Solo UEFN dev. Building Fortnite maps and documenting the whole thing here. Use code GISMO in the item shop 💛
Joined September 2025
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It took me over three months to get my first ever payout.
Some people might laugh at that. Some people took longer, and that's fine too. No pressure, really.
A lot of people in UEFN think their first map is just going to go viral and they'll be set straight away. That expectation comes from somewhere, usually people promoting a course, or people sharing their earnings screenshots saying "I made this much." And a lot of the time it did happen for them, but they were either really, really lucky, or they had serious dev experience beforehand, maybe some UGC background that helped them understand things a brand new developer just wouldn't.
So people expect to make money fast when their skill isn't at the place where that's possible yet, before you even factor in the algorithm.
Over those first three months I made quite a lot of maps. And funnily enough, I actually got suspended right when my first payout was meant to land, because I'd put a little green cloud in for crude humour. But besides the point, it's definitely possible.
If you're a new dev, the thing to focus on isn't money. It's improving, and understanding what actually keeps a player. Because you can make the best game ever, but the algorithm rewards retention and playing with friends.
As much as you might want to make the game for you, you can still do that, just don't expect the same success as if you'd built it for the actual Fortnite audience.
Something to consider 👊
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I have attached a screenshot of my first years earning on mainly 1.0 back in 2024.
#uefn #fortnite #ugc #gamedev #indiedev #indiegame #roblox
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just bought a horror asset pack and wrote Claude a really in-depth PRD. Now we'll see what it builds over the next 2 days while I'm at work. I'll give it feedback after my shifts, of course.
Here's how my process usually goes:
1️⃣ I start by giving it a massive doc covering the whole game.
2️⃣ It works through everything while I'm at work.
3️⃣ When I clock off, I check how far it's got.
4️⃣ I give feedback as a voice dictation or a screen recording.
Claude does playtest for me, but it doesn't get the "feel right"
The screen recording is the key part. Claude can run FFmpeg on the video and pull the exact frames I'm talking about in the moment. I don't have to describe everything in detail or take screenshots, because it grabs them itself.
That way you can build games really fast, even while you're away. Then when you get back, you just review, record, and repeat.
As long as you go in with a clear plan and the right mindset, you're pretty much set.
Hopefully this helps you in your Epic AI Jam 🎮👻
anyone interested in these ? i completely forgot about this bundle from 6 years ago and already own every game
GismoMaps - Kyle retweeted
My private playtesting service has a home! 🎮
See your Fortnite map through fresh eyes, with honest feedback on what works, bugs I encounter, and where the player experience could improve.
Packages, pricing, and how it works:
rebelfnc.carrd.co
With this increase in vbucks the longer you're subscribed, I hope that this already considers are current subscription length.
My UEFN map failed, and I think I know why.
It did very well when it was called Escape School. Then other people made clones of it. Is what it is.
I thought my best chance from there was to pack more islands into one and out-content them. Four unique levels, all cool VFX, all cool everything.
Here’s what I messed up though: I kept changing the name.
Escape School is a very interesting core fantasy (shout out to Tizzy, that’s where I learned it from). The Fall Guys category is mostly kids, and escaping school is cool to them. Escaping a teacher is something they actually want to do, and it creates tension.
Run or Fall is kind of just the mechanic.
So to test this theory, I’m splitting all four levels into individual maps, each with its own escape, like Escape the Teacher, Escape the Clerk and Escape the King. Every map gets its own NPC that chases you, so there’s tension other than just jumping about.
I could just clone Don’t Make a Noise into a Fall Guys map, and that would probably do well too. But there’s an age rating, and I don’t want to break the rules. I’m a good guy.
This will be an interesting experiment. Let’s see what happens.
In game dev, if one person says something it doesn't necessarily mean a change is needed, but if the whole community is saying the same thing, it's often worth reconsidering and making some significant changes. I appreciate that you're doing what you think is best, but when essentially everyone in the space disagrees with you, that's a sign it might be worth some further evaluation.
