The [1] September Update
SEPTEMBER 29TH, 2026
Yeah, I know. Almost a whole month without a blog post. Consistency is key and all that. I had to be consistent elsewhere most of this month. It required a lot of work (Uber, Teaching). And it also required the decision to stop going to ASU. When I dropped my Calculus class, I had many hours extra to do things. I ended up reading a 300+ page book in 6 days, worked 40 hour weeks of Uber, and started making sure my classes were sharp. It had to be done; I had a lot of bills to pay and now I’m so close to getting out of credit card debt.
But…what about game development?
My last few posts have been all over the place! Unreal Engine 6, Godot, Unity, and even the thought of quitting game dev. But, I love it too much! The bug was put inside my brain the second I finished my first game, Lockes The Thief.
The book I read was about Game Design. A few of the important things I learned was budgeting, marketing, and being honest with yourself. That last one was really important. I am one guy, I shouldn’t be trying to make these huge 3D Adventures that take 3 years to make. I don’t plan on working on teams or companies, so I need to re-visit what is possible. I want to make 2-4 good quality games a year, quick and clean coded, with nice, original artwork. Some things had to be sacrified to move in that direction.
First of course, game engine. I decided to go with GameMaker! It is simplier than the other three I previously mentioned. It focuses on 2D Games, using a language that is like JavaScript and C++, my two favorite languages. Since it is only 2D, it isn’t bloated with 3D stuff! It is a lightweight engine. I don’t care who has said it isn’t a real game engine. Just look at the games that have been made using it! Like Hyper Light Drifter and Mark of the Ninja.
Secondly, was the art style! Which kind of revolves around the engine. My games…I’m hoping for 2D Perspectives. I grew up on Side Scrollers, Top Downs, Fighting Games, and Turn Based RPGs. The tutorial I’m learning from is an Action RPG, my favorite type of game, with the top down perspective. I hope I can find the resources to learn how to make my own style fit in a gaming structure, cause paying for art is a heavy, heavy cost. (Maybe another book? Or a single in-person 2D game art class??) Luckily I’ve been drawing since the 5th grade, I just gotta make it cohesive and fit that of video game style (you know, pixels…), while also being original and nice to look at.
So, yeah. 2D Games in a Lightweight Engine. And no Calculus to weigh me down. Those are some tough 7 week courses, where I’m putting nearly 20 hours a week to figure out Implicit Differentiation. And I’ve been told, most of the math is unnecessary for Game Development. Though I should find some time to learn some Linear Algebra….
I also want to STREAM! I’ve been playing Street Fighter 6, my first Street Fighter since 2 (I know, right?) this month. I’m Gold * Ranked right now after playing quite a few matches. I also am trying to get good at The Witcher 3, especially since it has been re-mastered this day. I literally better at Dark Souls than The Witcher and I don’t know why.
I think, once my credit card debt is at $0 (which should be the end of October), I can make a schedule I can stick to. I’m obviously really busy, but I still want to make games!! Games are life!!
I’ll have a little time this week because we are expecting a flood most of this week (I’m already missing Summer…), so I won’t be driving Uber. I’ll be indoors, just me and my computer. Expect some updates, hopefully more often coming soon.
Thanks for rocking with me. Get it and protect it~ and I will see y’all next time!
