Game Development in General?

mochikoTiger

TIGBaby

« on: December 12, 2014, 08:47:13 PM »

Hello, I am extremely new to the indie gaming world, but would really like to try my hand at making a game. The issue is that, although I have character designs and a plot thought out, I know nothing about programming or animating, or really ANYTHING technical about creating a game. I don't even really have any money to put into this. Sad

I was just curious about if there was any way to change my bleak situation to even a slightly better one? What do I need to obtain in order to make a game? I have big goals, which is probably bad for such a noob as myself, but I really can't help it! Shrug

I thought that I could get a team together, but is that possible to do if no one lives near me? Is it possible to get someone from far away and somehow collaborate with them? Because I'd really need programmers and concept artists, literally all the works. So I'm just spitballin' here and saying my thoughts out loud. Please don't laugh at me for being such a beginner and having seemingly no means to make my dreams a reality. I just want some advice and tips on how I can get started. Thanks~


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mankoon

Level 4

And that is how you get to Llama School.

Re: Game Development in General?

« Reply #1 on: December 12, 2014, 09:39:33 PM »

Hey machiko,
You obviously like games, so you have some sort of understanding of what type of design inspires you.
I think you should learn some software and makes some small things for fun. Scale back your goals a bit, make experiments to practice code. If you learn to program you will understand how to implement game art into your mini projects. If you create all the assets you need for a mini project, you'll have a better understanding of the entire process and how it all comes together.
Having general knowledge of all fields of crafting a game will make others feel more confident in working with you. Imagine working with a programmer and not understanding how exactly to deliver the art assets to him/her. It would be really time consuming to explain everything. I'm trying to learn to code myself and I find it really fun! Sooo do itttt


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Tactics Devlog

valrus

Level 3

Re: Game Development in General?

« Reply #2 on: December 12, 2014, 11:11:01 PM »

There are a couple ways to start, but the surefire method would be to learn to program. It's (IMO) the easiest of the core skills to get decent at. (Or rather, it's the one where you can get the greatest payoff even if you're kinda crappy at it. Wink

)

But programmer or not, you need to consider what it is that you can make that will get people so excited they'll want to share in your vision (donating skills, donating money, or donating publicity so that others donate skills or money). You probably already know that an idea likely isn't enough; there's already a surplus of those floating around.

But there are a lot of things that are halfway in between a mere idea and the game you want to make. There are more tools than ever to allow non-programmers or semi-programmers to get their ideas out there (RPGMaker, Twine, PuzzleScript...), and lots of games begin as mods of other games. Can you make it out of cardboard? Can it be a module of a pen & paper game? Can you build it within a MUD? Whatever you can do, get it out there and let it succeed or fail. Then do it again and again.

(If none of those are good enough to capture your unique vision, then it's back to path #1: Learn to program and a lot of obstacles drop away.)