Why I Started Building My Portfolio Early

Source: Dev.to

I kept learning new things every day, but I had nothing to show for it. That’s when portfolio building finally made sense.

This post is part of my daily learning journey in game development. I’m sharing what I learn each day—the basics, the confusion, and the real progress—from the perspective of a beginner.

Day 41: Why Building a Portfolio Early Matters

On Day 41 of my game development journey, I learned why building a portfolio as a beginner is important and how GitHub Pages makes it easy.

• My staff told me that learning alone isn’t enough—I need a place to show what I build.
• I created a GitHub account, added my portfolio template files to a new repository, and enabled GitHub Pages in the repository settings.
• GitHub can host a website for free, which is perfect for beginners.

Once enabled, my portfolio became accessible as a live website—a big step forward.

Weekly Portfolio Challenge

I decided to set a weekly challenge for myself. Every week, I’ll update my portfolio with:

• New environments
• Small gameplay logic
• Breakdowns of how I built them

What Confused Me

Initial Confusions

• What a repository actually is
• Which branch to select for GitHub Pages
• Why the website wasn’t live instantly
• How updates reflect on the live site

It felt technical for something that sounded simple.

Things I Eventually Understood

• A repository is just a project folder online.
• GitHub Pages usually uses the main branch.
• The site needs a few minutes to publish.
• Any update to the repository updates the website.

Once this clicked, the process felt much easier.

Tips for Building a Portfolio Early

• GitHub Pages is free and beginner‑friendly.
• Use index.html for the homepage.
• Updates may take a few minutes to appear live.
• Showing your work matters as much as learning.

Progress may be slow, but I’m building a strong foundation.

Closing Thoughts

If you’re also learning game development, what was the first thing that confused you when you started?

See you in the next post 🎮🚀