An artist who learns some coding will have an easier time making a decent looking game than a programmer that learns a bit of art, strictly speaking from a totally solo perspective.
Programming is a hard skill; it's measurable and quantifiable. It can be taught.
However, while art techniques can also be taught, taste *cannot* be taught (it can be developed and acquired, but not really conventionally 'taught' like a skill), and it's one of the hardest things to sort of 'catch' if you don't already have it, and it's already a difficult, nebulous thing to quantify in the first place.
When you think of an amazing, famous creative, it's usually because of their *taste* as much as it is their technical skill at their craft. Kinda like that person you know who *always* knew how to dress and was stylish, even since they were a kid or whatever?
For that reason I always considered an artist that learns programming an easier thing than the other way around.
It's honestly "easier" to go with a nocode engine like Construct and learn to work with that if you're an artist, then to go and try creating art/illustrations/etc. if you're a developer without any artistic skill. I can't even draw a stickman properly, I am so bad at illustrating anything
im an artist and learnt some coding but feel like my games are decent looking but not that fun, coders who learn a bit of art are way better at making an enjoyable game.
I kinda agree, an artist will have an easier marketing than the programmer
People tend to stop and look at something pretty
The programmer will have better gameplay/demos most of the time, but if nobody tries your game then it doesn't matter if your gameplay is smooth and rich
Honestly its better to be an artist getting into gamedev than a programmer especially if you are doing it solo. People will buy or reject games on its artwork alone, but no one knows if the game is programmed well until after its been downloaded, but no one is going to download it if its butt ugly.
Theres plenty of engine choices to choose from, some with very little coding required. Find what fits your need and use that.
Yes absolutely. Check out this artist who is making a beautiful game with 2D art.
[https://www.crimsonhollowgame.com/](https://www.crimsonhollowgame.com/)
When I went to video game they seemed to be more interested in my gesture drawings then 3D. I did fool around with some animation programs however but having a good fundamental of art like perspective and proportions got me in. I knew nothing about Maya or Zbrush at the time I didn't even know how to make a box before I got in.
Nice to meet you. Recently, I self-studied game development and was able to release my first game. My main job was completely unrelated to game development. Now, since you can get the necessary information for game development from the internet, I think it is worth the challenge.
There are programming methods easier on artists. I learned thru visual scripting mostly. But evolved to the point i do c# no problem.
I started out as an artist ,always identified as an artists..
But what is essential is to be eager to learn new skills. This is the magic.
If you are intimidated by coding development and are looking for a magic bullet that will allow you to stick with the skills you already have, then no, not even AI can get you to creating games that match your vision.
Eagerness to explore , to grow , the joy of accomplishment technical, artistically , emotionally and so forth, this is the magic bullet that will get your there.
The question isn't 'can I make games without learning the skills needed'..
The question is
'CAN I LEARN THE SKILLS NEEDED?'
Absofuckinglutely you can.. And it's easier than ever.. But you gotta switch your brain out of ' I cannot do this, I don't wanna do this, I wanna stay in my own niche' mindset. That's gonna handicap you in whatever direction you go.
Cuz everything around you changes and you gotta be ahead of the wave, not behind it unmoving, cuz then you'll drown..
I just meant that if you are not interested in learning new skills, be it coding or whatever, then AI won't magically make up for the lack of enthousiasm for new skills.
You gotta be eager to discover new skills and expand your skills.
Even in a world where that wasn't required and AI magically poops out your dreams' desire, you'll still need skills to maximize your dream's desire for your audience, to tell the best stories, to outperform the next dupe with AI.
Skill is never going to go away, learning and expanding yourself is never going to go away.
Sitting still and sticking to whatever skills you already have and are comfortable with is a ticket to nowhere..
That said, when everybody has AI, its ultimately not going to make some unskilled someobody a millionaire without effort, cuz its a level playing field. Whats gonna make a difference,,,,, skill and the willingness to get better at things.
that never changes. the playing field may evolve, but competition doesn't change..
Definitely. I think picking up code is easier than picking up art. Especially with the tools available nowadays.
