Old timer wanting to start

Howdy folks.

My name is Scot and I'm a proud granddad of three grandchildren. I live in the beautiful USA and although I've had my fare share of bad experiences trials and tribulations, life on the whole hasn't been too bad.

After a bit of a health scare my youngest daughter suggested I pick up a hobby to pass my time during retirement (keep my brain active) and I've always been somewhat interested in game development although I am quite old, in my 60's, my joints ache when bending over most of the time.

It would be lovely if you folks could give me any advice on where to start. But the question I have is? Am I too old for this gig?! I don't know, I hope not.

Looking forward to any advice you have to offer.

edited: I also have to admit i did struggle to create an account and sign on but my daughter kindly guided me on the process

 

Fortunately, there's not a whole lot of bending over involved in game development

There is a whole lot to learn, and game development is pretty time consuming. Do you have any previous programming experience?

I personally recommend learning the basics of programming in C# before learning Unity, so you're not struggling with both at the same time. Unity has a Learn section which has some tutorials (see the Learning link at the top of this page). There's also tutorials from different sources, such as on YouTube. I also recommend skimming through the Unity Manual, so you are aware of many of the features of the engine. When you go to use these features, you can then read up in more detail.

https://docs.unity3d.com/Manual/index.html

If you get stuck, feel free to post a question on the forum. If your question is clear and someone knows the answer, you'll usually get a response. Good luck!

 

Where to start highly depends on what you actually wanna do in a game engine.

If you just wanna be a "one man show" for small hobby projects I recommend first starting with a C# course and then start messing with unity itself.

I don't have a C# course recommendation for people who have not programmed before (hope someone else can name one)
after that, if you like video tutorials you should check out Sebastian Lague on youtube and if you like text tutorials you should check out Catlike Coding

 

I have to say, I'm really not technical in the slightest, so I am not sure if programming is something i could do. I do however, enjoy a good game of backgammon now and again - and a good crossword. I must confess though, my wanting to do this, it is partly to keep my mind active. I had the most terrible scare and since losing my wife I don't honestly feel at all myself, unless my daughter comes to visit with the grandkids.

Perhaps maybe I should pick something else up instead?

 

Never too late to start anything, Scott. I’m 61 so I’m sort of in your shoes. I did learn to program when I was 17, but stopped in my mid 20”s. I got back into it with Unity about 12 years ago. So I was away from programming for about 30 years.

I’ve had to learn a lot which isn’t easy the older you get. I’m sure you can relate. I find you tubers are very helpful to me. Brackeys, Jason Weimer, Code Monkey are all excellent learning resources. I’ll watch the same ones over and over and create the code as I watch. I don’t download the files, I think you learn more by taking the time to input the code.

if you’ve never programmed before, the learning curve will be steep. Take it in small steps.

Also, take a look at visual programming. You may find that is more manageable if you are just starting out.

 

Well, things that you do not know you can learn, and there used to be several other people in your age range group on forums in the past.

With non-technical approach maybe you could try Unity Learn:
https://learn.unity.com/

And see if this is easier than starting from manual.

I wouldn't recommend starting with a C# course and would recommend to pick up programming as you need it. That's because unity programming is slightly different compared to traditional programming in C#.

 

I’m hope I’m this cool when I’m 60.

I would poke around the learn section.

Learn to enjoy the process.

Consequently what sort of stuff are you interested in making?

 

I've only started learning two or so months ago myself, with this as my starting point: https://learn.unity.com/pathway/junior-programmer

Surprisingly I feel like I've come pretty far in two months. Patience is key; if there's something you don't understand, that's okay as you'll come to understand it in time. Lots of googling is also involved. Just searching 'Unity [whatever you need to understand]' into google will often find you old forum threads or Unity Ask threads that will help you to a solution.

Also you're never too old to learn something. At this age you have all the time in the world to take it at your own pace, rather than stuff it into each evening after work like I am.

 

That certainly gives me confidence in myself. But I haven't really tackled anything technical or have been exceptionally educationally attuned in my youth. Mainly found my way through life picking up construction jobs and just until late, mining on an offshore rig.

I suppose the next job, would be to download unity, which I will wait until my daughter comes to visit. embarrassingly i don't quite know her job title, but I'm sure a data analyst of sorts is about right. She promised on her next visit to get me up and started! This is rather exciting.

 

What a lovely reply, I have to say, I'm quite impressed with the assistance so far. Hopefully, getting started won't be so difficult after all.

 

don't worry all will go in the best way for you.

 

could also have a look at alternatives, these can be easier to get started:
https://www.clickteam.com/clickteam-fusion-2-5
https://www.clickteam.com/the-games-factory-2

there's several online learning platforms too:
https://studio.code.org/s/mc/lessons/1/levels/1
https://scratch.mit.edu/

(no matter what engine you use or try, you'll still learn many of the same useful concepts and techniques)

 

No idea, but I hope not!

I have a hunch that you might actually have a bit of a strength in that you're here out of interest in the craft, and wanting to learn new stuff and be mentally active. Most people have a specific idea in mind and want to rush into it, which can actually slow them down. If you're happy to learn things as you get to it, and make stuff inspired by that, my gut feel is that you'll have a fine time.

