Making a game. :0
polycounter lvl 17
Okay, I was just wondering, I know their is millions of other ways I could find this out, but like with making a game where do you start and how do you end. Like obviously you would probably start at a concept and/or story writing level, but after that what's next, like what would you want to do next, models? working on a engine? pff music? Especially at an indie level where you don't have a lot of people working on different things at once. Like what's next?
Replies
then try to get that ground gameplay going first as some prototype. If you are into gamemaking not "tech making" then use some engine around (plenty of indie engines), otherwise you will loose too much time/effort making tech.
that simple prototype make with placeholder graphics (ie boxes, spheres, or whatever simple models you have lying around)
then refine (both gameplay wise and add more graphics/actual models).
of course this depends on what your focus with the project is. If the game is more important, then focus more on it, and dont go overboard with graphics. If you are more of an artist kind, and want the game as learning experience and nice way to present your art (show versatility...) then dont worry about the gameplay super much, just get something simple going.
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in all cases I would think common mistakes are:
+ focus too much on "tech" (ie engine/fx making), especially coders get dragged away with this, and artist might want to have unreal3 like features, but dont realize armies of artists work on those type of games for tons of content.
+ do too much "secondary" stuff in advance, tons of concepts, gamedesign doc, story.. all that is vaporized if you cant get a simple prototype done. And frankly story and all that kicks in relatively late after the base work on the game is done (ie just adding more "levels")
+ too big project to start with. "but I really want a mmorpg"
http://boards.polycount.net/showthread.php?t=38472
Once you've read the above, this article provides more development insight...
http://www.rsart.co.uk/2006/05/11/mods-why-i-decline-and-how-they-can-be-better/
And more good writing from Rick here.
http://www.rsart.co.uk/content-portal/
http://www.gamedev.net/reference/start_here/
creators.xna.com is also a good place to learn.
shhhh thats my plan
Also, C# is the basis for XNA. And XNA is a nice starting point for indy-developed games. If you would like an engine to help you make C# and XNA games faster, I'd recommend looking into the Flat Red Ball Engine. http://www.flatredball.com It has a lot of low-level objects and functions for getting your concepts off the ground faster. I especially like the screen manager class it uses. It makes creating interactive menu systems a lot easier. (a basic game concept, but one that many engines don't bother addressing) Flat Red Ball can help you to organize and manage your game concepts more efficiently, code-wise.
Thank you for this Informative post. I will remember this.
Not to deter you, but the percentage of people who make successful games the first time around is really really low.
So my advice would be to attempt something simple. Treat it all as a learning process, or a test run. Read as much info on the subject as you can on the web, then figure out your own strategy for making a game. Something that you think you could definitely pull off, and realize that how ever much time you guess it will take, multiply that by say 10.
I think anyone that really puts there mind to it can do it, but its going to take a ton of ambition, and hard work and dedication.
Lastly, if you come up with an idea of what you want to do post a WIP thread in the pimping and previews section here at polycount. This alone will make a huge difference, trust me.
The tech forums here at polycount are a great resource. The guys here have worked or tried out a slew of different engines and technologies. Give us an idea of what you want to do, and there's a good chance that we can steer you toward the right engines and tools to use.
steep learning curve to be frank, but.. give it a go. theres a save disabled demo on their site, check out the video tutorials to get an idea
I would suggest that you make first make maps for Unreal(Any of the Unreal Tournaments have an editor it think) or Never Winter Nights Editor or Warcraft III or Hammer or Quake War or Battle Field 2 let me see what else...Far Cry 2 or maybe if your PC can handle it, The Crysis editor (I don't think that's its name but its there). If you do this you will learn all the ins and outs of what each one can and can't do.
Once you are familiar with how the engine works you will be in a better position to make something happen as now you will know your limitations and the limitations of the engine. This way you are not trying to do something with one engine that it cant do and two you will have a better feel about what you can do and where your short coming are so that you can recruit people to fill those areas.
Finally make sure you nail the game play and have it on lock down. This is not something that is easy to do but you can if you take your time and experiment and iterate on it again and again. If you have crap game play a good story is not going to make up for that and all the eye candy you slap on top won't either. If you paint a piece of poop gold its still just a piece of poop.
Ohh yeah check out http://unity3d.com/ is like $299 I think and can do real time shadows, physic, all kinds of stuff and its all done with in your web browser.
Just because a game is indy does mean that there aren't people working on different aspects at the same time. For example, the aspect of Music can be wholey independant of the other aspects of development. It is just up to the musician to match the flow and the feel of them with their music. Because of this there is a lot of responsibility in their job.
Here you go
My suggestion to you, is to try to wear one of the Big Hats of game design. What I mean by this is you should either be able to program well enough to call yourself lead, or throw polys around good enough to call yourself lead. If you can't make your game visible in some way to to other people, you will have a hard time selling your idea, even if it is as priceless as you think.
Starting small is always a great idea. Too many mod teams start out trying to make the next Team Fortress or Counter Strike, when in reality its often the really quirky simple mods that take off. Try somethign small, with a small engine. Maybe 2d. KPs suggestion about the board game was a great idea. I suggest you try that out.
Read some articles on writing a design documentation. They aren't ENTIRELY necessary but you can't underestimate the value of having yoru vision down on paper.
Here you go
http://www.gamasutra.com/features/19991019/ryan_01.htm
http://www.gamasutra.com/features/19991217/ryan_01.htm
http://www.gamasutra.com/features/19970912/design_doc.htm
Wont hurt to read up on the 400 project either.
http://www.theinspiracy.com/Current%20Rules%20Master%20List.htm
Great stuff.
Good luck on your Journey!