Big Bang ! New Game Project !
by Xavier Fabre · in General Discussion · 05/13/2009 (2:25 pm) · 9 replies
Hi everybody,
I'm a student from a French school in game design and project management (Supinfogame). We are going to develop a prototype of a game called Big Bang next and last year of our course. In order to made this game in the best conditions we are now trying to choose an engine.
. Quick description of Big Bang (Xbox 360/PS3) :
Big Bang is a 3D puzzle game (based on the string theory) in which the player will be the major actor of the creation and expansion of the universe. He will have the power to handle the smallest element in the universe : the string.
He will have to create stars, planets, suns, galaxy, solar systems, meteor in order to keep this emerging universe stable.
Big Bang is a game about large and small scale, rhythm, chain reaction, combination and management.
So I'm here to ask you the one million dollar question, do you think that Torque is a suitable engine to develop our game prototype ? Moreover which version of the Torque engine should we choose for Big Bang (Torque X 3D ?) ? Don't worry about our technical knowledge because we are focused on the possibility of the engine.
Thank you very much !
I'm a student from a French school in game design and project management (Supinfogame). We are going to develop a prototype of a game called Big Bang next and last year of our course. In order to made this game in the best conditions we are now trying to choose an engine.
. Quick description of Big Bang (Xbox 360/PS3) :
Big Bang is a 3D puzzle game (based on the string theory) in which the player will be the major actor of the creation and expansion of the universe. He will have the power to handle the smallest element in the universe : the string.
He will have to create stars, planets, suns, galaxy, solar systems, meteor in order to keep this emerging universe stable.
Big Bang is a game about large and small scale, rhythm, chain reaction, combination and management.
So I'm here to ask you the one million dollar question, do you think that Torque is a suitable engine to develop our game prototype ? Moreover which version of the Torque engine should we choose for Big Bang (Torque X 3D ?) ? Don't worry about our technical knowledge because we are focused on the possibility of the engine.
Thank you very much !
#2
Since our C++ engines are made to be more cross platform, I would suggest working with them. Download a free demo off the product page, and if you like it, you can upgrade to the latest version of that engine, Torque 3D, which is now in beta.
My personal opinion is that you should try before you buy. That will give you the best sense if Torque is right for you.
05/14/2009 (11:46 am)
Actually, it's not a matter of Torque not running on the PS3, it's a matter of working with Sony. A.C.R.O.N.Y.M. Games got Torque running on PSN just fine. Since our C++ engines are made to be more cross platform, I would suggest working with them. Download a free demo off the product page, and if you like it, you can upgrade to the latest version of that engine, Torque 3D, which is now in beta.
My personal opinion is that you should try before you buy. That will give you the best sense if Torque is right for you.
#3
Well I've no doubt you can get it to run, but that's not the same thing as supporting it :P Or does GG offer a version with an OpenGL ES and Cg graphics layer, and a PS3 platform implementation?
Not sure a game design school student is going to be too interested in doing that themselves, but I could be wrong.
05/14/2009 (2:26 pm)
Quote:
Actually, it's not a matter of Torque not running on the PS3, it's a matter of working with Sony. A.C.R.O.N.Y.M. Games got Torque running on PSN just fine.
Well I've no doubt you can get it to run, but that's not the same thing as supporting it :P Or does GG offer a version with an OpenGL ES and Cg graphics layer, and a PS3 platform implementation?
Not sure a game design school student is going to be too interested in doing that themselves, but I could be wrong.
#4
personally i would take a step back and ask yrselves the question whether it will really be more fun and/or education in 3D versus 2D. i feel that often folks assume 3D is better just because it has more Ds, while 2D might in fact be a better medium for the desired user experience.
05/14/2009 (2:31 pm)
sounds like an interesting project.personally i would take a step back and ask yrselves the question whether it will really be more fun and/or education in 3D versus 2D. i feel that often folks assume 3D is better just because it has more Ds, while 2D might in fact be a better medium for the desired user experience.
#5
If Xavier and his team wants to make a game for Sony, they'll need to be pretty serious developers. That means they need heavy-lifting programming, no matter if they go with Torque, someone else, or roll their own engine.
05/14/2009 (3:29 pm)
@Gerald: The reason I mentioned this is that PS3/PSN development is going to be tough, no matter what route you chose. Note that aren't a lot of entry-level PS3 game engines available, while there are options for the Xbox 360, including XNA for hobby development. If Xavier and his team wants to make a game for Sony, they'll need to be pretty serious developers. That means they need heavy-lifting programming, no matter if they go with Torque, someone else, or roll their own engine.
