“This is a wonderful course. It covers just about everything one should know concerning the process of indie game development, from fleshing out the idea to marketing and launch. David is a great instructor, engaging and very passionate about the art of making games, which helps to motivate you as a student. A valuable resource and learning experience.”

5 out of 5 stars

“I wanted to thank you for creating this course. What has made you stand out from other content creators on YouTube and ultimately what convinced me to join this course is your vulnerable and sincere approach and motivation that it is possible for a solo developer to make and finish games. I was stuck in education mode because I felt I needed to know everything about game development before I start making a “real” game. Also the daunting task of having to create every asset from scratch or needing a large team just made my goals unattainable. You have showed and convinced me that it is possible to create and finish games that I care about. You sharing your experience and process has made my goals attainable.

I have not yet finished the full content of your course so I cannot give you a conclusive review. I see your video content as 3 categories; informative, inspirational, and instructive. I am really engaged in the informative and inspirational aspects of your content and would like to see more of that. I also am really impressed in your engagement in the community forum and it really shows your passion in helping people. Allowing the community to share their progress and milestones in their game dev journey is inspiring and motivating. Seeing others finish their games is incredible and really excites me to finish mine. It would be cool if you could interview students (or allow them to provide testimonials) when they finish and publish their game. What really helps me more than anything is believing that it is possible and seeing and hearing from others who have finished their game.

Thank you again for starting this, asking for feedback, and being your awesome self.”

4 out of 5 stars

“I really like how it is oriented to going from getting an idea to posting it in Steam (instead of courses about coding, game polishing, etc...)”

5 out of 5 stars

“First thing that stood out to me that drove me to buy the course was the obvious passion and excitement that David has making games! Being a part of the community has really driven me to work hard and to accomplish big things! It provides the confidence in me that I can do it! I've learned Unity and now trying to learn UE4. Learned that I enjoy making atmospheric levels and that’s where I find most of my excitement for games in. Thank you!”

4 out of 5 stars

“I think tips from a successful indie developer has much more value than an industry veteran working with AAA games. Being an indie game developer myself, I prefer learning how to make and market a game with minimal expenditure and getting results, as we don't have budgets like big companies. The course is well structured, even for non-programmers. I learned the hard way the importance of using assets, and this course highlights that early on. It's a realistic course, no fairy tales.”

5 out of 5 stars

“The GDU course has been fantastic so far. It is very resourceful, especially for a beginner like myself. Being new to game dev is a bit scary and overwhelming, but having David's lead in the course along with a discord full of other insightful devs, and a bunch of free games / software discounts is really what makes the course worth it for me. Even with so much info and tools I don't find myself getting lost or overwhelmed because of the way the course progresses. I can’t wait until the full course is finished!”

5 out of 5 stars

“This course is perfect for anyone looking in becoming a game dev. David covers everything you need to create your first game and then goes above and beyond giving you knowledge that even 4 year degree seems to miss. Courses like this are few and far between. I have spent too much money on tutorials and workshops that don't even get close to the content and knowledge that David is sharing within this course. You will not regret signing up for this course!!!!!!”

5 out of 5 stars

“Absolutely fantastic content. I'm learning something new every day and the community is amazing as well. Highly recommend.”

5 out of 5 stars

“David is putting together an amazing interactive and inclusive program to truly help new game devs get their footing and set themselves up for success. His approach and words of wisdom are invaluable. Learn from his experience and get the basics and more along the way.”

5 out of 5 stars

“Game Dev Unlocked has been a fantastic learning experience! As a software developer at my day job, I was looking for more than just the technical tutorials on how to build games with Unity. The sections on marketing, idea generation and inspiration, and what to expect at launch and how to prepare for it have been worth the cost alone! Thank you!”

5 out of 5 stars

“I like the Action driven style of the course. To actually get things done. Production quality is superb. Overall is a great course and I really like the community that we are creating on the Discord Server, everyone is willing to help. I hope David keeps encouraging and guiding the "Culture" of the community. Thanks!”

