Make a video game, please 🎮
Now is the time to make video games.
I read Rise of the Videogame Zinesters years ago when I was starting my web dev career. I was one of a billion people who decided that going to a dev bootcamp was a good idea.
I quickly realized that programming wasn't for me. I was not invested in any of the projects I worked on, and I didn't like the process.
However, I found that I liked making small, dumb games. Just something that could be played in the browser and thrown up on Itch.io. Nothing serious. I made a few games and abandoned them after I got my first programming job which I quickly burned out on.
It's been a while since I've been back to it, but I think about the need for personal creative work. Not just for myself, but I want to see people making weird game that appeal to like ten people.
I don't know how relevant Rise of the Videogame Zinesters is tech wise, but I think the principles and reasoning to make your own games stand up. If anything, this can be a small push for those on the fence about making something. Or just a great read for those who like thinking and writing about video games.
For those just looking for quick and cheap tools, here's a list that I remember from my game making days:
