The unsung heroes of the video game industry

Picture by orva studio on Unsplash

The unsung heroes of the video game industry: people who make free tutorials on how to make a game

“And also I want to extend thanks to the unsung heroes of this industry – the people who make tutorials on YouTube on how to make a game – because we had no idea how to make a game before.”

If you’re interested in video games, you’ve heard about this famous quote from Guillaume Broche’s speech when accepting the GOTY trophy on behalf of the Sandfall Interactive team.
And if you’ve been living under a rock– at least, video game industry-wise – here’s a quick recap: Clair Obscur: Expedition 33, the first game of developer Sandfall Interactive, has been awarded the 2025 Game of The Year Award back in December. Its success has taken the world by storm, with more than 8 million units sold as of April 2026.

And while some like to tell this story as one of a small studio that fights industry giants, let’s be mindful that the Sandfall team had previous experience in major industry names (which doesn’t take anything away from their success, but we don’t want to encourage just anybody making their first game to try and create a game of the same scope).

Now, why is this quote interesting to new creators of video games? Simply put: finding information on how to make a game is easy once you know where to look for it. Here is a top 5 of the resources every indie game creator should know about.

GDC: Game Developers Conference

Arguably the main game conference worldwide. Each talk is a masterclass by an industry expert, and many indie game devs tell their story.

https://www.youtube.com/@GDCFestivalofGaming

GMTK: Game Maker’s Toolkit

If you followed our online course, you have probably watched a few videos from this channel. Provides in-depth videos about game dev, design, and stories and analyses of how games are made.

https://www.youtube.com/@GMTK

How To Market A Game

Just like the title says. Although a course section is paid, all the free resources provide plenty of knowledge on how to promote your game. We recommend you to subscribe to the newsletter for up to date information.

www.howtomarketagame.com/

Nonsensical 2D

In depth yet accessible tutorials on how to create 2D game art. While it’s focused on platformers, his teachings can be transferred to any genre.

https://www.youtube.com/@Nonsensical2D/videos

Juniper Dev

Everything you need to start on any aspect of making your first game. From dev, to art, to making tiny games (which is generally a great exercise in your first games)

https://www.youtube.com/@JuniperDev

Bonus resource: Video Games for Good

Forgive us for the self-promotion, but we couldn’t let the opportunity pass. For game creators, our most interesting resource is probably the online course and the toolsheets. For educators and mentors supporting indie game creators, take a look at our guide for educators, activity sheets and workshop scenarios, and implementation guide.

A friendly reminder

If you’re thinking about creating your first video game, there are already 2 posts about the most common mistakes first-time game makers make, and how to avoid them. So go read them. (And to part ways, we’ll let you in on a little secret: the key to getting GOTY is to hire voice actress Jennifer English. So that probably won’t happen for your first game, and that’s okay.)