Getting started with it all

#1 Ahhhh, game design whilst still in HS....

/me fondly recounts his days of doing such things

Anyway, my advice would to be just think of what kind of game you want to make, and what you enjoy doing. If you enjoy drawing/designing then come up with some decent drawings for stuff. If its writing, then perhaps you could write part or an entire storyline for a game. If its programming you enjoy, well, then youre in for some serious learning and "going for it, running into a wall, falling down" but youll have to keep at it.

Ill speak from my personal experience, I started designing my project back in about '95-'96, my sophomore year if I remember correctly. Well, Im still working on it. But you have here something most of didnt have back then, GG and a large indie dev community.

#2 Like many who have come to the decision to make a videogame, you have found yourself
here looking at the Torque Game Engine product line.

For a 2D scroller you would likely be very happy with TGB (Torque Game Builder) It has
almost everything you need to create a 2D game very quickly.

For a 3D game you would want to start with TGE (Torque Gaming Engine) It has a good
base example for an FPS and a Race Car game. From these examples you can learn quite
a bit about how the scripting language works. Then learn some more by going through the
stuff on this web site.

Taking one of those two paths, download the demos and make a test game using the included
artwork, then change it over to some artwork of your own, and see what happens from there.

I wont kid you, it wont be that easy. I've been at it for a year, almost gave up on all of
it twice, but now I'm back at it trying to make my own 3D models, and getting a game going
in TGE. (very very early prototype will be done this week.)

There are also several other game engines out there. A couple of them are even free, and
I've gone and looked at them when I got frustrated with one thing or another. After looking
I came back to Torque because it's still the best one out there for the game I'm putting together.

#3 @Nate,

Yeah, I remember those days too.

Sad thing is the best I had back then was the old Apple IIe.

#4 @Kevin

Yeah, I had (and still have one thats in mint condition) an Apple ][e, I actually started testing simple processes for my project using it since my parents limited my time on the real computers to about an hour a day. Fun stuff though, I still use mine for practical stuff and leisure.

#5 If you're not already used to make programming/scripting (in any language), beginning with torque right away may not be a good idea.

As for myself, I used to make little demos with RPG Maker 2003, it greatly helped me getting a firm grip on game making and "programming" without the headaches, the result can be really cool if you're good enough (you have also Game Maker if JRPG aren't your thing). When you'll find yourself doing crazy stuff with these maker programs, then you'll be good to start with torque (if you ever need to switch for torque).

#6 Thanks for all the replies so quickly (went to the timberwolves game while I let this sit) and for all the good feedback. I'll put my first thoughts towards Nate. So far I do have a small outline for both an FPS and RPG type games that include a general storyline, some features (couple that are too advanced for me), and and idea what I want it to look like visually. I'll probably work on the FPS sidescroller first, heard that RPG's tend to take a little longer and I'm not looking to get a lengthy game in just yet, simply something that puts bread on the table, just tackling the part about how to do it :P.

At Kevin, I heard that TGB was a good idea just to get basics down, then move on to TGE which is were my 3D book should come in handy with scripts and artwork. And I think I'm at that wonderful point of trying to pick up the pieces from when I gave up, figured this time if I get a little frustrated I know I can come here for advice and also just back off on the task a little so I dont burn out.

And finally to Benjamin, I'm curious about the RPG Maker and others. I have heard of them, and I think I downloaded one in the past but it seemed so basic and simple that I couldn't get anything unique out of it, but maybe it would help to start me off?

Overall thank you guys, any other suggestions are welcome and I definitely now know where to come when I need help or advice on this, great forums here :)

J.D.

#7 On the topic of RPG Makers. You get out of it what you want, and if you want to make a 2D RPG, then they are a great way to go, especially if you are a writer or an artist who wants to make your RPG story come to life. Neverwinter Nights, while much more confusing in terms of getting assets into the engine and the complexity, is another great way to go. For some examples of great RPG Maker XP games, look at Aveyond and Last Scenario. Both are a lot of fun and well-crafted.

