You have a game design project to complete. What are the best software options available?

Game engines are a vital core of the game project. Here are some details of some engines I used during my experience. Unity: A versatile and powerful game engine supporting 2D and 3D game development. It has a large, active community, a rich asset store, and a user-friendly editor. Unreal Engine: A high-end game engine that excels at creating realistic and immersive 3D games. It has a state-of-the-art graphics system, a robust physics engine, and a visual scripting language. It also supports many platforms, including Windows, Mac, Linux, iOS, Android, Web, and consoles. Godot: An open-source game engine with a unique node, a flexible scripting language called GDScript, and a built-in animation editor.

Design your game to row on the same direction as your technology, or you will make the process a nightmare for everybody involved. Unreal Engine is my favourite engine due to its flexibility (even with its limitations) and the high knowledgeable people you’ll find in the industry to help you materialize the game’s vision.

One thing to keep in mind is that you can accomplish almost anything with any engine. You can have preferences or sometimes a particular engine will allow you to iterate an idea faster, but any engine is a complete creative tool in the end. Sometime comparing similar tools can just be a waste of time so keep your scope in mind. Most of the time the engine you have the most experience with will be better suited for your project (in the case you are working alone of course).

When embarking on a game design project, game engines are indispensable. "Game design is not about the bells and whistles. It's about the experience." - Brian Reynolds Game engines provide the foundational framework for game development, handling graphics, physics, and interactivity. They streamline the development process, allowing designers to focus on gameplay, mechanics, and storytelling. When choosing the right game engine, you lay the groundwork for a successful project, ensuring efficient development and the freedom to create compelling gaming experiences.

I would say use the engine you're most comfortable with. I've seen a lot of comments saying things like Unreal is a terrible engine to use for 2D, or Unity is nowhere near the high graphical fidelity of Unreal. I also find that a lot of these comments are regurgitations of each other, stating the same points. I used my fair share of game engines and at a certain point you can get an engine to do a lot of what you need. Don't get me wrong, each engine is more suited towards a certain area of things, but not to the level most people seem to say. Of course, with the caveat that engine is actually capable of doing what you need, like a 2D engine isn't going to work for a 3D game.

Don't limit yourself on using only one or two art software. Any software you can create with, is an art software. Use paint if it's faster for you, use Lego bricks if it's fun to use, your only limitation is your mind but nothing you create will ever go to waste : it helps you grow a creative mind.

A one-size-fits-most solution for beginners could also be Procreate. Not only can you create concept art, environments, textures, and pixel art, but my favourite trick is importing 3D objects into the app and painting textures directly onto your models. Albeit, its no Substance Painter, but a really great first step in.

I love Blender for 3d modeling, sculpting, animation and rigging, the list goes on. Considering it's free it would be a great place to start for beginners. Otherwise for textures and 2d art, I like photoshop, especially because of the new AI features.

As I said on game engines, there is no one-size-fits-all solution, do your research and explore options best adaptable for your game, these research and testing experiences allow you to have your own repository of software for your art needs.

My weapon of choice is photoshop just for the flexibility of layers and tools to tweak, but the best art software for you as a designer is what you are most comfortable with when showcasing your ideas to others. I've seen postits, whiteboards to even excel and 2D silhouettes. I would say clarity and coherence is more important than visuals, but I would say that as my art ability definitely falls into the "designer" art category??

Try and test all existing solutions to see which one works for you. There are so many existing options, and all of them have a quirk or feature that could significantly benefit your game.

For c# and c++ I prefer visual studio 2022. Easy to setup, minimal issues so far in my experience. At some point I might consider moving to Jetbrains Rider, which my mentor recommends.

Visual studio 2022. Easy to setup, minimal issues so far in my experience. If you are on a low end machine, then VS Code or Notepad++ could work, but at the cost of integration with your engine during development

Especially if you are a team working remotely, one of the best Collaboration Software for you could be Slack. The main uses of Slack are: - Public and private channels - Written communication - Video conference - Voice communication (Huddle) - File transfer - Integrations - Ability to create separate notes in each channel (Canvases) - Create and find workflows and apps (Automations) and so on.

A tool that I've found super helpful is Miro board. It facilitates drawing mind maps and planning, and can also serve as a form of documentation. It makes high-level discussion super quick and easy.

In my experience, Clickup is a good way to keep track of tasks (assign responsibilities, due dates, importance ), post artwork ideas on the whiteboard, there are many different templates and board views, some include scrum, sprint, workload spread view, and activity. For code collaboration, github desktop has been a peaceful experience. With an easy and visual way to solve merge conflicts. The only problems you will face will be due to your own errors and communication skills, at least most of the time.

Not all games are digital. For tabletop games, tools like Tabletop Simulator and Roll20 help a lot. These tools allow you to prototype games that otherwise would be expensive or take a long manufacturing time. Designers can also test mechanics and collaboratively visualize gameplay scenarios, very useful for remote teams. Paper prototyping is still essential to tabletop game development, so pencils and markers remain invaluable. Make sure to explore digital tools for physical games, and vice-versa.

Utilize rich text editing software you are familiar with, such as Obsidian, to keep your ideas tracked and organized. For how many great ideas you have, they aren't worth anything once lost. Develop a process with your organizational tools that keeps you and the other designers moving towards a common goal.