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My Story and Rambling About Game Development

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Matt Hawkins

Guest
In December of 2016 I was becoming quite despondent with my life. I had lost both my Mother and my dog Cindy to cancer. I had a government job mowing lawn in parks and reserves which i didn't mind, that is until my workmate who happened to be an intolerable control freak and know it all to boot was promoted to team leader.
This effectively ruined the job for me, so yeah I was pretty miserable.

When i wasn't at work i spent all my time playing my ps4 and smoking marijuana to try and escape my reality, which worked fine for a while. Being 37 years and a life long gamer since a child my countless hours of gaming started to take its toll on my thumbs. I was developing RSI and my last refuge was becoming a painful one.

I purchased an old style arcade stick for my ps4 which allowed me to keep playing a limited selection of games, but it wasn't the same. I was indeed getting depressed.

I remember the day i decided to change my life, i was sitting in my game room trying to figure a way out of my situation, and the idea of trying my hand at Android game development popped into my head. I googled something like "make Android games" and i saw that a program called Game Maker Studio would allow me to do such a thing. I was a little skeptical about Game Maker at first, thinking it would be limited and basic but i kept looking into it, then i saw that one of my favorite games on PS4 had been made with Game Maker - Spelunky.

I decided then and there to dedicate my time and energy to game development instead of just wasting my time avoiding my life.

I spent around $600 purchasing Game Maker Studio Pro and the Android Export module and it has been the best investment i have ever made. My life suddenly had some meaning and direction again and i had a creative outlet to keep my mind occupied.

I've been using Game Maker just about every day since. It was quite confusing at first, learning how to use Game Maker but i've never been one to give up easily. I started doing the tutorials and learning how to make things work and forming ideas about the games i could make.

I've hit many stumbling blocks along the way and i try and figure things out for myself rather than asking or looking for a solution. It is a great feeling when you solve a problem yourself.

I've learnt so much in the 4 or so months I've been using Game Maker, and I have developed a love for coding. I've even started to get good at and enjoy making pixel art.

I do realize that my game may very well flop and end up in the toilet so to speak, but at least i'll have something to show for my time besides PS4 trophies and empty weed bags.

But you never know, maybe my game will get noticed and become successful and make me some money, either way I'm going to continue to grind away and improve my skills, and use my mind to create and learn and grow, and i hope you choose to do the same.

We all feel like giving up sometimes, but if you keep going you will make yourself proud one day i am sure...
Keep calm and code, you have the gift of an infinite mind and you should use it :)

Thanks for reading my story - Matt Hawkins :)
 
Shut

Shut

Member
Sorry to hear about your loss.. But, glad you made the right choice in the end. Even if you won't succeed with your game at first, don't let that make you give up. With each project you start, you're also gaining the experience which in the end will pay off. I was also a drug addict, before I decided to change my life and start making games.. So, wish you the best with your game, good luck! :)
 
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Storyteller

Guest
stay with it.
it has been shown that learning ameliorates and reverses the biological effects of depression in the brain.
keep learning and living, it will get better.
 
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Bladevampirek

Guest
Very good story, I too am sorry for your Loss. Keep up the good work, Remember Game Maker is not only for Making Games, but you can also make various other projects such as Quizzes ect.. I find that people like things that doesn't take up too much space on their Tablets & Phones in the Google Play Store. Most of my more popular free items are the ones under 20 mb in size, I spent over 212 hours on a larger project and it barely got 20 or 30 downloads only 5 kept it in a long time, even tho it was designed far more complicated and smoother, better, than some of my smaller projects. On the other hand one of my lighter projects, packed full of user-friendly stuff, but smaller around 15 mb got a few hundred installers around half or a little less of the users kept it installed. I am thinking most people don't want to buy Sdhc Mini Cards for their phones and tablets, the ones that do really need it, they will have their App Space full in no time at all. No one likes a big clunky program unless it's about something that they love, or they are a huge fan of the specific developer in my opinion.
I've been Working on Game Maker Projects off and on since even before Yoyogames took ownership of Game Maker. I don't care to ask questions if I need help, how else can we learn without good friends and teachers? I try not to let a few people that had really tough days hurt my game maker spirit if someone happens to be having a bad day and tell me off, that's there problem, not mine. I don't see the forum as a place to argue, but to share and learn new knowledge. But to each his own, if you learn better solo, more power to you my friend. Most of the time the nice people at forum.yoyogames.com are eager to help tho, as long as you're willing to work with them on trying what they suggest and keep your items up to date, and willing to follow instructions. It's a fairly nice place to communicate with.
Also, since you already started 4 months ago, my one big suggestion is Consider taking up Touch Typing if you haven't it will make re-naming your Objects, Sounds, Backgrounds, Sprites, Rooms, and Projects so much less time consuming, also always keep atleast one backup of your projects on a Usb or Sd card, I try to keep a backup of mine in the house, and another backup of mine somewhere else so that incase the terrible happens and house burnt down or something, Even that won't be able to erase my 100s of hours of work that I've placed into my Game Maker Projects, and increasing my knowledge over the years.
Keep up the excellent work, and stay off Marijuana and Drugs, I recently lost a good Uncle due to Drinking & Drugs. I hate Drugs. I too have sunk a few hundreds into Game Maker, I have decided each time I sink something in that I won't buy anything else for it until it has provided either that much money back to me, or paid me back in satisfaction from using it. That's how I keep from overly spending cash into Game Maker. Good Luck in your App Development, it's nice to chat with others with the same Passion from time to time.
 
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Mr. Butterbean

Guest
Thank you for sharing this story with us. Sorry about your loss; let me share my story with you: it's been ten years since my grandmother (my dad's mother) died from lung cancer, and a few years ago, my grandfather (my dad's father) died from old age (his general health was fine), but smoking contributed to my grandmother's death; be glad it didn't happen to you.

And I'm glad you've found meaning in your life after being depressed for so long; I'm glad I've gotten into the world of video game development too, and it could very well be my passion after worrying over it for so long (which I really shouldn't have). Good luck with your new game; I hope it succeeds too.
 
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Art Auger

Guest
I'm glad I also found this passion! I'm 37 as well and have been at it for 2+ years now. I think I've finally found what I'm looking for. The only drawback is that it's really,really hard to make a good, marketable game! But it's amazing work.
 
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ajan-ko

Guest
Wow, that's some crazy story...
Good luck on your dev journey, I hope you will find what you're searching for.
 
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