12 replies to this topic

[johnnyjrmoua]

After reading tons of forums and threads, if you were to create an MMORPG with a budge of $2000, or knows someone who is creating one with that budget, what are the steps and guides you would tell them to go by (which software, who to hire, a team, etc)?

Or, if you were the one with the budget, what steps would you take in creating a complete MMORPG with that budget? What parts would you put last (ie. graphics, server-side, etc.) Please be realistic and only serious responses please.

Thank you.

[Goz]

if i was being realistic ... give up now. You CANNOT make an MMORPG for $2000 ... i charge a minimum of more than 4 times that a MONTH for render engine consultancy. An MMORPG is many many months of dev time. If you manage to find anyone who'll develop an entire online game for $2000 then they are selling themselves short.

Sorry ... but you wanted honest responses.

[johnnyjrmoua]

Goz said:

if i was being realistic ... give up now. You CANNOT make an MMORPG for $2000 ... i charge a minimum of more than 4 times that a MONTH for render engine consultancy. An MMORPG is many many months of dev time. If you manage to find anyone who'll develop an entire online game for $2000 then they are selling themselves short.

Sorry ... but you wanted honest responses.

Again, I said realistic response with some information, yet instead you give a response as "give up now." I don't care about how much you charge, I didn't ask for that. Re-read the response, this is to help those who do have a budget in getting started. We all start somewhere, and your "honest response" is not of anything of guidiance. Thank you, but no thanks for the negativity.

Again if you want to re-read it, here I go quoting it for you again...

"...what are the steps and guides you would tell them to go by (which software, who to hire, a team, etc)?

"...what steps would you take in creating a complete MMORPG with that budget? What parts would you put last (ie. graphics, server-side, etc.) Please be realistic and only serious responses please."

[Goz]

Well in fairness whether you like it or not ... that is bloody realistic advice.

An MMORPG is a HUUUUGE project. Even if you are not aiming for something to the level of WoW you still have to consider time scales. You can probably get a half decent engine for $2000 ... that leave you precious little else. Any half-decent coder will charge twice $2000 a MONTH to do the work. EVE probbaly has 100 or more people working on it full time. I'd imagine WoW has 2 to 3 hundred. EACH earning $2000 a month or more.

By all means go for it alone but don't under estimate

A) The amount of people it takes to make an MMORPG
B) The amount of money it takes (ie alot more than $2000)


So in answer to the following questions you levelled, pertaining to a $2000 budget :-

""...what are the steps and guides you would tell them to go by (which software, who to hire, a team, etc)?"

I would tell them not to bother. You wil find it incredibly hard to make ANY game for $2000. Don't forget time is money and don't underestimate how much real cost there is for people even when they put in their time for free. Time is money whether its a for-fun project or a for-money project. For-fun projects rarely talk about budgets ... Don't get too ahead of yourself.

"...what steps would you take in creating a complete MMORPG with that budget? What parts would you put last (ie. graphics, server-side, etc.) Please be realistic and only serious responses please."

I wouldn't take any steps. It is impossible. That is REALISTIC and SERIOUS.

Sorry if you don't like those responses but i've been writing games for over 15 years (8 of which professionally) and i have a fair clue over what it takes to write a game. You, evidently, don't have much experience of games development. As such i suggest you start off MUCH smaller and learn what is involved. Do a 3D real-time version of nethack and see the amount of time and effort required to do that. A good team of 5 people could probably knock out a decent 3D nethack game in a few months ... but that doesn't even BEGIN to scratch the surface of the complexity of a project like an MMORPG and, I can guarantee if you are talking budgets, will cost a HELL of a lot more than $2000.

[johnnyjrmoua]

Well, at least this time you gave better suggestions. I know how much a full production game costs, I know the ins and outs, this is just for more suggestions. I have friends that work for blizzard, and I know it costs more than ever to make such game. This thread is to build a foundation and more for people with budget to know where to get started (ie starting with Torque, etc.) There are many other posts out there that tells the ins and outs of which engine is the best, etc, but there aren't many posting of budgetting for beginners. We cannot just throw it all to a beginner's face that it is useless when there's so much they can really do with even just that budget (i.e. maya, scripting budget, c++ software, etc.).

Anyway, thanks for the response at the end though- that is at least worth reading for those starting out with a budget. Hopefully this thread can be digged in deeper into the core of budgetted beginners.

PS- I, evidently, don't have much experience of games development. That is right- I just went to school and learned from those who goes to blizzard, though that's nothing to say about. At least putting an idea into a thread of "budget" is something to help others get started. I could have put budget for 4k, 10k, 20k, but I decided to put 2k instead. $300, I'd say go buy books... I hope you get what I'm stating.

[J22]

johnnyjrmoua said:

We cannot just throw it all to a beginner's face that it is useless when there's so much they can really do with even just that budget (i.e. maya, scripting budget, c++ software, etc.).

Single copy of Maya costs you $2000, so that budget really doesn't get you far. Maybe you should just try to pull a group of local kids together who share your enthusiasm about game development, and start hacking things up with the team in your parents garage. Now that you have the $2000 budget, you could use it to buy pizza and coke for the team once in awhile.

[dave_]

I worked on an MMO that cost about took 3 years and roughly $4 million and didn't even see the light of day.... what chances have you got with 0.05% of the cost?

[ldrrn]

with $2000 budget i don't think he is aiming for commercial quality mmorpg, mostly likely he wanted to gain some experiences in mmorpg making, here's the way to create a mini mmorpg

MMORPG with $2000 budget
======================

1) Game Engine ($200): Torque + Afx + MMOKit http://www.mmoworksh.../wiki/Downloads
2) 2D graphics tool (Free): Gimp http://www.gimp.org/
3) 3D Modeling tools (Free): Torque Showtool pro + Torque Constructor + blender + blender dts export plugin
4) Programming tools (free): visual C++ express + python
5) manpower (free): you yourself, almost impossible to get someone work with you for free
6) Server hosting (the rest of your money): host a single server for your web site and game server

good luck

[fooboo]

With $2000 it'd probably be better to write a browser based MMORPG rather than a WOW style game.
Spend a chunk of it on some graphics (2D/3D stills or whatever) and keep the rest for whatever comes up like hosting, text books, etc.

It'd also give you a start in game programming without jumping in at the deep end. It'd look good in a portfolio and will teach you some basics.

Then you may get the skills you need to move on and join a properly funded development team.

[johnnyjrmoua]

Thanks for the latest responses guys. I've referred a friend to this thread and told him to bookmark it for reference. I'm sure it's helping him tons. Thanks once again.

[Econ]

I do not know the exact name of what i'm saying about but i checked a site which is hiring people part time and with shares of the mmo ownership licence to make their MMORPG. Maybe this idea would be helpful to hire others without paying money just pieces of a ownership licence.

[johnnyjrmoua]

Econ said:

I do not know the exact name of what i'm saying about but i checked a site which is hiring people part time and with shares of the mmo ownership licence to make their MMORPG. Maybe this idea would be helpful to hire others without paying money just pieces of a ownership licence.

Econ, if you know of that information, it would help to share it if possible :D

[Econ]

I remeber now, it is in the recruitment section of the forums.
It is called "The HOPE project", and it recruits with shares of the game.
If you want to know their website it is http://www.dicemedia.dk :clapping: