How to create a basic game?

[Lyzet]

Hello!


Is there a way to learn how to create a basic game (nothing with flashy high definition graphics) just like Minecraft, and other basic shitty games, aparten my language.

Without being required to have any education or specific school completed in real life?


Thanks to anyone who can tell me this.

 

[Slapshot136]

it should be possible, it will just require some effort and looking at online resources, any idea what language you want your game to be in? (minecraft is java based)

 

[Lyzet]

Hmm, well, for a first starter game, what would be good?

Wich one is easiest to use?

And what is the difference?

What language is all the big games written in? (Call of duty , world of warcraft, battlefield, diablo, starcraft, ???)

Thanks in advance!

 

[Slapshot136]

most of the big games are written in C++, but those are a bit harder to do graphics for - java isn't really good for games that have extensive graphics (like all the ones you just listed), but it is good enough for simple games (minecraft is java)

you would want to start off with a 2-dimensional game, something like pong (a ball bouncing around walls, you block one with a paddle), then maybe add "targets" you need to destroy, or maybe one of those arcade shooter games where you get a plane and shoot stuff, etc.

 

[Sevion]

The best way is to learn a lot of math and a programming language of your choice.

This is the most dynamic and gives you the most power over everything.

The next best way is to use a game engine like Torque, Unity, UDK, SDK, etc.

Really it's all your choice.

 

[Lyzet]

Ok so, if i putted it like this: me and a friend are really interested in making a standard game, like minecraft, maybe a bit better graphic wise. (nothing big tho) singeplayer with LAN opportunities maybe.
Right now as it is, neither of us have any experience or knowledge inside programming whatsoever.

What exactly will we have to do without having to go to school and all that, to be able to do this?

Thanks again for your replies!

 

[Sevion]

You'll need to have 3D models and a 3D rendering engine. You can either write it yourself or use a premade one. I recommend SDK as it's free with a source game and easy to understand or Torque 3D or UDK if you're willing to pay. UDK has a high royalties.

 

[Slapshot136]

You'll need to have 3D models and a 3D rendering engine. You can either write it yourself or use a premade one. I recommend SDK as it's free with a source game and easy to understand or Torque 3D or UDK if you're willing to pay. UDK has a high royalties.

this is why I said start with 2d, then go to 2d with networking, before starting 3D - there is a big step in difficulty/time/stuff you need

 

[Lyzet]

Is there a guide step by step about this somewhere?

As i stated before, we have absolutely no knowledge or experience whatsoever, so we need to know what to do exactly

Thanks

 

[Sevion]

Like I said earlier. The first thing you need is to learn math. At the very bare minimum you need Algebra, Trigonometry, and Geometry. That's bare, bare, bare, minimum. There's not a single thing in Computers that doesn't have to do with math.

 

[Lyzet]

Like I said earlier. The first thing you need is to learn math. At the very bare minimum you need Algebra, Trigonometry, and Geometry. That's bare, bare, bare, minimum. There's not a single thing in Computers that doesn't have to do with math.

School. Wich is exactly what i tried to prevent.

To learn and become better at math, i need to go to school for couple more years, wich is what i didnt want to, im allready under education as IT technician, and while doign it, i want to try make my own game with a friend, by putting some effort and time into learning via the internet

 

[Sevion]

If you have no math, you can't make a game. Period.

 

[Slapshot136]

If you have no math, you can't make a game. Period.

I think you would have learned enough algebra/trig/geometry in high school to make a decent game..

best way to learn would be to look at some examples, il see if I can find some

 

[GetTriggerUnit-]

pygame, http://www.thenewboston.com/?cat=32&pOpen=tutorial

 

[Slapshot136]

pygame, http://www.thenewboston.com/?cat=32&pOpen=tutorial

that looks like a good site, and it even has a few different languages for you to choose from

 

[Varine]

If you're making a game using an engine, really you don't need to know much math and most of it isn't that hard. Writing a game engine is a whole different thing. You need to know a LOT more.

