The Godot Project Setup I Wish I'd Used From the Start

Before a small Godot prototype grows into a full game, it needs a solid foundation. In this Godot 4 tutorial, we go through seven important setup steps for building a project structure that can grow without turning into a mess. We choose the direction of the game, organize the folder structure, define clear responsibilities for the MainGame and Level scenes, and create a stable path for loading levels and placing the player. This is the beginning of a new series where we will build toward a complete vertical slice of a game while exploring the reasoning behind each design decision. The community will also help shape the direction of the game. The goal is to take a small prototype that works today and give it a foundation that makes every future feature easier to add. In this video: Discuss the general design and genre of the game Choose a high-level art direction and discuss the impact of pixel scaling Create a clear folder structure Define scene responsibilities to prevent spaghetti code Build a persistent MainGame scene with stable roots Set process modes for pausing and transitions Write a reusable GDScript path for loading levels and placing the player The prototype is a top-down pixel-art game with lighting, shaders, smooth camera movement, and modern visual touches. In the next videos, we will dig deeper into pixel scaling, camera movement, TileMapLayers, terrain sets and autotiling, debug tools, reusable systems, and project automation. Should we build this game as a more traditional RPG or something more action-focused? --- View the project files on GitHub: https://github.com/fat-earth-studios/... Join the Discord:   / discord   Support the channel on Ko-fi: https://ko-fi.com/fatearthstudios --- CHAPTERS 00:00 Why Projects Become Messy 01:28 Decide What You Are Building 02:10 Choose the Right Visual Setup 02:58 Create a Clear Folder Structure 04:52 Assign Responsibilities to Your Scenes 06:38 Build the MainGame Node Structure 08:56 Set Processing Intentionally 10:09 Create a Stable Level-Loading Path 12:40 What Comes Next --- Music used in this video: "Floating Waterfall" Composed by Daniel B. Russell © 2026 Daniel B. Russell. All rights reserved. #godot #gamedev #indiedev