By: Arthur Davis

Making a video game is a dream for many, but it’s far more complicated than quite a few people realize. Between artwork, mechanics, plot, and more, there’s a lot to look after. Figuring out how to make game development easier doesn’t need to be out of your reach, however.

No matter whether you’re a one-person team or a full production studio, there are more than a few ways you can go about this. By using a few video game development hacks, you can make it much more straightforward.

While there’ll still be a lot of work involved - anything worth doing normally has this - it shouldn’t be as stressful as you’d think.

How To Make Game Development Easier: 4 Top Hacks

1. Use The Right Tools

You’ll need quite a few tools to create your video game. If you’re just starting out or have a strict budget and a small team, it’s natural to want to use free or low-cost tools as you’re starting out. That isn’t always the best thing to do.

Using such tools could lead to you creating a game that comes across as low-quality. While there are quite a few free tools out there you can use or learn from - such as a random dungeon generator - many of the better-recommended options will cost money.

Look at this as an investment in creating a high-quality game. It’ll reap dividends in the long term, as the end result should draw in more players and revenue.

2. Research The Market

Before embarking on your video game development journey, it is crucial to conduct thorough market research to understand the existing landscape and meet gamers' expectations. To effectively analyze the market, consider the following key factors:

Upcoming and recently launched games: Stay updated on the latest releases to identify trends and avoid duplicating concepts that may already be saturated in the market.
Performance of existing games: Assess the success of current games to gain insights into what resonates with gamers and identify potential gaps or opportunities.
Gamer feedback and criticism: Pay attention to the aspects of video games that gamers appreciate or criticize, as this valuable feedback can guide your decision-making process.
Competitive analysis: Study your competitors' offerings to identify their strengths, weaknesses, and unique selling points. This analysis will help you position your game effectively and highlight its unique features.

By conducting comprehensive market research, you can proactively prepare and plan your game, significantly increasing the chances of success upon its release.

3. Differentiate

You’ll need to know what your competitors are doing so that you can make quite a few decisions about the video game you’re making. You shouldn’t focus on doing the same things they’re doing, no matter how successful they might be.

If every developer did that, the market would be flooded with the same games constantly. Gamers get bored with this, and it results in fewer and fewer sales with each new game. You’ll need to differentiate yourself from your competitors and make sure your game stands out.

By doing so, you give gamers a reason to pick up your game and start playing it. You’ll make it much more likely to increase your sales and customer base. Use your competitors to get a baseline and figure out how you can differentiate your game from theirs.

4. Start Simple

If you’re new to video game development, it’s best to start off quite simple. While you could want to make the next AAA blockbuster, that mightn’t be possible at this stage of your development career. You’ll need to develop your skills and make sure you have everything you need to make your dream game.

Everyone needs to start somewhere, but it’s not possible to start at the top. CD Projekt Red didn’t start off with The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt, for example. It took the team quite a while to get there before they achieved the acclaim it’s known for now.

By starting off simple, you get a solid grasp and understanding of the entire process. In time, that lets you create increasingly better games. You could always use the skills you learn during your first game’s development to go back and readjust what you did at the start.

Use it as a learning experience.

How To Make Game Development Easier: Wrapping Up

If you want to know how to make game development easier, you might think it’s impossible. There are countless stories from developers who claim that it’s a stressful and anxiety-inducing process, no matter how much they love gaming.

It doesn’t have to be that way. By having the right tools, starting simple, and knowing the market as much as possible, you can make it much easier. Combined with a few tips and tricks, these video game development hacks should make it simpler.

You shouldn’t have to tear your hair out when you’re making a video game. What’s stopping you from making it more stress-free?

Streamlining Game Development: 4 Hacks to Make the Journey Easier