5 out of 5 stars

“David's course is a great primer for any aspiring game creator looking to develop their first game. You'll learn learn tip and tricks that will help you speed up your workflow and ignore bad habits. He also equips you with the right amount of predetermined luck due to good planning and marketing for a successful launch.”

5 out of 5 stars

“David is an enthusiastic educator and game dev who is very approachable and knowledgeable about his areas of expertise. The course is light on coding and heavy on developing, finishing, and selling your games. He effectively reduces the learning curve and opens up game development for more people to realize their creative visions.”

4 out of 5 stars

“I think this is a course worth taking by both beginners and experts. It's also really under-priced, specially if compared to the ones offered by universities or academies, and provides a ton more accurate and up-to-date information than those. Personally, the course and the community have helped me to follow a schedule and keep making my game with the steam launch as a goal that I can get. You may be worried about some of the videos being really short, but those are the ones that have more impact on me, as they provide condensed pills of knowledge that you can take again every once in a while.”

4 out of 5 stars

“The course is well thought out and executed as it connects with me on so many levels. There are so many gems in each video that helps set a focus path during that stage of the development cycle. The community is very supportive, engaging and resourceful. It does feel like a family. David is always available and provides a wealth of knowledge and encouragement. He genuinely wants to see you succeed.”

5 out of 5 stars

“The approach that David takes Game Dev Unlocked is spot on as he applies the perfect balance between getting new devs excited while offering essential advice that every dev needs. David does an excellent job conveying development and marketing information in a format that is concise, easy to follow while keeping students motivated. As a indie game marketer, I would highly recommend this course to anyone wanting a complete package from start to finish on how to be resourceful on all fronts and in complete control of their indie game project.”

5 out of 5 stars

“Lots of courses teach the basics coding or art but GDU teaches how to get things done and marketed, while at the same time teaching beginners how to learn and how to stay motivated to make this a career. The simple “no 0% day” concept is a big example of this when you view other student's progress in Discord.”

5 out of 5 stars

“David’s course is a goldmine of information for game development, with a down-to-earth approach and offering an insane amount of practical advice for anyone planning to develop and release a game that eventually sells.

For me, it is fascinating to learn about the process of marketing indie games, a product of trial and error over many months for David that provides unique insight and helps put focus on what matters in the chaos that is promoting your game.

The lessons on launching the game and getting to the front-page on Steam just blew my mind and I am so glad to have that information when launching my own game rather than stumble blindly into the abyss of Steam.”

5 out of 5 stars

“Four years ago I got out of the Navy and went back to school where I just recently earned a degree in Filmmaking and another in English. And yet I'm currently in training for a job in the Finance Industry, deferring my dream AGAIN (I turn 40 soon) of making a living at visual storytelling.

Down some yellow brick road from my filmmaking aspirations I came across David's YouTube video called "How Making Indie Games Changed My Life." After watching it, I was hooked. I did my due diligence in googling him, the GameDev Unlocked course, checked throughout Reddit, Steam, and he's legit.

His story is similar to mine - a man who's been deferring his dreams for most of his life, but never giving up on them and working at them when he can while still meeting his obligations as a loving husband and father. I invested in the course and I love it.

Another similarity is I have zero coding experience (except some from HTMLGoodies.com in 1998) but love games and am very visually-oriented. The way he did it is with a Unity plug-in that makes coding a visual-based experience with nodes or whatever (I'm still not totally up on the vocab) and as part of the course he hooks up all of his students with assets and plug-ins and the vast majority of them are FREE. And you don't *have* to buy the one or two that cost money, but if you want the course to really be of any value to you, he is able to provide it at a significant discount and I personally recommend just going for it.

David is very clear and candid in all of his videos - on YouTube and in the course. He makes no illusion that success is guaranteed, but just by sharing his experience and how he did it, then walking people through it via the lessons, anyone who goes through it and puts their all into it stands a chance at meeting some measure of success. For me, it scratches my creative itch and enables me to continue pursuit of my visual storytelling dream while also being able to put viable products out into the market to build my audience.

