Hello r/gamedev,

Ken Williams, here. I’m currently operating a new gaming company, Cygnus Entertainment,  and could use some fresh perspectives on our game “Colossal Cave 3D”.  Roberta and I (known from Sierra On-Line) developed the game. Initially, the game faced some launch issues which were reflected in its reviews, but we've since made significant improvements.  While the game is vastly improved, we’re held hostage by those early reviews.

Currently, our marketing efforts aren't yielding the desired results, and I'm looking for constructive criticism on how to better position the game for players.

In many ways, I don’t want to be too granular in the request, in the hopes that one of you looks through our various social media platforms, website, sales pages, etc. and offers a compelling, unique spin that we’ve overlooked from being “too close to it”.

If you have experience in game marketing or just a keen eye for what makes a compelling store page, I'd appreciate your insights. Here are some areas where I'm seeking feedback:

• Visual Appeal: What do our current presentations convey? Is it engaging enough?
• Information Hierarchy: Is the information presented in the most effective order?
• Marketing Copy: Does our current copy capture the essence of the game? Is there room for improvement in terms of clarity or persuasion?
• Call to Action: Are our CTAs strong, or are there better ways to encourage engagement?
• User Reviews: How should we address or highlight the improvements made since launch? 

Any feedback, even if brief, would be incredibly valuable. Please feel free to send me a direct message if you'd like to discuss in more detail or if you prefer not to comment publicly. Thank you for your time and insights!

I've seen different discussions on whether or not it's worth it to build on MAC, but if we have a MAC machine handy to build the game and it'll roughly take a week or so to compile and work on whatever kinks pop up, shouldn't it be worth the extra potential reach either way?

Besides the low % of gamers on MAC, are there a list of cons we should be aware of?

I've been trying to learn game design for a while now...and frankly I just think I'm stuck at a roadblock. Maybe its an issue of effort, or just how I am with learning...but I'm not the best when it comes to things like programming. And I'm sure the right resources are out there. But the problem is, I can't seem to really piece them together.

For example, there's a lot of tutorials based on 2D movement, combat, creating enemies, tilemaps, having checkpoints, etc....

But its hard for me to get any further than that. People say '"just practice programming", but I guess I've just hit a block. I'm stuck at the point of just creating single level tech-demos, and nothing further. I want to learn to create an actual game, with multiple levels, a save system, dialogue for both static and active NPCs, cutscenes, etc.

I know that for the more experienced devs here, that sounds extremely basic, but I really am having trouble getting farther than character movement.

So, I was hoping maybe some of the community here would have some good resources to help me. Any answer is appreciated!

Hello, I started working as the main 3d modeller on a game project, and i was wondering if there was any legal risk in modelling characters after real, relatively known people. We wouldn´t be using their names or any other reference to them, but it would be close enough that if I made a character to look like, let´s say, dwayne johnson, most people would be able to tell. It would be nice if it was possible because I have a bunch of faces of actors and youtubers I did for sculpting practice since there´s so much available footage for reference of them, that I could repurpose as NPCs

I’m exploring resources for learning C++ and came across Learncpp.com. It looks like it covers a broad range of topics, from beginner to advanced levels, and includes examples and exercises. But I’m wondering—how effective is it?

For anyone who’s used it, does Learncpp.com explain complex C++ concepts clearly? Is it up-to-date with the latest C++ standards, and does it offer enough practical exercises to build real skills? I’d love to hear your experiences or any recommendations for alternative resources if there’s something better out there.

The title, basically.
Is Chris Zukovski's article on the topic still relevant?

I’m posting this here because I’ve seen posts on Reddit suggesting it’s possible to release a game in early access and then still participate in Next Fest. I’m sharing this to help you avoid making an irreversible mistake!

At first, I didn’t realize the importance of the festival, so I launched my game in early access. When I learned how valuable it was, I wanted to participate, but I received an official response that it isn’t allowed.

Details below ⬇

--- ✉️ My request ✉️

Hello! Could you please help me set up my game page and participate in the "Next" festival?

The game Oasis Mission is currently in early access. I want to set the full release date for March 2025 and participate in the "Next" festival in February.

I’m having trouble setting this up. The festival page states, "The game is already released," and on the game page, I only have the options to release the "Full Version Now."

--- ✉️ Steam support answer ✉️

Hi,

Thanks for reaching out. Unfortunately only unreleased titles are eligible for Steam Next Fest. Since the game is already in Early Access, the game is not eligible for the Next Fest.

https://partner.steamgames.com/doc/marketing/upcoming_events/nextfest

Please let us know if you have any further questions.

Steam Support

Hey guys.

