Start with a game design document before you write any code
A game design document is a written plan that describes what your game is, how it plays, and what happens when the player does something. You do not need professional software to make one — a Google Doc or Word file works fine. The document should answer: What is the goal the player is trying to reach? What buttons or controls do they use? What happens when they win or lose? How long does one game take to play?
Writing this down before you start building prevents you from changing your mind halfway through and throwing away weeks of work. It also gives you something to test against — if you build a feature that does not match what you wrote, you know whether to change the code or change the plan.
Your design document does not have to be long. A five-page document describing the core idea, the main character or mechanic, three to five levels or challenges, and what the player sees on screen is enough to start. You can add details later as you build.
Key Takeaways
- A game design document written before you code saves you from rebuilding features that do not fit your plan.
- Most solo developers and small teams use engines like Unity or Unreal Engine rather than building from scratch, because these engines handle graphics, sound, and physics for you.
- Your first game should be small — a single level, a short story, or a mechanic you can finish in three to six months working part-time.
- Testing your game with other people early and often catches problems you cannot see yourself, and tells you what is actually fun to play.
- Shipping a finished small game teaches you more than abandoning a large one halfway through.
Choose a game engine that matches what you want to build
Unity and Unreal Engine are the two engines most solo developers and small teams use. Both are free to download and use until your game makes money. Unity is smaller to learn and works well for 2D games, mobile games, and smaller 3D projects. Unreal Engine is more powerful for detailed 3D graphics but has a steeper learning curve.
Other options exist. Godot is free and open-source, with a simpler interface than Unity or Unreal. GameMaker is built for 2D games and is easier to learn than Unity if you are making something in that style. Pygame is a Python library that lets you build games by writing code, with no visual editor — it is good if you already know Python and want to stay in that language.
Your choice depends on what kind of game you want to make. If you are unsure, start with Unity or Godot, because both have large communities posting tutorials and answering questions online. Whichever engine you pick, you will spend your first week learning how to move a character on screen and make a button do something when you click it.
Learn the basics of your engine through tutorials and small projects
Every game engine has official tutorials on its website. For Unity, start with the "Beginner Gameplay Scripting" series on the Unity Learn platform. For Unreal Engine, the official Unreal Online Learning courses walk you through making a simple game. For Godot, the official documentation includes step-by-step guides for making a 2D platformer.
Do not try to learn everything at once. Pick one tutorial that matches your game idea — if you want to make a top-down shooter, find a tutorial about making a top-down shooter — and follow it all the way through. You will learn the engine's workflow, how to import art and sound, and how to write or arrange code that makes things happen.
After you finish one tutorial, make a small project of your own using what you learned. This might be a single room where a character can walk around and pick up objects, or a simple menu screen with buttons. The goal is to practice without the tutorial telling you every step. You will get stuck, search for answers, and learn faster by solving your own problems than by watching someone else solve them.
Build your game in small, testable pieces
Do not try to build your entire game at once. Instead, break it into the smallest working piece you can finish in one or two weeks. This might be a single level, a single mechanic, or a single character that can move and jump. Build that piece, test it, and make sure it works before you add the next piece.
This approach, called iterative development, means you always have something that plays, even if it is not finished. If you run out of time or energy, you have a complete small game instead of an incomplete large one. It also means you catch problems early — if your character's jumping feels wrong, you fix it when you have only written a few hundred lines of code, not after you have written ten thousand.
Each piece should be something you can test by yourself. Load it up, play it, and ask: Does this work the way I designed it? Is it fun? What feels wrong? Write down the answers and fix the biggest problems before you move on.
Test your game with other people and listen to what they say
You cannot see your own game the way someone else does. You know what you meant to build, so you forgive bugs and unclear instructions. Someone playing your game for the first time will get stuck on things you did not think were confusing, and will find fun in places you did not expect.
Invite friends, family, or other game developers to play your game while it is still rough. Watch them play without explaining how it works — if they need an explanation, your game needs clearer instructions. Write down what they say, what they try to do, and where they get stuck. Do not argue or defend your choices; just listen.
After several people have played it, look for patterns. If three people all tried to do the same thing and it did not work, that is a real problem. If one person did not like the music, that is one person's opinion. Fix the patterns, ignore the one-offs, and test again with new people.
Add art, sound, and polish after the game plays well
Many new developers spend weeks making beautiful art before they know if the game is fun to play. This is backwards. Build your game first with simple shapes and placeholder sounds. Make sure the game is fun and the controls feel right. Only then spend time on art and sound.
For art, you have options. You can draw it yourself using free tools like Aseprite (paid but affordable) or Krita (free). You can buy art from sites like OpenGameArt.org or itch.io, where artists sell or give away sprites, backgrounds, and animations. You can use AI image generators, though many game developers and players have opinions about this — know your audience.
For sound, Freesound.org and OpenGameArt.org have free sound effects and music. FMOD and Wwise are professional audio engines that integrate with game engines, but they are complex. Start with simple audio files and add them to your game engine — most engines have a way to play a sound when something happens.
Finish and ship your game, even if it is small
The hardest part of making a game is finishing it. Most people start games and abandon them when the work gets hard or boring. Shipping a small, complete game teaches you more than abandoning a large one halfway through.
Set a deadline — three months, six months, whatever you can commit to — and cut features if you need to in order to hit it. If you planned ten levels but you are running out of time, ship five. If you planned a story mode and a multiplayer mode, ship one. A finished game with five levels is better than an unfinished game with ten.
When your game is done, put it somewhere people can play it. itch.io is free and designed for independent games — you upload your game, write a description, and people can download or play it in a browser. Steam charges a fee to list a game but reaches a much larger audience. For mobile games, Google Play Store and Apple App Store both have submission processes.
Frequently Asked Questions
Do I need to know how to code to make a video game?
Most game engines require some coding, but you do not need to be a programmer. Unity and Unreal Engine both have visual scripting tools where you connect blocks instead of typing code. Godot uses a simple scripting language called GDScript that is easier to learn than most programming languages. GameMaker has a visual event system. Start with whichever engine has the learning style that fits you.
How long does it take to make a video game?
A small game — one level, one mechanic, or a short story — takes three to six months working part-time. A medium game takes one to two years. A large game with a team takes three to five years or more. Your first game should be small so you can actually finish it and learn what works.
Can I make a game by myself or do I need a team?
You can make a game by yourself, and many successful games started as solo projects. You will need to do art, code, sound, and design yourself, which means learning multiple skills. A small team — two to four people with different skills — can move faster, but you have to coordinate and communicate. Start solo if you want to learn everything, or find one or two people whose work you trust if you want to move faster.
What should my first game be about?
Make something you actually want to play. If you like puzzle games, make a puzzle game. If you like story games, make a story game. Do not make a game you think will sell or impress people — make a game that excites you, because you will spend months on it and you need to stay interested. Your first game does not have to be original; many successful games started as remakes or variations of games people already loved.
Where do I find free art and music for my game?
OpenGameArt.org has sprites, backgrounds, and music made by game developers and artists, most free to use. Freesound.org has sound effects. itch.io has bundles of art and music, often very cheap or free. Always check the license to make sure you can use it in your game — most free art requires you to credit the artist, which is easy to do.