Choose an Engine

The engine defines your workflow, coding style, and publishing process. Pick based on your team size, target platforms, and comfort level with programming.

• Unreal Engine 5.x: Industry-standard visuals, strong cross-platform tools, C++ and Blueprints. Excellent for realistic 3D, multiplayer, and console exports. Ideal for medium-to-large teams.
• Godot 4.x: Lightweight and open-source. Uses GDScript (Python-like), C#, or C++. Best for 2D, stylized 3D, and small to mid-size indie projects. No royalties or external licensing.
• Unity 6 (2025 LTS): Mature ecosystem with wide plugin support. Evaluate runtime fee/licensing terms carefully. Great for mobile and 2.5D games.

Project Setup & Source Control

Proper organization prevents chaos once your project grows. Always version-control your work.

game/
├─ Docs/              ← design docs, references, and notes
├─ Source/            ← scripts, blueprints, code
├─ Content/           ← textures, models, sounds (tracked with LFS)
├─ Config/            ← engine configs, project settings
├─ Builds/            ← output packages (ignored)
└─ Tools/             ← scripts, automation, utilities

• Git & LFS: Use GitHub, GitLab, or Bitbucket with git lfs for large binaries.
• Branch strategy: main → develop → feature branches. Require pull request reviews before merging.
• .gitignore: exclude build, intermediate, and cache folders. Prevent repo bloat.
• Automated builds: implement CI/CD (GitHub Actions, Jenkins, or Unreal’s BuildGraph) to generate nightly builds and run tests.

Architecture & Game Loop Design

Think of your game as modular systems communicating cleanly.

• Game Loop: update input → process logic → render frame → repeat. Keep each step lightweight.
• Separation of Concerns: divide gameplay, rendering, UI, and save logic into distinct modules.
• Entity Component Systems (ECS): popular in modern engines; promotes flexibility and performance.
• Data-driven design: use configuration files or JSON to tweak parameters without recompiling.

Core Systems: Input, Physics, UI, and Save Data

• Input: abstract controls; map both keyboard/gamepad/touch. Provide rebinding and sensitivity sliders for accessibility.
• Physics: stay consistent with units (1m = 1 world unit). Use collision layers and masks to limit checks. Freeze unused axes for 2D motion.
• User Interface: keep consistent font scale (16–24px base). Support 16:9 and 19.5:9 safely. Avoid relying on color alone for feedback.
• Save system: serialize data to JSON or binary with version numbers for compatibility. Always write to user-accessible directories.

{
  "player": { "level": 5, "xp": 2400, "position": [10, 0, 15] },
  "inventory": ["key", "potion"],
  "settings": { "volume": 0.8, "language": "en" }
}

Assets Pipeline: Art, Audio, and Versioning

Your art pipeline determines how quickly assets move from concept to engine. Keep everything standardized.

• 2D Assets: export at native resolution; use power-of-two texture sizes (512, 1024) for performance.
• 3D Assets: define uniform units (1 meter = 1 Unreal unit or Godot meter); keep pivot points logical; name materials and meshes clearly.
• Audio: normalize all SFX to -1 dB peak / -14 LUFS integrated; separate BGM, SFX, and VO channels; preload short UI sounds into memory.
• Version control for assets: commit source files (.blend, .psd) in an “ArtSource” branch, and only export optimized assets to Content.

Optimization & Profiling

• Frame timing: target consistent frame times; measure both CPU and GPU loads.
• Draw calls: merge static meshes; use instancing for repeated props.
• Texture streaming: keep MIP levels and compression suitable for target platform memory.
• Profilers: Unreal Insights, Godot Profiler, RenderDoc, and built-in stat consoles for frame and memory metrics.
• Physics cost: disable unnecessary tick updates; consider fixed time steps for deterministic behavior.

Builds, Testing & QA Process

• Nightly builds: automated packaging; perform smoke tests (launch, input, menus, save/load).
• Unit & integration testing: automate small logic tests (AI states, inventory rules).
• Performance benchmarks: log FPS, memory, and load times automatically to a dashboard or CSV.
• Telemetry: opt-in crash reporting; minimal analytics focused on crashes and errors, respecting privacy laws (GDPR/CCPA).
• Platform testing: test on all intended hardware — mobile devices, controllers, ultrawide displays, Steam Deck, etc.

Monetization & Store Readiness

• Mobile: integrate latest Google Play Billing Library (v6.0+); implement a “Restore Purchases” button for iOS; use adaptive icons and AAB packaging.
• Desktop: prepare store assets (capsule, screenshots, trailer, 120-character tagline). Test achievements and controller mappings.
• Console: partner with platform holders early; follow TRC (Technical Requirements Checklist).
• Ad models: non-intrusive rewarded ads or optional cosmetics. Avoid pay-to-win loops for long-term retention.
• Ratings & Privacy: follow ESRB/PEGI or regional equivalents. Provide privacy labels on mobile stores.

Marketing, Demos & Community

Marketing should begin long before release. Consistency builds trust and momentum.

• Build a presence: maintain a simple website (even a single landing page), devlog, and social accounts.
• Visual consistency: keep the same logo, palette, and tagline across platforms.
• Demo / early build: use Itch.io or Steam demo programs to collect early feedback and player data.
• Press kit: create a media-friendly package with screenshots, logo, and description for outreach.
• Community: use Discord, Reddit, or Mastodon for updates and bug tracking. Respond openly to feedback.

Post-Launch Operations

• Patch cadence: Hotfix within 24–72 hours for critical issues, then move to biweekly/monthly updates.
• Crash triage: prioritize top-10 crash signatures; automate log collection.
• Backups: store build archives and user-generated content off-site (S3, Backblaze, or NAS).
• Analytics: track session length, retention, and feature usage ethically; avoid intrusive data collection.
• Roadmap: plan major updates, expansions, or ports; communicate transparently with your player base.
• Community engagement: share postmortems, developer insights, and patch notes on every release.

FAQ