i am in need of you divine wisdom. i know computer programming and have made a few education projects to teach me how to use godot. i dont have any art, animation or sound skills and i want to make some games but i dont currently have the confidence that i could carry a 1 year project to the end. what sort of games can i make in 1 to 3 moths that play on my computer programming strengths? how do i figure out what i want to build? i took a blender tutorial but then never made anything because i never knew what i wanted to make. what other stuff might i need to know to start this game dev journey?
Viewing post in Tired of the "No Experience → No Job" loop?
Hey CaptainRedBeard,
First, what you're describing is extremely normal. The “I can code but I don’t know what to build” phase is something almost every dev hits.
Also, for what it’s worth, I’m primarily a programmer and writer myself. I built the entire core mechanics system for Princes of Qing; political influence systems, branching structures, event logic; before I ever brought in dedicated artists or UI collaborators.
You don’t need to be a one-person studio to start. You need:
• A clear, small scope
• A core mechanic that’s interesting even with placeholder visuals
• A finish line within 1–3 months
If you’re strong in programming, lean into that. Make something systems-heavy and art-light:
A management sim with clean UI
A mechanics-driven roguelike
A strategy game with minimal visuals
Even a text-based systems game
The trick isn’t “What do I want to build forever?”
It’s “What can I actually finish in 8–10 weeks?”
Finish something small. That confidence changes everything.
Also, if Blender stalled you? That’s fine. Not everyone is meant to be a solo-everything dev. Some of the strongest projects start with a programmer building a strong foundation, then bringing in collaborators once the core loop exists.
That’s part of why we built Jade Seal — to help people move from solo experiments to structured team work.
You’re closer than you think!
thank you for your feedback. how can i know how long a project is going to take before i start it? also right now im interested in making a game where the player has to travel by train to get to a destination but the train gets stopped for one reason or another and the player has to do some exploring to collect the needed materials to progress. like in mario odessy or jak and daxter. there will be 4 worlds in total and in each world there will also be an upgrade that enhances exploration. the first world will be fairy kingdom and the upgrade will be the ability to change size so that they can explore the buildings meant for fairy sized people. the second world will be elf kingdom and the upgrade will be the ability to activate elf machines and tools like blue eco from jak and daxter. the third kingdom is one where people ride unicorns and the upgrade is the ability to summon a unicorn at any time to ride it like breath of the wilds sheika horse armor. the unicorn is able to run really fast and double jump. the final kingdom is mermaid kingdom and the upgrade is being able to swim underwater indefinitely. the game will not have any enemies. the game is 3d.