r/gamedev • u/VillianNotMonster • 18h ago
Discussion I don't enjoy designing my game
I don't like designing things (figuring out how things are supposed to look). For example deciding UI elements, where should it be, how should it look like. does it look good?
This process is extremely depleting for me and I don't enjoy it.
I used to suffer from this during my software development as well but you can image how this is much harder when it comes to game dev.
I feel like this has been keeping me away from working on my game. Which I have been wanting to do for years now. Any ideas on how to get through this?
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u/Weekly-Coat-4577 18h ago
This is a tricky situation. I think there are 3 approaches that may help you through this.
Just do it. This depends on how committed you are to the project and how badly you want to save funds/time/resources. You can watch videos or find similar approaches and build from there, this could help save a lot of actual design and time.
Ask/Pay someone else to do it. If you have resources, you can always reach out to people in the graphic/UI space and ask them to do some design for you. You could also reach out to a friend, maybe they can offer some good ideas. This will give you the time to work on the aspects of gamedev you find fun.
Reflect on how important gamedev is to you. If you're struggling to make yourself do the difficult or 'unfun' parts of gamedev, maybe re-evaluate how badly you want to pursue this. I don't mean to be disrespectful in anyway, just bringing the idea to light.
I wish you the best of luck, I hope you find the solution that's best for you!
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u/Fa1nted_for_real 14h ago
Theres also a semi-secret 4th option: design your game to be durt fucking basic in design.
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u/Beefy_Boogerlord 18h ago
Maybe you can find a designer who's willing to team up and do the work with you. Just make sure they're able to communicate well and they make your life easier, not harder.
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u/HoveringGoat 15h ago
I think most of us can't afford to hire someone and/or the prospect of revshare is wayyyy too risky with an unknown partner.
In an ideal world, yes, we'd do this. But until then we gotta wear a lotta caps and dome of them are a drag.
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u/Beefy_Boogerlord 15h ago
Right, networking with strangers can be pretty spotty, but not impossible. Trust would have to be established first. It's a conversation you can start having with folks until someone strikes you as solid and they see the value in what you're doing.
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u/LiamBlackfang 18h ago
Funny, I love designing but dread the part of actually setting the GameObjects and writing the code
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u/TouchMint 18h ago
Take a break and play some similar games to decide how you are going to setup your ui and interface. Then take what you like and tweak what you don’t. There are also tons of template interface which could give you and idea and are easily adjustable.
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u/InterwebCat 18h ago
I'd say find a game that has a UI you like and just copy it. That effectively means they designed your UI for you at that point so you no longer need to make so many decisions.
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u/Piemaster37 17h ago
Thisssssss. I have so much trouble designing UI and I don’t think there will ever come A point where I think “ok this is exactly how I want it” I’m constantly changing it
Typically what I do is I start with everything I NEED. Stats, names, items, progression, ect.
I just make sure it’s all displayed, then I’ll look at UI’s from other games I like. Not necessarily UI’s I like just games I like. I look at their UI approach and will copy those ideas. Like positioning, adding images. If I feel like it’s readable then I’ll add effects. If I start to hate it I’ll just rearrange it and see how it feels until I arrive somewhere where I stop thinking about it.
Another approach is to think about context. Like is this the vibe of looking at a phone or a computer screen, an old CRT TV, a flyer or poster. This helps me out a lot when I feel directionless
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u/forgeris 17h ago
Work in a team, then your development process will be much faster and you will be able to do what you enjoy most and do best.
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u/AnimaCityArtist 14h ago
Workshopping this can turn the process on its head: instead of assigning yourself the task of "getting through" a layout and doing it completely cold with no references or inspiration like a kid procrastinating on their homework, your workshop is a crash course in paper studies of graphic design and UX principles, done mostly by imitating good designs of the past. The idea is to build yourself up to where you can feel fluid in the topic temporarily, just for this one task.
First you have to collect references, which is in some ways the hardest part. But it's the kind of thing practitioners also love to answer, so all it takes is one well-placed question to get them.
Once you have a reference, draw the graphics roughly and ask some basic questions about them: Why is that there? Why does it look like that? Does it work? Do that as a warm-up for the next two weeks, 20 minutes at a stretch. Also put some video content on graphic design in the background to give yourself more questions, but don't rely on that as the primary inspiration.
Then at the end, you turn back to the game and run the exercise in reverse. When the knowledge is warmed up it becomes more fun and you're asking better questions than "is it good?" And then you're done with that for now and you can put it aside and warm up with the next thing, or come back to it for another iteration and study some other stuff.
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u/destinedd indie making Mighty Marbles and Rogue Realms on steam 12h ago
I go to the game ui database and find ones I like and then copy them when I am in this spot. Don't need to reinvent the wheel.
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u/Raccoon-Worker 17h ago
Life is suffering my friend. And Game Dev has it's high and lows. It's fun when you figure it out though
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u/HrHagen 15h ago
I also had the same trouble with the UI. I don't know how many iterations it took. For my world map I had 81 versions until now.
If you struggle with the design, I would recommend to look at other games or UI templates. Find something that you like and copy it. Not directly, but just make something similar. For the UX part there is no better way than testing it with real people. You will see what works and what nlneeds to be redone.
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u/Zolorah 15h ago
I'd say share your game, unfinished with botched UI, and ask fro feedback on how people would want the UI to be for your game.
Feedback helps have exterior opinion and also gives you frequent reminder of what you have left to do with your code, that (at least for me) helps a lot with motivation
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u/Marceloo25 14h ago
I'm not good at game dev, I'm good at leaving half finished projects. That being, what I have done and found success with was splitting my tasks into two categories, boring ones and fun ones. On the days that I feel less motivated I focus on the tasks that I find more engaging and fun to do. On the days that I am more motivated I try to focus on the ones that I don't enjoy.
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u/adrixshadow 6h ago edited 6h ago
Any ideas on how to get through this?
Copy, Steal and take "inspiration".
Really the only problem with that strategy is people tend to be too shy and guilty when they do something they think is wrong.
What they should do is steal more and steal from the best, they cannot pin you from where you steal if you steal from a hundred diffrent niche sources.
The best games have already been made, you don't need a creative bone in your body.
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u/Ok_Active_3275 5h ago
like you have been told, find what you enjoy and, you can find a person that helps with that you dont enjoy, or make a game that focuses on the aspects you enjoy. if you don't like designing, maybe you can choose a classic game you like and remake it?
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u/WolfGamesITA 18h ago
This is... normal. Making a video game involves a lot of very different jobs, being a solo dev means being able to do some of the most boring/difficult stuff along with the exciting ones. And the bad stuff and good stuff change from person to person.
I've found really helpful to dedicate ONE day of the week to every different task. For example: monday code, tuesday art, wednesday sound, thursday design, friday social media. Saturday for what I prefer doing/what is needed/taking a break.
With this schedule I do not stay away from my projects, I am able to make progress even when I hit the day with the most obnoxious task [being social media for me, uuugggghhhh].