It’s Easy to Make a Game in 2025 Part 2

If you have dreamed of making your own video game, 2025 is the best time in history to get started.

The hardest part is to actually START … well… it’s harder to finish but that topic will be covered much later in this series. For now, in just 15 short minutes, I’m going to share some resources, tips and tricks as part of a road map that will cover concept to launch – things that I learned the hard way. Hopefully it’ll help you.

if you missed part 1, please check it out

In part 1 of this 2-part series, I shared what I learned – the hard way – about making a few important decisions BEFORE starting to work on my game.

Part 1 covers the first 3 important decisions you’ll need to make.

• Why do I want to make a game?
• Which game engine should I use?
• What kind of game do I want to make?

welcome to part 2 of it’s easy to make a game in 2025.

I’ll cover 2 more questions you may want to think about early. Take some time to consider and answer these questions before you even open Unity’s editor and your journey to success will be a lot easier.

When I started my new game, Rescue, I considered these final 2 questions before I started working on the game in Unity

• How do I get started? What do I do first?
• When do I need a Steam page? What is needed for that Steam page?

watch the video on youtube!

You can watch on YouTube! Part Two covers the last two important decisions you should consider before you start your journey as a game developer. How do I get started? When do I need a Steam page?

How do i get started? what’s a gdd?

Your GDD is your game design document.

Your GDD is simply a living document that serves as a record of decisions, deadlines, sketches, mechanics, features, and anything else that you feel is important to document for your game. Some developers believe that the GDD is a thing of the past, especially if you are a small team or solo developer. If you are a large team, a GDD really helps keep everyone on the same path. But even if you are a small team or solo dev, the GDD can keep you focused, motivated and prevent scope creep.

what’s your story?

One of the most important things to have in your GDD is a core gameplay loop and a hook. But those two things may be decided later in the development process. You’ll also need at least a brief description of your story – if you game has a story. All games have a narrative, not all games have a story. Do you know the difference?

Story and narrative are two different things, but it is a subtle difference. On the most basic level, story is an account of incidents and events. Narrative is the choices around the story events, the relationships between the events and in what order the events occur. Basically, narrative is the intersection of game design and storytelling.

When do you need your story?

Some developers wait until the game play is complete to write the story. Other developers write the story first. Regardless of timing, it’s important that you make the game play more important than the story.

Rescue’s story

There are two main influences for Rescue’s story. I am a huge fan of the TV series, Supernatural. I’m inspired by the two brothers traveling the country “saving people, hunting things — the family business”. Rescue is inspired by that, and Rescue’s heroine will be tasked with saving people, hunting things and unraveling her family secrets.

The second influence is one of my favorite authors, Dean Koontz. Dean Koontz is a huge dog lover. Any of his books which feature a canine character, you can rest assured that the dog will be more than they seem. Rescue will feature a fiercely loyal canine companion, a border collie, who is way more than she seems.

What is your theme?

Some developers consider a game’s theme as more important than the story. The theme is the first thing that will draw players to your game and keep them hooked until the end.

If something in your game breaks from your theme – it needs to go no matter how much you love it!

Saving people, hunting things – the family business.

Rescue’s theme is like the TV show Supernatural. Sometimes spooky, sometimes mundane, and sometimes a tiny bit funny. Rescue will be a supernatural thriller where the player character is tasked with ‘hunting things, saving people – you know – the family business”. 

Decide on your game’s style and your characters

What style will your game be? This decision will help you determine which render pipeline to use. Will your game be 2D, 3D, realistic, stylized, cartoony, low poly, etc.? What assets and resources do you have in your arsenal – or do you have the money to purchase what you need?

I had a ton of Synty polygon assets in my library. They are high quality, easy to use, and fun to play with. Especially, since I am a hobbyist, I chose to use Synty assets for Rescue. Synty works well with Unity’s URP. So now that decision is made.

When should you start your steam page?

Most resources that I found, agree you should start your Steam page as soon as possible. You’ll need several things before you can get your page approved. Here’s a list of things you’ll need.

• A Steam app ID ($100.00)
• Your game name (this can be changed later, but its not easy to do)
• Your game’s genre, sub-genre and style
• Your game’s logo
• A game capsule and hero capsule
• A minimum of 5 gameplay screenshots
• A gameplay trailer (optional for store page approval)

How to choose a game name

Choosing a name for your game can be the hardest part of game development. Some studios wait until the game is almost done before naming it. However, people get attached to names. It’s easier to talk about your game if it has a name. You can start building a memorable brand and a community if you have the name. And most importantly, you must have a game name to get your Steam store page approved. If you have a Steam store page, you can send people to that link so they can see your game and hopefully wishlist it.

One con to choosing a game name early is that if the game play changes over the course of the development process, you may want a new name. You can change the game’s name with Steam, but it is not easy to do. And you have to change all your social media, websites, printed materials, logos, and other graphical assets.

check out the video on youtube for helpful tips for naming your game

Whatever your reason for making games, and however you define success, just make sure you love what you do. Game development is a rewarding creative journey. And your work should be PASSION not PRISON. The gamers will know if you are passionate about your game – or if you are not.

Rescue will be an action-rpg with 3rd person shooter features

Be sure to join me on this journey. I’ll present a road map – a step-by-step process for the making of Rescue. I’ll provide tips and tricks along the way. I’ll share the mistakes that I made while developing my first few games so that you don’t have to make those mistakes!

in case you missed it – Be sure to check out “its easy to make a game in 2025 | Part 1

It’s easy to make a game in 2025 part 1 covered the first 3 questions:

Why do you want to make a game?

Which game engine should you use?

What kind of game do you want to make?

thanks for watching! Please leave your comments below & let’s start a positive community.

Comment below:
What kind of game are you making?

How did you decide on a name for your game?

Do you have useful tips or tricks you can share with us? We love to hear from you!