When you decide to become a game developer you should first make some sample levels just to learn game development. Don't try to start making your dream game as a beginner. This is because you will get stuck and ultimately lose motivation for it. I think the best way to learn game development is through participating in game jams. A Game jam is a two-day or a week's event usually in which you have to make a game from scratch.
Even if you can't complete a game in two days, a week or any other time frame of the said game jam. It's ok. At least you will have learned much more than anything else you could have without a time limit. During many researches, it has been found that humans perform the best in a short time limit. So if you attach a time limit to your game development learning you will undoubtedly learn more and faster.
You can follow the steps mentioned in this blog for planning games for a game jam or a commercial release.
Motivation and Inspiration
What are your favorite, successful games? Would you like to make a game that would resemble them in some way? Study the game trailers of these games and the main way in which the game progresses This is called the core game loop.
Also, you can study the mechanics, appeal, story, and genre of the game from its Steam page. Try to pick up the story or mechanic that you are passionate about. It could be about zombies, robots, ghost stories, romantic stories, a detective story. If you like the main idea of the game and what it's about you will likely stay motivated to finish it.
All successful games have a sticky game mechanic
Games like the first tree, celeste, and hollow night feel good to play. Their primary game mechanic is unique and memorable. It is also something that you might have encountered in a different game but in a slightly different way. It compels players to keep playing your game. For example, in the game god of war the mechanic "levitation axe" was a very successful mechanic. People loved it thus it allowed the game to be more popular. In Celeste, the platformer controls are tight and precise which makes it feel good to play. In Legend of Zelda: breath of the Wild the climbing and gliding mechanics.
Game Story
The story of the game is going to make players want to complete it to know the ending. The protagonist character of the game should feel natural with flaws and strong points. This will make the player feel sympathy for the protagonist for example, in never song the protagonist is an orphan kid who loses his best friend due to someone kidnapping her and falls into a coma. In Firewatch, a man is disheartened by the dementia condition of his lover and takes a job far away as a fire lookout. The Antagonist has to pose a threat to the player in some way. It could mirror the weakness of the player oppositely for example if the player is weak the enemy is stronger. The game should also show the struggle of the protagonist against his weakness. such as in Celeste the protagonist is a woman who fights with anxiety and depression by climbing the mountain Celeste.
Genre
you have to select a suitable genre for your game. A list of popular game genres is given below:
4X game
Action RPG
Action-Adventure
Adventure
Art Game
Battle Royale
Beat 'em up
Casual games
Competitive
Esports
Metroid Vania
First-Person Exploration
Creative
Fighting
Horror game
MMO (Massive Multiplayer Online)
JRPG
MMORPG
Multiplayer online battle arena (MOBA)
Narrative-Adventure
Open World
Platformer
Puzzle
Racing
Real-time strategy (RTS)
Real-time tactics (RTT)
Rhythm
Roguelikes
Simplistic Sandbox
Sandbox
Sandbox RPG
Shooter
Simulation
Sports
Stealth
Strategy
Survival Horror
Survival
Tactical RPG
Text adventures
Tower defense
Trivia game
Turn-based strategy (TBS)
your game can have one primary genre and another secondary genre. You can also mix two genres in your game.
Know your Target Audience
If you thinking of making a game that is a dark, 2D, platformer with hand-drawn art. The fans of the hollow night be your perfect target audience.
you can find a detailed discussion on this on Thomas Brush's YouTube channel. about a game dev who raised $140 000 from Kickstarter after only one year of learning game dev.
Here are some screenshots of his game
Here is the link to the video:
After ONE YEAR of game dev, $140,000! (Conversation with Chris Stair)
Rewards:
The plot of your game comprises the story, setting, protagonist, antagonist, struggle, and hook of the game. The hook of the game is simply something due to which the plot of the game will emotionally resonate with the player. At the end of the game, what will the player get? The plot should offer a reward to the player such as some murder mystery solved, if someone has gone missing he is saved, found a new life, a city is saved from destruction etc. How do we show the player from the start of the game that the player has to work hard towards getting this goal? It could be anything such as in the game “Journey” the mountain top always haunts the player and it is very clear that the player is moving towards the point at the top of the building. In the end, when the player does not make it and dies, we see that the player finds himself at the top of the mountain but when he walks forward it is shown that the destination is still not reached and there is still another mountain to climb and another journey to travel.
Also, there should be gameplay rewards for the player such as in the journey the cape the player grows in length and the player gets the ability to fly higher.
Punishments:
In the game, punishments are used to highlight the reward. If the player does not play up to a certain skill level. Stop them from having certain abilities. Decreasing the health when the player gets hurt is also a way to punish the player. Some of the other things you can change are time, inventory loss, story etc. For example, in journey, if one of the underground sea dragons sees you they cut a part of your cape and you lose some of your abilities.
Game Play Mechanics:
You have to decide many game mechanics your game will have such as how does the player move? Does the player have a health-gaining and losing system? Will there be a conversation system? Will there be a saving system for the player? The currency of the game and inventory also have to be decided and well-balanced.
Level Design
The level design should represent the story of the game. Such as in the game “The first tree” there is a beautiful stylized open world so it is only obvious to think that it is an adventure open-world game. In “Firewatch” the game takes place in a dense forest along the countryside of the united states of America.
While deciding on level design you have to ask questions like what it looks like? What is its purpose? What is its mood? Is it related to the other levels?
Last But Not the Least: Music
The music of your game plays a vital role in making the players feel the mood that you want them to.
The most successful games have excellent music too. Such as the game “Journey” has beautiful music that becomes tense in some situations and happy and mystical in others. The game "The first tree" also has some excellent music that blends perfectly with the environment and mood.
The Look Of Your Game:
To get your game to be noticed among thousands of games released on Steam every year you need stunning eye-catching graphics. This can be achieved by just selecting the right color palate. You can do that by using a website
Complete Your Game:
After you have put in considerable effort in your game don’t quit it. Even if you don’t like how it turned out. Give it your best and release it. Remember, Beyonce had to release many other songs before Halo. It's Ok even if the game doesn’t do very well you will have gained valuable experience. On an additional note think of how many people are doing jobs they don’t like but you’re here pursuing your passion and putting your dent in the universe. Even if it doesn’t feel like you are!
Schedule
Simplify the game mechanics and level design into small tasks and divide them into many weeks. Keep a deadline don't delay your project this will lead to demotivation and ultimately make you quit your game. David Weihmer, the creator of "The first tree" said that he tried to make his game 1% better every day and he had a no 0% day. This helped him complete the game in 18 months with a low budget and less time.