As long as you don't have a problem with learning a bit of math and running some calculations with pen and paper (although nowadays AI can do that too) you should be fine
You'll probably have to learn some programming/scripting. How deep you need to get into it depends on what kind of game you are trying to make.
The good news is that even with lousy code, if you hammer away at it long enough to get it to work, in the end result game, the player will only see that it works. They won't see how ugly the code is.
But with lousy art, the player can see exactly how ugly it is. You can't really hide it.
Lots of good and successful games have absolute disasters of a code base. It's not ideal, but it's workable. Having a game be successful with a disaster of art assets is a lot tougher.
As just an artist - kind of? There are easy to use engines out there (construct, GameMaker) which need minimal to zero programming, and you can "code" using just graphical logic blocks.
The Binding of Isaac (the original flash version) was designed and drawn by Edmund McMillen, but it was \*coded\* by Florian Himsl - as I understand it, the designs and how things behaved were thought up by Edmund, with Florian simply coding it. I'm not sure how much influence Florian had on the final design, but there's probably a reason it's mainly considered Edmund's game.
So, while it's not impossible, it's probably a good idea to learn at least a tiny bit of code, at least if you've already got the artistic skills. You're lucky in a way - I'm a fantastic coder, but my art skills are amateurish at best, which makes my designs reliant on others for presentation.
BTW - there are great games out there with terrible code - I've heard that all of the dialog in Undertale was stored in a single "switch statement", which blew my mind lol.
P.S. If you want a starting point, I recommend the Godot game engine - the custom language GDScript is quite easy to pick up.
A bit more specific advice. If you are also decent at writing (dialogue in particular), then visual novels (made in RenPy for example) could be a type of game that makes use of your 2D art skills the most.
RenPy is also a good stepping stone towards learning to code; the programming language it uses is based on Python which is great for beginners, and it's almost like writing a theater play, it feels more like writing with stage directions than recreating reality with code.
There's lots of things that go into making games beyond coding and music. Stuff like knowing where to publish, how to make marketing materials for a game, how to make game trailers, how to make concept art for a game, etc, which will be applicable no matter which type of game you're making, and which you can learn as you make games.
Yes, it’s possible. Probably best example would be “Undertale”. The codebase of it is a complete mess, but it doesn’t have to be something pristine done by all the coding standards by an experienced developer. And it was a huge success.
Just try making games. With a wide selection of tutorials, engines and built-in help functions (e.g. blueprints in UE) - it’s never been easier.
I started making games last year in pretty much the same situation.
I followed tutorials for making basic game mechanics and used my own art for assets and narrative. I was worth it, I learned some basic coding skills and finished the projects. As you are making it, you'll find things you want to work different and you'll have to get in there and mess with the code. You'll get a ton of stuff wrong but you'll learn a lot.
Also, join jams! learn how other people solve stuff and meet other artists. Learning alone it's doable but things are always better with friends :)
Yes. I'm an artist(2d only and even worse, a weeb) and I had the same questions and worries years ago about entering a computer science uni to survive.
I'm a programmer and a 3D artist. Being an artist requires to have observation skill, while programming require to decompose problems, and you need to teach to a baby (the computer) the most elementary rules. If you are prepared to think like a programmer, stop following tutorials an start reading the official documentation of Unity and other game engines. You need to dedicate the right time to learn how to develop games. They are just software, so you can read programming books for learning the basics.
An artist who learns some coding will have an easier time making a decent looking game than a programmer that learns a bit of art, strictly speaking from a totally solo perspective.
I've heard both....
Both have their own advantages for different kind of games. The key is to design the game around the strengths.
What I see artists end up making is good looking games with primitive gameplay.
