What do I need to make an idea real?

[Jtalk4456]

OK I'm the kind of guy that has lots of vague ideas I never get done, but I've got an actually detailed, well planned and fleshed out idea for a game. I'm not just thinking of a concept, I have a lot of the game's levels designs and mechanics in my head.

But I can't program, I don't do 3D modeling, I know nothing of software distribution. Basically I know exactly what I want, just not how to get there. I get that designing a game is way beyond a hobby I can learn real quick and make happen, I'm gonna need help big time. What I want to ask is whether the ONLY option is having loads of money and hiring people to make my idea real, OR if it's a good idea to pitch my idea and all details to a known developer who already has the resources. And If I go that route, how can I make sure my idea isn't stolen or if they take me up on it that I don't get ripped off in the deal? 

[Jtalk4456]

1 minute ago, Schnoz said:

scratch.mit.edu is a good place to start coding skills.

CodingBat can help you learn Python.

like i said, i'm not just gonna learn coding, this is much more involved than basic coding

[food158]

20 minutes ago, Jtalk4456 said:

OK I'm the kind of guy that has lots of vague ideas I never get done, but I've got an actually detailed, well planned and fleshed out idea for a game. I'm not just thinking of a concept, I have a lot of the game's levels designs and mechanics in my head.

But I can't program, I don't do 3D modeling, I know nothing of software distribution. Basically I know exactly what I want, just not how to get there. I get that designing a game is way beyond a hobby I can learn real quick and make happen, I'm gonna need help big time. What I want to ask is whether the ONLY option is having loads of money and hiring people to make my idea real, OR if it's a good idea to pitch my idea and all details to a known developer who already has the resources. And If I go that route, how can I make sure my idea isn't stolen or if they take me up on it that I don't get ripped off in the deal? 

Basically, you're not a developer and have no experience. Just a guy with a concept, which there are plenty of. Unless you learn much of the basics of game development, it would be hard for companies to not "rip you off" if they do take your idea into consideration.

[Jtalk4456]

4 minutes ago, food158 said:

Basically, you're not a developer and have no experience. Just a guy with a concept, which there are plenty of. Unless you learn much of the basics of game development, it would be hard for companies to not "rip you off" if they do take your idea into consideration.

so do you have any advice then?

[food158]

Just now, Jtalk4456 said:

so do you have any advice then?

You stated hiring people. That could work, but it'd be a financial burden because you would have to hire specialists for every little position.

 

I recommend you strive to learn things yourself, maybe enroll in a competition.

[LogicalDrm]

7 hours ago, Jtalk4456 said:

so do you have any advice then?

Write it all out. Story, mechanics, concept art, levels. Writers are part of full dev team. Just think of ID Software. John Carmack is coder, John Romero designer and face of the operation. So you just need to find people who want to make games, but don't have good idea. And money for it.

[jones177]

You basically have to prove to people that you are capable.

 

For a non coder it is best to design a game using a code free platform like Fusion but it could be done with Unity.

 

 

Another route is to make an adventure mod for a game like Skyrim or fallout 4 using ingame assets.

 

You need to get the right people's attention. 

I did this years ago by creating mods for games. I was invited to join an indie group. I did a few projects with them and decided the video game industry was not for me. 

 

In the 16 bit era I also created a few games but with no internet all I could do was send them off to publishers. I may recreate at least one of them and since it was 2D I will probably us Fusion.  

 

Learn as you go. To create my games I learned coding, 2D art and 3D art. Even though I never got a games published I made a living as a 3D artist. My edge has always been my game development experience.

 

Ideas get stolen. One of the publishers a sent a game to, recreated the game with a better engine and graphics. Since they were in a different country and I had no money I could do nothing. Any time you put your stuff out there you take a risk.  Also keep in mind that if your ideas are worth stealing they have value.

 

The last game of my own that I worked on and abandoned was a side scrolling train simulator with a top map for switching. It was for the Amiga 500 computer and this is the only surviving asset.

 

Good Luck.

