With booming technological innovations, game development has seen huge advances in console design, sound and graphics, and content creation. Video game development is also now easier and more accessible than ever before. Where game designers previously needed a degree and access to proprietary software, now hopeful developers can create their own high-quality games from home. Check out these five free or low-cost resources that video game design enthusiasts can use to learn about coding, development, and designing on their own time.
Twine
Twine is an open-source program that allows users to make interactive adventure-style games using basic code and syntax. The most simple stories don’t require developers to write any code, but as users advance their skills, they can modify their stories with variables, images, CSS, and JavaScript. Users can then export their project in HTML format and share it across different platforms — all for free.
Lazy Foo’ Tutorials
For new video game developers looking to learn more about coding and graphics, Lazy Foo’ is a great resource. The site features articles on video game design and introductory tutorials to SDL and OpenGL graphics programming for 2D and 3D game development in C++ language. Lazy Foo’s tutorials are all free, and there are links to forums where beginners can ask questions or participate in general discussion about all things game development.
Tutorials on Unity
Unity is one of the most popular game development tools for independent designers. The cross-platform game engine can be used to create engaging 2D and 3D games for computers, traditional consoles, and mobile devices. Unity also offers tons of tutorials for creators to learn all about video game design. From a beginner’s guide to Unity to advanced programming with C#, Unity is a one-stop shop for game development. Unity is free for personal use, but members can upgrade to a paid subscription for access to more features.
Agora
Once budding developers have honed their coding and video game design skills, they can learn to tailor their games to specific platforms. Mobile games are increasingly popular and present unique challenges in the development process, such as integrated communications. Agora is a real-time communications (RTC) platform that offers coding solutions for adding voice and video features to mobile games. Agora’s Quick Start Guide is a helpful step-by-step roadmap to RTC in game design and creation. The first 10,000 minutes each month are free, and their pay-as-you-go format is a good option for independent developers and hobbyists.
GameDev.net
One of the most helpful resources for beginning developers can be other, more experienced developers. GameDev is an online global community of game developers. The site features articles for beginners, but the forums provide an immersive educational experience and can be used to explore more advanced topics and questions. There are three membership tiers, but the most basic is just $3.99 per month.
Online resources have virtually eliminated the need to go to school to learn how to design and develop video games. Whether an amateur game designer or experienced programmer, developers can now create their own high-quality video games from home.
Photograph by Simplu27