(NOOB HERE) Game Design Game Engine Question. Blizard, LOL, and Other

[zombiepixel]

So what i have learned from doing computer science in school and a little bit of game design is that even after using all 4 years of my high school taking computer classes i still dont know squat about coding (i mean ik visual basic but i never got to comp sci 3). So one of my plans or goals i want to do is create an mmorpg. i know what kind of bs you guys are gonna say. "YEW CANNT DU ET! ITZ TUU HURD!!". yeah i know but i still want to try. So from what i have gathered from the online is that the best coding language to create a game from scratch (which i want to do and i can care less about using an engine that someone else created because i don't have any type of money to be paying for something like that) is C++. So i have slight experience in java (and i mean like i did "if statements"...) and im trying to learn how to code so that my plans for creating something cool is somewhat possible. my question is: A big mmorpg like world of warcraft uses unity engine. Is that a good base to have? Since the unity engine is constantly being undated is the code that they use on world of warcraft vanilla compatible with the latest version of unity.

also what engine did league of legends use? what engine did blizzards Over Watch use? are either of them good for making an mmorpg?

say if my coding idea of creating an engine is a dumb idea what engine should i use for the long run? where do i begin to learn? what do i have to learn?(actually dont answer that if ur answer is too long )  

 

i would also like you guys to know i have no bloody clue about half the stuff i'm talking about ^^ so if none of it makes sense plz do me the kindness and put in some screws about what i need to know.  also i know, start with small games but i still want to be on the right track and learn the right coding language for the ultimate goal i have in mind. tyty ily guys! 

[You_are_a_cunt]

afaik all Blizzard games use in-house engines.

Unless you have a truckload of money and a few hundred people to write the code (or a few years of non-stop working by yourself), you're better off using Unity.

The fact that World of Warcraft still has the same basic engine as it did 10 years ago is an oddity and shouldn't be a point of reference for indie development

[Blebekblebek]

cool, here

https://www.surveymonkey.com/mp/writing-survey-questions/

[blu4]

Put your time intro Unreal SDK. Takes months and years to master but it's extermely developed and you can do pretty much anything you want in it. It's free too.. (IIRC )

[sms1202]

Good LUCK !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

[fizzlesticks]

afaik all Blizzard games use in-house engines.

Hearthstone uses Unity, the rest are in house.

 

If you want to learn about game engines, I suggest picking up the book Game Engine Architecture, writen by a guy from Naughty Dog it gives an overview of each system that goes in to making an engine. 

 

And just to get it out of the way YEW CANNT DU ET! ITZ TUU HURD!!

If you want to make an engine capable of running an mmo, it will be written in C/C++ so your first step is to spend some time learning that. When you finish that in a few years, come back for step 2.

 

Also the networking in most commercially available engines like Unity is trash so even if you use one of them you'll most likely need to write all of your own networking code and possibly physics as well, but they are good for skipping the graphics part.

[You_are_a_cunt]

Hearthstone uses Unity, the rest are in house.

 

yerr. been out of the game dev loop for a few years now. kinda surprised that they didn't make something in-house, though

[trag1c]

Step 1. Learn how to cook meth. 

Step 2. Start cooking meth.

Step 3. Sell meth.

Step 4. Pay contractors with meth money.

Step 5. Develop game.

Step 6. profitts.

 

Seriously though learn how to code because any sort of game development (especially engine development) you need a rock solid base in programming.

Also don't worry about what games used which engines, it is irrelevant as the engine is just a tool. Evaluate your needs then choose from what you can afford or create a custom solution tailored to your needs. I honestly think if you're dead set on a creating an MMO then the latter is probably your best bet since it will provide exactly what you require from a engine (provided you're competent enough to make one).

 

If you go with a prebuilt engine it's still a good idea to know a bit about the inner workings of a game engine. (not necessarily the source code but simply an understanding of what the engine is.) This makes working for the engine a lot easier since you know why something is the way it is which helps keep smooth development and workflow. Game Engine Architecture by Jason Gregory of Naughty Dog is an great read. He is one the lead programmers and he has experience working on pretty much any platform. He has insights on the inner workings of a multitude of engines and games. 

 

A great site with tons of industry professionals is http://www.GameDev.net they can answer pretty much any question.

[manon_gfx]

There is nothing wrong with having a goal. And building an MMORPG is a great goal! The thing is, it's a really really really really really really really big task. It would even take a genius programmer years and years and years to write one. If you just think about all the successful MMO's out there, they were all made by big teams of people, and then it still took years. Now I am not saying that you will never be able to do it, I am saying that you'll need an experienced team of people to build it.

 

I see that you are just starting out in programming, and the one thing that could really demotivate you to become better, is working on a way to big project (like an MMO). What you need to do is pick a really really really tiny scope, and work your way up from there. Start with simple stuff like pong, or space invaders, or zelda, or mario, etc. It is important to get the fundementals right first. You can then move onto bigger games, you can go do 3D games. At the school I am studying (a game dev school) people go in 2 years from building space invaders to building a complete game in unreal engine. The trick is to just start simple.

 

Just pick a game, and go clone it. If you manage to build space invaders where the invaders sometimes glitch out, collision detection is barely working, and the player can move off screen, you are doing a great job.The important bit is to set a simple goal for every project, where if you reach the goal the game is finished, and reach that goal. Maybe your goal has to be tuned a bit during the project, but make sure you always set a bigger goal each time.

About the programming language. Pick any. C++, C#, python, LUA, they all work for building games. With some you can do more than others, some are easier to learn. But the main thing is, in the end, they are all a lot like each other. If you know one of them, you'll learn the others pretty quickly.

 

The industry standard right now is C++. C++ is great since super fast and you get all the power. But with great power comes great responsibility, and if you don't know what you are doing you can shoot yourself in the foot pretty badly. Don't let that scare you though, if you are willing to learn the language, you can.

 

Also an important thing to keep in mind. The gaming industry is an industry of mostly experts. They want people who are really good at one specific thing. Like a programmer who does graphics programming, or AI programming, or level editor programmer.

[zombiepixel]

ty u guys for the info

[Ceatra]

Put your time intro Unreal SDK. Takes months and years to master but it's extermely developed and you can do pretty much anything you want in it. It's free too.. (IIRC )

UE 4 it's free now

 

ty u guys for the info

GO FOR UE 4