Creating a video game guide is a rewarding process that combines your passion for gaming with your ability to help others. This comprehensive guide will walk you through the essential steps to crafting a successful and helpful resource for fellow gamers.
A digital splash image with the text “gamedev_splash.png”
What Skills Do You Need to Create a Game Guide?
Contrary to popular belief, you don’t need to be an expert in everything to create a useful video game guide. The most important thing is your willingness to learn and share your knowledge. There are many examples of successful games where the visuals are simple.
Art Skills Are Not Required
Guides don’t need to be visually stunning to be effective. Clear, concise information is more important than artistic flair.
A minimalist game art featuring red and white rectangles, for a game guide, under the title art skills.
Thomas Was Alone proves that simplicity can be powerful. The game is literally made of rectangles but is well known. A game guide can be created with shapes and simple instructions.
The game West of Loathing has crude stick figures that represent a western theme.
West of Loathing uses stick figures and humor, making a unique and funny game. A guide can use simple drawings to show how to do something.
You Don’t Need to Be a Musical Genius
The audio elements of a guide are not as essential as the written content and visuals.
A cluttered scene of hand drawn animation for the game Hidden Folks with the text musical genius.
Hidden Folks uses mouth sounds for all of its audio, proving that unconventional approaches can work.
Programming Knowledge Is Not Essential
While some technical understanding can be helpful, it’s not a prerequisite for creating a game guide.
The cover art for the game Undertale with a main character facing the viewer with the text programming skills.
Undertale has a unique combat style and great story, despite its novice programmer. This shows that you can learn as you go.
Choosing the Right Game Guide Type
Instead of jumping into a huge project you should create something small with the goal to release it and collect feedback.
Start by creating a Game Design Document. A GDD can help you organize the project so you can keep it within scope. It also lets you find different engines or languages that may work before you commit.
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Building a Team
The online world makes it easy to collaborate with others. You can find people to help with different aspects of guide creation such as writing, editing, or video production.
Find people to create games with on Discord servers. You can also find game jams on Itch.io. When you create game guides it is important to have a defined payment structure. Fair compensation avoids hurt feelings and legal issues. The more social projects you work on the better you will get at them.
Tools to Use
The best time in history to create a game is now, because the tools are easier to access. Social programs such as Guilded and Discord allow people to work together. Storage solutions like Google Drive and Github make it possible to share files.
Game Engines
There is no best engine because there are great engines for different types of games. Don’t think that the price determines the value.
The Godot game engine logo under the title of Game Engines.
Godot is a completely free and open source option. This is a great deal because it is actually free.
The GameMaker game engine logo under the title of Game Engines.
GameMaker is great for 2D games. This has a free trial version, desktop targets, web, and mobile.
The Unreal game engine logo under the title of Game Engines.
Unreal Engine is a powerhouse in the 3D arena that has a great monetization model. It is free if your game makes under 1,000,000$ over its lifetime.
The Ren’Py game engine logo under the title of Game Engines.
Ren’Py is made for visual novels. It’s completely free and easy to use.
Art Programs
There is no best art program so you should choose one that works for you.
The Aseprite logo under the title of Art Programs.
Aseprite is a cheap powerhouse to make pixel art.
The Gimp logo under the title of Art Programs.
Gimp is a fantastic image editing tool that is completely free.
The Blender logo under the title of Art Programs.
Blender is a really powerful and entirely free 3D modeling and animation tool.
Audio Programs
The FamiStudio logo under the title of Audio Programs.
FamiStudio is an awesome free tool for making NES style chiptunes and sound effects.
The Anvil Studio logo under the title of Audio Programs.
Anvil Studio is a completely free MIDI audio design platform.
The FL Studio logo under the title of Audio Programs.
FL Studio is easy to use, versatile, and lets you make a wide range of awesome stuff.
Financing
Making money as an indie developer can be a daunting task. The advice I will always give is to not quit your day job.
Streaming
The Twitch logo under the title of Financing.
Twitch has been a cornerstone of studios incomes because it provides a source of revenue.
Publishers
A generic image of a business deal under the title of Financing.
If you don’t know if publishers can help you then you don’t need them. You should always release a game yourself if you can. Publishers ask for 30-70% of the income of your game which makes it not needed due to digital distribution.
Kickstarter
The Kickstarter logo under the title of Financing.
Kickstarter is a great place to raise funding when you’ve already got a community base and a workable demo.
Merchandise
An image of assorted merchandise such as stickers, plushes, and shirts under the title of Financing.
Merchandise can be created and distributed around the world.
Subscription Services
The Ko-Fi logo under the title of Financing.
Ko-Fi is like Patreon if Patreon wasn’t the actual devil. Unlike the actual devil, Ko-Fi charges a flat fee for their subscription service.
Scams
An image of caution tape under the title of Financing.
Do not sign anything you haven’t read. If you’re unsure of what something means in a contract then talk to a lawyer.
The Influencer Scam
The scam works generally over email and starts with someone claiming they are a streamer or game reviewer. They will be using the correct icon for their profile, show legitimate links to social media accounts, and talk a little bit about their content. However, the email will not be correct.
The Bundle Scam
Scammers will claim you will get between 10-30% of the bundle sales if you give them 10,000-30,000 steam keys for your game.
Marketing
There are all kinds of different ways to approach marketing for indie developers. The major thing to always remember is if someone says there is a best way then they are probably selling you something and it usually just makes them money.
Building a Community
Building a community is the most important thing in all of this. Without your community you are absolutely nothing no matter how awesome your game is. You are never above your community and you are never too important to spend time responding to them.
Social Media
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There are tons of places online for you to post about your games or whatever it is you’re working on. Never miss an opportunity to do this. This includes things like Twitter, Instagram, Steam, Game Jolt, Itch.io, Twitch, YouTube, Reddit, and Guilded.
Paid Advertisement
I generally stay away from any kind of paid promotion because as an indie dev you may not have a lot of money.
Conventions
Definitely take part in conventions but make sure not to burn out your studios wallet in the process.
Awards
Awards are not just granted to amazing games in the industry. You need to apply for these and they will almost always carry a cover charge.
Launching Your Game
The Steam logo under the title of Launching Your Game.
Steam is the best monetization platform that exists for games because it gives player interaction and feedback. Steam takes a 30% cut of all sales but that doesn’t really tell the whole story.
The Humble Bundle logo under the title of Launching Your Game.
Humble Bundle is a great middle-man platform that can help improve your sales by distributing Steam keys.
The Game Jolt logo under the title of Launching Your Game.
Game Jolt is the god of demo sites so make a demo for your game and put it on Game Jolt.
The Itch.io logo under the title of Launching Your Game.
Itch.io has more customizability than any other site but lacks discoverability.
Conclusion
Creating a video game guide is a challenging but rewarding process. The most important ingredient is your passion for helping others. By following these steps, you can create a comprehensive and engaging guide that will be a valuable resource for gamers around the world. Remember to stay focused on providing accurate information, a clear structure, and a user-friendly design to maximize its impact.
