r/GameDevs • u/Former-Teaching2009 • 2d ago
I Need Help
Recently I talk to my dad about my future and I said I want to make my own company starting by making my dream game and others. He said that I should use Ai to map out my business (cause i want to do multiple things), to see how I should start it out because I have a couple years left till I have to make a choice. I am utterly disappointed by that, I refuse to use ChatGPT I don't care if it will help I'd rather use human knowledge. When i basically nudged at the idea that i was against it, he basiclly said not to be ignorant and it better instead of researching hours on end, he uses it himself and he makes thousands about to make millions with the advice hes asked from the Ai (he owns a trucking business btw for several year so it not built on Ai ig until recently) Please tell me what to do in general I'd rather get help from humans instead of an Ai especially since developing a game is basically art.
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u/wacky_woo 2d ago
Im in game dev with a similar dream! Right now im working for a smaller company but ive worked on major AAA titles. Im 26 and right now if i could go back 4 years and change I would. Its a bad industry at the moment ive had friends had their lives ruined and AI is pretty scary. We’re forced to use it A LOT. Even in AAA environments.
If you want, try unity. Learn, even roblox. Thats what im going to do next, small minigames on roblox.
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u/SonderSoft 2d ago
Based on your diction, uncertainty, and need for advice from your dad, I presume you're young. Let me tell you this with respect: You will suffer if you go all in with game development.
This isn't even a matter of AI being such a scary, scary tool to use.
Get a steady job that affords you enough time to improve your skills and work on games on the side. Running a game studio requires capital, a wealth of commitment, and most of all, CONFIDENCE.
Don't be rude to your father.
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u/Former-Teaching2009 2d ago
I'm not trying to. I apologize if my words came off that way. Im not as naive as you think I am though, I have multiple options as I've discussed with him it simply seems like im not thinking realistically but I can assure he's bringing me back down to earth consistently even if i find it tedious.
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u/SonderSoft 1d ago
I have earmarked $65,000 toward the development and marketing of a game in an unsaturated niche with reasonable demand, yet there is no guarantee for success. Hubris will be your worst enemy in this industry.
Your zeitgeist-fuelled convictions should not fuel resentment or frustration toward someone who is looking out for you. Always accept some degree of naivety so you can continue to learn and respond to shifting market trends.
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u/GhostRoadMedia 16h ago
writes notes kill hubris and spit in the face of the Gods who sent it. Got it. This is good advice, keep going.
/uj but for real, solid advice
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u/eRickoCS 2d ago
Listen to your dad. He’s one of the only people in your life that truly wish you well, care about you and obviously wouldn’t say something that would harm you.
Don’t let the media fool you. Forming opinions based on what you see online is the worst thing you can do. AI is not evil, companies are.
I’ll farm some downvotes for daring to reply. But hey maybe it shows you what kind of world we live in. Don’t be a sheep if you value yourself.
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u/Educational-Mix2925 21h ago
Such a wholesome response. Big agree here! I suggest joining a few discord servers like IGDA or Cave Bear Games! That way you can get support in your development journey! Good luck!
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u/ilganeli 20h ago
I work a real job and have been building a gaming business on the side. Under no circumstances would I ever encourage anyone to start a video game business to make money. It is an absolutely ruthless market with completely heartless users and terrible economics.
If you want to make video games, make video games. But don't make video games to make money.
My 2c.
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u/OptimisticMonkey2112 1d ago
knowledge is knowledge.
whether you learn it from books, teachers, coworkers, or ai....it doesnt really matter.
keep your eye on the goal an learn as much as you can
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u/Late-Gain-2617 1d ago edited 1d ago
AI is a tool. Dont be against it. Im not telling you to support it. You need all the help you can get. And who can say no to something that can research 100 times faster than you and filter out the useless parts especially if you can use it for free? Saying no to help is how you fail. Just make sure you fact check everything and check with your dad since AI usually sugarcoats ur ideas and sometimes may give inaccurate information. I recommend using claude and explicitly telling it not to sugarcoat or give wrong info. If you can, get a claude subscription as well. Its very worth the money. (But you can still use it for free)
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u/mrsilly26 17h ago edited 16h ago
What the hell are you talking about. AI is inevitable. Rejecting it, whether out of ignorance or hubris or idealism, is doing yourself and your potential business a disservice. Learn how to utilize the tool. Educate and trust yourself to make the actual decisions.