I also love that the course includes sections on MARKETING (people gotta know about your game(s) if you want people to buy 'em!) and personal MOTIVATION. Anything worth anything takes time and effort, and sometimes it can be a slog - especially if you're working another job to pay the bills. Dedication and motivation are key to getting your projects done, and David's generously sharing his path with the world.”

5 out of 5 stars

“David's enthusiasm and sincerity makes it clear he wants to see you succeed - and he provides you the tools to do just that with how thorough and informative this content is. Sections full of digestible videos covering the aspects of planning, launch, motivation, and marketing helps make these tasks much more approachable and gives a helpful framework for applying them to your projects.

David's advice on marketing helped me to create a viral Reddit post for my game Lucen, that earned over 110 thousand upvotes, over 3 million views and hit #1 on /r/all. His advice has also informed my approach to other future and current social media posts, and helped me ensure I am doing all I can to position my posts for maximum engagement.

I wholeheartedly recommend this course. David is providing an incredible service by sharing the knowledge and wisdom he has accrued throughout his experience as a successful indie dev, and it's not one to miss!”

5 out of 5 stars

“This course is nothing short of amazing not just because it balances good pacing, deep and insightful lessons, fun factor, as well as motivation. It also naturally propels you to be a self learner. I started with "Let's Dev Beginner" and even though I am new to Playmaker and fairly new to Unity I was able to take what I learned and spend a few weeks learning on my own before continuing to the following modules. Most tutorials teach you how to follow along. But I have yet to find a course like this one where it lays down some basic foundation for you to take and run with.

To sum this up: this course shines by teaching you how to teach yourself and learn and grow as a game developer rather than monkey see monkey do. Another defining part of what has made this course click with me, and i'm sure this is the same for everyone else, is how real it is. There is a major effort made to discuss the difficult journey of game design and art itself really. There are physical and especially mental tolls from pursuing a passion like this and the sections on how to deal with these tolls, how to keep going when you want to quit, and just looking at the positive side to this passion when it gets challenging. I realize that everyone struggles with these things in art, but hearing it from someone else really makes it easier when you realize that everyone is going through these same challenges and there is not only support but also a multitude of success stories of people who were able to finally finish and release their games.

This also ties in with the community on discord and how it inspires me personally to keep working harder. It's nice taking this journey alongside so many unique kinds of people which is something hard to imagine until you're a part of this course and the Discord group. Game Dev Unlocked also pushes you to not only excel in game design, but also in being able to sell the project you worked so hard to make. It's a good feeling knowing that there is direction on how to succeed financially. I am close to finishing up the available content on "Let's Dev Intermediate" and am making good progress towards finishing my game. And even through the onslaught of challenges I've been facing as a beginner, my passion for game design has just grown deeper ever since taking the leap to join this course.

Game Dev Unlocked is inspiring, challenging, creatively refreshing, and just what I needed when I was in a place where even though I knew I wanted to pursue game design, I was feeling lost on where to go. Thank you David for taking your time to put together this great opportunity!”

5 out of 5 stars

“The instruction were very clear and the complicated concepts were explained in depth, I would like some more information on proposed timelines for videos in the Int Section.”

4 out of 5 stars

“I am still running through the beginning of GDU and I am loving it! GDU is a wonderful resource that has inspired many to start and finish creating a game. The community here is so helpful to one another and I see it everyday! Students seeking help and many jumping in to help. GDU an amazing community and learning resource that any inspiring game dev would benefit from! I cannot wait to see what else is in store for GDU!”

5 out of 5 stars

“David has really gone above and beyond. I've been in the indie game field for over 10 years, and I was blown away by how much information was in this course that I didn't even know!”

