Game Development Ideas
by Flory Madrilejos · in General Discussion · 05/19/2008 (12:20 am) · 9 replies
Hello everyone, I am a student having a thesis project and we (The Group) choose game development. Our plan is to make an educational fps adventure game, the title of our game is Sid's Journey Beyond Mystery a 3-Dimensional Adventure Game.
Now, I am currently studying torque scripting and a slight 3D Modeling. We're 3 in a group and we have respective assignment and for me i choose scripting.
I don't know what to do, where to start and what's the best for our project. More ideas are more appreciated... Thanks in advance
Now, I am currently studying torque scripting and a slight 3D Modeling. We're 3 in a group and we have respective assignment and for me i choose scripting.
I don't know what to do, where to start and what's the best for our project. More ideas are more appreciated... Thanks in advance
#3
I will check those links you've sent, and I hope to read it all.
05/20/2008 (8:28 pm)
Thanks... I am reading the 3D game programming All in one. The script looks like C languange, I am thankful because I experienced coding in C 'coz it is the foundation in our programming subjects. My problem is my eyes. It keeps irretating when i read much. I don't know why, it starts when i was in highschool.I will check those links you've sent, and I hope to read it all.
#4
05/20/2008 (8:51 pm)
@Steve D - What's wrong with starting with an MMO? 
#5
Starting any project, especially if it's your first, that starts with the word "Massive" is probably a bad idea.
[rant]
Many beginners start with the idea that they have a great idea to start the next best MMO, without any idea of gameplay, asset, or technology restraints.
Start out making something smaller in scale, then as you gain experience you can grow rapidly. You may be thinking, why limit myself to something small? If you think creating a simple (but complete) FPS, or single player RPG is easy, try it. It's not.
[/rant]
@Flory -
Do you wear glasses? Have you ever been to an optometrist? Some reading glasses may help reduce your eye strain, but go to a professional and have your eyes checked first. And, don't forget to take a break from the computer screen every now and then. Staring at monitor for long periods of time is definitely bad for your eyes.
05/20/2008 (9:31 pm)
@Tony -Starting any project, especially if it's your first, that starts with the word "Massive" is probably a bad idea.
[rant]
Many beginners start with the idea that they have a great idea to start the next best MMO, without any idea of gameplay, asset, or technology restraints.
Start out making something smaller in scale, then as you gain experience you can grow rapidly. You may be thinking, why limit myself to something small? If you think creating a simple (but complete) FPS, or single player RPG is easy, try it. It's not.
[/rant]
@Flory -
Do you wear glasses? Have you ever been to an optometrist? Some reading glasses may help reduce your eye strain, but go to a professional and have your eyes checked first. And, don't forget to take a break from the computer screen every now and then. Staring at monitor for long periods of time is definitely bad for your eyes.
#6
Uhmm...@ Tony
What is MMO? and how can it be useful?
We have story, Ideas on terrains, objects, and models. My problem as a progammer of the game is on where I start in coding? Is it on character or GUI? A lot of questions... Maybe I read first the 3D Game Programming all in one before I sent questions....Right? hehe
Thanks
05/20/2008 (10:09 pm)
Hmmm... Thanks J.P, I do not wear eye glasses and I never consulted an optometrist because it's irretate only when I am reading so I set it aside, and I don't have money to get into optometrist.. heheUhmm...@ Tony
What is MMO? and how can it be useful?
We have story, Ideas on terrains, objects, and models. My problem as a progammer of the game is on where I start in coding? Is it on character or GUI? A lot of questions... Maybe I read first the 3D Game Programming all in one before I sent questions....Right? hehe
Thanks
#7
@J.P. Berry - It all depends on your talent and skills. I know this is off topic from what Flory was discussing, but one good rant deserves another.
[rant]
Many beginners start with the idea of a game they would love to play and / or make. Some believe it's as simple as point, click, play, while others understand that it takes a lot of blood and sweat to make a game.
Some beginners purchase Torque and spend two or more years dabbling with it, never sticking to the same game because they usually end up hitting a brick wall that turns out to be a key point in their game.
After a few failures, these beginners all of the sudden become experts and start offering advice... bad advice.
I was one of those beginners that kept hitting the brick walls and I fell prey to a lot of the bad advice.
Seven years later I think I am qualified to identify some of the bad advice that I was given and dispel some of the myths.
"Start smaller." - Wrong! Start iteratively. That's how the normal software development world has done it for years and years. Game Development is nothing more than software development with the primary goal of making something fun. Learn modern software development methodologies and use them, even if you're just a single developer. We had a great round table discussion about this at the last IMGDC.
"Don't bother even thinking about making an MMO. The technology is too complicated and the content is too massive." - Wrong! There's a lot of free software that makes the technology easier, and you'd be surprised as to how much content you can pump out if you spend enough time and streamline your content pipeline. If you really want to make an MMO, it is not as hard as people make it out to be... just take a step back, be realistic about your expectations, automate what you can, and use as much off-the-shelf software as you can.
"Indies should really just stick to casual games; the core game space is too saturated." - Heh, and you think the casual space isn't saturated? With EA and a few others getting into the mix, just wait... Indies have several advantages over commercial companies, and hobby developers have even more advantages, if only they'd leverage them.
