None! Don't do it! It's a foolish and dogmatic way to make software, and a waste of time.
I had pretty much no experience when I started mine. "Shape" is an arbitrary thing. The shape of the tool should match the shape of your problem, and if you don't know what your problem is yet, you don't know what the…
It's funny because I have the same mantra. Make games not engines. I focus on making the game, and the engine is the thing left over at the end. But in so many ways, I have learned that a really productive game engine…
I've found that making a custom engine is more amenable to teamwork, not less. I can build a simpler level editor that I can give to a totally nontechnical person (a.k.a. my spouse), and they can go to town making…
He hasn't gotten to gameplay because it is meant to be an educational series, which means skipping the parts that don't serve the educational purpose. I've followed Casey's approach but taken a different path. Instead…
I definitely relate to the bikeshedding thing. I like what someone from Nintendo once said. "You're making a game. The engine is what's leftover when you're done." I like to think that way as well. Sure, I have a…
I would encourage you to check out Casey Muratori's Handmade Hero. I believe he does a nice job of separating platform-specific code from non-platform specific code. My engine is based on his. It has a cross-platform…
In my experience, it was easy... until I got to the part of my game that makes it unique. Then it went from easy to very very hard. That's the thing about engines. They'll get you up and running quickly for basic stuff,…
For context, it took me about a year of learning in my spare time to get to place where I could do my own cross-platform game engine, and some of that time was spent doing the code for the game itself. What exactly is…
I don't actually think it's that hard once you know how to do it. You basically make a cross-platform C library that generates the GPU commands and sounds per frame, then you just plug that into whatever platform you're…
I'll just sit back and eat popcorn as I work with my custom handmade game engine. None of this is a concern for me, and it has been refreshing to work directly with the graphics pipeline and in lower level languages…
1. Owner didn't pay me. Lots of manipulative BS. Wanted more money. 2. Startup seemed okay with me being remote at the start but weren't actually okay with it. 3. Contract ended amicably with contracting company. 4. Job…
Yeah, I'm all for unit tests when they're needed. They just aren't the first thing I'll write
Nope. I pretty much always find it to be counterproductive. Most of programming happens in the exploration phase. That's the real problem solving. You're just trying things and seeing if some api gives you what you want…
Regarding the 32-bit thing, wouldn't it be in any game developers interest to create additional x-bit options to rebuild the game in higher bit systems? I would want my game to be amenable to historical preservation,…
Oh I've had plenty of struggles myself. I've gone six months without work and had to spend several years just building my skills to the point where others would find them valuable. On top of that, I was super stubborn…
It depends. Some days I work more, some days less. I honestly don't even count the hours because I think the entire premise of it is complete nonsense. It's more like what thing can I work on such that if I were to…
Yep. It's all about VALUE. If you are there when it matters and you help your customers achieve the OUTCOME they care about, they will happily forget those few moments when you were late to a meeting or didn't answer an…
Where does your money go? Do you regularly audit your finances and account for it all? I have a bigass spreadsheet I use to track every last dollar, and I ruthlessly optimize everything. Cell phone plan, down to…
I meant more like 80 hours a week. It is, in my experience, difficult and cumbersome to charge for more than 40 hours a week since it kinda disrupts the usual cadence. You can do it sometimes for deadlines but wouldn't…
Right right. They have other weird concepts like "market rates" and average timeframe lodged in their heads. It's complicated and pardon me if I have glossed over the details somewhat. If you're smart, you get all of…
Yup. I suspect this sort of thing is going on all over the place but most people don't speak openly of it. All work is value-based. Never forget that. No clients care if you spent 80 hours a week not solving their…
Semantics. It obviously takes time to build independence, but you can do it. It is in your power. Nobody really has to tolerate micromanagement unless they're just starting out
Umm... nothing and that's the point. It's free market capitalism. People should be free to do whatever they want with their time. So long as the value they provide is greater than their cost, the deal is good for both…
If you provide value and they really need you, they won't treat you this way. Find a way to become more valuable and competitive in the marketplace demanding your skill. Save your money so you can say goodbye to…
None! Don't do it! It's a foolish and dogmatic way to make software, and a waste of time.
