Any game developers out there?

[sbonner]

So, how many game developers (artists, programmers, designers, sound techs, what-have-you) have we got out here on the x10 forums? What kind of games do you work on?

Would be nice to see a bit of social networking.

I'm mostly a programmer (C/C++, C-alikes), but I'm pretty interested in design, as well. I'm officially studying biology and psychology, so you might be able to see how those two fields relate to either interest (although I've previously studied game design and artificial life programming). My work's mostly restricted to MUDs (yes, I -am- that old school); in fact, I'm in the middle of putting together a group that's working on a new one and wouldn't mind getting a little help if anyone out there just -happens- to have similar interests.

I'm also interested in getting into more modern game design, though... you know, things with pictures. I've toyed with the Unity engine a bit and found it fairly stupid-proof, but I didn't have much to work with.

Come on, if you've got a project you're working on or any particularly fiery interests, share them.

[jdawg2k]

Well, I've been disabled by my Dr and since I've been trying to learn to make RPGs since thats my fav game type. I've lucked upon a copy of 3d Gamestudio A7 which uses Lite C natively and now I'm trying to learn Lite C and to try to make some money in the mean-time I'm attempting to learn to make an RPG on OHRRPGCE since its a WYSIWYG maker with some script editing possibilities. I liked the old school turn based games and thru some lucky trading (3 months ago traded something I had $10 invested in + $50 for them) have Chrono Trigger, Secret of Mana (All time fav), EarthBound, Act Raiser 1 & 2, Ogre Battle, and Mario RPG on SNES to study. I also have FF 1, 7, 8, 9, X, X-2, and XII, Grandia 2, Grandia Xtreme, and Shadow Hearts Covenent to study. I want to make something like a cross between Secret of Mana and Chrono Trigger. Any suggestions or help (for free help for credit as I have no money to pay for help) would be greatly appreciated! Also I have 2 MASSIVE ideas that I want to develop when I learn Lite C but they are actually good enough I have to keep them quiet because as conceited as it sounds I KNOW they will be AWESOME!!! I just have to be sure to have a great battle engine and such. They gotta match the game's script because I know a great story alone will not make a great selling game. I also know from experience, great graphics and CGI are totally nice but with poor gameplay and story all the graphics in the world won't sell an RPG

[sbonner]

I've not heard of the engines you've mentioned. If you like story-driven RPGs, though, I know a lot of folks who use something called RPGMaker, or .. some such. Hehehe.

Great stories CAN sell games -- you need only look to Bioware for that. I imagine if a game was classy/original enough, you could get it hosted through Steam as well. The last game I got from them was World of Goo, which had some fun gameplay. The problem with story-driven games is that you kind of need to build a reputation for doing it well and keep doing it well. Good game design in that perspective's really gone in the toilet ever since the major publishers figured out they could create a billion-dollar industry by tricking the masses into thinking that 5 trillion polygons or whatever is the only thing that makes a game great.

The story side of it is why I still work on MUDs. They are all text-based, but they're still the only place where players can go to really roleplay. I mean, let's face, table-topping and LARPing is just awkward for most of the population. XD There's still a huge crowd of people -- most of them admittedly in their 30's -- that enjoy 'serious' roleplaying. You just can't do that with MMOs or graphical games.

If you want to do programming, look into C or C++. I've never even heard of Lite C; if you want to stick with light scriping, look into learning Python, Lua, or Ruby. (Python in particular is a powerful language, but it's not my cup of tea.) You might want to look into the Unity3D engine that I mentioned in my original post, as well -- it's a full-featured engine and cross-platform. They offer tutorials to help you learn the basics, and it seems pretty straight-forward enough. I believe it uses C# for scripting (also incredibly useful to know); you would need assets, though, and that's where I got stopped since I'm no artist or sound tech. I couldn't texture my way out of a brown paper bag.

[minecrawler]

Hey,
I'm a Delphi programmer with GS A7 ... I'm currently learning C-lite (and a bit c/c++ ^^), but I think, Delphi is better than anything else and development programs (such as A7) should also start to use Delphi^^ At the moment, I'm making a "hello-world" rpg (which has really bad grafics...) ;P (If some1 outr there would like to teach me a bit c/c++, pls pls, pls contact me^^)

[jdawg2k]

OHRRPGCE is a free program like RPG maker. Lite C is a version of C/C++ that's cleaner and doesn't have memory leaks and if I'm not mistaken more powerful than Delphi bcuz Delphi's a script and Lite C is a compilable language. Correct me on this if I'm wrong. I have many tutorials on C/C++ if you want to PM me your email I can send them. I think I have like a gig worth =^,^= and I played MUDs on my TI-84+ to survive boring classes

[sbonner]

I haven't heard about Delphi in forever. :x I remember it being used to create certain client applicants, and, if I'm not mistaken, it played some part in the development of Bloodshed's Dev-C++ IDE.

I'd be happy to help anyone who had basic questions on C/C++. I'm not exactly a master at it, but I have the basics down and I can share what I know.

[j1n m@tt]

hii everyone, I'm a C#.net and php developer. I like game development, but I really never had a chance to work on one. So if I have to start, what you guys recommend?? What should I start studying to be a game developer?? is there any place or online community you guys recommend where I can start studying about these stuff??


thanx.

