We made this game for the Global Game Jam 2026. It was great working with everyone as a team. We all worked hard to finish this game, and I am impressed by what we all accomplished just in few days. We used Unreal 5.7 for this jam.
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I remember starting my Unreal learning in beginning of January 2025 and thinking, “oh wow this is so much to learn, can I even do this without going into College or University, is my way of learning even allowed or accepted by game industry, am i even good enough to show that I have something unique to share and how much knowledge do I need before i can confidently say that I am good at what I do, what about the AI, will they take my future jobs.” I have come to realize that all these doubts are my strength and has helped come this far into my game dev journey and I also found ways to inject all these feelings into the levels I design. Here’s my update:
This is one of my main paid project and the blockout level design took 2 weeks to finish (approximately 115 hours) for an upcoming one of a kind action RPG game (Unreal 5.4). I used landscape and blockout tools to create this map. This level is intentional, thrilling, exciting, dangerous and meticulously placed enemy encounters, loots, chests, traps, boss room, secret boss/side boss location, npc encounters, secret area and more for player to give one of a kind experience while maintaining the action RPG feel that players crave. Player will roughly take 2-3 hours to beat this area depending on their knowledge in action RPG. Unfortunately, this is all I am allowed to share but we cannot wait to show this game to everyone. I love this game so much and I am incredibly lucky to be part of this project and very thankful to the company founder/programmer for his trust/support and also teaching me his blueprint knowledge.
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I finally did it after practicing and studying countless hours and participating in game jams and sometimes slacking off and going fishing or playing music with my punk band. I got my first paying full time job last week. It’s not a lot of money if you compare it to our cost of living here in the US but I love this project and I see this job as my internship and this is by far the best opportunity I got to level up my experience and prepare for my journey for the next project. I cannot wait to see where I will be in 5 years.
Do not listen to anyone who tries to discourage you, you have to be ignorant sometimes to chase your goals and reach out to projects/people that you want to be part of and explain to them why you want that gig and why you are a good fit and don’t worry too much about qualifications either but do not slack off learning skills that will help you excel in your strengths and what you love to do and ask for support from your loved ones. There is absolutely nothing wrong with asking for help and support. Swallow your pride and do it if this is what you want to do for the rest of your life.
I never went to college or university and I started learning Unreal 2025 after leaving my corporate job in late 2024. And if I had listened to everyone who is talking crap about everything that is going on in the industry then I wouldn’t have this job nor would I be working towards my goal or learning new skills.
Congratulations @GeekManGames, that is truly awesome News. “Never Quit” is my motto.
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Hello again @GeekManGames !
It has been a long while since this journey started, and I’m honored to say that I’ve gotten to see you grow! I’m super excited to hear about your new job, and I’m thrilled to hear about where you go from here. Keep up the amazing work and follow your dreams! You can always reach the stars.
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Thank you @TechLord @The_M0ss_Man and yes, it has been an incredible journey for me to finally get the first step towards my goals. My current job has already taught me so much and I cannot wait to share the game update when time comes 
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I have hidden all the enemies placements/encounters, traps, side quests, and puzzles just to show my blockout in this video. I did all the lighting placement inside the tower, enemy encounters/placement, puzzles, and breakables in this blockout level design. Happy to share more when the time is right : )
You can check out my portfolio for more updates in future: GeekManGames Portfolio - Action RPG (In Progress)