3D Buzz has a couple of videos on game making under the C++ tutorials. Not too difficult.

 

[codemonkey]

Minecraft is FAR from a basic game.

 

[Lyzet]

If you're making a game using an engine, really you don't need to know much math and most of it isn't that hard. Writing a game engine is a whole different thing. You need to know a LOT more.

3D Buzz has a couple of videos on game making under the C++ tutorials. Not too difficult.

But engines cost money right ?

 

[Varine]

Minecraft is FAR from a basic game.

I would disagree. I find Minecraft to be an ongoing joke.

But engines cost money right ?

Not at all. AED, my company, is currently using UDK, which is the binary release of the Unreal 3 Engine. It's free to use for all non-profit work (i.e. if you aren't selling whatever you make with it, or somehow generating money from it, it's free); for commercial games, when you publish you're required to pay a hundred dollar license fee and there is a 25% royalty after the first 50,000 dollars in revenue.

ShiVa Engine also has a PLE version, but you need to upgrade at release.

There are also a lot of totally free engines out there. id usually releases their engines as open source, and as I recall they are at some point soon releasing the source for id Tech 4 (Doom 3, Quake 4). Irrlicht is also a decent, free, and I believe open source engine. There is also Cafu. I think it's open source, and has great really good support.

There are hundreds of free engines available, those are the ones I can't think of off the top of my head that I've used.

You may want to check out http://www.devmaster.net/engines/ for lists of engines. There are forums so you can probably get a lot opinions and reviews on the engines.

If you would like to go into more detail as to what you're planning on doing or what you would like to see as a final result, I can give you more directed advice.

 

[Lyzet]

I would disagree. I find Minecraft to be an ongoing joke.



Not at all. AED, my company, is currently using UDK, which is the binary release of the Unreal 3 Engine. It's free to use for all non-profit work (i.e. if you aren't selling whatever you make with it, or somehow generating money from it, it's free); for commercial games, when you publish you're required to pay a hundred dollar license fee and there is a 25% royalty after the first 50,000 dollars in revenue.

ShiVa Engine also has a PLE version, but you need to upgrade at release.

There are also a lot of totally free engines out there. id usually releases their engines as open source, and as I recall they are at some point soon releasing the source for id Tech 4 (Doom 3, Quake 4). Irrlicht is also a decent, free, and I believe open source engine. There is also Cafu. I think it's open source, and has great really good support.


There are hundreds of free engines available, those are the ones I can't think of off the top of my head that I've used.

You may want to check out http://www.devmaster.net/engines/ for lists of engines. There are forums so you can probably get a lot opinions and reviews on the engines.

If you would like to go into more detail as to what you're planning on doing or what you would like to see as a final result, I can give you more directed advice.

Thanks alot!

Well, the thing is, me and my friend are both 18 years old, and only just finished the usual school, and we are going onto an education of becoming a Game developer, but in my country (since i dont know about others) it takes around 7 years to finish that education, and we cant really wait to make our own first game. We heard alot about people who learned programming by themself on the internet, and people who established basic games without having all those years of experience on the back. What we want to accomplish as our first game, would be something we would like to sell (AKA earn money on) since our hope is that if we market it proberly like minecraft was, it could be the start of moving on to better and bigger games, while we educate ourselves. So its not something big MMORPG, and it isnt some FPS game we wanna make, its more like a singleplayer roleplaying game, where you can level a bit, in a big world, with some few neat features that makes people wanna pay those 8 or 10$ for this simple game that people can easily play while on the laptop in school. Graphics dosent matter, since as you can see on Minecraft, the graphics couldnt be much worse, and still it sells 14,000 times a day. I would love any detailed help we can get, since all the guides we find, are just like.. well what i mean is that it would be awesome to have a "step-by-step" guide down from the first step being "DOwnload theese things" to "Gratz you have made your first game" if you know what i mean.

Anyways, thanks in advance.

Appriciate it!


Edit: To be more exact how much knowledge we have, im not even sure i know what a game engine is. All i can figure is that its some premade ground structure of a game or something.