Getting started...
by J Mills · in General Discussion · 11/15/2003 (3:13 pm) · 9 replies
I would like to get into making games, and im pretty stoked about starting, but i was wondering, do I have to buy Torque to start making games? I know there are other engines and such, but is torque about the best? I will be getting a new computer hopefully before christmas, and when I get it I will head fullsteam into making a game. I enjoy shooters, rts, rpg's, and just about any other game that comes along and seems appealing. I also plan on going to Full Sail, a school in orlando that has a game design course. Any guidance from you guys who do this stuff is much appreciated.
#2
1 - Am I a strong programmer? Do I favor a particular language?
2 - What kind of game do you want to create? What features does this game need to have? What would the engine need to support or have in it to make that happen.
3 - Whats my price point? How much am I willing to pay for an engine and all the tools needed to support the engine? (Tools would be does the engine need a compiler? Do I need a particular tool to creat worlds, maps, etc.)
I found http://www.conitec.net/a4faq.htm break down of engines to be pretty good at least giving you a list. Game Studio's Engine was the second runner up in my search for an engine. But Torque won as the best fit for me, how much I could afford and what I want to do.
You can down load the Torque Demo and mess around with some of the scripts, but in order to really make a game you would need to purchase the engine because they give you it all. Code and everything.
As far as what game to create, think small. I know thats hard to do. Everyone wants to make the next big but the smaller the game the easier it is to finish and have something to show.
Hope that helps.
Hope some of that helps,
11/15/2003 (3:43 pm)
Is torque the best? Well depends on what you mean by "the best" or what you want. Somethings to consider are:1 - Am I a strong programmer? Do I favor a particular language?
2 - What kind of game do you want to create? What features does this game need to have? What would the engine need to support or have in it to make that happen.
3 - Whats my price point? How much am I willing to pay for an engine and all the tools needed to support the engine? (Tools would be does the engine need a compiler? Do I need a particular tool to creat worlds, maps, etc.)
I found http://www.conitec.net/a4faq.htm break down of engines to be pretty good at least giving you a list. Game Studio's Engine was the second runner up in my search for an engine. But Torque won as the best fit for me, how much I could afford and what I want to do.
You can down load the Torque Demo and mess around with some of the scripts, but in order to really make a game you would need to purchase the engine because they give you it all. Code and everything.
As far as what game to create, think small. I know thats hard to do. Everyone wants to make the next big
Hope that helps.
Hope some of that helps,
#3
Basically, that's either programming, art (DIGITAL art), or music.
Game design is fine, but that's more of a team effort than something that 1 person does. Usually, 1 person will do alot of it, and then everyone else will have a bunch of ideas. But everyone should have some other skill.
I would suggest you do the following:
1. acquire one of those skills if you don't have it already
2. make some "stuff" using your skill for practice and to use as a work sample
3. join someone else's team and work really hard
Then after you've worked on someone else's project (whether it succeeds or not), you should at least have an idea of how game development works.
Whether you buy Torque or not depends upon what you want to do. I haven't bought Torque yet because I've only been doing 2d stuff, but I plan to move up to 3d in a while - at which point I'll buy Torque.
11/16/2003 (8:36 am)
To make a game, you will have to learn how to do some part of game development.Basically, that's either programming, art (DIGITAL art), or music.
Game design is fine, but that's more of a team effort than something that 1 person does. Usually, 1 person will do alot of it, and then everyone else will have a bunch of ideas. But everyone should have some other skill.
I would suggest you do the following:
1. acquire one of those skills if you don't have it already
2. make some "stuff" using your skill for practice and to use as a work sample
3. join someone else's team and work really hard
Then after you've worked on someone else's project (whether it succeeds or not), you should at least have an idea of how game development works.
Whether you buy Torque or not depends upon what you want to do. I haven't bought Torque yet because I've only been doing 2d stuff, but I plan to move up to 3d in a while - at which point I'll buy Torque.
#4
11/16/2003 (1:23 pm)
J - i went to full sail - and just to give you a little advice to help you out - learn c++ very well before you start - if you don't it won't hurt you but the c++ course was tough for me and i was programming for two years before i attended - and just some advice on makeing games - take your time and don't rush - because making a game takes a long long time - not all but most - i started writing text based games while learning c++ that really helped - a good book to pickup on the language is the C++ Primer and a good windows book would help too - good luck to you and when your ready torque is a very good engine for the price - if you every have questions or wanna chat my aol is RWVelmont
#5
11/17/2003 (8:29 am)
I guess I will start picking up books on C++, flash, and maybe shockwave to start getting my head into what it takes to make games. Does it take a very good computer to program and work with making a low level game? Right now im working with a 350 mhz compu with 128 mb of ram. I think I'll start learning c++ while trying to make games in flash.
#6
11/17/2003 (10:23 am)
Your computer's fine. So long as it's good enough to run the game you're making, there shouldn't be a problem.
#7
11/19/2003 (8:37 am)
I was planning to start out with a counter-strike like game. It wouldnt be as good or as detailed, but something similar. Or maybe a third person rpg...
#8
RTS games and RPGs are both pretty darn hard. I'm working on an RPG now, and I'm doing ok. But the first time I tried to make an RPG, I fell flat on my face because I hadn't made enough other games first.
You should make simple games first. I'm talking REALLY simple. Pong wouldn't be a bad idea. You would figure out how to output graphics and how to get the input. And it wouldn't take you any time at all.
Then gradually increase complexity. You can do something like Pacman for your 2nd or 3rd game. Then you can step up to a "real" action game. Do some puzzle games or whatever.
Pick games to work on that will develop skills that you will need for the games that you really want to make.
The most important thing is to embellish the games. Add your own little features, so that they'll be cool instead of clones of other games. You learn alot doing this, and it makes your games worth playing.
There's some useful information about starting out at http://www-cs-students.stanford.edu/~amitp/gameprog.html . Somewhere on the site it tells you make a game like [x], then a game like [y], then ...
Think of it as homework.
11/19/2003 (11:02 pm)
Counter-strike the RTS?RTS games and RPGs are both pretty darn hard. I'm working on an RPG now, and I'm doing ok. But the first time I tried to make an RPG, I fell flat on my face because I hadn't made enough other games first.
You should make simple games first. I'm talking REALLY simple. Pong wouldn't be a bad idea. You would figure out how to output graphics and how to get the input. And it wouldn't take you any time at all.
Then gradually increase complexity. You can do something like Pacman for your 2nd or 3rd game. Then you can step up to a "real" action game. Do some puzzle games or whatever.
Pick games to work on that will develop skills that you will need for the games that you really want to make.
The most important thing is to embellish the games. Add your own little features, so that they'll be cool instead of clones of other games. You learn alot doing this, and it makes your games worth playing.
There's some useful information about starting out at http://www-cs-students.stanford.edu/~amitp/gameprog.html . Somewhere on the site it tells you make a game like [x], then a game like [y], then ...
Think of it as homework.
Torque Owner J Oraknabo
You could also learn C, C++ or Java and code 'em from scratch.
There are other engines, even available through GG's resources a. Some are smaller, some are more expensive. Some, like NeoEngine, are free.
Torque's a great deal, and the possibilities it allows are pretty amazing. I'm just getting started with it and I admit it's a little overwhelming from where I stand now, but it's also pretty exciting.