NEW PROJECT!!!!!

[X-13]

A new project. I have one.

 

 

So, I'ma bounce some ideas off you guys. Try not to flinch.

 

First things first:

 

Story driven, gameplay driven or RANDOM!!!

 

 

Personally, I'd say story driven. A good story will distract people from my bad coding and graphics...

 

 

Which leads into:

 

1st, 2nd or 3rd person...

 

Now, first person gaming isn't my kind of thing. But, a lot of people like it... Which may help find testers ['cos I totally aint paying them...]

 

2nd person leave only a couple of choices of game style. [Text adventure... and text adventure with pictures.]

 

3rd person is where it's at.

 

 

So now...

 

3d or 2d?

 

I want 3d, that's the current thing... but I suck at 3d modelling.

 

2d would allow me to just use something random like paint[.net?] for graphics.

 

 

Game style... Hmm.

 

Platformer, RPG, shooting, random adventure [think Zelda style. RPG with no levelling]...

 

Zelda style is pretty cool. But, I may go platformer.

 

 

Game engine?

 

No. I'ma code it myself. [Why do I make more work for myself... eh, it's a good way to learn.]

 

 

 

Anything I forgot? Any suggestions?

 

If anyone knows a good GPL work of fiction I can use as a story would be awesome. Otherwise, I'd need to figure out a GOOD story. [suggestions?]

 

 

 

Also, any tropes I should try to avert, subvert or lampshade?

 

 

 

Le EDIT: Holy carp, that's a long post.

[localzuk]

A couple of thoughts.

 

1. Go 2D not 3D. A good 2D game trumps a poor 3D game any day.

2. Why not run a couple of polls - 1 asking for a genre and 1 asking for a topic eg. FPS,Platformer,Strategy etc... and Space/Egypt/Memes etc... Then combine the 2 top choices together and end up with a Space FPS or an Egyptian Strategy game.

[X-13]

2. Why not run a couple of polls - 1 asking for a genre and 1 asking for a topic eg. FPS,Platformer,Strategy etc... and Space/Egypt/Memes etc... Then combine the 2 top choices together and end up with a Space FPS or an Egyptian Strategy game.

 

Oh... Good idea.

 

Egyptian strategy actually sounds pretty cool...

[localzuk]

Oi thief! Stealin my suggestions!

[ZeroHour]

Tbh I would start of making a good puzzle based game as building a story based anything is a much more massive exercise and depends a lot on the quality of the story where as you just need to come up with a basic concept for a puzzle type game.

Angry Birds etc have no plot but that doesn't stop it being fun.

[dhicks]

2d would allow me to just use something random like paint[.net?] for graphics.

 

2D rotoscoped from live action footage? It worked well for Prince of Persia, and might work for you if you can't draw well.

 

Game engine?

 

I know you say C++ in your linked post, but you could try Objective C - make your game into an Apple app.

 

 

Project Gutenberg - free ebooks

[X-13]

Oi thief! Stealin my suggestions!

 

Hide yo kids, hide yo wife... Hide yo husband, too.

 

Cos I'm stealing everyone's ideas.

 

Angry Birds etc have no plot but that doesn't stop it being fun.

 

Yeah it does...

 

Pigs stole the birds eggs. Now you seek revenge via suicide bombing.

 

 

I know you say C++ in your linked post, but you could try Objective C - make your game into an Apple app.

 

Screw Apple. And the horse they rode in on.

 

Also, rotoscoping you say... Interesting.

[sonofsanta]

First project, right?

 

Make it 2D, make it short, make it simple - just make it. If you commit to too much you will just end up demotivated. Plan something achievable and build up some momentum with completed projects before launching into your magnum opus.

 

Custom engine - why bother? There's so many good engines out there now there's absolutely no need to reinvent the wheel. If it's a 2D game, Flash is workable - Super Meat Boy and Binding of Isaac are just Flash games, after all. If it's a 3D game, christ, you can use Unreal Engine 3 for free, or the Crysis engine, or Unity - no way you're going to beat them with something you've put together. Engine building will just slow you down and dull your enthusiasm and early fire. Maybe later, a couple of projects down the line, when you know you can finish these things, but not yet.