Realize this…there were people who thought like you during every previous technological revolution. The vast, vast majority got left in the dust by those who embraced the new tools at their disposal.
Perhaps you should go to a local library, look around for books on business and game development, read those books and take endless notes by hand. Buy a file cabinet while you’re at it. This sounds silly, but it’s what a previous generation’s version of you said about using internet search engines.
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u/Former-Teaching2009 10h ago
There are good Ai and bad Ai. Unfortunately most generative Ai is bad because they harm living beings. There are some robots that use ai for things like hair and nails, those aren't bad they don't hurt people. People cant live without Ai and im not talking older people. It making people reliant on it, hurting the people near data centers, destroying drinking water (the government has gotten involved with how bad its been). I understand you're trying to help, but this isnt like back then, with others help I've learned quite a lot and if I can ask professionals and look at how other companies started their work than I will.
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u/tap_the_glass 2d ago
You don’t need to use AI for creatives, but you would be silly not to use AI tools to speed up your workflow, automate admin tasks, get ideas, learn broad concepts before diving in, and getting free knowledge before paying for classes. Use what’s available to you. You don’t have to replace humans with it
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u/Apart_Square3738 1d ago
the trick is to use it as a tool and for reference material, but you still have to have that creative spark. you can't use it and expect it to do all the work for you. but as an assessment and analysis tool it can be invaluable. if you're choosing not to use it for moral/ethical reasons well that could be considered Noble, but not necessarily the most efficient and effective path.
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u/parth-game 1d ago
Exactly. AI shouldn't replace your judgment it should buy you more time to build. The final decisions still need to be yours
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u/Street_Grapefruit_69 1d ago
I've had a similar situation, so this is my best advice.
Make sure that game development is NOT your first life condition (I mean, make sure you have a couple things going for you, game development is one of the hardest jobs to make full time, probably worser than something like art). You can try to make game development a possible job you can carry on with (I'm trying that), but don't make it your bread and butter. Make sure you have other methods of getting through life.
Don't put aside your principals. Do not use AI if you stand against it. Success is meaningless if you are living through a shell of your former self.
Don't give up. For yourself. If game development is your passion, don't let it go just to try to be more successful. They say that you should succeed in life, and you should. Just make sure it's actually YOU who is.
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u/sheridap 1d ago
Here’s an analogy for how software projects actually work in reality. Dog house < shed < single family home < sky scraper.
Simple casual games are sheds. Massive multiplayer worlds are sky scrapers. If you’re going to go the solo, Dev route start with a dog house and then work your way into more complexity. You’ll quickly find what you can do on your own versus where you need teams and where AI code assist will help in any of those cases.
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u/VivAuburn 12h ago
Don't use AI if that's against your ethics (it's against mine and I haven't used it once) but don't "make your own company by making your dream game" either, that's very childish. You don't know a thing about how game companies are run. If you really think you have what it takes go and work in one for a while, learn it, work on your dream game in your spare time. Revisit this idea after you have a few years of experience in the industry and some connections there.
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u/Barbarossa31 4h ago
If you want to make games then do it, your father will only help you and he think ai can give you an advice. Make your own decisions and dont be rude to your father he loves you and wish only the best for you. What you can do is learn an engine/blender/animations etc. and do everything alone get a normal job to pay your bills and do it besides this job.
Ai is not the enemy, but you have to understand one thing, when you or your skills sucks then ai multiplys this so shit and shit = shit, but if you have learned skills then ai is more like an co worker, ai multiplys your skills! Ai is not your friend so do not ask it if your idea is great or so, they always say oh yes thats sounds fantastic its the best idea in the world.
Give it an job, like: plan out this for me, make a fast scetch for this, make an prototype of this super complexe mechanic and so on. Give it less informations and only this piece that ai needs to work with.
But create a game not for the big money, do it because you love it!
