Grant Abbitt (Gabbitt)

YouTube channel with tutorials on 3D modeling and animation in Blender.

Imphenzia

YouTube channel with tutorials on 3D modeling and animation in Blender.

Blender Guru

Youtube channel by Andrew Price with excellent 3D modeling tutorials in Blender.

Blender

The official Blender website with resources, documentation, and community support.

Mixamo

A website with a fantastic, free, collection of fully rigged and textured character models, and a large collection of high quality animations. All currently free with no licensing or royalty fees. Also has a powerful auto-rigging feature.

Aseprite

Aseprite is a tool for creating 2D sprites and animations. Widely regarded as one of the best pixel art tools available. A great tool to have for:

• Pixel Art
• Pixel Art Animation

Photopea

Photopea is an online photo editor, comparable to Adobe's PhotoShop.A great tool to have for:

• Photo Editing
• Digital Painting
• Texture Painting

Krita

A free, open source, 2D digital art application. Great for creating pixel art and illustrations, as well as animating. Supports third-party plugins and has a growing library of user-created brushes and tools. A great tool to have for:

• Digital Painting
• Character Design
• Texture Painting

GIMP

A free, open source, 2D digital art application. Comparable to Adobe's Photoshop and Krita, though with fewer advanced features. A great tool to have for:

• Texture Painting
• Image Editing
• Pixel Art

Inkscape

A free, open source, vector art program. Comparable to Adobe's Illustrator, Inkscape is a great free alternative which allows artists to make art using lines and shapes, with loads of filters and effects. A great tool to have for:

• Vector Art Game Assets
• Logos
• Typography
• Scalable Art

The ONLY Pixel Art Guide You Need - Juniper Dev

This tutorial covers everything you need to know tp get started with pixel art.

Textures.com

Textures.com is a platform for finding and purchasing high-quality textures, materials, HDRI environment textures, and decals.

Poly Haven

Poly Haven is a platform for finding and purchasing high-quality textures, materials, HDRI environment textures, and 3D models.

OpenGameArt

A repository of free 2D/3D art, sounds, music, textures, fonts, and more.

Itch.io

A marketplace of 2D/3D art, sounds, music, textures, fonts, and more.

Sound Effects Bible

Ric Viers' book on creating and using sound effects in games is a comprehensive guide for aspiring sound designers.

Reaper Digital Audio Workstation

Record, edit, and mix audio with this professional digital audio workstation.

JSFXR

Eric Fredricksen's sound effect creation tool is a popular choice for generating retro-style sound effects.

Apple Logic Pro

Record, edit, and mix audio with this professional digital audio workstation for macOS.

JFXR FrozenFractal

Chloe Monae's sound effect creation tool creates retro sound effects.

Image-Line FL Studio

Make any kind of music with this versatile digital audio workstation.

OpenGameArt

OpenGameArt hosts a wide variety of free audio assets, including sound effects and music for games.

Itch.io

Itch.io's Sound Effects and Music collections contain many free and paid audio assets for game developers.

Voice Acting 101

Voice Acting 101 provides tutorials on how to get started as a voice actor.

Booth Junkie

Booth Junkie offers tutorials and resources for voice acting and audio production.

This Week in VO

J. Michael Collins' podcast covering the latest news in voice acting.

The GameDev Business Handbook

Michael Futter's "...GameDev Business Handbook is a deeply researched instructional guide for creating and sustaining your independent video game studio. Designed from the start for both students and experienced developers who want to get a better handle on a totally, completely, super-not-glamourous, mundane, but necessary side of game development." -https://www.gamedevbizbook.com/

IndieGameBusiness

YouTube Channel which provides insights and advice for independent game developers on the business side of game development.

How to Consistently Make Profitable Indie Games

YouTube Video where Ryan Clark, founder of Brace Yourself Games, and designer of Crypt of the NecroDancer, Industries of Titan, and IncrediBots, discusses strategies for creating profitable indie games.

The Door Problem

The infamous Door Problem article by Liz England demonstrates the breadth of considerations a game designer must take into account when designing even a simple game element like a door. This article is a must-read for aspiring game designers, as it highlights the depth of thought and creativity required to design engaging and functional game mechanics and elements.

/r/gamedesign

Game Design Subreddit for discussion of all things game design. Community is active and engaging.

Dev Game Club

Dev Game Club is a podcast where game developers discuss and analyze classic and influential games, exploring their design, mechanics, and impact on the industry. The podcast is available on Spotify and other podcast platforms, and they also have a YouTube channel where they post video versions of their episodes.

Nice Games Club

Nice Games Club features Lydia Symchych, Mark LaCroix, and Stephen McGregor, discussing game development with friends and guests. Covers wide range of topics within game development.

The Game Maker's Notebook

The AIAS Game Maker’s Notebook features experienced game industry veterans from various roles within the industry in conversations that always deliver fantastic perspective and knowledge. Episodes often unearth little-known stories and insights from the history of game development, and the host's interview style is fantastic at drawing out interesting information from guests.

Game Dev Unchained

Game Dev Unchained is monthly(ish) podcast about game development from a variety of perspectives within the games industry. The host and guests are usually experienced industry veterans with deep insight into the world of game development. This podcast has evolved a lot over the years and has an extensive backlog of valuable information.

Game Dev Field Guide

Game Dev Field Guide is a fantastic monthly podcast for beginners. Hosted by Zackavelli, this podcast walks listeners through important lessons for aspiring game designers, artists, engineers, etc. with easy-to-follow advice. Also hosts a community on Discord where game designers compete to answer monthly Game Dev Challenges.

