This has much less to do with Godot itself and much more with my fear and uncertainty, I just don’t know where else to ask it.
My dream has always been to make video games and be seen by people worldwide. However, there are a few tiny problems:
My mental health is a mess and that’s part of why development is so slow
I have no job and I need money to survive, much less continue making my game
I currently live in a country that is walling itself off from the civilized world. It’s blocking foreign resources, and I can’t receive money from foreign sources, meaning trying to start a Kickstarter isn’t an option (and even if it was, how would I explain what it’s for? “You’re actually funding SnowyStoat’s therapy more than the actual development of the game”?).
Anyway, I feel that I’m stuck. Without any source of income, I can’t get therapy, and without untangling my mess of a brain, I can’t get a job (and also I’m trans and my country has made it its official policy to oppress trans people so that makes things a hundred times worse). I’m not sure this is the right place to ask questions like this, but I figured it might be worth a shot.
I would suggest trying Vipassana if there is any center near you.
I believe it is one of the most beneficial things you can relatively effortlessly do for your mental health over a ten day period. I can next to guarantee you will leave with some new ideas about how to move forward from where you are at now.
I have 0 experience as a game dev other than the game I’m currently making started off as a school assignment and they looked at my demo and said it was “too good, you couldn’t have made this”
I’m not sure? I never told anyone IRL about my ideas because I hate this country with a passion and wanna be somewhere else, like Italy (Roma mea amata ) or Spain. And I barely told anyone online because with how slow my ideas are taking to be brought to life, they might as well not exist at all
As you might’ve guessed from the previous paragraph, yes I did consider emigration, but not seriously because I have no idea where I would get money for that, and we’re back to square one
Furries, on this forum? No way! (At least I assume it’s their fursona)
Sadly I know what that’s like, but keep your chin up! The fact that you’re sticking to this shows you have plenty of determination!
Before I was able to go full time indie, I worked a part time job in my country. This place is quite bad as well and don’t exactly support people like me.
Sometimes friends can help out a lot more than expensive therapy. I know this isn’t super helpful, but finding someone who’s willing to be there and help you out can help a lot.
Another out of the box thought is an AA-derived 12-step program. They are very helpful for helping you get things straight. It would give you a support community, and there are online meetings for many if you don’t want to go in person. It’s also free. There’s Al-Anon for anyone who has been affected by an alcoholic in their life. But there are programs whether you have an addiction, or someone you know has one. Might be worth checking into.
It’s actually well-documented that speaking with someone one trusts is as just effective as verbal therapy (like cognitive behavioral therapy).. So if you have like-minded people around you, talk to them. I’m bipolar, and I’ve certainly learned more from those close to me, than from psychologists.
Making a game is a big undertaking, with a lot of different parts - I think it would be great if you could find some others who share that interest, and work and learn together. It’s good to have more skills, and ideas.
If you don’t have the free time to be learning Godot, you can still design games in your head - in fact, if you have a lot of unwelcome thoughts, I find that directing the mind to a task helps with that
Being trans in any part of the world is still, unfortunately, very difficult. You start the ‘game of life’ with one of the hardest difficulty. So, you being trans, living in a hostile country, still making art (as your game), trying to care for yourself, and find a better life means you are really a strong person!
A lot of people think a strong person is a person without a problem. But it’s actually a person with difficult problems, who are aware of it and try to change that. That’s really hard to do. So kudos for that.
I heard that there is a charity where I live (western city) who bring tries to bring trans people (especially young trans people) here legally. I guess there are similar charities/programs all around the world, maybe you can research those.
And for the mental health part, it’s really hard without having a professional help. But also, sometimes a really good friend can do wonders. So I’d try to invest in some friends in the meantime.
I don’t know what country you are from, but in many countries you can find free therapy in public universities (part of training of psychology students), but most people don’t even know that’s something that is available.
Also in many countries there are institutions that give free therapy to people who can’t pay for it. Public healthcare institutions or private NGOs. If you are not in the US, chances are there is some kind of free healthcare in your country.
Maybe try to research if there’s something like that in your area.
There are a lot of people who dream of making games, but who never actually try hard enough to build one. If you find yourself in the same trap, maybe the source of your frustration comes from something else.
My only advice is to identify that source of frustration as soon as possible. Being it vipassana or governmental shrink - anything helps. Maybe you’ll find out that you enjoy writing Godot extensions in Rust, and there are some local companies who need just that. )
) or Spain. And I barely told anyone online because with how slow my ideas are taking to be brought to life, they might as well not exist at all