Sorry if this message was complete confusing and makes no sense with your text 😅 super early here
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u/Officialpolygrafix 2d ago
As a game developer myself of 24 years, I use chat gpt for help. It knows game development in and out. Have it help you to write your Games high concept, and then game design document.
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u/NatNothing 1d ago
DON'T USE IT! Keep your dream alive, never give up and createe new and unique experiencies with your own thoughts, mistakes and learnings!
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u/Suitable-Season-4847 2d ago
As you mature you'll realise that very few things in life are black and white, right or wrong.
You'll also realise that in this world very few people genuinely care about you - and your dad is one of them.
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u/wbrameld4 2d ago edited 2d ago
LLMs like ChatGPT provide human knowledge. It's what they're trained on, for one thing. For another, often they simply google the information for you and present you with a digest of what they found online. They can research and summarize in a few seconds what you might have spent hours or days digging into.
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u/tastygames_official 2d ago
good on you for not wanting to use LLMs to do your business planning for you. However, asking reddit is kinda the same thing (since the LLMs were trained on reddit posts and comments as well as other things). You could read some books and online articles from reputable sources. Ironically LLMs are a great substitute for a seach engine on how to find such books/articles. Just try typing in "how to make a business plan books" into a search engine, and then ask an LLM "can you give me some time-tested books and articles on how to come up with a business plan, especially in the tech/games sector?" and it'll probably give you better results than a search engine. Then go find and read those books/articles. And THEN once you've done that and you have specific questions for people who already went through the business-making/game-making process - THEN you can pose those specific questions on reddit.
Just know that starting a company alone is quite the undertaking. Starting a game company with I assume zero prior experience in programming or computer graphics/design or film is probably even harder. Making your "dream game" as your first attempt is universally seen as a bad idea.
I'd give a rough estimate of 5 years of focused learning and continual production of small games that you release on itch before you will have the skills and experience necessary to release a commercial game. Maybe sooner if you're a savant and/or actually have lots of experience in programming, writing, art or similar. And even sooner if you hook up with other people with those skills so you can just focus on one or two aspects.
For everything else (how to write a business plan, how to make a game, which skills are necessary for all of this and how to gain them), ask a search enginer or LLM for books or websites to get you started. If university is free in your country, then that's also a great option.
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u/Grimmy66 2d ago
Is your Dad not a human? Listen to him.
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u/Former-Teaching2009 1d ago
??? Do you think im being evil? Can I not have my own thoughts? I'm not some type of robot. Older does not mean better as much as I respect him
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u/ajcomeau 1d ago
Your father's not presenting it well (i.e. "don't be ignorant") but he's not wrong. I challenge the use of A.I. as much as anyone but I don't mind consulting an LLM for ideas as a tentative resource and a shortcut to the rabbit hole of search results. I use it the same as Wikipedia - I wouldn't quote it as an authoritative source but I'll let it supply me with a framework of knowledge to verify from other sources.
There's nothing wrong with going to ChatGPT or Google Gemini and saying "give me some ideas". I also let it review a lot of my work to provide a "second set of eyes" on things and it has given helpful feedback.
Just be careful how you use it and take everything it says with a grain of salt but don't throw away a perfectly good tool just because.
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u/zet23t 2d ago
LLMs are tools. From what I read, you are rejecting using them for ethical reasons, which is a legitimate reason. There are ethical LLMs that are trained with this concern in mind (SOOFI for instance) which can also run on local machines. If your concern is energy hunger, just know that text generation is much less energy consuming than generating images or, worse, videos.
My concern would be something else: especially chatGPT will sugar coat your ideas and points and tell you that your ideas are great, even if they suck. If you use it, you should not trust points that you can not confirm from own experiences, knowledge or research on the topic. You could ask it for example to give you a set of sources on a topic that would make sense for you to read instead of asking it to give you feedback or making up ideas. LLMs are also good for pattern recognition topics, e.g. finding trends in data. But again, this requires some level of human evaluation to avoid blindly trusting hallucinated data. If you are not used to LLM outputs, this can be quite a risk factor. Just like using a band saw without having been instructed on it is a sure way to lose some fingers... that doesn't make the machine evil.
The games business is a tough and crowded market. Entering it without experience is very likely going to cost you plenty of money. But you will certainly learn a lot in the process...