"Tools? Don't make tools... GG or an affiliate will do that, just wait and see." - Very few content pipelines can work efficiently without at least a little custom code. If someone is competent enough to make tools, they should go for it. If you can't use Torque for your tools, that's fine... use Ogre, NVidia SDK, or even the IndieZen frameworks. Sure, it might take a long time, but if you still have your day job, why should you be afraid how long something is going to take? It's a hobby that eventually might become your day job, so shouldn't you spend time automating the things that will save you time later?
"You want to make a game engines? Don't bother... it'll take you a couple of years." - Yes, it will... so what? Is the world going to end in a less than two years? Don't reinvent the wheel if it's not required, but realize that sometimes you just have to do things yourself.
[/rant]
My advice is this... if you want to do something big, don't do it alone. Feel free to continue the discussion here or in IRC. I'm SgtFlame and I generally idle in irc://208.109.123.232:16667/indiezen or GG's IRC channel.
A few good things to Google:
john nash indie game development
And for kicks, I like this one :P
Highest Rated MMO RPG Games all time
05/21/2008 (8:51 am)
@Flory - an MMO is a Massive Multiplayer Online game. If you're not sure what it is then quite likely you would have a difficult time designing one.@J.P. Berry - It all depends on your talent and skills. I know this is off topic from what Flory was discussing, but one good rant deserves another.
[rant]
Many beginners start with the idea of a game they would love to play and / or make. Some believe it's as simple as point, click, play, while others understand that it takes a lot of blood and sweat to make a game.
Some beginners purchase Torque and spend two or more years dabbling with it, never sticking to the same game because they usually end up hitting a brick wall that turns out to be a key point in their game.
After a few failures, these beginners all of the sudden become experts and start offering advice... bad advice.
I was one of those beginners that kept hitting the brick walls and I fell prey to a lot of the bad advice.
Seven years later I think I am qualified to identify some of the bad advice that I was given and dispel some of the myths.
"Start smaller." - Wrong! Start iteratively. That's how the normal software development world has done it for years and years. Game Development is nothing more than software development with the primary goal of making something fun. Learn modern software development methodologies and use them, even if you're just a single developer. We had a great round table discussion about this at the last IMGDC.
"Don't bother even thinking about making an MMO. The technology is too complicated and the content is too massive." - Wrong! There's a lot of free software that makes the technology easier, and you'd be surprised as to how much content you can pump out if you spend enough time and streamline your content pipeline. If you really want to make an MMO, it is not as hard as people make it out to be... just take a step back, be realistic about your expectations, automate what you can, and use as much off-the-shelf software as you can.
"Indies should really just stick to casual games; the core game space is too saturated." - Heh, and you think the casual space isn't saturated? With EA and a few others getting into the mix, just wait... Indies have several advantages over commercial companies, and hobby developers have even more advantages, if only they'd leverage them.
"Tools? Don't make tools... GG or an affiliate will do that, just wait and see." - Very few content pipelines can work efficiently without at least a little custom code. If someone is competent enough to make tools, they should go for it. If you can't use Torque for your tools, that's fine... use Ogre, NVidia SDK, or even the IndieZen frameworks. Sure, it might take a long time, but if you still have your day job, why should you be afraid how long something is going to take? It's a hobby that eventually might become your day job, so shouldn't you spend time automating the things that will save you time later?
"You want to make a game engines? Don't bother... it'll take you a couple of years." - Yes, it will... so what? Is the world going to end in a less than two years? Don't reinvent the wheel if it's not required, but realize that sometimes you just have to do things yourself.
[/rant]
My advice is this... if you want to do something big, don't do it alone. Feel free to continue the discussion here or in IRC. I'm SgtFlame and I generally idle in irc://208.109.123.232:16667/indiezen or GG's IRC channel.
A few good things to Google:
john nash indie game development
And for kicks, I like this one :P
Highest Rated MMO RPG Games all time
#8
I'm on chapter IV in the 3D game programming All-in-One and I am excited to finish it and start building our game.
I hope you guys help me for any questions I ask here sooner. Thanks in advance.
05/26/2008 (12:05 am)
Thanks Tony, MMO is difficult for us now. Were only base in FPS, our thesis proposal is an fps game with 5 level of stages and it is based on history of Philippines.I'm on chapter IV in the 3D game programming All-in-One and I am excited to finish it and start building our game.
I hope you guys help me for any questions I ask here sooner. Thanks in advance.
#9
If that possible, I will study only the codes on the gameflow we want. As I've notice every object has a code. Like the crossbow... it has its own .cs file.
What is the best way to start it? I was thinking that if we cannot do this we will change our thesis to a digital movie.
I need ideas... Thank you...
06/12/2008 (4:27 am)
Hello everyone, in reading the book I've noticed that there are plenty of codes... what if I edit the Starter kit in torque. Is that possible? For example, I will change the character, surroundings, and other shapes, and adding of shapes. If that possible, I will study only the codes on the gameflow we want. As I've notice every object has a code. Like the crossbow... it has its own .cs file.
What is the best way to start it? I was thinking that if we cannot do this we will change our thesis to a digital movie.
I need ideas... Thank you...
Torque Owner Steve D