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I've been following game project tutorials for a while now and I can recreate what they show me, but I struggle when I try to build something on my own. The tutorials hold your hand through everything, but they don't really teach you how to think like a game developer. How do you transition from following game project tutorials to actually creating your own original games? What's the best approach for developing problem solving skills in game development?

The transition is the hardest part! What worked for me was taking a tutorial project and then modifying it extensively. Don't just follow the tutorial - change the game mechanics, add new features, break things and fix them. This forces you to understand the code rather than just copy it. Start with small modifications and work up to bigger changes.

I struggled with this too. My breakthrough came when I started building very small original projects alongside following tutorials. Like, I'd follow a platformer tutorial during the day, then at night I'd try to build a super simple original game using what I learned. Even if it was just a ball bouncing around the screen with basic controls, it was MY code solving MY problems.

Problem solving skills come from... solving problems! When you get stuck on your own project, don't immediately search for a tutorial. Try to figure it out yourself first. Break the problem down, write pseudocode, draw diagrams. Even if you eventually need to look up the solution, the struggle is where real learning happens. Tutorials give you solutions - struggling gives you understanding.

Try the 'tutorial then implement' method: Follow a tutorial to learn a concept, then immediately build something original using that concept without looking at the tutorial code. For example, follow a tutorial on enemy AI, then create your own enemy with different behavior. This reinforces learning and builds confidence in your ability to implement things independently.

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