next »

[J-Snake]

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)

It is like a new genre for me, I call it comedy and I almost pissed myself. This game can be hilarious.

[J-Snake]

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

That might be true for my game, where the block-physics can be a science of its own to efficiently implement. Other than that I fully disagree. Puzzle-games tend to be programmed in a clean way. They are small, easy to implement and they tend to teach you how to organize stuff, but they are challenging to design. The main challenge will be level-design. So if you want a more complete learning-experience a puzzle-game will teach you a lot.

You should start with a puzzle game just like me. It will make you great.

[copernicus]

Don't be afraid of RPGs.  They don't really require any assets.  Almost everything in an RPG is unnecessary fluff (cinema, voice acting, 4 hours of music, etc.).  You can simply make a text based RPG.  I've currently working on a text based RPG.  Before that I started a 2D JRPG (it has graphics), but then decided to make a text-based game first, because text-based RPGs were first.  Making an RPG can be educational, because you might be programming something you've never done before.  I find trying to program something new to be exciting, but I don't know if that's really what you're after.

You did ask for an accessible game type to start.  RPGs can be accessible because you don't need 3D, physic engines, online multi-player, etc.

[Gimym TILBERT]

Ultimately, every genre is simple if you simplify it. A flat shaded FPS with primitive is not so much expensive unless you start the engine from scratch.

[J-Snake]

Phong shaded won't make it any more complicated;)

Rpg still seems the most complicated or expansive thing, even when you simplify it.
But nothing beats a puzzle.

[Amirai]

Don't be afraid of RPGs.  They don't really require any assets.  Almost everything in an RPG is unnecessary fluff (cinema, voice acting, 4 hours of music, etc.).  You can simply make a text based RPG.  I've currently working on a text based RPG.  Before that I started a 2D JRPG (it has graphics), but then decided to make a text-based game first, because text-based RPGs were first.  Making an RPG can be educational, because you might be programming something you've never done before.  I find trying to program something new to be exciting, but I don't know if that's really what you're after.

You did ask for an accessible game type to start.  RPGs can be accessible because you don't need 3D, physic engines, online multi-player, etc.

I have to disagree with you there.  Having almost finished making an RPG myself for my first completed game, starting out in game development making an RPG from scratch is a terrible idea.  It's a colossal undertaking with a gazillion various systems and mechanics that have to all work together.

Something about RPGs makes them look easy to make. Starting an RPG is easy - completing one isn't. Not to mention if you're still new to game dev and don't know how to properly design software, and even more so if you're still learning how to use the development environment you're working with, it's very easy to code things badly and have to redo a lot of work.  My game probably could have been developed an entire year faster had I known how to use construct properly when I started.

I'm not the only one saying it either.  I've heard it echoed from many RPG developers time and time again, RPGs are difficult to make. Educational? Very. Hard? Also very.

[starsrift]

Mikademus had it right, I think, more or less, though I would've condensed it to "make a shmup". Unless you are just learning how to program and you're at "Hello, World!" level, I don't think there's much learning value in making a completely text adventure, though they can actually be quite rewarding and fun to do.

[eyeliner]

I'm not at that basic a level. I believe this can be quite an informative topic, because lots of beginners would like to get their feet wet, and have success in their earlier attempts.

Of course, some people commenting are obviously knowledgeable people, and consider basic somethings that for others are hard to achieve in the beginning.

My major difficulty (apart some programming concepts that I'm yet to take on with the necessary discipline) is "knowing what to do next".

I believe that starting with the simplest game form I can better visualize the game making process and then complete all the necessary steps in an orderly method and apply it in the future.

Either way, I'm  having great fun and learning much by completing my piece. Simple, yet useful. There's sounds (could be better samples), choices, multiple endings. I tried also making it short and achievable, and got an ugly game, but heck, I'm feeling good with it, though I'd be embarrassed to show it.

[Mikademus]

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.

You think the math of all games in existence could have been done by 15 y/o at 9th year in school? Racing simulators consider the friction to different surfaces to each of the four tyres with shifting weight distribution from angular momentum and rotational forces from engine torque. Flight simulators consider air pressure changes with altitude, wing angle of attack and flap depression. Try having a high school kid make a portal-based FPS engine from scratch. Etc etc.

You think everyone knows linear algebra and geometrical transforms, or even derivation and integration? For even a basic realistic physical simulation and you'll need university maths, and that is a show-stopper for most hobbyist and small dev teams. If you don't know maths it is insane going for something inherently relying on heavy on it.

[J-Snake]

Simulators are practically the only exeption here, depending on how accurate and realistic you want it to be. I didn't count them in to this topic.

But in general it is phenomenal how overrated people look at math-requirements in game-development.

Games unlikely fail to be produced because someone is lacking math-skills, but mainly because they are complex.

Yes, you can make dooms and quakes with just basic math skills.
I doubt Carmack has any higher math-skills, and regarding what he is doing, he doesn't really need them.

[Richard Kain]

I'm going to make a suggestion that is going to take this back to the old-school.

A good game type to start developing on would be a single-screen game.

This is where most games began their lives. It is one of the hallmarks of early arcade classics. Single-screen games eliminate a lot of the complexity of later entries, while still allowing for a decent amount of gameplay experimentation. There are a whole lot of highly advanced game design concepts that aren't required when the designer is constrained to a single screen. That is why I feel it is a good place to start.

[J-Snake]

See? Another rephrased argument for Puzzlers.

[John Sandoval]

Is pac man a puzzler

Is space invaders a puzzler

Wait dont tell me pong is a puzzler too

I must go and rethink my life

I dunnno, puzzles tend to take a long time to design and refine, and dont offer much replayability for the player. Other than that, not bad.

IMO make the game in whatever genre you want to make. It can be as difficult or as simple as you need be.

[Geeze]

You think everyone knows linear algebra and geometrical transforms, or even derivation and integration? For even a basic realistic physical simulation and you'll need university maths

What kind of necessary math there is in universities that isn't covered at all in high school? (just curious and too lazy to check it out by myself)

[Manuel Magalhães]

Is pac man a puzzler

Is space invaders a puzzler

Wait dont tell me pong is a puzzler too

I must go and rethink my life

your life is a puzzler.