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[eyeliner]

I finally got up and almost finalized my first game (was supposed to be included in TIG's advent calendar, but then realized that 25th was not a valid date.

Well, in a flash I made a game (quite original, I think) and it's nearing conclusion and then I got around thinking about a future project, as I feel quite pumped to continue.

I then thought deeply on how to deal with this. I've read multiple "How to start" threads but this is not a standard "where to learn" thread, but rather, what's the most accessible game type to start.

RPGs tend to require an insane amount of graphics and rather complex dynamics, also, making a decent story can be hard though I could write one easily because I'm creative

Platfomers are accessible enough and can be made quickly and almost pain free in any game engine (I include Contra likes in this sector)

Shoot 'em ups are also a valid option (I rather like Super Aleste and R-Type(s) of the SNES)

Racing can be easy enough, but the part that makes it hard is the AI. Making a single player only or fully multiplayer game is meh

Point and click can be somewhat achievable, a good way to do it is taking pictures of scenery and use it as background (find missing objects games are included in this area)

Puzzle games are an odd case, where programming can be difficult, depending on the puzzle mechanic chosen.

Now, all this is cool and dandy, but all of them can present challenges to a beginner, whether by programming or a vast amount of resources a single developer can't deal with.
Of course, I'm not yet versed enough in game making to be useful in a team (I still have a long trail ahead of me).

Now, considering all this, while gathering more info on such issue, I found another game type I was yet to see: Game Books. I have a lot of the original physical game books and of course, I was pleasantly surprised to see this.

I then proceed to "deconstruct" the game mechanic:
A paragraph of text, an event and few possible outcomes. To a programmer, this is majorly a case of a few "switch... case" and "if then else" events that can pose little threat even to a beginner.

Am I correct in this assumption?

TL:DR version:
What's the best, simplest game type to begin with? I'm not one to back away when in front of a little challenge, but I'd like to see results, even if ridiculous by others standards.

[Zack Bell]

For a programmer (or an artist, I guess), I'd probably suggest a metroidvania of some sort. Maybe not a full-sized Super Metroid, but one that focusses on unique abilities and powerups. It gives you the opportunity to program a lot of new things while concentrating on one idea.

You get to work with a player who will have many states and different physics effects. Possibly an upgrade system or an inventory system. A map system of some sort. Tons of different enemy AI. Possibly pathfinding. Dialogue and text. Etc.

It really lets you do as little or as much as you want.

That's how I see it, anyway. I feel like it has helped me 

[ANtY]

Platformers are not that good choice imo.
They tend to be boring and no one will play your platform game if there will be no new gameplay ideas, or any other interesting features.
They also require a lot of animations and not all artists can do animations so easly.
You have to think about level design too, it's not so easy to create good maps, and it's also boring for the most of ppl.

[Zack Bell]

I think that level design is actually one of the pros of doing a metroidvania. Level design is hard and whether or not it's boring shouldn't matter. It's necessary for most games and you should be trying to get better at it, even if you're a programmer.

400th post 

[Noah!]

Hello! My name is Noah!, but for the next few paragraphs I will be playing the role of TIGSource itself! I am here to inform you of our usual response to each genre, as well as how you can tailor your game to avert them suck up to the great majority!

RPG: We TIGers love us a good RPG, however it is true that the asset barrier is a tough one indeed. The solution? Use Oddball sprites! In fact, this doesn't just apply to just RPGs, you can use Oddball sprites anywhere! There's probably even a visual novel out there that uses Oddball sprites.

Platformer: Making a platformer is similar to playing The Price Is Right. You want to get as close to cloning Cave Story as you can, without anyone recognizing that you're cloning Cave Story. This is trickers because some people will instinctively say "cave story clone" at any possible opportunity, and you have to call their bluff.

Shoot 'em up: Don't even bother. Around here, the response to shmups is icy at best. The XOP series came and went and nobody batted an eye. And that was a good shmup! (this rule doesn't apply if you're making an arena shooter. tigers eat those up and i'm not sure why)

Racing: Currently, everyone is too busy cloning Minecraft to consider making a racing game, so I don't know how people would respond to one. Who knows, you might get lucky.

Point and click: This is a good choice because a lot of us had good childhood memories about adventure games. The kids here loved Myst, the slightly older kids here loved Monkey Island, and the manchildren here grew up on the ZX Spectrum, where a good adventure game was worth the hearing damage caused by loading it.

Puzzle: See, here you're in luck. Hanano Puzzle just swept through the scene like wildfire, sparking a new thirst for good puzzle games. Or at least it would have, if anyone was able to get past level 15 of that game.

Well, there you go. A concise and handy guide to each genre, as viewed by us! So now, if you start making a game and don't get the devlog response you want, you have nobody to blame but yourself! Good luck, and happy developing!