I'm in the interview process for the role of Senior QA Game Tester at EA. I've completed the first interview round and will have the second one coming up soon. I was told that it would be with 2 of the company's quality designers. What kind of questions can I expect them to ask? I imagine it would be something to the effect of wanting to know my general process for identifying and reporting bugs. Unfortunately I'm having a tough time finding sufficient info specifically on "quality game designers" online (the search keeps bringing it back to "game designer" in general). Does their role differ that much differently from game designer?

I am currently reading a 3D math primer book by u/FletcherDunn and I am enjoying it.

I got confused on coordinate spaces upright and object space. There is a mention that axis for object space are by definition [1, 0], [0, 1] and upright are rotated (https://gamemath.com/book/multiplespaces.html#specifying\_spaces). This is a 2D example.

But in the image example upright is the one which has no rotation but object one is angled to the side.

If someone here understands this please explain to me if possible.

Hello fellow Game Dev, as the title say, I’m interested in Game Development and Software Engineering

But yeah…. , i couldn’t afford University

Is there a source or self-learning course for learning Computer Science from Beginner to Professional Level

Does anyone know how to create a dynamic difficulty adjustment (DDA) feature based on user performance and biofeedback data in Unity? I saw some plugins that can assist with DDA, but unfortunately, older versions cannot be used.

What are features that you see as essential to modern, complex dialog software?

Hello, apologies in advance for saying AI out loud, I know it can be taboo around these parts. But in my case I'm not talking "stolen art assets" or anything like that, but instead I'm curious if there are any tools that don't require api keys or massive amounts of ram and storage to integrate a language model or similar into npc behavior, just for fun. I think it would add some nice variety to the colony sim I'm working on but I don't know where to begin or if there's a "top dog" for this sort of thing, or if it's feasible at all. Does anyone have any experience with this? It would just be for a simple ish pixel game, nothing especially complicated or fancy. I'm just envisioning a wealth of custom simple dialogue and maybe even some light decision making

Hi everyone,
I’m a third-year software engineering student with a strong interest in developing a story-driven game where players can make choices for the main character, impacting the storyline. I’m a big fan of novels and have written many of my own stories, so I’d love to bring them into a game format. I’m currently familiar with iOS development using SwiftUI and UIKit, and I’m curious to know if creating an interactive story game is feasible with my skill set.

Additionally, I’m interested in whether it’s possible to monetize this type of game, perhaps with in-app purchases or ads. If anyone has experience with similar projects or advice on getting started, I’d be grateful for your insights.
Thanks so much!

I’m developing a 3D game in Unity for Android, currently with 56 levels. Initially, with 35 levels, my APK size was about 137 MB, but after adding 21 more levels, it increased to 251 MB. We plan to scale the game up to 1,000 levels, which could result in an APK size of several gigabytes—an impractical situation for users.

Goals:

• Keep the APK size below 100 MB.
• Implement progressive downloads so that players download levels as they progress.
• Ensure future levels can be added without significantly increasing the APK size or requiring large bulk downloads.

Current Setup:

• Levels are loaded as prefabs in an array and included in the APK.
• No system is currently in place for remote downloads or progressive loading.

Questions:

1. What methods can I use to manage level content efficiently so players only download levels when needed?
2. How can I implement Unity Addressables or Asset Bundles to achieve minimalistic and progressive downloads?
3. What best practices should I follow for hosting and dynamically downloading assets while keeping the user experience smooth?

Considerations:

• The solution should be seamless for the player, involving minimal wait times and no overwhelming download prompts.
• Ideally, the system should allow adding new levels post-release without requiring users to download the entire APK again.

Any advice, code samples, or resources would be greatly appreciated.

Basically, im going to make a simple walk and talk adventure game, and would like to know if tis better to use unreal engine or rpgmaker, its gonna be a 2d game, and i would like to use unreal's lighting and blueprints system, however rpgmaker is more simple, but doesn't look that good. Also ive heard about rpg paper maker. What engine should i use if i dont know how to program?

Hi i was wondering will this laptop be able to handle making sprites and 2D games on game maker im looking for a 2 in 1 laptop so i can also use it as a drawing tablet and yes before you say the usual “just get a computer and a drawing tablet” i wanna take this thing on the go without all the wires and crap that you have to if you get a drawing tablet and computer if you guys have any alternatives that are 2 in 1 that would be great thank you^^

A long time ago I used to be the kind of person who said "I just make zip backups of my projects" before I realised how useful Unity Version Control was for reverting breaking changes and experimentation, but I wasn't happy with how quickly storage (and subsequently, costs) scaled up.

So I did a bit of shopping around and landed on Azure DevOps. It's free for an unlimited number of repos of unlimited sizes (provided GIT LFS is used correctly), you can bring 4 other collaborators on for free, and it almost feels as native as Unity Version Control did. I'm loving the heck out of it.

In fact, I love it so much I've started using it for other purposes. I'm taking part in NaNoWriMo this month writing a 50,000 word novel - The kind of thing a cloud-based version control system is perfect for! Now my projects are retrievable anywhere I have access to Sourcetree and I don't have to worry about losing progress or making destructive changes. I just commit the changes as I go with clear milestone comments, it's great.