One thing to note is that most developers find an area or two they're really into, and don't try to get good at everything. So try different bits, and stick to the ones which take your fancy.

 

Absolutely go for it Scotty. You have absolutely ZERO to lose and much to gain. Start small, and your first game should be 2d in my opinion, and as simple as possible, a "mini" game. Put a square and a circle on the scree, move 1 with the keyboard and when it hits the other, You Win, Game Over!. You will be amazed at how satisfying that will be. Do not get bogged down in everything being perfect and the 'right way' . Which ever way works IS the right way at this point.

Learn the basics of the Unity Editor First, then, Unity Learn for C#.

Beginner Scripting - Unity Learn
Intermediate Scripting - Unity Learn

Unfortunately, the C# Survival guide has been removed. Was a great resource. but the 2 above will get you going. Go through each lesson, multiple times if necessary.

You have a great opportunity in front of you, take each lesson in the above links seriously (they are mostly very short) and understand what each is doing before you move on.

Good Luck and we will be here to help.

(By the way, I have been programming for 30 years, game programming is very new to me and i learn something every day from these forums. Visit often, even if you do not have a specific question.)

 

Unity basic tutorials are fun to do. I recommend doing them. Those are linked in the other's answers.
Have fun! The good thing about Unity is that in no-time you'll be making fun little games for all to play! It's so nice

 

Computer Programming is a real odd-ball area. Educators used it to study learning in general since it's not math or writing ... it's just different. In theory it seems to fill a "keep my mind active" role. Although I think the standard advice is to find an activity to do with other people, like a choir (my city has a very good Gay Men's Choir) or woodshop. Most programming guides are terrible -- this includes Unity Learn and almost anything on UTube. But they're fine as long as you know that. If you think they took 10 extra minutes on a very, very simple concept and left a lot of other things out, they probably did. But you can fast-forward and look up the extra.

The two most fun things in Unity are probably the Physics system and making particles. Watching balls and boxes bounce around and knock each other down, roll down slopes... is pretty fun. It's easy to start (once you figure out how to do anything in Unity) and there's a lot of improve on. It's not _too_ much work to create a terrain (hills and such) and then see how lots of balls roll down over it to try to make a land-slide or avalanche.

Particle systems just use a lot of overlapping pictures to fake fire, smoke, fog and so on. Learning GImp to make your own images is a tad frustrating, but not too bad. And it's really something to make some "fire" pictures and then see how 30 of them growing, spinning and overlapping in a particleSystem look (usually it will be like garbage, but still very amusing and it gives you an idea how to quick to tweak it better).

 

TBH, the biggest thing in game dev is learning your chosen engine (ive used many). It should be the 1st thing you do, and a priority. Learn Unity itself, what it can do, and what you can do with it, even if your not a programmer/coder.

YouTube is the best for tutorials/learning, your not old, your just a few minutes late, lol.

Best of luck...
Warthos

 

Thanks you everyone for the wonderful advice. I feel really blessed to be here and participating.

Please find my updated progress below if you care to leave any feedback.

https://forum.unity.com/threads/my-foray-into-unity.1111525/

 

Same for me but, as someone already pointed out, you won't need your joints to learn Unity. And I bet I'm older than you and there are learners around here who are older than us too!

The only things learning Unity and scripting take is time and perseverance; the latter is probably easier to afford than the former but if you are retired...

Create with Code is definitely where you need to start: https://learn.unity.com/course/create-with-code

 

I'm going to respectfully disagree on just this single suggestion. For an absolute novice, when you run into trouble with an asset from the store, you don't yet have the skill set to get yourself out of trouble, even for a relatively trivial problem. I'd wait until you've got more experience. If you want to try though, stick with stuff available for free at first, and don't let yourself get too frustrated if things go sideways

 

Oh yes absolutely although any advice offered here is so helpful. I am bookmarking all the links so that I may go over them with my daughter later. She is adamant that we are to only use unity stock and no assets or external functions. Most of the time she is whizzing around the screen and it is terribly difficult to keep up but I do try my best.

I do have a question though, we are using a window entitled 'Playmaker' and I was wondering, does that count as an asset or external function, I'm not entirely sure what the correct terminology is and is it OK to use in the long run?

After a terrible week of colds and family dramas maybe we might be able to do some more tests this weekend! I do hope so.

 

Yes. It's an asset. It's one of several ways to add functionality without having to write code and it's perfectly fine to use in the long run. In fact most assets are fine to use in the long term. If I had to guess she likely wants to avoid them as much as possible to minimize the difficulty.

 

Why not start with a game you know of and like or simpler games that you play with the grandkids e.g. OXO, Pong, UNO or whatever kids play today.

Although knowing C# is something you will need with Unity's node based programming system and example projects you could probably get a basic game up and running and learn as you go.

