Field manual · personalised · free to start

Ship the damn game.

— the one you’ve been putting off since Someday Tuesday.

A 13-chapter, personalised roadmap from engine install to Steam launch day. Answer 9 questions. Get a guide that only shows chapters you actually need — with copy-paste Claude Code CLI prompts and progress that syncs across devices.

No credit card · Unity, Unreal, Godot · 30-second signup

13
Chapters, ordered
3
Engines, side-by-side
Excuses eliminated
~/MyFirstGame · zsh
# your AI co-dev — built into the guide
$ claude
Welcome to Claude Code.

> Set up Mirror networking on my Unity
   project for self-hosted servers.

✓ Installed Mirror via UPM
✓ Added NetworkManager to scene
✓ Network-aware PlayerMovement
✓ Dedicated server build script

// done in 47s — test plan below

What you actually get

Not another "here's how to install Unity" blog post. Concrete deliverables, scoped to your project:

01

A filtered 13-chapter guide

Chapters you don't need (multiplayer, procedural, AI) just don't render. What's left fits your project.

02

An engine pick with reasoning

Unity, Unreal, or Godot — recommended based on your skill, scope, and budget. You can override.

03

30+ copy-paste Claude prompts

Pre-written CLI prompts for things like "set up Mirror on Unity", "package a Steam build", "generate a tileset palette".

04

Per-item checklists, tracked

Tick the box; server saves it. Come back on your phone three weeks later and you know exactly where you left off.

05

Progressive unlocking (optional)

New devs get chapters locked until prerequisites are done. Shipped devs get everything unlocked from day one.

06

Steam + marketing + launch

The parts tutorials never cover — tax forms, key art dimensions, wishlist campaigns, launch-day protocol.

Honest about fit.

The guide is tuned for a specific kind of dev. Here's who gets value and who should look elsewhere.

Good fit

  • Solo and small-team indie devs
  • Have shipped zero-to-two small games, want to ship your next one properly
  • Budget ranges from $0 to ~$10k
  • Comfortable reading docs and Googling — or willing to lean on Claude Code
  • Target is Steam (or itch.io as a stepping stone)
  • Actually want to finish, not just tinker forever

Not the right tool

  • Looking for a game-design course — this is a ship-it roadmap, not a mechanics-theory class
  • Building for mobile-first or console-exclusive (coverage is Steam-centric)
  • You want a teacher checking your work — this is self-guided
  • AAA studio with 50+ devs and a pipeline team — you already have one
  • Want a no-code visual builder — we assume you'll write some code

How it works.

Most "how to make a game" guides are either too generic (10,000-word blog posts you bookmark and forget) or too specific (a tutorial for one engine, one genre). This is yours — generated from a 90-second questionnaire — and you can finish it.

01

Answer 9 questions

Skill, engine preference, game type(s), 2D/3D, multiplayer, world style, team, budget, timeline. You can combine types — survival + multiplayer + builder is valid.

02

Get a custom guide

13 chapters, 30+ segments, filtered to what you actually need. Co-op survival gets the multiplayer chapter. Single-player platformer doesn't.

03

Tick boxes as you go

Every segment has concrete checklists. Progress saves to your account, syncs across devices. Beginners get sequential unlocking — no overwhelm.

04

Ship on Steam

End-to-end pipeline: engine install → version control → first character that moves → core mechanics → Steam paperwork → marketing → launch → first 90 days.

Why personalised beats generic.

Three real examples of what the filter does with the same question set:

Example A
Survival + multiplayer + self-hosted, 32–128 players
→ Recommends Unity + Mirror. Adds chapter on dedicated server builds, Dockerfile for cloud deployment, server-authoritative cheat audit, hybrid hand-made hub + procedural zones.
Example B
2D platformer, solo, $0 budget, beginner
→ Recommends Godot. Hand-holding mode on. Skips multiplayer + procedural chapters entirely. Heavy emphasis on Kenney free assets, Godot's built-in tile editor.
Example C
3D FPS horror, small team, mid budget
→ Recommends Unreal. Adds chapter on Unreal's replication, lighting/atmosphere setup, FMOD audio integration, Steam Deck verification.