 

Style/theme - if you don't know that then it's no good asking others. There's only one audience you should ever create anything for - yourself. If you try and pander to the vagaries of public opinion you'll just wind up with some confused, watered down, workmanlike horsepoop. Make something that you would like, in a setting you love, and your enthusiasm for that will carry you through the dark periods of CBA you will suffer. Just think about the games that stick in your head, mechanically or atmospherically - one of the first that always leaps to my mind is STALKER, for the harshness and brutality of it. Many people might say FFVII, or a Zelda, or a Mario, but think about what leaps into your head straight away, and what you like about it, and how you can put a twist on it and make it your own.

 

And you do need to make it your own - a slick and professional 2D side scrolling platformer will disappear in the market without some reason to make it stand out.

 

Most of all, JUST GET ON WITH IT. Don't get bogged down in details (hence the game engine bit). Just keep the wheels churning whilst your enthusiasm is fired and worry about the little bits and pieces nearer the end when you know you'll finish it. If you slow yourself down too much early on you'll start to feel like you'll never finish it, you're not good enough, no-one cares, why bother... so keep that momentum going at all costs.

 

 

Much of this may, in a clichéd hollywood style, actually be a message to myself right now.

[alan-d]

Have a look at Gamification. Yes I know, another twee name for something that already existed, but may give you some ideas. There is a lot of rubbish and drivel written on the subject but anyone with a little common sense can work out the good stuff from the bad.

[SpreadsheetJockey]

If you aren't a redditor OP, then you sure have the syntax down... :-D

[localzuk]

If you aren't a redditor OP, then you sure have the syntax down... :-D

 

X-13 is the king of memes, slinger of slang. I personally think he's the love-child of 4chan and Reddit...

[X-13]

@sonofsanta actually... that makes a lot of sense.

 

@alan-d I've looked at gamification. It's one of the many things rolling about in my head.

 

 

 

Everyone gets +rep [via thanked posts] except @SpreadsheetJockey. Because, that [censored] just aint necessary.

 

 

X-13 is the king of memes, slinger of slang. I personally think he's the love-child of 4chan and Reddit...

 

Come at me, bro!

[sonofsanta]

Also, read the last paragraph of this Penny Arcade newspost, for they are words of brimstone to fire your soul:

Somehow, and I don’t know how this kind of thing starts, we have started to lionize horseback-not-getting-on: these casual, a priori assertions of inevitable failure, which is nothing more than a gauze draped over your own pulsing terror. Every creative act is open war against The Way It Is. What you are saying when you make something is that the universe is not sufficient, and what it really needs is more you. And it does, actually; it does. Go look outside. You can’t tell me that we are done making the world.

 

(a videogames webcomic is a strange place to take motivation from, I suppose, but that struck a chord with me)

[X-13]

Also, read the last paragraph of this Penny Arcade newspost, for they are words of brimstone to fire your soul:

 

 

(a videogames webcomic is a strange place to take motivation from, I suppose, but that struck a chord with me)

 

 

"This site was blocked by restriction list: RM Pornography and Illegal or Age-Restricted Activity List "

 

This is the most idiotic filter I've ever encountered...

[sonofsanta]

"This site was blocked by restriction list: RM Pornography and Illegal or Age-Restricted Activity List "

 

This is the most idiotic filter I've ever encountered...

 

Well those there vidja-games are bad fer yer soul, we gots to keep em away frim the young uns whats lookin ter do them sum verchewal killins

 

(I quoted the important bit anyway, the rest is just context)

[LosOjos]

I agree with much of what has been said above:

 

- it needs to be your idea, your vision; trying to please the masses will only make it boring for you and hence reduce the chance of completion (did you know that 90% of games are never finished? And 75% of statistics are made up on the spot to support arguments?)

 

- that being said, what is your goal? If it's for personal achievement, make it your own all the way (story and gameplay wise I mean, there's no shame in using a game engine). If you're planning to make some money out of it, I'd be looking at a casual, pick up and play game you can distribute on Facebook, Android and/or iOS as that's where the money is for indie developers these days; of course your choice here will affect the language you code in. There's also XNA if you want to code for a platform with more grunt but with a good business model for indie developers.

 

- don't over-estimate your own ability. Nothing is more frustrating than starting a project and realising you don't have the knowledge to make it the way you want it. A hell of a lot of time and effort goes in to even the simplest of games (if they're well coded), so as a first project I'd keep it simple, give yourself a chance to go through the motions of research, development, debugging and release; it'll put you in a much better place to take on a bigger project (such as an RPG) next time.

