yllaucaj

While you're technically correct in saying that PUBG isn't the first game of its kind, PlayerUnknown (creative lead) is the creator of the Arma mod DayZ, which to my knowledge is the origin of this genre.

I like that idea. It's also true that a field like game development, which is both collaborative and interdisciplinary, pretty much requires excellent communication skills. Being a game designer is less about having amazing "ideas" or "vision" (everyone has those) and more about your ability to align everyone's ideas and vision in the same direction.

Personally, I prefer to describe "thinking about manipulating people's emotions" as _empathy_, but that's just me.

Great write-up. I've seen the lessons you describe here echoed by many experienced game developers- the dangers of increasing scope, the importance of seeking feedback, and so on. The fact that you're able to identify and communicate those lessons after looking back on your work says a lot about you. Self-reflection is absolutely easier said than done, so props to you for putting in that effort and improving.

In my experience, the most common advice that professionals give to new game developers is to finish their projects. You're past the "new" stage, but I still think you'd find value in cutting your scope back and releasing projects like these. If you have 16 + 40 levels that aren't finished, polish 7 of them and ship it. You've already got these on itch.io- is there an extra 5% that would let you change the tag from "in development" to "released"?

The only parts of this post I didn't understand were "Tech dolt dramatically chucks pencil..." and the bit about interdisciplinary mountains. I think I figured out your intent but the cutaway metaphors lost me. You're good at describing what you did, what you learned from it, and what you want to do differently. I value that way more than vague self-deprecation. Just my personal opinion.

Could someone explain the bit about "The Internet for Dummies" at the beginning? Why is that quote there?

I would also advocate for computer science. Keep in mind that no matter what you choose to study, many people change majors or schools before they graduate. If you feel like you want to learn something else, don't be afraid of taking a different path (after consulting with trusted advisors/mentors, of course).

I think an important function of higher education is exposure to a wide variety of ideas and disciplines. I don't want to preach too much, but there is value in learning things that don't seem immediately interesting or useful- I really regret not working harder on subjects that I thought were boring or easy.

Best of luck in whatever you decide to do.

I think a question like that would fall under the umbrella of "consumer behavior".