I've spent about 10 years working in web development and I've always wanted to dive into game development. I'm thinking of starting as a hobby to see how it goes, maybe starting with something simple like a vertical shooter. I'm really curious about the transition: 1. Should I stick with JavaScript game engines like Phaser, or go for something like Godot or Unity? 2. What are the biggest mindset shifts that I should expect coming from a web background? 3. Is it advisable to keep my initial projects simple and focus on making them browser-based? I'd love to hear your thoughts and experiences on this!
5 Answers
I highly recommend starting with Godot. It's user-friendly and completely free! When I switched from web to game development, I found it helpful to follow a tutorial to build a basic game before experimenting with my own ideas. It's definitely a shift in thinking about how to design gameplay and mechanics rather than just following coding patterns.
I've been working on a personal game project too! I'm actually building my game engine from scratch. It's a great way to learn and keeps my brain engaged. It’s quite different from web development, but it helps refresh your creativity. The challenges are rewarding, for sure!
Building an engine from scratch is intense but sounds like a great learning experience! Definitely keeps things interesting!
I did the same transition and found that thinking about game structure and time management is very different from web development. It's also about simplifying your first projects, focusing on core mechanics instead of getting bogged down in complexities.
That makes sense! Keeping things simple will definitely help in the beginning. Appreciate your perspective!
For a web focus, tools like Three.js can be great, but remember that they require a lot more coding since there's no editor to help you out. Godot is a better choice for easing into game dev with its various language bindings if you're concerned about JavaScript.
Thanks for the heads-up about Three.js! I think I’ll lean towards Godot for its versatility. Sounds like it’ll make the learning process smoother.
I went straight to Godot and Unreal after trying Phaser. Honestly, while Phaser is decent for browser games, I found it limiting compared to native engines. The biggest shift for me was realizing how much more complex game development is than web development. You'll be focusing a lot more on gameplay and less on design patterns. And keep your first projects simple to get a feel for the whole process!
Interesting point about Phaser being limiting. I thought it would be an easier transition, but maybe I'll go with a native engine instead. Thanks for the insight!
Thanks! I've been hearing a lot about Godot. You mentioned a mindset shift; what was the biggest hurdle for you transitioning from web?