5 out of 5 stars

“The course really picked up for when showing intermediate workflow, so I hope more content will be added for that. The idea creation was helpful, and the marketing was priceless valuable information. But, it feels like most of the information can be found on GDC talks and online free tutorials. Browsing the asset store is not very valuable knowledge. I think this course would benefit most from adding even more detailed marketing information, and even more artistic style development details since that is where the developer’s skills are. The importance is to add detail. Course lectures being only a few minutes long feels like it could lack detail, there is more that can be added I think. Overall worth buying for newcomers to game development, intermediate developers have a thing or two to learn, but will hope to learn much more.”

4 out of 5 stars

“The community and David's attention to detail during lectures is my favorite part. His instructions are by far the most user-friendly for a complete beginner like me and that's exactly what I need to keep my motivation!”

5 out of 5 stars

“The school comes with not only a great course, but also a great community filled with a variety of people from various backgrounds. The videos are very informative and help by giving you the push you need in order to start and finish your very own game. All in all, I love it!”

5 out of 5 stars

“When I first found about about David and his game The First Tree I was immediately fascinated by his ability to create such beautiful game on his own. So naturally when I discovered his online course Game Dev Unlocked I wanted to learn more about it and be able to be apart of it. Seeing David's course as an option for me was genuinely an exciting and defining moment for me to want to start pursuing game development. I have watched several other solo game devs, but I'm being honest when I say that David is the only one that stuck out for me in being someone I could look up to and hopefully one day achieve even some of what he has accomplished. David is a personable, intelligent and driven game developer and person, he made it easy to justify joining the course and ultimately encourage me to try this all out on my own. Game Dev Unlocked has shown me new and extremely helpful tips for making games, the course is easy enough to follow but is also able to challenge you in various and helpful ways. This course is definitely for anyone interested in making games, but also in my opinion, great for people who are brand new to it all and want something that covers everything in an extremely comprehensive way where you don't feel overwhelmed. Game Dev Unlocked gives me something that I've never been able to find anywhere else, it's shown me a whole new way to approach making games and I'm so glad I was able to find out about it.”

5 out of 5 stars

“[I like] the quality of the examples and especially the production and editing, in addition to the privilege and precious opportunity to have direct access to [David] and his know-how.”

5 out of 5 stars

“This is hands down the best course on game development available. If you want to get a game published on Steam or some other platform, then this course is the one for you.

What separates this course from the others is:

1. David focuses on getting the game done and provides specific insights that he's learned while developing his own successful game.

2. There's no reinventing the wheel. David has us use assets that save us, in some cases, months and months of work.

3. While he has us use preexisting assets, he shows us how to "make them your own".

3. He focuses on helping us create a beautiful and cohesive art style which is easy to follow even if your background in art is very limited.

4. He covers the process from start to finish. Everything from looking at a specific case study to using reference art, marketing, Steam related concerns (e.g. Steam Achievements), multi-platform deployment, etc. .

5. The information is relevant for beginners and advanced developers.

6. He understands the limitations and concerns of indie developers and addresses those issues (e.g. day job conflicts, time, money, etc.).

7. He doesn't simply show what to do. More importantly, he explains WHY he's doing things in a certain way. This is so important!”

5 out of 5 stars

“Since I don't use Unity, I feel like 50% of the content isn't for me but I love the first part of the course. I would love to see more content like the first part if it's possible.”

4 out of 5 stars

“I haven't finished it yet, I'm about to though. I am taking it very slow and reading every article and watching every video that you mention, and of those articles and videos even linked me to another articles, so I am reading and watching a lot of stuff thanks to your advice.

I do live in a small country, and in a very small city, with barely ten thousand people. Being a game developer seemed like a far away dream for me, but your story has inspired me. I've always wanted to have my own studio, but I never knew how to make it profitable, I still don't but I believe that your course can provide the knowledge of how as a solo developer one can make a living out of it.”

5 out of 5 stars

“This course is extremely motivating. I came into this course with a fair bit of experience programming but I have struggled to find motivation to finish projects. David's sections on motivation, using assets to speed up development, and effective marketing have all encouraged me to work towards a finished product. I can't wait to put something in front of people.

