Building video games is a dream that many grew up with. It’s also a dream that many have abandoned. Making games in a team usually means having no real hand on the direction or overall development of a title.
Working as an individual meant having to master complex code and take up multiple roles from widely different disciplines. While some succeeded in following this path, the idea was a non-starter for most.
Today, the landscape of building game software is much different. Thanks to newer engines and AI tools, a single person creating an entire project is now a realistic pursuit.
If you have a dream, or at least a starting place of a dream in game development, it’s now achievable, with the right application of AI assistance.
A Starting Engine
Before looking at the specifics of content and material creation, you’ll need to start with the right engine. This is the overall framework that a game operates on, into which all other digital components are inserted.
While it might be possible to vibe code your way from scratch, this is highly discouraged, given the complexity of a modern game engine.
Instead, newcomers are best served by two main options: Unreal and Unity. Both are free to download and to publish games on, up until a certain number of sales:
- Unreal is free up to US $1,000,000 in gross revenue, after which you’ll pay 5% on any revenue made.
- Unity is free up to US $1,000,000 in gross revenue and 1,000,000 sales/installs. After this point, fees slowly decrease depending on sales. Starting at 15%, this decreases to a minimum of 2%.
Both are flexible tools and have a considerable number of tutorials online to guide new players. Unity might be better suited for mobile creations, while Unreal’s blueprint system can be a better fit for absolute newcomers to the world of coding thanks to its Blueprint system.
The Right Tools for the Job
Once you’ve settled on your engine and are working towards a direction, you’ll need the material and props to inhabit your world.
Some of this can be found for free online on websites like Sketchfab, Free3D, and CGTrader. If you’re all in on AI and you want to build your own parts, you’re similarly spoilt for choice in free and low-cost options.
Popular AI programs used today include:
Meshi AI
Meshy is a program that takes prompts from the user and turns them into full 3D models. These models can then be exported into different formats as required by the engine, such as FBX for Unreal. Note that while models produced here aren’t animated, they’re fantastic as props and set dressing.
Tripo AI
Tripo takes a slightly different approach by creating 3D meshes using pictures as a base. This means that if you can sketch or produce a specific idea yourself, this tool can help bring it to life in a way that provides more granular control than through text prompts alone.
Adobe Firefly
Instead of producing 3D models, Firefly is a tool used to create 2D materials to be either implemented directly or used as concept art.
This can be especially helpful if you’re working with simple shapes through themed areas, where texture swaps can be all you need to completely reform a space’s feel.
Suno
Suno finds its strengths as an AI music creation tool. While it can be simple, the background tracks produced by Suno can be perfect for ambient music, or if you’re relying on music like Lo-Fi to foster a certain mood.
With enough work with other tools like Audacity and ElvenLabs, you can even create and insert lyrics to take the AI’s output even further.
External Help
The help that AI can provide to your gaming software continues to the marketing stage. This is another area where traditional via a team of marketers and strategists can be prohibitively expensive, but with AI, it doesn’t need to be.
Cutting-edge new AI personal marketing assistants understand your verticals and goals, using these to produce actionable campaign ideas to sell your goal.
An AI marketing tool can be highly customisable, letting you produce personalised output that takes into account all the latest trends by working through data-driven analysis.
These have already seen significant success in sub-genres like iGaming, playing a key part in building accessibility and a forward trajectory for businesses of all sizes.
Before beginning your journey, it’s crucial to remember that AI is not in itself a creative force. Rather, it’s a tool of unprecedented power built to help you create.
AI can and often will streamline your game creation and selling process to a point that you might never have managed alone.
It still depends on your direction, however, and this will remain true. It’s the craftsman that makes the real difference; AI is just here to help your vision take form.