 

- if you suck at graphics, there are sites out there offering royalty free sprites. There's also the option of making "poor" graphics an intrinsic part of the game; just look at Legends of Yore or Minecraft, anybody could create those sprites but as the whole game is made in that style, it looks like a design decision rather than a lack of talent (which of the two it is, we may never know!)

 

- you don't mention why you want to code this in C++, do you have C++ experience or is it just that like most people starting out in games programming you feel you should? Don't fakll in to that trap, there are many great languages out there for games programming that are much easier to learn than C++ and as long as it's OO (such as Java) you'll pick up the fundamentals. Of course if you already have a good grasp on C++, it is a very efficient language to use.

[X-13]

- you don't mention why you want to code this in C++, do you have C++ experience or is it just that like most people starting out in games programming you feel you should? Don't fakll in to that trap, there are many great languages out there for games programming that are much easier to learn than C++ and as long as it's OO (such as Java) you'll pick up the fundamentals. Of course if you already have a good grasp on C++, it is a very efficient language to use.

 

Because, I have the compiler and I'm [sort-of] attempting to learn C++ anyway.

 

Learn by doing.

[LosOjos]

Because, I have the compiler and I'm [sort-of] attempting to learn C++ anyway.

 

Learn by doing.

 

Fair enough

 

One thing I forgot to add: make sure you have a robust plan before you write a line of code! There is nothing worse than starting a project with only a vague idea of what you want to achieve, only to constantly have to rewrite parts of it because you've changed your mind on them later down the line. We all change our minds from time to time, but starting without a solid plan for your outcome will mean you spend more time correcting things than adding things and will slow you down massively; this can be a major killer to motivation. Trust me!

[SpreadsheetJockey]

 

Everyone gets +rep [via thanked posts] except @SpreadsheetJockey. Because, that [censored] just aint necessary.

 

 

Alas, I shall continue on my merry way with nary a "thank" to my name. One day, SpreadsheetJockey... one day.

[HodgeHi]

You could maybe use Blender to gain access to the 3d modelling and also for the game engine. I don't know what I'm talking about as I haven't a clue, but IIRC the game they released is available to use and tweak. It could maybe allow you to get a grasp of how the system works. There is also a lot of models available for free online as well I think. You could also look at blender cookie for tutorials on how to model characters for games and stuff.

[pcstru]

Is the point to :

 

1. Learn C++

2. Learn how to write games

3. Write a cracking game and bask in the glory

 

?

[X-13]

Fair enough

 

One thing I forgot to add: make sure you have a robust plan before you write a line of code! There is nothing worse than starting a project with only a vague idea of what you want to achieve, only to constantly have to rewrite parts of it because you've changed your mind on them later down the line. We all change our minds from time to time, but starting without a solid plan for your outcome will mean you spend more time correcting things than adding things and will slow you down massively; this can be a major killer to motivation. Trust me!

 

^ True facts.

 

This is why I'm asking things... Mostly.

 

I may also, slightly, be making it more enjoyable for you guys when I inevitably ask for testers [on a voluntary basis].

 

Alas, I shall continue on my merry way with nary a "thank" to my name. One day, SpreadsheetJockey... one day.

 

What's that?

 

"Thank" your post... Well, as you asked so nicely.

 

Is the point to :

 

1. Learn C++

2. Learn how to write games

3. Write a cracking game and bask in the glory

 

?

 

 

Actually it's:

 

1) Learn C++ on the job [as it were]

2) Make shoddy game

3) ???

4) PROFIT!

Edited May 31, 2012 by X-13
I carnt speel

[mthomas08]

Make your own minecraft world!

 

This is something me and a mate have been working on for a couple of months now, already got a 4 major cities, couple of outposts, dungeon/assault areas etc.

 

What we are hoping for at the end is PGP style/decent exp/level up system. Got a good amount of mods installed, only need a few more to perfect it.

[X-13]

Make your own minecraft world!

 

World IN Minecraft... or game LIKE Minecraft?

 

 

I'd rather make something fully than use mods in an existing game.

[mthomas08]

Sorry yes, world IN minecraft game is already there meaning you can just enjoy your self while you play it or build it.