
I was wrong.
Their feedback was right. I just didn’t want to hear it. So I kept going with a broken experience. No one wanted to play it.
Today, I send early builds to friends and strangers. I watch them play. I don’t explain anything. If they get confused, I take notes and fix it. That made all the difference.
4. I Polished Too Early
Fonts. Menus. Button animations. Sounds. I spent hours making the UI look clean and the splash screen look cool. The only problem? The actual gameplay wasn’t even fun yet.
I wasted time on stuff no one cared about. And I never even released the game.
Now I keep things ugly until the core loop works. If the gameplay isn’t fun, polishing doesn’t matter. Once the game feels good to play, then I go back and make it look nice.
5. I Didn’t Study Other Games
Back then, I thought everything I made had to be 100% original. I didn’t want to copy anyone. I avoided playing other similar games, thinking it would “mess with my creativity.”
Big mistake.
Turns out, playing other games is the best way to learn. You see what works. What feels smooth. What annoys players. You understand flow, feedback, pacing, balance, and reward systems.
Now I play all kinds of games before I start a new project. I take notes. I borrow ideas that work and make them my own.
Final Thoughts
Every beginner makes mistakes. That’s part of the process. I messed up a lot. But each failure taught me something I still use today.
If you’re starting out, my best advice is simple. Build small. Listen to players. Focus on fun first. And don’t be afraid to learn from the games you already love.
You’ll get better with every project. Just keep going.
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