My Patreon serves two purposes: it’s a way to make it easier to support my work and also to be a place where I offer mentorships for game developers.
I’m using this page to help you better understand how the Patreon works and what mentorship means to me.
Why seek a mentor?#
There’s Youtube tutorials everywhere and it has never been easier to learn to code and make a game by yourself, with LLMs etc… right?
Well, let me share an illuminating example: me.
I started out as a game designer and learned how to program in Unity by following tutorials.
I came to a certain point (which will be familiar to many game developers) where you go: “Ok, but I want to make my own code, not just follow tutorials”.
It’s a very frustrating bottleneck, and one in which I believe many give up. I didn’t, however, and proceeded to spend years learning by myself.
I learned so much stuff wrong. So much. Not knowing how to parse the multitude of information on the internet about game development, I just blazed my way through and got burned in the process.
That’s why I decided to start mentoring developers: I don’t want people to suffer like I did. The process can be smoother, all the while still being challenging and incredibly rewarding.
It’s been pretty great!
I taught for four years in Brazil’s biggest professional education institution (Senac-RJ), honing my skills as a teacher in a PBL (Project-Based Learning) approach, lecturing in design, game development and marketing classes. That’s why my mentorships are project-based: you learn how to make games by making games.
I’ll help you avoid pitfalls and structure your knowledge in an order that makes sense for your goals. That way, you can finally go beyong tutorials, avoid waste and unnecessary hardships. They can be about programming, design, business, mental health, strategy — I share what I’ve learned as you need it.
I want to help people become the game devs they dream of, without burning in the process.
That is what I wish I had, and am super excited to offer.
Mentorship Tiers#
Group Mentorship - $100/month: You’ll have access to a weekly 2-hour collective call with 5 other students of various backgrounds to work on complex projects and get direct feedback from me. You’ll also have access to the student discord server where you can share your projects and get feedback if that’s interesting to you! We’ll work in the Godot game engine.
Personal Mentorship - $200/month: You’ll have access to a weekly 2-hour individual call with me and I’ll propose unique projects for you to work on that match the games you want to make. We’ll work together on these calls and I’ll push you and share all I’ve learned. You’ll also have access to the student discord server where you can share your projects and get feedback if that’s interesting to you! We’ll work in your game engine of choice.
Suggestions for each profile#
“I’m not looking for mentorships, I’d just like to support your work." That’s lovely, thanks a lot! I recommend subscribing the basic tier of my Patreon ($2), or, if you’re using one my tools or is just an awesome person, I recommend the second tier ($10) and you’ll also have access to personalized support for any tool of mine.
“I want to learn game development with you, but I’m a total beginner."I’m really glad you found something you’re so interested in. However, I’d recommend doing your first steps by following Youtube tutorials, like the ones offered freely by Brackeys. A mentorship is an expensive commitment and I believe it’s best to take this leap when you’re at the point of “Ok, I like this, I really want to do this and it’s time to go beyond tutorials.” I also recommend learning in Godot, which is a free and open-source game engine, and my tool of choice for making games.
“I have some experience, but I want to learn game development with you”. Then you’ll be super welcome in my group mentorship! I suggest signing up to the collective mentorship ($100). We’ll work in the Godot game engine.
“I have some experience, but want to learn game development with you and I prefer a more personalized approach and/or don’t want to work with Godot”. I’ll be happy to guide you! I suggest signing up to the personal mentorship ($200). We’ll work with the game engine of your choice.
“I’d love to learn with you but I don’t have the financial means. Is there any scholarship or discount available?" Unfortunately no, not at the moment. I really want to open pro-bono slots, but it’s not feasible financially for me at the moment. It’s one of my priorities though, and I hope to make it into a reality by the end of 2025. Sign up to my newsletter in the home page so you can notified when I’m able to offer it!
Testimonials#
Yann has been coaching me in Godot Engine for a couple of months now, and I honestly can’t express how grateful and lucky I am to be learning from him. Before I reached out, I had been learning Godot and programming on my own for a little over a year through online tutorials, videos and Udemy. Though great resources, I felt like I was just “copying and pasting” information instead of actually “learning it”. I understood some of the concepts but I simply couldn’t put anything into practice on my own.
Yann is sharp, compassionate, and genuinely passionate about teaching. He understands where I am as a student and has been finding different and smart ways to approach the concepts I struggle with, so at the end of every session I’m always feeling accomplished and pumped for the next step. From our very first session, Yann gave me a sense of clarity and self-assurance. I went from thinking, “Wouldn’t it be cool if I could do something like this?” to realizing, “Wait, I’m already doing it.”
— Gustavo Kawika (Dallas, USA)
Perfect! A teacher with deep knowledge in game development! He’s also a musician and has worked on several projects, bringing a bunch of experience that can help beginner students at their own pace.
Give Yann a chance—I really enjoyed learning from him.
— Stephan Castiglioni (Vitória, Brazil)
I highly recommend Yann! Not only does he have a great teaching style, but he is also incredibly calm. He genuinely cares about your learning and makes sure you understand everything before moving forward.
A major strength is his ability to adapt to your level of knowledge—he explains the absolute basics until they stick or dives into advanced topics with mastery, all to help you in the best way possible. He is one of the most patient, good-humored, and adaptable teachers I’ve ever met. I learned so much from Yann!
— Luiza Arantes (Vancouver, Canada)
Disclaimers & FAQ#
About vacancies and waiting list: Both mentoring tier have limited vacancies because I dedicate the majority of my time to my work. Patreon doesn’t have a waiting list, so I recommend signing up to the basic tier ($5) and get into the student discord server, so you can stay tuned at the end/beginning of each month, when vacancies may open up.
About vacations: Every year I’ll take breaks/vacations in dates communicated with at least a month of antecedence, so there will be no mentoring and no posts in those months — you can stop paying, but if you are my mentee, your spot will remain open and can be filled by someone else.
About the mentoring calls: The mentoring calls are hands-on work, where you’ll be in your game engine and I’ll be accompanying you and at times sharing my screen to show/teach/debug something. The calls will be scheduled at least 1 week in advance, with a non-negotiable day/time (always in Brazilian time) and won’t be recorded, but you can record if you’d like.
About absences: If you’re doing the personal mentoring and miss a scheduled call without at least a 12-hour warning, unless it’s an absolute emergency, I’ll unfortunately have to stop the mentorship with you and vacate your slot. I have been subjected to enough instances of students just “forgetting” and I think it’s deeply disrespectful, and I can’t teach someone who doesn’t respect my time. There’s a lot of prep that goes into the mentorship and I’m letting go of doing my own work for it. It may seem harsh, but it’s important and non-negotiable.