How to Make Bad Video Games Like a Professional

Hey there! This post is part of an indie game project I made in August 2022. There’s a lot more ground to cover other than what’s covered in this post. So when you’re done reading, check out the full project here.

I’m glad you think reading a blog post about making bad video games is an effective use of your time! No, I’m serious. But why would you want to make a bad game though? Isn’t the point to make a good game? A game that will make you proud and other people mildly less bored? The answer is yes. And that’s exactly what I’m getting at.

As a fledgling game developer, you’ll obviously want people to play the games you dish out. You’ll also want them to want to play your games. But how do you reach the point where you can design a good game? Simple. Make some bad ones first.

That doesn’t mean going out of your way to make a game that’s unplayable or boring. You’ll definitely want to try to make it fun (And who knows? You may actually succeed). Just don’t be discouraged if it turns out to be crap.

Leveling up your skills

Let me clarify. Your game design skills are like a muscle in that you’ve never used them before. Odds are, you’re not going to make a hit game on your first, second, or even third try (unless you’re Toby Fox or Eric Barone). That being said, even if your game ends up being more of an embarrassment than a triumph, you’re still strengthening that game design muscle of yours.

So strive to make a good game, and fully expect it to be a bad one! How do you accomplish this? First, devise the game concept. You’ll want to aim for arcade type games like Galaga or Donkey Kong. Maybe even smaller than that. Small games typically don’t take up too much of your time. So if (or in our case when) you end up having to scrap it, you won’t feel too attached.

Next, list out everything you need in order to complete the game. This includes objects, enemies, etc. Having everything laid out in front of you will give you a pretty good idea of how much work will be needed in order to complete the final product. Try to list as many things you can think of, but don’t fret if you miss one or two.

Finally, set a schedule. This entails dividing up your list into day by day segments. I prefer to use Trello for this as it allows me to use checklists (which I love), but any task management system you can think of should get the job done.

Sidequest time!

As a side note, you could try the one game a week challenge (which is part of the reason I’m writing this blog post). As the name implies, you make one game a week for a set number of weeks. Why do this? Because having a deadline will force you to stick to your schedule. I’m well aware of the feeling you get when you realize you’re making a bad game and want to immediately restructure it. Don’t. Continue the project to its completion. It might suck, but it will prevent burnout.

Player (that’s you) progression

So what good does all this do? You spent hours creating a bad game that no one will play. What do you get out of it? Know how.

Remember that game design muscle I mentioned earlier? Making yourself continue to work on a bad game will go miles towards strengthening it. As you add in each mechanic, you’re forced to get a huge close up as to what your game’s flaws are. This will get the gears turning in your head as to how to make it better, even if you don’t do it immediately.

Neat huh? Your newfound awareness of what makes a game bad will strengthen your ability to make one that’s good. Each broken or boring game you make will be slightly less bad than the one before. Eventually, you’ll make one that’s worth playing and, dare I say, fun?

I struggled for years to find material on how to make a game fun and came up short. But there’s a reason for that: game design is better learned than it is taught.

And to learn how to be good at something, you sometimes have to be bad at it first.

It can be a real raw deal working on games that you realize won’t make the cut early on. But the lessons they teach far outweigh the exasperation you feel during the process. Think of it this way: every bad game you make will be one step closer to making a good one.