I had pretty much no experience when I started mine. "Shape" is an arbitrary thing. The shape of the tool should match the shape of your problem, and if you don't know what your problem is yet, you don't know what the…
It's funny because I have the same mantra. Make games not engines. I focus on making the game, and the engine is the thing left over at the end. But in so many ways, I have learned that a really productive game engine…
I've found that making a custom engine is more amenable to teamwork, not less. I can build a simpler level editor that I can give to a totally nontechnical person (a.k.a. my spouse), and they can go to town making…
He hasn't gotten to gameplay because it is meant to be an educational series, which means skipping the parts that don't serve the educational purpose. I've followed Casey's approach but taken a different path. Instead…
I definitely relate to the bikeshedding thing. I like what someone from Nintendo once said. "You're making a game. The engine is what's leftover when you're done." I like to think that way as well. Sure, I have a…
I would encourage you to check out Casey Muratori's Handmade Hero. I believe he does a nice job of separating platform-specific code from non-platform specific code. My engine is based on his. It has a cross-platform…
In my experience, it was easy... until I got to the part of my game that makes it unique. Then it went from easy to very very hard. That's the thing about engines. They'll get you up and running quickly for basic stuff,…
For context, it took me about a year of learning in my spare time to get to place where I could do my own cross-platform game engine, and some of that time was spent doing the code for the game itself. What exactly is…
I don't actually think it's that hard once you know how to do it. You basically make a cross-platform C library that generates the GPU commands and sounds per frame, then you just plug that into whatever platform you're…
I'll just sit back and eat popcorn as I work with my custom handmade game engine. None of this is a concern for me, and it has been refreshing to work directly with the graphics pipeline and in lower level languages…
1. Owner didn't pay me. Lots of manipulative BS. Wanted more money. 2. Startup seemed okay with me being remote at the start but weren't actually okay with it. 3. Contract ended amicably with contracting company. 4. Job…
Yeah, I'm all for unit tests when they're needed. They just aren't the first thing I'll write
Nope. I pretty much always find it to be counterproductive. Most of programming happens in the exploration phase. That's the real problem solving. You're just trying things and seeing if some api gives you what you want…
Regarding the 32-bit thing, wouldn't it be in any game developers interest to create additional x-bit options to rebuild the game in higher bit systems? I would want my game to be amenable to historical preservation,…
Oh I've had plenty of struggles myself. I've gone six months without work and had to spend several years just building my skills to the point where others would find them valuable. On top of that, I was super stubborn…
It depends. Some days I work more, some days less. I honestly don't even count the hours because I think the entire premise of it is complete nonsense. It's more like what thing can I work on such that if I were to…
Yep. It's all about VALUE. If you are there when it matters and you help your customers achieve the OUTCOME they care about, they will happily forget those few moments when you were late to a meeting or didn't answer an…
Where does your money go? Do you regularly audit your finances and account for it all? I have a bigass spreadsheet I use to track every last dollar, and I ruthlessly optimize everything. Cell phone plan, down to…
I meant more like 80 hours a week. It is, in my experience, difficult and cumbersome to charge for more than 40 hours a week since it kinda disrupts the usual cadence. You can do it sometimes for deadlines but wouldn't…
Right right. They have other weird concepts like "market rates" and average timeframe lodged in their heads. It's complicated and pardon me if I have glossed over the details somewhat. If you're smart, you get all of…
Yup. I suspect this sort of thing is going on all over the place but most people don't speak openly of it. All work is value-based. Never forget that. No clients care if you spent 80 hours a week not solving their…
Semantics. It obviously takes time to build independence, but you can do it. It is in your power. Nobody really has to tolerate micromanagement unless they're just starting out
Umm... nothing and that's the point. It's free market capitalism. People should be free to do whatever they want with their time. So long as the value they provide is greater than their cost, the deal is good for both…
If you provide value and they really need you, they won't treat you this way. Find a way to become more valuable and competitive in the marketplace demanding your skill. Save your money so you can say goodbye to…