Even though I have development experience, I have found his videos on his process extremely helpful. I tend to want perfect workflows and things to all be "just right" but David shows how you can get a lot done if you're OK with things working just well enough to execute the game. I'm also very happy with how the intermediate course has been going and can't wait for the advanced section so I can see David's working style on his next big game. Watching people work always inspires me and I love picking up new tricks on how to make my own work better.”

5 out of 5 stars

“The quality of the videos is the toppest notch, and the discounts/vouchers are super great resources. The community is also really great and supportive!

My biggest complaint is the sections that aren't complete. The sections on marketing and releasing games are completed before the modules on actually MAKING a game. It's.. a bit backwards.

I would much rather have the development sections released as a whole rather than trickling in every so often. And I understand it takes a while to record and edit everything, but I just prefer to have things complete or not have it at all.

Other than that, GDU is a phenomenal resource.”

4 out of 5 stars

“This course is really amazing. It cuts all the right corners in game development to do what most devs struggle to do. Finish games. David has a great way of teaching and a very thoughtful course that answers many of the questions I had about making games that I couldn't find elsewhere. If your questioning whether this will help your game development journey, I would say you cant go wrong with this course and jump in and get started with it. I'm very excited about the future of this course and will continue to follow as I progress as a game dev.”

5 out of 5 stars

“The course is overall well made.

Pros:

-Easy to follow (Divided in easy to follow sections)

-Right to the point (Short,but specific videos)

-You give a lot of motivation for other developers,as you are an example to them(even to me :) )

Cons:

-Price,500$ might not seem that much for a possible life changing career,but for younger devs,this amount would be ridiculously high.Almost impossible for devs below 20 yr. old.I am 18 yr. old,and I could only buy this course because of my revenue with others game of mine.

Other than that I really like this course and the community you created around it.

Keep up the good work. :)”

5 out of 5 stars

“This course contains not only making game but also marketing, getting ideas, and keeping motivated. I'm Japanese and not so good at English, but I can understand the video 80% because the videos contain many animations.”

4 out of 5 stars

David’s note: English subtitles will soon be available for all videos.

“I've really enjoyed the course so far, the passion and enthusiasm within the course content as well as the community/discord channel is incredibly contagious. I'm about a quarter of the way through and have spent many many hours exploring and improving.

The only thing that I hadn't quite expected was the amount of the course that was in Playmaker for the Let’s Dev section. Might be worth including info about the paid used products in your tutorials. But that's a super minor thing, other than that it's a really great course, and I'm loving the community a lot!”

5 out of 5 stars

“David has done a stellar job, his lectures are of a very high standard and his videos are very professional and engaging. His course offers so much more useful information than other courses. For example, links are provided to videos and articles that are being mentioned in each lecture; this is a great addition and very useful if you want to go deeper. I felt confident with his teaching style, he gives off a warm sense of presence that inspired me to want to give game development a real shot.”

5 out of 5 stars

“Hey David! I really appreciate your dedication and helpful insights. The idea of creating a Discord community is excellent - and it is a chance for everyone to see and hear what the other fellow devs are doing. Overall, I think that what I like the most about this course is the feeling of reality, of something that I can relate to. It's not another lecture by some successful manager or even a book by a well-known designer - people who are actually very far from me personally in terms of professional level and probably views on life in general. You've gone a long and hard way, and you are now helping us who are now going the same route, tackling the same challenges, I feel this is all real and I feel we all can finally publish our games on various platforms because of this support.”

5 out of 5 stars

“I really love the modules in this course. David does a great job of explaining things and it really kickstarted my game development projects. The marketing and motivational sections in particular are essential for me because they weren't things I typically thought about. By going through this course I was able to push myself to learn about game development and make 3 small games on my own.”

5 out of 5 stars

“The main thing I enjoy is the positive spirit. But sometimes for me it is to much and I would like more hands-on development. But I reckon I am not the right audience for this particular course. Despite that, I enjoy it nonetheless.”