GMTK - How To Become a Game Designer

Mark Brown delivers a quick overview of what it takes to become a game designer. As always, Game Maker's Toolkit delivers high quality content in an entertaining package.

MDA: A Formal Approach to Game Design and Game Research

Paper by Robin Hunicke, Marc LeBlanc, Robert Zubek, describing their Mechanics -> Dynamics -> Aesthetics framework for game design.

Jonas Tyroller

YouTube channel following the journey of an aspiring indie game developer.

Level Design Lobby

Max Pears' talks through level design principles and techniques and game design theory. Often has interesting guests from the industry, delivering excellent insight into the role of game and level designers.

The Level Design Book

A free digital book which covers fundamental level design principles and techniques for level designers of all experience levels. The book goes into great depth with plenty of examples and illustrations to help readers understand important concepts in level design. This is a must for aspiring level designers!

Ten Principles for Good Level Design

Dan Taylor, of Square Enix Montreal, presents fundamental principles for good level design in this GDC talk.

Steve Lee

Experienced level designer and game designer Steve Lee (Dishonored 2, Bioshock Infinite, Alba: A Wildlife Adventure, Tactical Breach Wizards) shares insights and tutorials on game and level design on his YouTube channel.

GMTK - Level Design Playlist

Game Maker's Toolkit presents a curated playlist of videos focused on level design, offering valuable insights and practical tips for aspiring level designers.

Unity

Popular game engine with a large community, extensive documentation, and a wide range of features for both 2D and 3D game development. Unity is a great choice for beginners and experienced developers alike, with support for multiple platforms and a vast asset store.

• Scripting: C#
• Visual Scripting: (third-party) Bolt
• Best For: Mobile, Indie Games, Cross-Platform Development
• Made in Unity: Genshin Impact, Pokémon GO:, Among Us, Hollow Knight, Cuphead, Outer Wilds, Subnautica

Unreal Engine

Powerful game engine with advanced graphics capabilities and a robust development environment.

• Scripting: C++
• Visual Scripting: Blueprint
• Best For: AAA Games, Realistic Graphics, Experienced Teams
• Made in Unreal: Fortnite, Stray, Kingdom Hearts III, PUBG: Battlegrounds, Sea Of Thieves, Deep Rock Galactic

Godot

Lightweight, open-source game engine with a modern editor and a focus on ease of use.

• Scripting: C++
• Visual Scripting: Blueprint
• Best For: Indie Games, Beginners, Hobbyists
• Made in Godot: Slay the Spire II, Brotato, Cruelty Squad, Buckshot Roulette

Game Maker

Easy to use game engine with a drag-and-drop interface and a scripting language called GML. Game Maker is a great choice for beginners and those looking to create 2D games quickly.

• Scripting: GML
• Visual Scripting: GML Visual
• Best For: Indie Games, Beginners, Hobbyists
• Made in Game Maker: Hyper Light Drifter, Rivals of Aether, Undertale, Nuclear Throne

Unity Learn

Unity Learn offers a wide range of tutorials and courses for learning programming in the context of game development using the Unity engine. It's a great resource for beginners and experienced developers alike, with content covering everything from basic scripting to advanced programming techniques.

Unreal Engine Learning

Unreal Engine Learning offers a wide range of tutorials and courses for learning programming in the context of game development using the Unreal engine. It's a great resource for beginners and experienced developers alike, with content covering everything from basic scripting to advanced programming techniques.

W3Schools

W3Schools offers a wide range of tutorials and courses for learning programming languages such as HTML, CSS, JavaScript, Python, C#, C++, etc. It's a great resource for beginners and experienced developers alike.

How To Market A Game

Chris Zukowski's highly regarded resources for indie game marketing. Newsletters, podcasts, videos, and articles covering various aspects of promoting indie games.

BausFighter

Website where users can share their indie games and identify content creators to contact about showcasing their work.

Community Building for Indie Game Developers
The EEE approach to community building: Evaluate, Establish and Engage

The Indie Survival Guide to Game Marketing

Jordan's (OPGameMarketing) guide to marketing and community building for indie game developers.

Indie Game Public Relations: 5 Years of Painful Lessons

Chris McQuinn, from Drinkbox Studios (Guacamelee!), GDC talk about building a community for indie games and marketing considerations.

GDC - Narrative Design Playlist

A curated playlist of videos from the Game Developers Conference (GDC) focusing on narrative design in games.

Narrative Design 101: Introduction

Johnnemann Nordhagen's (Bioshock, Gone Home, and Where the Water Tastes Like Wine) article on narrative design, covering the basics of storytelling and structure in games.

4 Layers, A Narrative Design Approach

Thomas, from Frictional Games, describes a four-layer approach to narrative design in games.

IGDA

The International Game Developers Association (IGDA) is the world's largest nonprofit membership organization serving all individuals who create games.

Game Dev League

Game Dev League is a Discord community for game developers to connect, share resources, and get support.

TIGsource

Popular place for indie game developers to post their devlogs and get feedback from the community.

Game Conference Guide

Game Conference Guide provides a running list of upcoming game development events and conferences.

/noclip Podcast

The Noclip Podcast features discussions about game development, industry news, and interviews with developers. The podcast is also available on Spotify and other podcast platforms.
Noclip also produces high-quality documentaries about game development and the industry, which are available on their YouTube main channel.