You are limited by a number of things with RPG Makers, and you have to take those into consideration in your design. Right now you are limited by experience in programming, art, and the like. You need to take those considerations as they come and figure out which to tackle first and how. RPG Maker XP's scripting language is Ruby, which is a wonderful language...but you will still run into the same "first language" roadblocks.

RPG's take a lot longer, not just a little. The complexity, especially in terms of gameplay balance as the dev process moves forward is staggering. Plus the number of assets, the intricacy of the systems, how storylines fit together, etc.

I would recommend starting with TGB or TorqueX. Both are great to start out with, though TorqueX will require you to learn C#. Learning any language the first time is a monumental step. Learning another language is far easier than learning the first one because you have to pick up the building blocks. With a second (or third or fourth or tenth), you are reusing a huge amount of that knowledge, even if the language is structured wholly differently.

Both C# and TorqueScript are nice languages to start with, and the lessons you learn can be applied to other languages as well.

But I would recommend learning a language and learning it well. Not just the syntax, that is easy, but how to program in that language. The more you do it (and I would also recommend *NEVER* cutting-and-pasting but instead typing it in to process line-by-line what you are supposed to be doing), the more comfortable you will become. And one day you'll sit back and realize that you can program without misery. It doesn't mean you'll be a master coder. It simply means that if you have a problem, you can create a solution.

Once you have that confidence, it is much easier to learn other languages. Also, as a small side-note, always be flexible with your learning. When you are starting out, you will make mistakes. A lot of them. Do not get entrenched in those mistakes and keep repeating them. Always be open to new ideas and ways of coding and thinking.

#8 Ah yes I remember tweaking around with the NWN modding tools, thought I had accomplished a lot with some triggers/encounters, NPCs, custom landscape, but it ended up being worth about five minutes of gameplay :/ I'll wrestle out a custom version of the fish game or fish demo first (shooter demo files aren't on my TGB demo?) and work from there. Would prefer a shooter tutorial with files to work off of but it shouldn't be too big of a deal.

Appreciate the information on RPG making software and the process of it all, probably not best to start off with one seeing as they are more complicated and such. And just for a general idea (I'm assuming this will be impossible to answer accurately), how long would you suspect it takes to get the hang of a first language? I'm just talking to the point of you know how to get general scripts down for more simple tasks. Like I stated in my original post I believe, I have a large habit of burning out and games, things I'm trying to learn, ideas, etc. and I just want to be able to pace myself without trying to get too much into myself at once but also not take so long that it will seem to never be achievable.

Sorry about all the questions, havd so many I just finally desire an answer so that I can finally begin what I wish/enjoy to do and continue to do. Thanks for all the help!

J.D.

#9

Quote:probably not best to start off with one seeing as they are more complicated and such.

They are not, in fact they're really easy to start, without any prior knowledge you can make a nice demo with ingame scenes and fighting in a matter of minutes. Everything, the editors, are toward making things easy without typing a single line of code.
The only hard part will be actually you writing a story, having good ideas of villages and dungeons, etc.
The tools will be fairly easy to master as long as you go with RM2000 or 2003 and not RMXP (which is less easy to learn cause of the implementation of ruby).
Its actually easier to understand than any modding tools out there (easier than the Warcraft tools, which can be a really good starting point too).
About the limitation : as long as you go for super nes quality, you won't feel too much limited.

PS : RM2000 and 2003 are almost the same, with the difference being the default battle system : in 2000 it is DragonQuest-Like battles, in 2003 it is FinalFantasy-Like battles.

PS2 : There's a lot of good games made with RM2000/2003, either or not they use RPG Maker to its full capacity, from Ahriman Prophecy ( Link ) to Wilfred the Hero ( Link ). The most I know are in French, but my personal favorite in English is Sunset Over Imdahl ( Link )

#10 See, and I always recommend XP since it is 1) legal, and 2) extensible through Ruby...though you do not have to use Ruby. Plus I like the interface more. I've also been a long-time supporter of Enterbrain.

But I think El3mentX misinterpreted what I meant about them since they have a low entry bar and are great for the style of games they are meant for.