The Sims 4 doesn't have cloud saving? Version control. Eheh. Clone the repo over the normal save data locations on each device and now I just need to push and pull my saves anytime I move between the two.

And most recently I've moved to a portable installation of OBS for streaming and recording gameplay, however it needs to be system agnostic so it's setup in such a way that it can go between devices and automatically grab the correct microphones and webcams, all of my sources and assets travel with it, etc. I used to handle this with an external drive but now... I just version control it :P Which also comes with the benefit of - if an update breaks any of my plugins or extensions or if I break something, I can just revert back to a previous known-good commit and I'm working correctly again within minutes.

I freaking love version control. It's like having a free cloud-based time machine/teleporter for my important data.

IF YOU ARE NOT USING VERSION CONTROL FOR YOUR CURRENT GAMEDEV PROJECT, FOR THE LOVE OF GOD SET IT UP. I love this setup so much it's got me feeling giddy in the nerdiest way.

I just looked at zbrush pricing, and it's crazy how far they went. I'm considering 3d coat because it's sculpting tools look pretty solid, but the question is "if I will be really good at sculpting and texturing characters, will the software be a real problem while searching for a job?". Because if the answer is not, I'll just buy 3d coat, but if it's not, I think that zbrush is the only option right now.

I made a website that curates various tools for game development, design, and art. I'm hoping it can serve as a helpful resource. I'm still adding more, so there are definitely some essential tools missing. I'd love to get your feedback and hear your recommendations on tools I should include. Any suggestions are welcome!

Here's the link: https://gamedevtools.pro/

If this post violates any community rules, I'm sorry and will definitely delete it.

Thanks!

I working on a rogue like, and need some feedback on that, mostly on gameplay and visual(the sprite that i use are from a asset). The game is only a prototype. Here is the link: https://mychical-games09.itch.io/project-dungeon

Hi awesome GameDev community!

I'm planning to build PC VR game (currently in end design stage).
Game is kind of rail shooter. Fast-pased.
Semi-realistic style (closer to realistic, maybe slightly stylized). Fantasy setting.
Primary environment is forest. There will be up to 10 humanoid characters on screen at a time. There will be occasional VFX.

Please share your experience, underwater rocks, suggestions.

-What difficulties you encountered when you were working on such projects?
-Are polygon count a big issue? Do impostors help? Are there any other solutions?
-I somewhat concerned about trees. Not sure how to handle them.
-Can you suggest any articles, courses related to this topic?
-Is there a preference between Unity and UE?

Thank you for sharing in advance!

Hello! We are a team of students in game development, and we want to work on a game that we hope to publish in the near future. We have a few game ideas but can’t decide on one, so we prepared a survey to find out which idea appeals to you the most.

Survey link: https://forms.gle/FRX4sbr9327MY9Wu5

Thanks in advance!

Edit: We will provide the end result in a week under this post.

Any tips to make my page better? Does the game seem to fit the genre I've assigned it to? Can you tell by looking at gameplay? Do the screenshots look too samey? Does it look polished? Please just say whatever comes to your mind first and don't worry about being nice.

https://store.steampowered.com/app/3342610/Bloodmoon/

I am currently given the opportunity to test a game that is on alpha. Problem is this game is on kickstarter and the devs only promised a beta build to the backers. This Alpha build was unannounced and was probably conceived to mitigate the game development's delays as a way for the devs to be more transparent and accountable as well as getting more feedback on their game. The problem is escalated due to the fact that the people who would get access to this build are people who have spent a lot of money to back the game, people who have engaged a lot in the discord server, and people who won it in a giveaway they did. This has made a lot of middle backers or non-expensive backers confused and dissatisfied, despite being promised a beta, because non backers would get the privilege of getting alpha. How would you fix this predicament and perhaps in the future how would you properly distribute this sort of inpromptu alpha access?

Hi fellow game devs! This question is going to be pretty open-ended, so I appreciate all replies below!

So basically, I've done some research on starting indie game development, and I’m feeling a bit overwhelmed. Should I use this? Should I use that? Is this too "advanced" for me?

For context, I don’t have any studies in game development, but I do have an extensive "Lore Book" (as I call it) with story ideas, characters, sketches, and more for a game I would LOVE to make someday.

The thing is, I have no idea where to start with creating this game, so any guidance would be muchly appreciated. I don’t mind if I have to spend some money in programs or tools, I just want to fulfill this dream that I have, if that makes sense.

Thanks in advance!

