Game Development advice wanted

[AlTech]

Hi all,

 

I'm thinking of creating a game and I've got a few questions.

 

1. What game engine should i use? I know Unity 5 and UE4 are good. I'm not gonna lie, IDK C++ well at all but if i did should i go for UE4.

 

This is gonna be my first game and won't be very complicated or advanced so I'm thinking Unity would be Ok.

 

2. What plugins do you use for your game engine?

 

3. What platform do you release to once your done? Steam and consoles or just steam?

 

4. My first game's gonna be a game where i tell a story and players can make choices which affect the game.  I can't come up with a good or original name.  Could you suggest any names?

 

5. Last but not least, How long do you think it would take to make if it wasn't very complicated?

 

Thanks guys really appreciate it.

 

If i do release it i'll make sure to giveaway quite a few keys for it on LTT.

 

I know it take time an effort but damnit. I'm ready to do what it takes. I'm ok at software development. How bad can it possibly be?

[Nexxus]

Start small, for the love of god start small...like less then NES SMB1 small

[UL_42L]

Hey man, the best company / game names come from a single person thinking of them. Why? Because that makes them unique and gives them personality. if a group suggests names, that generalizes it.

 

Other than that, PLEASE keep me updated on the progress! I want to see this go on so badly.

[UL_42L]

-snip-

 

1. Sorry, I can't really help you there...

2. Or there...

3. Since this is your first game, I would suggest you stick to Steam for now. Maybe a console release later.

4. Refer to what I said in my previous post.

5. Even if it's small, it will probably take a fair while to complete on your own, especially since you're new. Maybe a couple weeks or more. (I don't have any experience to give a good estimate, though.)

[Nuluvius]

I'm ok at software development.

 

Please elaborate for us.

[Nineshadow]

1.Use Unity. It's really great , simple , and is a system easy to understand and to work with. That's why it's probably the most used engine in indie games.

You really do not need the other features which Unreal could offer you. And honestly , Unity is a really great engine even graphics-wise. A lot of really beautiful games are done in Unity. Ori and the Blind Forest , for example.

Anyway, in Unreal Engine you can use their blueprint system and not care at all about C++. I still prefer doing the coding myself compared to the blueprints , but those are easy to understand. Oh , and scripting in games is less about knowing the language as it is, for example C++, and more about the actual underlying API of the game engine.

For Unity scripting , you'll need to know C# , or JavaScript , or Boo , which is similar to Python.

 

2.I honestly use none.

 

3.The first game you make you probably do not publish. I mean , come on. The first few game projects are all about learning , less about making a game which you want to publish. Anyway, Unity is crossplatform. You can release it for anything : Android , Windows , Linux, OSX , iOS, Tizen , the web , PS3 , PS4 , PS Vita , Xbox 360 , Xbox One, Universal Windows platform , Playstation VR, Oculus Rift , Gear VR ; heck , you can even release it for Samsung Smart TVs , or Android TVs for that matter.

 

If you do want to publish , keep in mind Steam is not really an open platform. You need to pay $100 , and get your game into Greenlight , where people will vote whether they want your game or not based on some screenshots , maybe a small video and a text description of the game. Yeah...not that great. If you really want to publish your first game , then I suggest http://itch.io/ . It's free , and they take 0% commission . You could also maybe release it on the Play Store and App Store , which is a really easy way to hit a large userbase . When you get enough experience making games and do eventually make one of good quality , then yes, you can publish to Steam. Until then , it's probably not the best idea, unless you just want a quick way to cash in or smth along those lines.

 

4. You need to come up with the game. It's you who makes it , and the game is a representation of your view of our world. You need to find a world which you think matches the game , or complements it.

 

5. You really can't know. A game can be very simple as far as scripting goes , but making the assets is what really takes a lot of time , and the quality of the assets is a lot of times what sets the games apart. You also need to come up with a compelling story , and a way to mix it in with the gameplay.

 

Start really small. Work on something simple , and yet which you can do on your own , with the help of documentation and some questions to the right people.

[AlTech]

1.Use Unity. It's really great , simple , and is a system easy to understand and to work with. That's why it's probably the most used engine in indie games.

You really do not need the other features which Unreal could offer you. And honestly , Unity is a really great engine even graphics-wise. A lot of really beautiful games are done in Unity. Ori and the Blind Forest , for example.

Anyway, in Unreal Engine you can use their blueprint system and not care at all about C++. I still prefer doing the coding myself compared to the blueprints , but those are easy to understand. Oh , and scripting in games is less about knowing the language as it is, for example C++, and more about the actual underlying API of the game engine.

For Unity scripting , you'll need to know C# , or JavaScript , or Boo , which is similar to Python.

 

2.I honestly use none.

 

3.The first game you make you probably do not publish. I mean , come on. The first few game projects are all about learning , less about making a game which you want to publish. Anyway, Unity is crossplatform. You can release it for anything : Android , Windows , Linux, OSX , iOS, Tizen , the web , PS3 , PS4 , PS Vita , Xbox 360 , Xbox One, Universal Windows platform , Playstation VR, Oculus Rift , Gear VR ; heck , you can even release it for Samsung Smart TVs , or Android TVs for that matter.

