Monday, October 18, 2021
By: Matthew Doucette

I do not know if this term exists, so I will coin it now: Do not become a "tutorial programmer."

A "tutorial programmer" is a programmer who can only code when following a tutorial.

A tutorial can be sourced from anywhere, usually the internet but also from lessons, teachers, instructors and peers in schools, colleges, and universities.

Following is not learning. Learning is an active and uncomfortable process. Again, I will use Mark Brown of Game Maker's Toolkit to help me out:

"How I learned Unity without following tutorials."

That is all.

About the Author: I am Matthew Doucette of Xona Games, an award-winning indie game studio that I founded with my twin brother. We make intensified arcade-style retro games. Our business, our games, our technology, and we as competitive gamers have won prestigious awards and received worldwide press. Our business has won $190,000 in contests. Our games have ranked from #1 in Canada to #1 in Japan, have become #1 best sellers in multiple countries, have won game contests, and have held 3 of the top 5 rated spots in Japan of all Xbox LIVE indie games. Our game engines have been awarded for technical excellence. And we, the developers, have placed #1 in competitive gaming competitions -- relating to the games we make. Read about our story, our awards, our games, and view our blog.