[jdawg2k]

any advice on how to create a turn based battle system? btw, are you a stephan bonner fan? lol.

I haven't heard about Delphi in forever. :x I remember it being used to create certain client applicants, and, if I'm not mistaken, it played some part in the development of Bloodshed's Dev-C++ IDE.

I'd be happy to help anyone who had basic questions on C/C++. I'm not exactly a master at it, but I have the basics down and I can share what I know.

[demoneyes905]

hii everyone, I'm a C#.net and php developer. I like game development, but I really never had a chance to work on one. So if I have to start, what you guys recommend?? What should I start studying to be a game developer?? is there any place or online community you guys recommend where I can start studying about these stuff??


thanx.

I am a game programming major and although I am not an expert, I have created small games in Java, C++, C and Flash. I know most beginners would want to try to take the "easy way out" and jump into software such as XNA Game Studios, but dont. A lot of these applications auto-generate code which most beginners will not understand. Plus, these beginners usually lack the knowledge about the basic structure and logistics of game design for them to so easily jump into such software.

What I recommend is to start out very simple like in notepad or notepad++ and code a small game such as Pong in a format such as a java applet. That way, you can program in a widely used language making it easier to pick up. Plus a game such as pong will help you understand scoring, win and lose conditions and more importantly, game loops and collision detection.

If you find the Java and strictly OOP languages and having to manually import or draw graphics too difficult, then I recommend using Flash with Actionscript 3.0. All the crazy collision detections many people have trouble with is done with one function: hitTestObject() and graphics and movie clips can easily be tied together with code to have animations work seamlessly with code. These very same advantages are also considered disadvantages by many for Flash. It tends to do too much for beginners trying to understand game programming in terms of graphics and collision detection. This will definitely not help when switching to a language used to code much bigger 3D and graphics intensive games such as in C++.

If the objective is to code small, simple games, then try Flash first but if it is to eventually make a career in game development and work in a game studio that makes huge 3D games such as for Kaos, Relic, or Blizzard, then game programming in C++, and maybe C is a must.

Tutorials? em....there are some tutorials online. For Flash tutorials, you will see a lot of game programming tutorials written in Actionscript 2.0, but dont worry. There arent so many differences in the code, that it is unusable. A lot of the math and way the code is structured can easily be ported over.

Hope this helps and tell me if you want to see some example code to get you started.

[jdawg2k]

I'm not exactly trying for an easy way out. My dr disabled me and I'm trying to find a way out of that. Granted I've only made a few text games on a TI-84+ that I assume were assembly? I also taught myself as a home schooler from grades 3-11 and was well ahead of state requirements. I obviously don't have the money for formal college but I comprehend enough that I believe I can teach myself. I do not intend to work for a company but to be like the 15yo that made doom (PC Mag, i dunno for sure.)

I realize it'll take alot of time. That is why I am also working with the WYSIWYG RPG programmer to create an old-schooled game in the mean-time in an attempt to make maybe $2-$10 a copy. Another reason I'm going with RPGs is, graphics matter little to any RPGer I know. Battle mechanics and story are the tops. Maybe thats why everyone I've talked to who was massive FF fans from 1 up say 12 was a letdown and some say 13 is horrible. I haven't played it so I can't say. I would like a battle system like Secret of Mana or Chrono Trigger. Both if I learn enough about loops, should be possible. Any sample script you think would be beneficial for me to study would be appreciated. More so would be a "Sample game" in which I must follow steps to build, edit, change, rebuild, ect. That way I can learn functional knowledge and check against a "solution" to see if I did it spot on perfect.

I am a game programming major and although I am not an expert, I have created small games in Java, C++, C and Flash. I know most beginners would want to try to take the "easy way out" and jump into software such as XNA Game Studios, but dont. A lot of these applications auto-generate code which most beginners will not understand. Plus, these beginners usually lack the knowledge about the basic structure and logistics of game design for them to so easily jump into such software.

What I recommend is to start out very simple like in notepad or notepad++ and code a small game such as Pong in a format such as a java applet. That way, you can program in a widely used language making it easier to pick up. Plus a game such as pong will help you understand scoring, win and lose conditions and more importantly, game loops and collision detection.

If you find the Java and strictly OOP languages and having to manually import or draw graphics too difficult, then I recommend using Flash with Actionscript 3.0. All the crazy collision detections many people have trouble with is done with one function: hitTestObject() and graphics and movie clips can easily be tied together with code to have animations work seamlessly with code. These very same advantages are also considered disadvantages by many for Flash. It tends to do too much for beginners trying to understand game programming in terms of graphics and collision detection. This will definitely not help when switching to a language used to code much bigger 3D and graphics intensive games such as in C++.

If the objective is to code small, simple games, then try Flash first but if it is to eventually make a career in game development and work in a game studio that makes huge 3D games such as for Kaos, Relic, or Blizzard, then game programming in C++, and maybe C is a must.

Tutorials? em....there are some tutorials online. For Flash tutorials, you will see a lot of game programming tutorials written in Actionscript 2.0, but dont worry. There arent so many differences in the code, that it is unusable. A lot of the math and way the code is structured can easily be ported over.

Hope this helps and tell me if you want to see some example code to get you started.