Now I'm sure that you have all seen your fair share of these threads, but I hope that you can bare at least one more (that being mine). I've been wanting to make games for awhile and am really hoping that you guys can point me in the right direction as to where to start based off of my current skills and goals. Goals- Create a simple point and click adventure game. Progress as a coder and get better at designing graphics. And my most distant goal is to make a large scale RPG similar to Final Fantasy 4 or 6. Current Skills- I'm proficient at using graphics gale to create sprites among other things. I'm at least proficient at HTML5 coding for website (not sure if that applies to game coding at all). Super dedicated. I'm not one to quit something until I've finished it. I also know that money plays a role in this so just a heads up I'm 15 and don't really have a job so I cant afford any cash heavy paths that would require me buying any expensive programs or anything... So I'm gunna have to go the free route. I hope that some of you are willing to take a chance on me and help me out by pointing me in the direction of where to start. Thank you all very much for your time, and I look forward to reading your responses ^_^
Hi RocknWizard, Great to hear you want to start getting into game development! I've got a few options that I know about (note I'm not the most experienced developer) which I'll outlay for you below. First, you need to know what your target platform(s) will be and need to be prepared to research what tools there are to develop for that medium (for example, if you wish to make a web-based game, you could use Flash, HTML, ect..). You mentioned that you don't have much funding for game development, but lucky enough for you, a large percentage of game development tools are available for free! After selecting your platform(s), you need an engine (in most cases). I use Unity, which is free and feature full, though some believe it not to be too great for beginners (I'll get to that in a moment). There are a large variety of engines, some better than others, depending on your needs: Unreal Engine 4 Pros: I believe it's free (up until a certain amount of commercial profit gained). Feature rich and very powerful (both visually and 'under-the-hood'). Can ship to a large variety of platforms. Has both 2D and 3D components. Has been used for a vast amount of AAA games. Cons: Quite complex in its workflow, not recommend for beginners. Website: https://www.unrealengine.com/what-is-unreal-engine-4 Unity Pros: Free (under similar circumstances as UE4 I believe). Feature rich and powerful. Has both 3D and 2D components. Can ship to a large variety of platforms. Cons: Though less complex that UE4 with an easy-to-learn workflow, I've heard other say that the engine's visual capabilities can distract young developers and cause them to scope too big. Website: http://unity3d.com/ GameMaker Pros: Very easy to learn and use. Practically no programming involved. Can ship to a large variety of platforms. Cons: While a free version is available, it is very restrictive. Only develops for 2D (not really a con, just limits your options). Website: http://www.yoyogames.com/studio To conclude, please note that some of this information may not be entirely correct (as I said, you'll have to do a far bit of research yourself ), but I hope I can point you in a good direction. As a side note, I'd highly recommend you learn the C# programming language, it'll definitely get you the furthest! Also note, there are way more game engines than what I've listed above, I've just shown you the more well know ones. Hope this helps, Frozen Cube
Thanks a ton! I've looked into game maker in the past but I would like to learn how to code as well and don't want to use an engine that would take that away from me cause then I'd be a dev missing a whole skill set... My platform, that's a good point, I'd like to be able to export the game to sights such as idk, Kongregate or others of the sort. Just so I can get easy feedback if all goes well and I get good enough at making games, being able to upload it to steam would also be very nice as well. So I'd need an engine that can make 2d games (with basic 3D components, enough to be able to walk behind a wall and go out of sight, for exa. in the old FF's) I'll look into engines and learning C#. Any idea of any online courses that I could learn it from? Ty again!
