If you have no programming experience, I’d recommend using an engine like Unity or Godot. The best advice I can give is to find the option that lets you focus the most on game development. It’s easy to get overwhelmed when trying to pick the perfect game engine or framework. On the other hand, because they are more lightweight, they often give you more freedom to structure your code and your game as you desire. And as your game grows, they often lack some of the complex features useful to more mature games (which game engines provide). They provide all of the functions you need to create your game and get something that shows up on the screen, but they require a lot more setup.

Frameworks and libraries are usually only code, written in existing programming languages.

Game engines (like Unity or Unreal) typically come with graphical interfaces and the most built-in functionality.

The next step is to figure out what engine, framework, or library you want to use. And having a completed game, no matter how small, will help you stay motivated to keep learning.

Making simple games like this is the best way to start growing.

At the core, all you need is simple player movement, the ability to jump, and a win condition. Do you want to make a platformer? You can probably get by without any enemies, fancy mechanics, or moving platforms. The best way to start learning game dev is to pick a simple idea or genre and narrow it down to the very core features it needs to be playable. It’s like learning the piano - you have to start with easy, simple songs and gradually expand into more challenging pieces. Game development is a difficult skill that grows with practice. Unfortunately, you’re not ready for something complex. And if you’re interested in something like Civilization or Stardew Valley, you might want to dive into a similar project right from the start. New game developers are often inspired by the games they like to play. I’ll also describe how to choose the right library or framework and what actually matters for a beginner game developer. To set you on the right path, I’ll share the process that’s worked for me. This means that indie game developers can create games that wouldn’t have been possible even a decade ago, but it can also make it very overwhelming to get started. There are more tools and resources available for indie game development than ever before.

How to create your own game studio