[Mikademus]

To much feelings and not enough cold analysis and systematising above. Requires rectification.

Ranking of difficulty to make games of different types depending on the demands of game mechanics, how difficult the game engines will be to program (entity complexity, edge cases, scope of interactions, etc), and the amount of game assets that will need to be made (tilesets, gfx, audios, sfx, levels, etc). As always roguelikes is a special case, and the fun killer: math skills requried.

Insanely difficultRPG:
Mechanics complexity: high
Programming model complexity: very high
Assets demand: very high
Math skill required: low-to-mid.

Strategy:
Mechanics complexity: high
Programming model complexity: high
Assets demand: high
Math skill required: low-to-mid (mid-to-high for physics and 3D weapon/terrain interactions)

FPS, 3PA:
Mechanics complexity: mid-to-high
Programming model complexity: mid-to-high
Assets demand: high
Math skill required: high-to-very high.

DifficultRoguelikes:
Mechanics complexity: very high
Programming model complexity: very high
Assets demand: none
Math skill required: low-to-mid.

Racing games:
Mechanics complexity: mid (very high for advanced physics)
Programming model complexity: mid
Assets demand: mid-to-high
Math skill required: mid-to-very high.

Not too dauntingPuzzle games (highly varying depending on type of puzzles):
Mechanics complexity: usually low-to-mid
Programming model complexity: usually low-to-mid
Assets demand: mid
Math skill required: varies: low for match-3's; very high for physics puzzles.

Platformers (including Contra-style shmups):
Mechanics complexity: mid
Programming model complexity: low
Assets demand: mid
Math skill required: low (high if with realistic physics).

Point-and-click adventures:
Mechanics complexity: low
Programming model complexity: low
Assets demand: mid-to-high
Math skill required: very low.

Easy peasyShoot'em-ups and old-school arcades (Xenon, Arkanoid):
Mechanics complexity: low
Programming model complexity: low
Assets demand: low
Math skill required: very low.

Text adventures:
Mechanics complexity: very low
Programming model complexity: low (but depending on parser capabilities)
Assets demand: none
Math skill required: virtually none.

Edit: more genres and divided into sections by difficulty

[eyeliner]

Thanks! I was thinking I made myself unclear on my lengthy writing.

Zack Bell got it on the second post, ANtY was concise and got half of it, Noah! was... strange(?) while Mikademus nailed it in the head.

I wasn't looking for the most well liked games (bullshit to that!), but the easier to get into without getting overwhelmed too soon.

@Zack
There's no way I can at this time get my teeth into a Metroidvania. My lack of knowledge doesn't allow me to dwell in to many factors at the same time. I would get smashed and would get frustrated soon.

I'll try to finish my (current) game that I've been hacking for a few hours and then I'll refocus my energies getting a concept. Who knows, maybe a devlog will follow? That would be the day.

[Zack Bell]

Maybe a platformer is a good direction to go then? Unless that's what your current/first project is/was?

I know that other people have mentioned that it may be "boring", but if you feel like you need a slow start and don't want to get frustrated, then maybe a Mario clone (or something even simpler) is a good idea.

For example, just get a guy walking and jumping. Then get different sprites and make sure that his animations transition well. Things like that.

[ANtY]

To much feelings and not enough cold analysis and systematising above.

Your statements don't contain any objectivity IMO thus I wouldn't call them 'cold analysis'
I agree with some things but I mostly disagree and I think that if you'd ask each TIG's user he'd have a different opinion about those.
For example I think that roquelikes are easy to make and they can be a way to go at the beginning, they just need much balancing, but that's just my point of view.

[Mikademus]

Make a roguelike too simple and you'll get the entire cadre of roguelike fans to gang up on you to tell you that and why it isn't a roguelike.

[Blodyavenger]

Don't go with RPG (at least if it's not small game with RPG elements)

I don't think anyone mentioned that but Puzzle games could be hard to do because of the puzzles itself. It's hard to solve them but in some cases it's even harder to construct puzzles. It requires a lot of planning and testing for the right difficulty curve. Of course, that all depends on the genre sub-type.

I suggest that you go with a platformer / shmup. Main thing is that you have fun and enjoy making the game.

[MattG]

I think you should start with your favorite gametype and make one simple small level. When you got that going... run with it!

[eyeliner]

Thanks for the input, guys. I feel I got my direction set.

[Rob Lach]

Sports game. There aren't enough indie sports games, and when there are, they're awesome (qwop, girp, www.youtube.com/watch?v=2hgSBxa-84c)

[J-Snake]

and the fun killer: math skills requried.

Where do you have this rumor from?

There is practically no game in existance which requires math skills higher than what you do in high-school, some solid basics in linear algebra and a bit of analysis fully suffice to create likely everything you have ever seen.