4 out of 5 stars

“There is nothing like GDU right now. It's the perfect middle ground between an online course and a 1-to-1 mentor that gets straight to the point and makes you learn, think and not just copy. Alongside the very active and friendly Discord with people from all over, it's worth every penny and it’s not going anywhere anytime soon so you can take your time going through each stage of the process.”

5 out of 5 stars

“David has put a rare course together in Game Dev Unlocked! If you're looking to get a game started and finished "the easy way". You'll be making a great decision to learn from him. Think game development in a film type story telling format that anyone with a willingness to put some time and effort into can accomplish.

I especially appreciate that it focuses on the indie developer. Even a solo developer can create a game by using the methods David teaches...after all, that is exactly what he did himself with his first two games. I find it freeing that I am given permission as a indie developer to find easier ways (like using the asset store) of accomplishing a task that a large studio would spend months of resources developing all the assets for themselves.

It covers beginner to advanced ideas and so many tips and tricks that I would have never considered. Even more than that, David guides you through the marketing side of getting a game out.

You won't regret spending those hard earned dollars on Game Dev Unlocked. If you're a solo/small team developer or simply have the desire to make your own game. Jump on board, there is a whole group of amazing people in the GDU community to help you through the process and David is leading the way.”

5 out of 5 stars

“Love the ‘over the shoulder’ view to see behind the scene of game creation and motivation. Love the quote ‘Never have a 0% day’, thanks David!”

5 out of 5 stars

“It cuts straight through to being practical, and is highly opinionated. Most content on YouTube is generic, this is focused on getting one to finish a project that can be released.”

4 out of 5 stars

“Whether you're a complete beginner or a more advanced profile, your indie game journey starts with GDU. The course covers everything (and only everything) you need to know, from marketing to visual and sound design. Apart from being a MacGyver of game dev, David will also support and coach you in the private Discord Server.

The course is definitely result oriented, by completing it you can expect to release at least one game (and probably more once new content will be added).

Thanks again for kicking my butt with GDU, David ! ;)”

5 out of 5 stars

“Before Game Dev Unlocked I knew how to do some basic things with Unity, but I didn't know how to take that next step. How do I actually get a game released on Steam? How do I grow my social media presence? How do I market my game? Game Dev Unlocked helped me to gain the skills and confidence I needed to get my first game Sketchy House Flipper approved on Steam and to build a following for it.

One thing I was not expecting to be one of my favorite things about Game Dev Unlocked was the amazing community of game developers from all of the world. I think it is so awesome that I now have friends all across the world with similar backgrounds and interest as me. They have helped motivate me when I got discouraged and helped pushed me to accomplish things I never thought I possibly could. People in the community come from all kinds of different backgrounds. I've gotten help with Photoshop, play testing, 3D modeling, level design, writing, advertisements, website building, and much more.

Game Dev Unlocked is so much more than just a course to help you get your game on the front page of Steam, which would be worth it all on its own. It is something truly unique and special that you just can't find anywhere else. I am grateful to David for creating this program because it changed my life.”

5 out of 5 stars

“The idea to market yourself is something I’ve never thought of to become a game developer. I’ve never thought creating gifs would be so much fun and one of the key skills to build fans to market our indie games. Learning to see and use steam tag data, finding social networks that work to market our games are some of the ideas David demonstrates. Watching David’s lesson videos are the best... so top-notch very well produced!! The lessons and topics he covers are very practical and applies to all skill level of game development. From keeping things simple by cutting ideas in half. Importance of creating and writing a story-driven game. Using FREE or paid game assets to inspire a story, game ideas, level design, and best to speed up game development to finish.

David is self-taught to use Playmaker. Using this visual code FSM Unity asset, I was able to create my very simple 1st Unity game without typing a single game code. Being with fellow indie game devs at GDU is the best community I’ve ever been to. From around the world with different skill backgrounds, the wide range of topics and resources shared are very inspiring and very encouraging to overcome any struggles to learn and create. Thank you, David, to your GDU team and fellow indie game devs in creating such a great community to learn to become a game developer! Leveling UP!!”

5 out of 5 stars