Sharing my story: made games without knowing what I’m doing

fatpossum
Sun, 25 May 2025 14:15:46 +0000
Game Dev Chat/Discussions

Hey everyone, I’m 36 and just wanted to introduce myself. Years ago, I dabbled a bit with batch code and GB Studio. Around 2023, thanks to ChatGPT, I started playing around with Python for fun - first with Pygame. Eventually, I got hooked on a project and decided to use Kivy, since it seemed simple enough for my idea (even though I honestly barely understand what I’m doing).

I’ve realized it’s probably better to learn programming properly from the ground up rather than just copy-pasting stuff. I even have a great Python book, but I’m just not reading enough. My code structure is a total mess.

At first, I wanted to release my project on Android - figured the Play Store only costs $20 once, so why not? To test things on my phone, I started a simpler side project, but that quickly became too much because a) I lack real knowledge, and b) I get lost in useless details. I also learned that mobile games aren’t as easy as they seem, so I decided to shift the main project to PC.

Still, I kept working on the mobile game, but that wasn’t possible without outside help. I noticed that things running fine on PC can look completely different on mobile - and what works on one phone might break on another, depending on the code. Total chaos! Meanwhile, yet another side project popped up.

After investing quite a bit in a Kivy expert from India (who also struggled with my messy code), the next big hurdle was publishing to the Play Store. That alone turned out to be a whole different beast. Honestly, if I had known all this beforehand, I might not have started.

Anyway, both apps are now on the Play Store, though no one really cares about them - which is fair. They’re simple and cost a dollar/euro in richer countries. I just wanted to try my luck and maybe earn a little through ad-free games (I’d love to quit my social job one day - but that’s another story :D).

Still, I’m proud to have made it this far - with a lot of help. Now it’s time to focus on the main project, though the planned release for August 8, 2025 (World Cat Day) probably won’t happen. I’m going through a tough time personally and don’t have the energy to finish it right now. Maybe I should’ve started with something less complex - this game is packed with complicated formulas.

If you want, feel free to check it out. By the way, I used AI-generated graphics in both games. I know some people criticize that - there’s definitely room for improvement - but I enjoy using it for my projects. I’m also happy to send out free Android codes if anyone’s interested. And if you have ideas for beginner-friendly coding projects for someone with limited brain bandwidth, I’m all ears Feedback and honest opinions are more than welcome!

Here are my games (well, one of them is more of a button meme app):

Purrfect Galaxies (Steam)
Meowglider (Android)
Mobile Doomer Simulator (Android)

2 posts - 2 participants