Three engines. Side by side.

Pick one yourself, or let the guide recommend. We don't have a favourite — we have rules of thumb.

UNITY
Best general-purpose

Massive asset store, every tutorial in existence, C# is approachable.

We default to Unity for: 3D mid-scope, larger teams, multiplayer survival, mod support.

See the Unity roadmap →
UNREAL
Best for visuals

AAA-grade rendering out of the box, Blueprint visual scripting, native multiplayer replication.

We default to Unreal for: 3D shooters with a budget, photorealistic horror, larger teams.

See the Unreal roadmap →
GODOT
Best for solo / 2D / OSS

Open source, MIT licensed, no royalty ever. 80MB install, fast iteration, GDScript is Python-like.

We default to Godot for: 2D anything, beginners on $0 budget, indie devs who hate corporate licensing.

See the Godot roadmap →

What a chapter looks like.

Collapsed segments, status indicators, copy-paste Claude Code prompts, persistent checklists. Designed for solo devs working in small bursts.

Install Claude Code CLI — your AI co-dev 3/5

Claude Code is a command-line AI that reads your project files, writes code, explains errors. We prefer the CLI over chat because it's token-efficient.

💠 Claude Code · Smoke test
I just installed Claude Code. Verify it's working by creating a file
called hello.txt with the text "it works", then read it back.
Node.js v20+ installed
Claude Code CLI installed
Logged in with Anthropic account
Ran the smoke-test prompt
Budget alerts set in Anthropic dashboard

Three things to notice

  • Collapsed by default — overview first, dive in second.
  • Status badges show what's done, in progress, locked.
  • Claude prompts are formatted, copy-clickable, written to maximise CLI value.

When you tick the last box in a segment, the next one auto-opens and scrolls into view. No mystery about what's next.

Why this isn't another blog post.

Personalised

9-question intake → filtered chapters. No "if you're using Unity, skip section 4" — section 4 just doesn't exist for you.

Progressive

Beginner mode locks each segment until you complete the previous one. No 80-tab firehose. One thing at a time.

AI-native

Claude Code CLI prompts embedded in every step. Copy, paste, run. Token-efficient — sees your files directly.

Combinable

Pick survival + builder + multiplayer + procedural — the guide rewires itself. Recommends architecture that fits the combo.

Persistent

Tick a box on your laptop, finish on your phone. Multiple projects per account, all tracked separately.

End-to-end

From engine install → first character → core mechanics → Steam paperwork → wishlists → launch day → 90 days post-launch.

Frequently actually asked.

Is it free?
Yes — full guide, unlimited projects (capped at 20), unlimited progress tracking. Sign up with email or Discord. No credit card required.
Do I need to use Claude Code?
No. Pick "no AI" in the questionnaire and the AI-specific segments are hidden. The guide still works end-to-end with just docs + community support.
Can I switch engines mid-project?
Yes — edit your project answers and the guide regenerates. Your progress on universal items (Steam, marketing, etc.) is preserved.
Will following this guarantee I ship a game?
No tutorial guarantees that — you have to actually do the work. But it gives you the full pipeline, the tools, the AI prompts, and the priority order, which removes "I don't know what to do next" as an excuse.
Why "Zero → Shipped"?
Because shipping is the hardest part of game dev, and most "how to make a game" content stops at "make a character that moves". This goes all the way to launch day and 90 days after.
Who built this?
Built by indie devs who wished this existed when we started. We got tired of generic tutorials that stop at "make a character that moves" and built the guide we needed.
What if the guide is missing something I need?
Tell us. The segment library grows monthly. Your feedback as an active user is how we know what's missing.

You're going to make a game.
Might as well finish it.

Sign up takes 30 seconds. Pick your project. Get your guide. Tick the first box.