#6
There are probably some easier options for prototyping on PS3 if they really need that, but I won't pimp them here, I'm sure he'll find them if that's what he needs :p
05/14/2009 (4:15 pm)
All very true. It's my understanding that this is for a prototype, so I'm not sure that kind of heavy lifting for platform support is appropriate or necessary, but it's not easy to say without knowing more about what their end goal is. There are probably some easier options for prototyping on PS3 if they really need that, but I won't pimp them here, I'm sure he'll find them if that's what he needs :p
#7
Gerald Fishel & Deborah Marshall :
When we say Xbox 360/PS3 it's just for the game concept which is targeting these two platforms (PSN & XLA). In reality we know that it's practically impossible for students like us to develop a game prototype on PS3 due to high cost engine and Sony policy. So our choice is to do Big Bang on Xbox 360 with XNA.
When we made our research about which Torque engine we going to used, we found that Torque X 3D was the best choice but we don't know if it's a good thing to work on an engine currently in beta.
Thank you very much for your advices.
Orion Elenzil :
We are currently at the very beginning of the project, before pre-production which should start in October. You're right, we are asking ourselves these kinds of pertinent questions but on the other hand it's important for us to know how is going to work the engine we'll work with before the beginning of the pre-production because we'll be able to say what is it possible to do or not. That's why we are asking the community about Torque !
We'll be very happy to read others point of view about our project ! Don't be shy, your knowledge is very helpful for us !
05/14/2009 (4:24 pm)
First of all, thanks a lot for your answers !Gerald Fishel & Deborah Marshall :
When we say Xbox 360/PS3 it's just for the game concept which is targeting these two platforms (PSN & XLA). In reality we know that it's practically impossible for students like us to develop a game prototype on PS3 due to high cost engine and Sony policy. So our choice is to do Big Bang on Xbox 360 with XNA.
When we made our research about which Torque engine we going to used, we found that Torque X 3D was the best choice but we don't know if it's a good thing to work on an engine currently in beta.
Thank you very much for your advices.
Orion Elenzil :
We are currently at the very beginning of the project, before pre-production which should start in October. You're right, we are asking ourselves these kinds of pertinent questions but on the other hand it's important for us to know how is going to work the engine we'll work with before the beginning of the pre-production because we'll be able to say what is it possible to do or not. That's why we are asking the community about Torque !
We'll be very happy to read others point of view about our project ! Don't be shy, your knowledge is very helpful for us !
#8
Torque Game Builder, iTorque 2D (iphone), and TorqueX 2D.
05/14/2009 (4:36 pm)
gotcha. there are several torque 2D platforms to consider as well:Torque Game Builder, iTorque 2D (iphone), and TorqueX 2D.
#9
That's about what I figured. Since you do plan on doing a 360 prototype, your only real choices in the Torque line are TorqueX 3D and TorqueX 2D if you happen to decide to go 2D. The other engines aren't usable with XNA. Though you can get the C++ engine on 360, it's probably still going to be out of your reach as far as licensing cost and obtaining the 360 development kit.
While TX3D is still being brought up to speed with the other Torque engines, for the project you're talking about it should work just fine. TX2D would also work very well if you go 2D.
05/14/2009 (5:52 pm)
@Xavier,That's about what I figured. Since you do plan on doing a 360 prototype, your only real choices in the Torque line are TorqueX 3D and TorqueX 2D if you happen to decide to go 2D. The other engines aren't usable with XNA. Though you can get the C++ engine on 360, it's probably still going to be out of your reach as far as licensing cost and obtaining the 360 development kit.
While TX3D is still being brought up to speed with the other Torque engines, for the project you're talking about it should work just fine. TX2D would also work very well if you go 2D.
Torque Owner Gerald Fishel
Development Ninja
I don't think any Torque engine supports PS3, so Torque would not be right for targeting that platform.
If you're just looking for a prototype that will run on the PC, then you can do it in any of the 3D Torque engines. If you want to get your prototype running on a console, then TorqueX 3D is probably the way to go for XBox 360.
You can't really separate the two completely. Which engine is going to be right for you is going to depend, in large part, on the expected technical knowledge of your team.
But assuming an equal high competence in C++ and C#, I would say that TorqueX 3D would probably be the better choice for developing a prototype for your game. C#/.NET/XNA is a bit of a faster development platform for prototyping, in terms of modern language constructs and also build times.
You'll find more community resources directly related to the C++ engine (TGEA) that may help you get some things going in your game, though with TX3D you may be able to take advantage of other community resources targeted towards the XNA platform in general.
Good luck with your project.