Hello guys 🙂 I tried to find some similar thread but I didn't, I apologize in advance if I missed it 🙂

I'm approaching game development by following the general advice I read on the web (including this forum of course).
So I'm starting small, I'm trying to develop my Pong version in Unity:
I'm breaking down every single problem in smaller tasks, in some case I try to not follow a tutorial if I have an idea how something should be done (and then comparing what I did with what the tutorial does) etc
So I'm learning and, hopefully, someday I'll have an interesting portfolio.

But talking about the present, I've realized that I have some lacks in terms of mathematical subjects (trigonometry, physics etc).
So when I face a mathematical problem that requires some knowledge that I don't have (or I need to review because I don't use it so often), I'm not sure if I should put aside the development and focus on studying that topic.
And I'm not sure if I should just study what I need to solve that problem (and the basis to understand the concept(s) that I need if there are) or if I should study the “entire” subject and go back to development with a stronger generic foundation.

Another solution would be to parallelize development and study (but I also work so it would be difficult and probably frustrating but I'm open to this possibility).

So my question to you is this: how do you mix practice and study if you are in my situation (or if you were)? Do you have any advice about this?

Thank you in advance 🙂

In general you need to be able to explain the math to the computer through source code. You'll also need to know the math enough that when debugging you can identify when the math is different than what you're expecting.

If you're relying on a physics engine, like the physics system built into Unity, you'll generally be able to trust that the physics engine is doing math correctly but you'll need to understand enough about physics to verify your settings are correct and the results match what you expect.

Most degrees have math requirements and many have a physics class or two. Calculus, linear algebra (which has a prerequisite of of trigonometry), and statistics are common. Newtonian physics, also called classical mechanics, are typical and often taught in high school as well. If they are elective courses or even just non-required courses they're still good for game programmers to pick up.

Assuming you're not yet to college, learning online is good. Another excellent course is school teachers, particularly math teachers and physics teachers. Any certified high school math teacher has the math background necessary for Pong even if they don't know the programming side, and they're usually pretty good at teaching and effectively explaining the topics (something many online tutorials lack).

In general for beginners, it is enough to piece together the bare minimum to make your project work, without much regard for correctness. Don't get caught up too much in analysis or building a perfect simulation. Code up whatever you can, if it mostly works okay that's enough for this skill level.

When i encounter math problems i ask chatgpt or i watch a tutorial how they did it. Ofc it would be better if i know the math but that is my easy fix. There is even a game marketing