I’ve been thinking a lot about a long-term game development goal of mine.

My dream project would be a realistic first-person multiplayer game that combines elements I love from different genres. I’m a big fan of survival games, extraction shooters, and tactical team-based games, so I’ve been wondering whether it’s possible to build something that evolves over time rather than trying to do everything at once.

My idea would be to start with an extraction-shooter foundation and focus on making that experience solid first. Then, if the project grows and I can build a larger team and secure more funding, I’d expand it with additional modes such as a tactical 5v5 experience and eventually a persistent open-world survival mode.

What I’m unsure about is whether this approach is technically realistic. Would building multiple game modes around the same project create too much technical debt over time? Could very different gameplay loops end up making development significantly harder?

I’m also curious about the player side of things. If a game offers several distinct modes, does that risk splitting the community too much and creating matchmaking or population issues, especially for a smaller or growing player base?

I’m still fairly new to game development and currently planning to work in Unreal Engine using Blueprints, so I’d really appreciate hearing from anyone with experience in multiplayer games, live-service projects, or large-scale game development.

Thanks in advance for any advice!

  • HereIAm
    2·
    1 day ago

    I think you’re underestimating the amount of work creating a game is. Dreaming is fine, the next step is to commit some ideas on paper. A project of this scope is unheard of for a solo developer. So you better have a nice chunk of cash behind you to pay for some developers.

    I would strongly suggest you start with a very basic tutorial for Unreal engine and then slowly expand on that to even see if it’s something you’d enjoy doing.

    We all dream of our perfect games and maybe scribble down some notes, but actually putting in the work is a whole other matter. What do you have that the tens of thousand survival games made in unreal engine in steam lacks?