Programming is a hard skill; it's measurable and quantifiable. It can be taught. However, while art techniques can also be taught, taste *cannot* be taught (it can be developed and acquired, but not really conventionally 'taught' like a skill), and it's one of the hardest things to sort of 'catch' if you don't already have it, and it's already a difficult, nebulous thing to quantify in the first place. When you think of an amazing, famous creative, it's usually because of their *taste* as much as it is their technical skill at their craft. Kinda like that person you know who *always* knew how to dress and was stylish, even since they were a kid or whatever? For that reason I always considered an artist that learns programming an easier thing than the other way around.
i guess you mean for a successful game not just a game in general
It's honestly "easier" to go with a nocode engine like Construct and learn to work with that if you're an artist, then to go and try creating art/illustrations/etc. if you're a developer without any artistic skill. I can't even draw a stickman properly, I am so bad at illustrating anything
im an artist and learnt some coding but feel like my games are decent looking but not that fun, coders who learn a bit of art are way better at making an enjoyable game.
You either overestimate the ability to code of an artist or the ability to draw of a programmer
I kinda agree, an artist will have an easier marketing than the programmer People tend to stop and look at something pretty The programmer will have better gameplay/demos most of the time, but if nobody tries your game then it doesn't matter if your gameplay is smooth and rich
Yes, it's possible. You just have to make a simple game that plays to your strengths
Yes you can, undertale was made by a artist who picked up gamemaker
Honestly its better to be an artist getting into gamedev than a programmer especially if you are doing it solo. People will buy or reject games on its artwork alone, but no one knows if the game is programmed well until after its been downloaded, but no one is going to download it if its butt ugly. Theres plenty of engine choices to choose from, some with very little coding required. Find what fits your need and use that.
Yes absolutely. Check out this artist who is making a beautiful game with 2D art. [https://www.crimsonhollowgame.com/](https://www.crimsonhollowgame.com/)
When I went to video game they seemed to be more interested in my gesture drawings then 3D. I did fool around with some animation programs however but having a good fundamental of art like perspective and proportions got me in. I knew nothing about Maya or Zbrush at the time I didn't even know how to make a box before I got in.
There’s some really good free software out nowadays, you could probably make a visual novel pretty easily
Nice to meet you. Recently, I self-studied game development and was able to release my first game. My main job was completely unrelated to game development. Now, since you can get the necessary information for game development from the internet, I think it is worth the challenge.
There are programming methods easier on artists. I learned thru visual scripting mostly. But evolved to the point i do c# no problem. I started out as an artist ,always identified as an artists.. But what is essential is to be eager to learn new skills. This is the magic. If you are intimidated by coding development and are looking for a magic bullet that will allow you to stick with the skills you already have, then no, not even AI can get you to creating games that match your vision. Eagerness to explore , to grow , the joy of accomplishment technical, artistically , emotionally and so forth, this is the magic bullet that will get your there. The question isn't 'can I make games without learning the skills needed'.. The question is 'CAN I LEARN THE SKILLS NEEDED?' Absofuckinglutely you can.. And it's easier than ever.. But you gotta switch your brain out of ' I cannot do this, I don't wanna do this, I wanna stay in my own niche' mindset. That's gonna handicap you in whatever direction you go. Cuz everything around you changes and you gotta be ahead of the wave, not behind it unmoving, cuz then you'll drown..
You’re right but wrong about AI.
I just meant that if you are not interested in learning new skills, be it coding or whatever, then AI won't magically make up for the lack of enthousiasm for new skills. You gotta be eager to discover new skills and expand your skills. Even in a world where that wasn't required and AI magically poops out your dreams' desire, you'll still need skills to maximize your dream's desire for your audience, to tell the best stories, to outperform the next dupe with AI. Skill is never going to go away, learning and expanding yourself is never going to go away. Sitting still and sticking to whatever skills you already have and are comfortable with is a ticket to nowhere.. That said, when everybody has AI, its ultimately not going to make some unskilled someobody a millionaire without effort, cuz its a level playing field. Whats gonna make a difference,,,,, skill and the willingness to get better at things. that never changes. the playing field may evolve, but competition doesn't change..
Yes.
I am working on my own game at the moment. Slow phase. But getting there. I definitely say it's possible. But it aren't easy either
You can start a project without much programming knowledge. But you will have programming knowledge when you finished it.
Definitely. I think picking up code is easier than picking up art. Especially with the tools available nowadays. As long as you don't have a problem with learning a bit of math and running some calculations with pen and paper (although nowadays AI can do that too) you should be fine
Everything is possible. But it's hard. Don't expect it to be easy. Learn learn learn learn.