PS Check out the LEGO game programming event Unity had > Start creating games with virtual LEGOⓇ bricks in our new LEGO Microgame | Unity Blog

 

Why thank you very much. I suppose, in earlier days I endeavored to pass my knowledge of the creative process with oil paints, by instructing my daughter to begin with the much limited 'zorn' palette. Did you know you can make the most wonderful muted greens with a combination of ivory black and yellow ochre, in so far as, the ivory black leans towards the cooler end of the spectrum, such as the blues. I'm always amazed at how far the palette can take you. Of course, eventually, I got her using a more varied palette but still very much limited, with alizarin crimson, cad yellow, ultramarine blue and burnt umber and titanium white. (I have just discovered water mixable oil paints which really removes the issues with toxicity and I am keen to start painting again) The most peculiar thing, is now in my old age, the tables have appeared to have turned, and my daughter's tenacious abilities have extended into online computer tech pursuits, where she is the teacher and I am very much the student. But it really is rather interesting!

 

Oh dear, I'm afraid my second youngest grand-daughter is very into a show named 'The Octonauts' if I can remember correctly, and my youngest grand-daughter is just one and very much learning to communicate. She certainly, is quite precocious in her mannerisms and gestures though. Keeps me on my toes. I do like the idea of 'tic-tac-toe.' That might be an idea

 

Another thing about 3rd party assets is that they are extra things you need to learn. To start with you need to get a grip on the fundamentals, and having extra 3rd party stuff in the mix can distract from and/or get in the way of that to some degree. So it makes heck of a lot of sense to set some boundaries around what you'll do to begin with, and what you'll leave for later.

 

What an absolutely fantastic idea!! Now neither myself nor my daughter knew what this lovely game was or had seen it before but after a little research we implemented a rough around the edges mechanic in playmaker using 'tween' to scale the player and move the platform.

https://forum.unity.com/threads/my-foray-into-unity.1111525/#post-7167400

 

Yes although I suppose I broke the cardinal rule and added a red primary color in our platform game, when of course, tonal studies are merely black and white compositions. In the same way our games are of a very limited palette - even the 'zorn' palette is more than needed. I've always found the proclivity for limitations to be a natural benefit than a hindrance!

 

@scottymclue See, now your like a kid in a candy store, lol. Theres so much to Unity, that you could use it for a lifetime, and not learn it all,

Relax, learn, and enjoy... your adventure begins...

 

Thank you so much for a lovely comment! I am thrilled to be part of such a lovely community with great support and everyday as, even as my health deteriorates, I am constantly impressed by the breath of knowledge of my daughter as we learn playmaker together, and her will to keep me on my toes as the constant fight to keep loneliness, depression and failing memory at bay wages everyday.

https://forum.unity.com/threads/my-foray-into-unity.1111525/

 

I have of course, ordered a wonderful set of water mixable oils from amazon and I think I am ready to pick up a paint brush and palette again! It's going to be a marvelous as the absence of turpentine's will be the deal breaker

 

Just to add a comment. In my experience as a programmer, there's no way to make games in Unity (alone) if you don't learn the basics of programming. That's the main reason (seriously bad reason) why some people love Unreal. It gives you all, and you can even create games with no idea of programming, and they create huge complex and very difficult to mantain (and slooow) networks of nodes instead of learning the grammar of the language to create the same with 3 lines of code. I think node based editors are just a workaround for something that is simpler to read. That's not good. That's why I love Unity, easy and fast to learn, I teach artists how to write code and they start doing stuff in just one month.

 

Thanks Lidia good to know.

 

Hey, Scot! There are a number of us old-timers here so you fit in nicely. Welcome to Unity from another old American.

 

@scottymclue - another thing that may help you with coding is to think of something very specific. This is how I learned Unity specifically.

(GOOGLE IS YOUR BEST FRIEND). Remember this!

So here's an example.
Ask your self what specific task do you want to do.

So go to google and type it, here's an example "Unity3d player jump example". Being specific with things really helps, just keep in mind that examples may or may not be the most efficient ways of doing things, but these examples are generally small. So it allows you to copy-paste and start messing with values to see how things operate and work.

Also fear not, if for some reason you don't remember things keep in mind there's one thing I literally ALWAYS forget despite using it a lot. Don't feel embarrassed or shame if you don't remember things, we all use google, anyone who says otherwise is a liar lol.

 

Or any other search engine for that matter; I never use this one.

 

Jumping seems like an example of how simple googling works badly. How to jump depends on whether the player is a characterController or is using a rigidbody or even some other way, and they often don't explain that. And, as Niwarhead notes, code is sometimes written very simply, for reading. It's also sometimes written in a needlessly complex way to show off every trick. There are also lots of extras to think about: double-jumps or steering in the air, or jumping further if running. Even more basic, some checks the spacebar, whereas others are written as doJump() functions.

It seems like most of the Q's about "I downloaded this jump code. How do I fix it to do X?" turn into a mix of a complete code tear-down, and the OP in over their head ("I made my player following this guide -- is there a better way?").

 

Thank you so much everyone, it is great to be a part of such a wonderful and buzzing community where most questions are answered promptly. For those wondering, no we haven't touched c# yet, and we may not intend to, for myself as I'm not too smart, Playmaker has been a wonderful tool.

When it comes to scripting my daughter has been having fun learning c++, I believe she is on the 'Actor' tutorial part now with the udemy course and highly recommends it!