Hitting that "release" button on your game may feel like the end - after months, maybe even years of development, you've finally finished your game. It's all over. You can just sit back, relax, and play your game whenever you're bored.

But sharing a game isn't the end. It's a beginning. You have a whole community of passionate players ready to play your game and eager to share your thoughts with you. You can't just sit back on your couch and take a break - in fact, the period after sharing a game might just end up being as busy as the development phase! 

You might not be the type of developer to constantly update a game after release - I know I'm not. Often, after finishing a project, we're eager to move on and finally do something different. But, even after sharing a game, there's still a lot of stuff that needs to happen. Players might find bugs or have impossible-to-refuse suggestions for new features to add to the game. After years of game developing, I've realized how important it is to have that endless swath of people waiting to play my game and give me constructive feedback and pointers.

The community is the backbone behind your game development. After all, obviously, if there was no one to play your game, then there wasn't much point in making it in the first place! However, a community is just so much more than a numerical view count. No, the community is there to help you grow, help you learn, and help you improve. 

Just like any other hobby, sharing your love with other people is what makes coding fun. Through interacting with the community, you meet a ton of people who share your passion and can help you improve. There will be people better from you - always, and they'll help you learn. There will also be people you are better than, and they'll count on you to learn. A healthy and thriving community helps each other and raises each other up, 

It's vital to have a place where you can share your talents, laugh, grow, and learn. That's why I believe the community should be one of the most treasured parts of every game developer's journey. You only live once, so why take every opportunity to share your talent with people who share your interests?

Thanks for reading! Read more of my devlogs here:

00 - Devlog Overview - Homepage

01 - What Makes A Game Feel Unique?

02 - The Magic Of Sound Effects

03 - Here's A List Of All The Goofy, Wacky Easter Eggs I Included.

04 -My Interpretation Of The Theme - & Themes In General

05 - The Most Important Part of Game Design - Community

06 - The Psychology of Loading Screens & Intros

07 - I Planned My Entire Game In Less Than A Minute - Here's How