 

If you do want to publish , keep in mind Steam is not really an open platform. You need to pay $100 , and get your game into Greenlight , where people will vote whether they want your game or not based on some screenshots , maybe a small video and a text description of the game. Yeah...not that great. If you really want to publish your first game , then I suggest http://itch.io/ . It's free , and they take 0% commission . You could also maybe release it on the Play Store and App Store , which is a really easy way to hit a large userbase . When you get enough experience making games and do eventually make one of good quality , then yes, you can publish to Steam. Until then , it's probably not the best idea, unless you just want a quick way to cash in or smth along those lines.

 

4. You need to come up with the game. It's you who makes it , and the game is a representation of your view of our world. You need to find a world which you think matches the game , or complements it.

 

5. You really can't know. A game can be very simple as far as scripting goes , but making the assets is what really takes a lot of time , and the quality of the assets is a lot of times what sets the games apart. You also need to come up with a compelling story , and a way to mix it in with the gameplay.

 

Start really small. Work on something simple , and yet which you can do on your own , with the help of documentation and some questions to the right people.

Thanks!

 

I know a bit about C#. I wouldn't consider myself an expert on it. I already paid for greenlight  a long time ago so that bit's fine.

 

IDK what to do about the graphics since I'm not an artist.  Same for the soundtrack and music and sounds for that matter. 

 

Please elaborate for us.

I know some C#. I've made 5 programs. 1 of which has never seen the light of day and 3 have been put on steam. They appear to be extremely niche. What i mean is very few people have a purpose for it and/or like it.

 

I created a Team for one of the projects and now 5 people (including myself) work on it in their own time.

 

 

1. Sorry, I can't really help you there...

2. Or there...

3. Since this is your first game, I would suggest you stick to Steam for now. Maybe a console release later.

4. Refer to what I said in my previous post.

5. Even if it's small, it will probably take a fair while to complete on your own, especially since you're new. Maybe a couple weeks or more. (I don't have any experience to give a good estimate, though.)

Yeah, I'll probably do just steam for now. But i could go to GOG and even Microsoft with this later if on steam it's successful or at least "OK". 

[Nineshadow]

I know some C#. I've made 5 programs. 1 of which has never seen the light of day and 3 have been put on steam. They appear to be extremely niche. What i mean is very few people have a purpose for it and/or like it.

Can you elaborate a little bit more?

[Nuluvius]

Can you elaborate a little bit more?

 

Indeed, please do.

[flexluthor]

1. Unity since it was my first game engine and does the job so I have no reason to look for another.

2. I don't use plugins. I use assets though.

3. I just pick Windows since I develop to learn. I really don't even finish the game unless there's more to learn.

4. Depends, what's the setting and the story? A simple name could come from the location itself if that's were the story would be happening 90-100% of the time.

5. Less than a week if it's really basic. I've made a puzzle game that requires you to roll a ball on a maze and get it to the finish line in less than an hour.

 

I spent 85% of the time creating the actual level by drag and dropping prefabs to create the maze and setting the idle and running animations of the model on the animator. Then I spent 15% of the time coding because it was only a matter of applying force to the ball until it reaches the finish line's collider. Oh and I also coded the timer and responses for a win/lose.

 

Just a few tips:

1. Learn physics, even just the basics so you would know what variables to manipulate to achieve the desired outcome.

2. If this is your first time, it's very important to learn first. Create a game that touches upon a lot of stuff.

[SilicateWielder]

Hi all,

 

I'm thinking of creating a game and I've got a few questions.

 

1. What game engine should i use? I know Unity 5 and UE4 are good. I'm not gonna lie, IDK C++ well at all but if i did should i go for UE4.

 

This is gonna be my first game and won't be very complicated or advanced so I'm thinking Unity would be Ok.

 

2. What plugins do you use for your game engine?

 

3. What platform do you release to once your done? Steam and consoles or just steam?

 

4. My first game's gonna be a game where i tell a story and players can make choices which affect the game.  I can't come up with a good or original name.  Could you suggest any names?

 

5. Last but not least, How long do you think it would take to make if it wasn't very complicated?

 

Thanks guys really appreciate it.

 

If i do release it i'll make sure to giveaway quite a few keys for it on LTT.

 

I know it take time an effort but damnit. I'm ready to do what it takes. I'm ok at software development. How bad can it possibly be?

1. You don't have to use Unity or UE, if you're new to this it's better to start off simple, I'd suggest Spherical if you're coding in javascript, or Pygame for Python. 

 

2. I don't necessarily use any, I just write what I need for the most part.

 

3. No platform, I just provide a downloadable copy of the game someplace

 

4. It sounds like Spherical is your best option then, it's designed for RPGs with storylines (Although writing other types of games is also possible if you want to write your own engine using the Spherical API)

 

5. That depends, depending on the engine you use, a simple storyline based game could take about a year, year-and-a-half if you're dedicated, most games today take 3-4 years with a large enough team