 

[HayHay]

It may not be such a bad idea to invest in a few books for coding and/ or game design and development. Write down the idea for now and keep it in a safe place, start learning the basics of coding and once you know you have enough knowledge on what you want to do, start experimenting and maybe implimenting your idea! 

[JabroniBaloney]

Pay people a lot of money to make it. Or trick suckers into working for exposure. 

[Guest]

On 3/8/2019 at 11:00 PM, Jtalk4456 said:

OK I'm the kind of guy that has lots of vague ideas I never get done,

If we all could we’d be at the moon. 

On 3/8/2019 at 11:00 PM, Jtalk4456 said:

but I've got an actually detailed, well planned and fleshed out idea for a game.

Great!

On 3/8/2019 at 11:00 PM, Jtalk4456 said:

I'm not just thinking of a concept, I have a lot of the game's levels designs and mechanics in my head.

Write EVERYTHING down. That’s called a game design document. 

On 3/8/2019 at 11:00 PM, Jtalk4456 said:

But I can't program,

It’s pretty easy. Depending on the game you want to make, you can just buy assets or engines that play how you want. (Asset flips have been done since the 90s. Big studios still buy assets)

On 3/8/2019 at 11:00 PM, Jtalk4456 said:

I don't do 3D modeling,

Same as above but potentially easier. 

On 3/8/2019 at 11:00 PM, Jtalk4456 said:

I know nothing of software distribution.

Unless you’ve got moola, it ain’t showing up in GameStop. Itch.io is where a lot of indies post games. 

On 3/8/2019 at 11:00 PM, Jtalk4456 said:

I'm gonna need help big time

I can sorta guide you but I won’t teach you. (Ie, here’s a good tutorial.) 

On 3/8/2019 at 11:00 PM, Jtalk4456 said:

. What I want to ask is whether the ONLY option is having loads of money

That’s what valve did

On 3/8/2019 at 11:00 PM, Jtalk4456 said:

and hiring people

It’s one way. You can promise sharing the money or make a game for free with friends to learn. 

On 3/8/2019 at 11:00 PM, Jtalk4456 said:

to make my idea real, OR if it's a good idea to pitch my idea and all details to a known developer

No

On 3/8/2019 at 11:00 PM, Jtalk4456 said:

who already has the resources.

No

On 3/8/2019 at 11:00 PM, Jtalk4456 said:

And If I go that route, how can I make sure my idea isn't stolen or if they take me up on it that I don't get ripped off in the deal? 

It won’t. 

Do you want to make someone else’s game? Not really. They’ve got their own ideas. 

 

If you pitch to a publisher & show that you can make the game (alpha) they might find you but they will become the legal owner of everything related to that IP. Just make sure they’re not some scum company that can “get you on google play & Amazon” because ... no. That’s so fekin easy. 

 

Venture capitalists would like some share but will fund you. Again... if they believe in the project. 

 

Whats your game idea in 2 sentences. (I won’t acknowledge you if it’s more.)

after that, tell me up to 3 games it’s like. 

Tell me the 1 thing that makes it fun. (Core mechanic) 

 

In call of duty it’s the fast paced shooting. In arma, it’s the realistic simulation of real war. In gears of war, it’s the cover system. 

[cluelessgenius]

i would also advise to use unity. its the most versatile and enables you too start small on one hand and also realise quite big ideas later. i would start with the most basic tutorials on unity and then after the first chapter watch lessons on all subjects you didnt understand. 

3d modeling can be a bit trickier to get into. blender is obviously the best free tool i think but it is a whole other topic and i would d both programming and modeling right from the start. start with programming and use generic models or start with modeling on its own and then after a while learn how to integrate them into unity.

 

another thing we did back in college was find people with the skills and just ask. now obviously no already working expert will do stuff for free but college students are often very eager to use what they learned and if you can sell them your idea to where they are also excited to make it (maybe for a college project or something) then there you go. e.g. i programmed a bomberman clone for a project in college and asked a friend in the dorm if he could draw the sprites i needed. he was an art student and very much into game design so for him it was just another fun drawing exercise and i got to show up in class with this very cool looking game.

now obviously if you were to pllan on making money with it you cant just go exploit college students for their skills