Without any knowledge? Of course not. You need to know how to do it
You'll probably have to learn some programming/scripting. How deep you need to get into it depends on what kind of game you are trying to make. The good news is that even with lousy code, if you hammer away at it long enough to get it to work, in the end result game, the player will only see that it works. They won't see how ugly the code is. But with lousy art, the player can see exactly how ugly it is. You can't really hide it. Lots of good and successful games have absolute disasters of a code base. It's not ideal, but it's workable. Having a game be successful with a disaster of art assets is a lot tougher.
As just an artist - kind of? There are easy to use engines out there (construct, GameMaker) which need minimal to zero programming, and you can "code" using just graphical logic blocks. The Binding of Isaac (the original flash version) was designed and drawn by Edmund McMillen, but it was \*coded\* by Florian Himsl - as I understand it, the designs and how things behaved were thought up by Edmund, with Florian simply coding it. I'm not sure how much influence Florian had on the final design, but there's probably a reason it's mainly considered Edmund's game. So, while it's not impossible, it's probably a good idea to learn at least a tiny bit of code, at least if you've already got the artistic skills. You're lucky in a way - I'm a fantastic coder, but my art skills are amateurish at best, which makes my designs reliant on others for presentation. BTW - there are great games out there with terrible code - I've heard that all of the dialog in Undertale was stored in a single "switch statement", which blew my mind lol. P.S. If you want a starting point, I recommend the Godot game engine - the custom language GDScript is quite easy to pick up.
A bit more specific advice. If you are also decent at writing (dialogue in particular), then visual novels (made in RenPy for example) could be a type of game that makes use of your 2D art skills the most. RenPy is also a good stepping stone towards learning to code; the programming language it uses is based on Python which is great for beginners, and it's almost like writing a theater play, it feels more like writing with stage directions than recreating reality with code. There's lots of things that go into making games beyond coding and music. Stuff like knowing where to publish, how to make marketing materials for a game, how to make game trailers, how to make concept art for a game, etc, which will be applicable no matter which type of game you're making, and which you can learn as you make games.
I think that a visual novel is the best, it looks like the easiest for me. I've learnt a bit of Python. Thanks !
Yeah, a mechanically simple game that leans into your art style would be best.
I was thinking about a "small open world" game where you just... explore. Could be the easiest. Well the easiest is a visual novel.
Yeah a walking sim is a good genre for this. Eastshade might provide some inspiration.
Yes, it’s possible. Probably best example would be “Undertale”. The codebase of it is a complete mess, but it doesn’t have to be something pristine done by all the coding standards by an experienced developer. And it was a huge success. Just try making games. With a wide selection of tutorials, engines and built-in help functions (e.g. blueprints in UE) - it’s never been easier.
Check the game The First Tree, it was solo made by an artist.
I've played that game ! The atmosphere and the narrative story is really good. Plus the game looks "easy" to code.
He made it with visual scripting and I think he used PlayMaker to do it so he didn't really code the game.
I started making games last year in pretty much the same situation. I followed tutorials for making basic game mechanics and used my own art for assets and narrative. I was worth it, I learned some basic coding skills and finished the projects. As you are making it, you'll find things you want to work different and you'll have to get in there and mess with the code. You'll get a ton of stuff wrong but you'll learn a lot. Also, join jams! learn how other people solve stuff and meet other artists. Learning alone it's doable but things are always better with friends :)
I've heard of jams I should really do it one day !
Yes. I'm an artist(2d only and even worse, a weeb) and I had the same questions and worries years ago about entering a computer science uni to survive.
Yes you can, I think phantom rose is a game made by an artist, a sequel even came out this year i think
I'm a programmer and a 3D artist. Being an artist requires to have observation skill, while programming require to decompose problems, and you need to teach to a baby (the computer) the most elementary rules. If you are prepared to think like a programmer, stop following tutorials an start reading the official documentation of Unity and other game engines. You need to dedicate the right time to learn how to develop games. They are just software, so you can read programming books for learning the basics.