new to game development
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I'm new to game development and want to make a small open world game.i have a great story and a awesome concept but i'm stuck on how to go about making my game. I have Ue4 and Unity but i cant seem to find any good tutorial on how to make a landscape with height maps.I'm making a desert game but getting start has become more of a chore then and enjoyment at this point. the videos i look at are great for people who already have knowledge in 3ds max, mud box, substance painter, substance designer,zbrush etc. I have money to pay people to just build and make what i want but i want to learn please help.
the game im making is low ploy or better yet will kinda look like this.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yON7zSsR3S0&list=FLAk_SfBFbPDOBi2bqaHMAFQ&index=22
the game im making is low ploy or better yet will kinda look like this.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yON7zSsR3S0&list=FLAk_SfBFbPDOBi2bqaHMAFQ&index=22
Replies
You need to start at the right point. Landscapes like this are actually very simple and easy to do, and where you’re currently at will probably feel like a major victory
however, it’s not going to get you very far. You’ll be left with a landscape and nothing to play on it, and nowhere to go but the distraction of making your desert look pretty. Watch out for predictable replies at this point of “you need to work on your lighting” ... seriously, you really really don’t. Not if learning how to make a game is what you really want to do.
start with a simple ground plane and boxes. Use stock characters and animations. Have a good poke around 3rd person game and character templates (both ue4 and unity have these) but don’t use them directly as a base to move yourself forwards, you’ll miss too may fundamentals - anyone can have a character running around an unreal map within minutes, but how much did they learn?
Assuming you have no coding experience, start into visual scripting - Blueprints in Ue4 or something like Playmaker for Unity. Set up your own inputs and animation system, and work on interactions (make this happen at this point) as much as the shiny bauble of projectiles and blowing shit up. Dip your toe into enemy AI but you’ll probably find it pretty daunting, still it’s good to try so you’ve got a decent understanding for when you likely talk to a coder about making this bit decent
So so many things to explore before you want to start looking at your landscape
even that takes a huge amount of time, manpower and technical experience. To give you context, watch dogs 2 had over 500 people working on it fulltime for 2+ years. Watch the credits roll on your favorite game and you will be shocked.
Its like claiming you are going to climb mt everest when you mainly just do 10 mins on the treadmill 2x a week.
I would say start with something extremely small and simple to learn the ins and outs of gamedev to give you some perspective.
A SIMPLE side scroller or flappy bird clone to learn what goes into the process and is required to create even the smallest of games.
Its a common thing for someone with no experience to have a grand vision/story but no actual idea of how much work it is. And its no fault of your own, you just dont have the perspective and context yet. Its easy for ambition to outweigh experience.
By sticking to something small you can gain the experience while actually having a chance at finishing the project, which in turn will give you more confidence and the ability to approach soemthing a bit more complex.
I would try making something with all the assets and plugins available on the unity or ue4 market places. It will be much cheaper than paying multiple people hourly and you will learn more in the process.