The speaker shares their journey of learning to code and creating a best-selling pie game course on Udemy. They began with Python and Pygame, creating simple games like Tic-Tac-Toe and Snake, gradually tackling more complex games like Pong and Breakout. They then moved on to Space Invaders, a mobile game Flappy Bird, and a platformer.
The platformer was their biggest project and taught them how to create game levels, work with physics, and make animations. They attempted to create a turn-based RPG style game but found it too large a project, so they moved on to a shooting game with a level editor. This game was the most challenging and largest they've ever made, but it also burned them out.
After a break, they returned to game development with smaller projects for fun, starting with Castle Defender, an endless game with increasing enemy waves and an upgrade and repair mechanism. They then created a two-player fighting game based on Street Fighter.
Finally, they tackled a top-down dungeon crawler game, their biggest game to date, which required an upgrade to their level editor and refinement of camera handling. They added smart AI with line of sight and targeting, and implemented a bow and arrow aimed with the mouse. They plan to continue learning and creating fun games in the future.
1. The speaker has spent the past two years learning how to create games, starting from almost zero programming experience.
2. The speaker created a best-selling pie game course on Udemy.
3. The journey began in the end of 2020 during the first lockdown, when the speaker decided to learn to code.
4. The speaker started with Python, a popular language, and used the Pygame library to create games.
5. The speaker's first game was Tic-Tac-Toe, which took some time to create but gained a good understanding of Python and the Pygame library.
6. The speaker then moved on to Snake, a more challenging game that required a better understanding of Python lists and rudimentary physics.
7. The speaker then created two more classic 2D retro games, Pong and Breakout, challenging themselves to use more features of Pygame.
8. The speaker then moved on to creating Space Invaders, using game assets for the first time, and applied mask Collision for accurate collision checks.
9. The speaker then developed a mobile game, Flappy Bird, using a lot of what they learned from the Space Invaders project and added basic physics to control the bird.
10. The speaker's next project was a platformer, which was their biggest project at the time.
11. The speaker then attempted to create an RPG-style game like Final Fantasy, starting with the battle element and delving deeper into animations.
12. The speaker then moved on to a shooting game, which was a real challenge and required creating a level editor.
13. The speaker took a break from game development after completing the shooting game, then slowly came back to it with the intention of working on smaller projects for fun.
14. The speaker's next project was Castle Defender, an endless game with increasing difficulty and an upgrade and repair mechanism.
15. The speaker then developed a two-player fighting game based on Street Fighter, focusing on the core game mechanics.
16. After a year, the speaker decided to tackle another big game, a Dungeon Crawler, which required an upgrade to the level editor and refinement of the camera handling.
17. The Dungeon Crawler game required smarter AI, line of sight, and targeting, and the player could move in four directions.
18. The speaker used everything they've learned over the last two years to create this game, and it is their biggest game to date.
19. The speaker is considering their next project, possibly going back to the RPG game or trying a different game library altogether, as long as it's fun and enjoyable.