So glad I could be helpful! Sounds like a good engine for your needs would be Unity (again, I don't have any experience with pretty much any other engine, so I'm going on what I know). There are tonnes of tutorials to be found online, I'll point you to a few: Unity Learn: http://unity3d.com/learn/tutorials Unity's official tutorials - a great way to start out. You'll want to start with the Interface and Essentials area if you go here.. Extra Credits: https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLtCDpCcVx64PhPlM_2x1gCs-h1JZ7uRwm Extra Credits is a YouTube channel which doesn't teach you any coding, ect.. Instead it teaches you a lot of theory and "strategy" behind making games. I've linked their "Making your first game" playlist, but feel free to look through the rest of their great videos! Unity Cookie's intro to Unity: https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLV4HCa5XqFT1GAwmEDn7Rlxo4syaFuMdo This is a link to one of Unity Cookie's older tutorial playlists that I used when I started out. It is quite out-dated, but can give you a good starting point to learn the basics. Take note, they teach Javascript programming in those tutorials. Brackeys: https://www.youtube.com/user/Brackeys Brackeys is another great online resource for learning Unity. If you have a look through their playlists, you'll find some tutorials for both 2D development and C# coding. Another thing to take note of: when you are learning to code, the script reference that Unity provides with the engine download is invaluable. You'll probably learn more code from that then most other places. Unity Answers: http://answers.unity3d.com/ Unity Answers; another great resource for finding help, the community there is very helpful in answering questions. There is a single flaw with Unity, however, as it's default "web browser" output option no longer works in chrome browsers, so you'll have to look into the other output options for web such as WebGL. Alternatively (if you upload to GameJolt) you can upload a downloadable pc standalone version. Lastly, the most useful resource is Google. Any problems, bugs, methods you're battling with, etc.. The solution is usually just a Google away! I hope all this information proves to be useful to you in your quest! Good luck and have fun!
Ok for my first game I'd like to make a point and click adventure with the same mechanics of this game (in a way) https://thelastdoor.com/ so I was wondering if Unity could do that cause as far as I've seen, It only makes 3D games :/
Of course you can. Unity is able to start in 2d mode. Look at Unity3D website. There are plenty of examples: http://madewith.unity.com/games?type=featured&search=&platform=&genre=&tags[]=2d
As NO9 said, Unity's website has a whole bunch of tutorials on their 2D workflow! I'l link you directly to their 2D tutorials at the end of the post. Also, I noticed Brackeys had a few playlists on 2D development. Unity's 2D tutorials: http://unity3d.com/learn/tutorials/topics/2d-game-creation Brackeys 2D tutorials: https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLPV2KyIb3jR4_IYZY2V0G3IUYcx1zZkJe and https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLPV2KyIb3jR42oVBU6K2DIL6Y22Ry9J1c I hope you can find something useful out of those videos!
This is very much a loaded question You will need to experiment with all of the popular engines out there, and see which one clicks the best with you (Unity, Game Maker, Construct2, UE4). They are all capable of doing what you need. Also consider http://www.adventuregamestudio.co.uk/ if you're making a point n click game, but keep in mind you won't be able to make a RPG with it, if that's a long term goal.
Just thought I'd through this in here for any other early develops looking for engine options - a complete list of engines available for indies I found on IndieDB: http://www.indiedb.com/engines
Hey, if you are interested in some java teamwork you can contact me on this platform or on twitter: @jmaerte I was thinking about making a 2d rpg, so it would be conform with your goals! As i said, just contact me!
Hi guys! I am such an idiot. I was trying to develop a demo education app, but being a newbie I thought I needed to buy the Pro version of Unity3d to make use of its features. Now I'm not planning on using it anymore as I lost momentum and now busy on other projects, so I am paying the monthly subscription fees for Unity3d pro. I contacted them about cancelling but they won't budge. Anyone interested in buying my license of me at a reduced price? I have about 6 months left on the subscription. Thanks.
Hello RocknWizard, Thought this might be useful for you! http://www.redappletech.com/why-unity-is-the-best-career-option-in-game-development/ ,
Unity is perhaps most suitable option to begin your climb up the ladder of the gaming development industry guiding you towards your goals. Because of its programming flexibility, Unity enables you to work on your own steam and set your own protocols of designing. As long as you have sufficient knowledge of coding, designing and programming, Unity makes it all the more easier for you. Unity has some amazing features unlike other gaming platforms which is why it is currently the highest rank engines for game development. Features of Unity Popular development engine amoung game developers High compatibility factor with other gaming platforms Unparalleled community support Low learning curve and easy to understand
Yes I recommend to use Unity. I wonder what engine these guys used, they are only with 5 developers! Good luck
hi im new in the game industry,try to learn unity3d. is simple and easy! i did this game (Zagh!) in less then 10 days! https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.Alz.zagh&hl=en https://itunes.apple.com/us/app/zagh!/id1155614525?mt=8
As you are getting started, you did the right thing by going with a 2D game. You may even consider starting even simpler, and make a snake, space invaders or break out game. Using a full blown engine on a simple game as this may be overkill, and you would learn a lot more if you were to just write a simple game in Python and let's say PyGame. http://www.pygame.org/docs/tut/PygameIntro.html I wish you success on your endeavour. Good luck!