Can You Make a Video Game By Yourself?

written by Cornell Ellerby

The simple answer to whether you can make a video game on your own is "yes," but there's more to it. While major video games often require teams ranging from a handful to thousands of developers, solo game developers do exist. However, these individuals typically don't handle every single aspect of development by themselves.

What Goes into Making a Game?

Developing a game involves multiple facets, including:

Character and world design
Sound design
UI design
Gameplay programming and logic

These skills are often developed through extensive education and practice. For a solo developer, mastering all these areas is challenging, but not impossible.

Personal Experience and Asset Utilization

In creating my game, "Suburban Rampage," I handled the project largely on my own. Recognizing my limitations in certain areas, I strategically used pre-made assets to complement my skills. This approach allowed me to focus on the aspects of game development where I excel, particularly programming.

Using assets effectively helped me manage time and resources by not needing to delve into every detail personally. For example, while I am skilled in programming, I am less experienced with creating detailed animations and sound design. By utilizing both free and paid assets, I could maintain a high standard of quality in those areas without needing to become an expert in every field of game development.

This method of leveraging assets is a practical solution for small developers or solo creators. It enables you to bring a comprehensive and polished game to life, even when you’re operating with limited resources or expertise.

Steps to Building Your Own Game

Identify Your Motivation: Ask yourself why you want to create a game. If it's purely for financial gain or to create "the best game ever," you might want to reconsider your motivations. For me, it was about recapturing the essence of games I enjoyed on the PlayStation One.
Assess Your Skills: Determine what you can bring to your game. Are you a programmer, a 3D artist, or perhaps an exceptional storyteller? Identify your strengths.
Address Gaps in Your Skills: Recognize what you're not skilled at. For everything outside of programming, like animation, sound, or 3D modeling, consider whether you'll need to outsource or purchase assets. "Suburban Rampage" was made using both free and paid assets.

Conclusion

Yes, you can build a game by yourself, but be prepared to either learn many skills or use pre-made assets. Like many projects, sometimes it takes a team, or at least contributions from others, to bring your vision to life.