10 replies to this topic

[jb62]

Hello everyone,

I am currently an EE student at UAB. I have always loved video games and me and my friend just decided to start working on a video game as a hobby. I am not totally sure where to start, most of my programming classes have been in C++ and Java. I have no game design experiance except a few text based games i created out of boredom.

We thought an action-rpg (like Guild Wars or diablo) with online multi-player would be pretty cool. So I guess that is what we would want to create. I know thats big bite to take at first I am sure, but that is our goal and anything to help us get started in that direction is welcome.

What I am looking for right now is anything to get us started, Maybe engine ideas or books/reference sites to help get things moving.

Thanks in advance, Im sure i'll be needing help with code and stuff hehe.

[Hertta]

Just know that you can drop your dream for the next 10 or so years. Programming is not easy.

Still along? Start simple. Learn the basics. I would suggest to take a look at SDL and making a few simple games with it. A tic-tac-toe, Pong and a simple minigolf game(with start menu, few maps/campaings, music and sounds) will give you enough insight and experience to move forwards.

Never give up. Be active. Got stuck? Start over with simplier plan/approach. Feeling demotivated? Maybe take a break, or force yourself trough the struggle.

Never give up.

[starstutter]

Hertta said:

Just know that you can drop your dream for the next 10 or so years. Programming is not easy.

Meh, I think that's half right. Programming is definitley not easy, but it might help to have a giant goal that you can work toward. It totally depends on the person, and some people might find it more effective to work on smaller projects for a long time, rather than going for one big overarching goal. I personally took the second approach.

I often agree with the whole "lower your expecations" thing, but not in the way people usually mean it. Saying you CAN'T create a single player game like diablo is not really constructive IMO. I would personally tell you that you can, but it very well may take you 4-5 years (assuming you already have decent programming background).

Bottom line, go for it, but don't set any release dates ;)

[fireside]

I think you need to start with small games and work up. Why? You can better get an idea of how long something will take. You will get an overall impression of game design ie menu, levels, game loops, etc. It's easier to learn basic design in 2d before throwing yourself into the whole 3d topic of getting models, animation, etc. SDL is good choice if you know c++. Find some tutorials and have some fun with it. Develop small games for a year or so, then you will have enough experience to pick a game engine and decide what you will do. Try to write complete games because that's a common problem with would be developers, they never actually finish anything and don't learn the whole package of game design. Remember, Diablo was written by a large team of professionals who had years of experience writing games and it still took them years. The odds are that anything you do will pale by comparison. Start small, find out what you are capable of, your strengths and weaknesses, then decide on a larger project. Chances are you will be doing this for a hobby, so don't make it a drudge. Pick reasonable project sizes.

[SyntaxError]

I kind of believe you should work on what you are interested in because you will naturally work harder. There are books that will baby you though 3D game programming and even provide you with a lot of sample code to use and look at. If you have the patience and ability to work though a game programming book it may get you to the point you want be a lot faster than doing simplistic stuff first. It kind of depends on your skill level.

You are going to get a lot of different opinions on this stuff depending on people's backgrounds etc. However for me motivation is key. So working on some tic tac toe game that I'm going to throw out the second I'm done with it is not real appealing in my view. That's not to say you are going to build a world beater out of the gate, but at least it's something you can continue to modify and learn something in the process.

[fireside]

Everyone has there own point of view on this and I don't want to get into a major argument or anything, however, a tic-tac-toe game is a very good place to begin the development of AI in games. Although you are throwing the game away, you carry with you the experience and probably some of the classes of this fundamental concept that is used in almost every game. If you tried to write The Sims right away, you would probably find yourself in trouble. Most of these simple games carry the abstract functionality of any game you will write.

[alphadog]

I think everyone's got it almost right. Making your first, exploratory mistakes on some throwaway projects is very important; there's nothing more frustrating than scrapping an important project because you f'ed up the fundamentals. But, it doesn't have to be a soul-draining copy of Yet-Another-Tetris-Clone. It could be that you make small, throwaway prototypes that help you explore isolated game design ideas for your first big project. For example, check out these various Spore protoypes.

[jb62]

Well I surfed around the web a bit more and came across a good article. After reading that article I am going to take the steps it said.

1. Develop a Tetris type game (learn game loop, scoring, win/lose basics)
2. Brick Breaker (learn basic loading/ unloading new levels)
3. Pac-man ( first chance at enemy AI )
4. 2d side scrolling game. ( screen clipping, more advanced AI; also mentioned creating a "level builder" so you don't have to write code to make the levels)


(i think sense we would really like to try a 3rd person action RPG that a top-down 2d side scrolling game could work at #4, and later we could convert it into 3d if we keep on going and decide that we can actually do it.

What do you think? its a plan... so first... Tetris (without the tetris name).

[fireside]

I would agree with your idea on number 4. It would be a good place to explore path finding. I also think it's very good advice. Don't forget the menus, etc and more than one level.

[Hertta]

Just remember not to give up in the struggle. The only way to succeed is to keep trying. And don't hesitate to try something simplier instead, if something feels too rough.

[sarahxbox2009]

Work on something that you are really interested of. Start from simpler one instead of jumping into complicated ones. You can google for some text or video tutorials which are very valuable in this aspect.