Hello everyone,

Since i was in highschool (5 years ago) i wanted to create a tactical-rpg like fire emblem, but with multiple-tile ships (1x3 for example)

I have a really strong idea of what core of gameplay and features i'd like to implement, even some lore and characters

BUT, i never programmed in my life (the best i did was tinkering with rpg maker MV) and when an opportunity appeared to take programming course, the demonstration showed me a very wonky version of pong and i dismissed it at the time since i was NOT impressed.

Do any of you have any idea where i could start or tips that could help me ?

Thanks in advance

In light of the new Anti-cheat introduced - Battleye - and seeing a fair amount of people having issues with it, I've been thinking about another approach that some players could be less averse to as opposed to a root/kernel-level anti-cheat.

This might not be the very best solution, but here's a basic layout of how this could work (this solution also assumes the current peer-to-peer networking framework is still present, building on top on it):

First things first, and this is important. On first run, as part of the authentication process when logging in, have the server issue challenges/checks and validate whether the player's installation is a valid one (i.e one without any oblivious "extra compontents" lingering inside the installation directory in addition to grabbing names and hashes of all modules/DLLs loaded by doing a memory scan, with a list of running processes, hardware ID's, including file struct time stamps (like last created, last accessed, last modified) - the more data the better). When all that data is collected and hashed together, (TO CLARIFY: HASHES, not plain text data, to comply with privacy regulations) a "base hash" gets uploaded to the server as part of the player's profile. (That's where the match making servers could come in and be given additional responsibilities than just throwing players into sessions.)

Rockstar Games should know every single valid file contained within an unmodified installation, so it's not out of the realm of possibility to have clients generate file hashes/signatures for every file in an installation, to be matched with hashes (using one-way hash functions like SHA-3, SHA-256, SHA-512, etc ) already generated server-side as part of that server issued challenge-check-validation process. If for some reason a client is sending hashes/signatures that don't match what Rockstar has on their end, that whole installation and the player's account gets banned. Period. If a client has weird modules loaded that aren't part of the game when running in a vanilla state, that client/whole installation and the player's account gets banned. Period. If a client fails to respond within a prescribed time of a challenge being issued, that client/whole installation and the player's account gets banned. Period.

Moreover, while players are in sessions, have the match making servers issue additional challenge/checks to every single client on a random, periodic basis (that can be done indefinitely). If there's any discrepancy in the responses a client sends when matched with what a "clean" installation should look like (when compared to hashes the server generated and what that client sent from the initial first run/first login instance), that whole installation and the player's account gets banned. Period.

Additionally, using server-side scripts to check the databases for impossible stats should be a trivial matter (for example, if a player killed multiple enemies using a non-explosive or without rapid-fire weapon within miliseconds). I might be missing some, but I'm sure there are other stats/metrics that could be used.

To make things a little more interesting, the player's CD key could also be added to the mix for validation to be sent to the server. Once a client has passed validation, the server subsequently will send the client a new encrypted "CD Key" and will also change for each and every subsequent challenge the server gives a client. This key could then be stored as extra padding data in any of the game's files whose file path/location can also be used in the validation and will also change randomly with every challenge. The server will record the new file path, the hash of that file, and the new key. Every legitimate player will have the same files, but the file containing extra encrypted "CD key" padding will be different for everyone, and so will the hash for that file as generated and stored by the server. If any of that information is invalid, Banned.

And now for the icing on the cake so to speak. Up until now we've only talked about giving the matchmaking server more responsibilities such as validating clients, but what about the clients? Can't they play a part in the network to help boot cheaters out the network? Yes!

If all is well and hopefully every client/player in the lobby/session is validated appropriately by the server, we can have every client in the network use their validation information such as new "CD keys" to cross-validate each other. How? Well simply by sending a validation request for the matchmaking server to check all the "CD keys" clients exchange amount themselves. If a client gets a response from the server saying that another client in the network didn't pass validation, the valid clients can block/drop all network communication to/from the invalid client(s).

Ultimately, if a solution like this were to be implemented using the current peer-to-peer networking architecture as the base, it would require a revamp to the protocol with security at the forefront. The problem of cheating in video games, including this one, is in essence a security issue.

Of course, the issue of how swift or flexible such a solution must be in kicking or banning a suspected cheater is always there as no system is perfect. Honestly, if GTA VI doesn't have some type of anti-cheat solution operating in a similar manner, it's D.O.A considering online gameplay and monetization will probably be the focus again.

Now my questions to the community are:

Would you be more open to a cheat detection system as described above versus the current anticheat? For the more technical users: what is the feasibility of an anti-cheat solution like this? I'm leaning on "pretty feasible" considering the growth of computing power and AI breakthroughs from the release of this game to the present. Any other thoughts?

P.S: I am not a game developer. This is just my own personal musing as a player.

I'm trying to figure out the best way to collect logs about completing quests, starting and ending dialogues, pressing buttons, etc. Are there any functions embedded in Unity or UE on the basis of which you can write scripts, or do you have to write them from scratch? Or is there a separate software for this? Thanks