I ll be completely honest with you all. I screw up, and I screw up a lot.

I ve spend
more hours debugging code and fixing errors than I m willing to admit. But with e
very gamedev project I complete, I get a little bit better. Let me enlighten you
all with what I ve learned you should never, ever do while working on a video gam
e.
10. Working on too Many Projects at Once
Everyone in the game development industry is passionate about what they do. Beca
use of this, it s so easy to think up a killer idea for a game and immediately wor
k on that project, in addition to the other five projects you ve already started.
I know it s tempting, I ve been there, but take a step back and resist the urge. Wri
te down the idea and come back to it later. Otherwise, you ll get your code archit
ectures and designs all jumbled up, and so many bugs will emerge it will be as i
f you forgot to put away last week s potato salad.
9. Starting Out With Projects That are too Big
When I first learned how to code, the first idea I had for a game was an RPG. Do
n t. Do. That. Thankfully I slapped myself silly a few times and knocked that idea
out of my head. Always start with a small project that helps you learn collisio
n detection, logic, and other essential game development skills. If you re just ab
out to make your first game, try something like Pong.
8. Refusing to Use Game Engines
The first game I made on the iPhone involved a full fledged physics engine, full
y equipped with collision detection between circles, rectangles, and tons of oth
er different shapes. I also chose to design a graphics engine with shaders using
OpenGL ES. If I would have tried to use a game engine like Cocos2D, I would hav
e cut at least 2 months out of development time. Let me say that it is a nice le
arning experience to design everything from scratch. However, sometimes it s best
to swallow your pride and not reinvent the wheel.
7. Being too Hesitant
Sometimes it s hard to get yourself going in a new project. Whether you re burned ou
t from the last game you made, or you feel like all of your ideas are falling fl
at, tell that little voice inside your head to shut up! Don t be afraid to go for
an idea that sounds stupid it may turn out to be a hit.
6. Forgetting to Write Down Great Ideas You Have
The best ideas for games always come from the oddest places: in your dreams, in
the shower, or while you re driving. It s way too easy to tell yourself Oh, I ll rememb
er that idea! I don t need to write it down! Maybe one out of every ten times the i
dea will stick, but I can safely say from firsthand experience that you re going t
o forget a lot of your great ideas. Always jot down random thoughts into a noteb
ook, or plug them into your phone. Just don t use your phone while driving ;)
5. Skipping the Marketing Stage of Game Development
After I finished my first game, I was so excited to release it to the public! Unt
il it only received one download every day for months. Then I was pretty sad. Do
n t forget to pursue marketing deals and strategies, especially during the develop
ment process. If you start marketing early, you ll be able to create a buzz that w
ill really help opening day sales. Eventually, I got a gig with a local newspape
r for my first game that generated hundreds of sales. Marketing is essential.
4. Limiting Potential Target Platforms

Don t forget that there are multiple release platforms out there. You never have t
o limit yourself to just iPhone development, or just PC development. Releasing o
n multiple platforms could potentially double, triple, or even quadruple your ta
rget market! If you have the opportunity to expand your application to another p
latform, I highly encourage you to jump on the opportunity.
3. Not Letting Others Test Completed Games
I ve seen two different mindsets that can have adverse effects when it comes to te
sting: people are either too shy to share their game with peers, or they think t
heir game is the best game ever and doesn t need any testing. Reach an equilibrium
between these two ways of thinking. Have confidence in your game! You worked ha
rd on it people will be impressed. But at the same times, there might be some sm
all bugs you couldn t pick up on that need to be fixed. Worst comes to worst, let
your family and friends test your game to have some sort of testing team.
2. Trying to Design All Game Assets
I ll be the first to admit that I suck at graphic design and sound design. I m horri
ble at them. Pathetically awful. Instead of trying to create all the sprites and
sound files for my games, I choose to outsource them. This preserves the qualit
y and polish of my games. I stick to the coding aspect, and I let the profession
als make my game look more well, professional.
1. Not Planning Out the Design of the Game
Ah, planning out the code of my games. This is the bane of my existence. I canno
t emphasize enough how important it is to create an outline of your program s code
. I recommend you try to come up with all of the classes, and maybe even some me
thods and variables, that you want to be in your game. If you don t do this, you ll
find that it is extremely difficult to make large adjustments to your game. Cont
ent updates will be tough to implement because the structure of your code will b
e too rigid. Design dynamic and purposeful code for every single game you develo
p.
Over time, you ll find that mistakes will inevitably happen. You can run, you can
hide, but you can t escape the wrath of game development errors. But you will get
better. You will overcome. You will succeed.