Hello all I am new here. The one thin i will be doing here is making tuts for people to use for making games. I hope these come in handy for you.
A simple article i made for people who want to make games. Still is being worked on.
So you want to make games?Game development is very popular in today's entertainment. Many people seem to be on the bandwagon to make and play games. in this Article I plan to go over several points that will help you along your way to becoming a game developer.
Where I am coming fromI first got interested in making games as a young kid. Before I had a computer I worked on the design of the game and had many things planned out. As soon as I got my First computer when I was 12 I learned about different genres of games. One such poplar genre was MMO's, As a child i wanted to aim big and make one of those. But many people along the way went into how hard it is to make one, how much work they need, and that they cost tons of cash. (Of course this is all fictional depending on the quality you want) I'm not gonna tell anyone to start small, or start big. Just start with something you are comfortable to do. Starting big helped me out tons. I learned many things early, and found out new tricks to approach game making. In this Article I will try to explain the work that goes into games, and how you should approach them.
What skills do you have?THIS IS VERY IMPORTANT! Before deciding "hey I want to make a game" find a skill that suites you. When I first started I kept jumping around trying to find a skill for me. Programming was the first thing I tried, but I wasn't passionate about it. When you have a skill it should be something you love to do, not something you have to do. I eventually found that Drawing was my skill, If I had found this out earlier I would probably be tons better then I am now. So FIND YOUR SKILL! that is the most important step. Research how much work goes into each skill, and which one you love to do the most. and just because you have one skill and not the other doesn't mean you cant lead a game design team. You could have absolutely no major skill other then being a Leader and an organizer and you can build up a game team.
Designing you gameThis is the fun part, I have tons of design docs, all lined up and ready to be completed. When designing a game you have to think of several things.
The game genre, the story, main characters,the problem, features, detailed writing/drawing of a area or 2. these things will attract people to help out with making the game along side. You have to show you are organized and a good leader. Only choose people who you know will help you as well. Get all the goals of your game straight, and figure out questions they will ask before hand. Many things they will ask is
Whats the plot? whats the genre? Characters? what will you be doing? get all these practical questions answered, Once again CHOOSE ONLY PEOPLE WHO ARE RELIABLE! I cant tell you how my poor choice of judgment has gotten me into many holes. when designing the game, get everything on paper, and on your computer, and do not, absolutely not just make up an idea and throw it together in 30seconds and decide to go looking for a team. Spend at least a week or two writing the game, researching, and making sure this is the game you wanna do. you may thing a 1-2 weeks may be to less or too long, this is just for the first part of the game. Once you have everything down, you can at least present it, to find out who will be interested in helping you.
If its a MMOOk I just want to clear this out of the way now. I love MMO's, I've made a couple 2D ones. But there have been many times were I let others run my ideas into the ground. You don't need hundreds of dollars to make a mmo. It all depends on the quality of game you want honestly.
You could spend 3months coding a simple 2D-2.5D MMO without spending any money. using simple coding languages as well. DO NOT BE FOOLED. MMO's are hard, but they aren't the hardest, it all depends on what you want in your game, an RPG can turn out to be more hard to create then an MMO and it could even be more expensive.
there are many myths of a mmo here are some
1)They cost thousands of dollars
2)You need a great server
3)millions of lines of programmings
4)You have to devote more than half your time to it.
5)it takes hundreds of people to make a decent MMO
Many MMO's were made using only 4-6 people and it started as a simple hobby project.
Attracting A TeamThis one is hard, Usually people wont give you the time or day if you are doing at least 90% of the work. Many people will jump at the chance to get a free ride, or a sure thing. There are simple ways to attract people to your game. Keep things interesting! run them by with your friends, Get some advice, Do not go public until everything is PERFECT that even means grammar and spelling. Try not to give them any reason to put down your project, if the only thing they can think of is "its been done before" so what many things have been done before. or thought of before. Show them you are serious, get some work done before showing the project, a simple drawing can help even. Putting together your help wanted list in a fancy style would be good. BE CREATIVE. let your mind wonder as best as possible. make them thing "WOW I might give them a shot!"
NEVER LET ANYONE DESTROY YOUR PASSION! One way i stay passionate is think about what i wanted to do, and how much I want to rub the peoples faces (who said I couldn't do it) into it.
Choosing a teamOk When choosing you have to think on how much you can handle.
A small team means its easier for you to get things around. Less of a hassle, could take a little longer, or probably have less quality then some other projects, or it could be done faster and have higher quality, it all depends on the team, don't let people mislead you to believe otherwise.
A medium team would mean you should get 1 or 2 people to help. It will be easier this way. Don't choose someone to help you because they give the best quality, they could be completely unreliable, It would show how unreliable they are if they happen to now want to work with you, because you chose someone who is not as great as them, but puts forward more work in charge of them. If you have a large team, then you really need help. Start choosing leaders to keep things organized in each department, and give them a second in command, or have them choose one. Do not choose a team who is completely unreliable. Or worries about getting paid rather then game progress.
Staying OrganizedThis really is the most annoying part to me.
There's a simple way to stay organized. If you project is very important, put a folder on desktop. In the folder Have the name of each department. and even a folder with each members work so you know what they are putting forth and don't get confused. Keep a check list, on everything you need to get done. Once you get it done, check it off. Staying organized can be very simple. Try to spread out the work as best as possible, and if you can, give them no more then 1 assignment, 2 would be ok, but if you give them one at a time, its a better chance of getting things done, Although this could be at a slower rate, but it would allow them not to rush, and to give their best work.
Keeping in contactAnother project killer is this. You don't need to have some big fancy website in order to stay in contact, you CAN use a simple free forum host just to stay in touch. staying in touch by email sucks as it can be hectic when your only doing this with one person at a time. Forums are a good way for everyone to put forth ideas. and stay in contact. Have meetings every once in awhile too. Here's an important tip IF your member is never online, and or can never show up for dates, he is not worth the time. Even if hes your best friend, cut him loose. A weak link destroys the whole group. If you agree on a date to meet, and your members never show up, Get rid of them. it gets annoying trying to stay organized when they cant keep in contact. another thing is to have a team that LISTENS! everyone cannot all talk at the same time. Ideas never get through and the chat is just filled up with clutter and no one knows what is going on.
Lead don't followAn important fact to remember is that THIS GAME IS YOURS! so things have to be done your way. If your team mate decides to take initiative that's fine, give them props for that, but if its far off from what you wanted, then tell them to do it again. It is your job to be strong. You cant give one person slack and expect the others to not want some either. Its understandable if the Teammate has Real life personal problems.
AdvertisingIF YOU DON'T HAVE ANYTHING TO PRESENT, DON'T ADVERTISE!. its a waste of time advertising something that isn't done, Get some concepts done, and show that there is some playable content in the game before advertising. One you get all this THEN advertise. Make a trailer, That is a good way to advertise. AND ACTUALLY SHOW GAME PLAY! I honestly cant stand trailers that look awesome, but show no game play, and when I actually go to play the game, it turns out its sucks. It makes me wanna stab the creator in the neck with my pencil.
Paid or Unpaid?Almost forgot this, If you game is unpaid or paid, it will attract a certain crowd, Now a days many people wont do much without $$ i prefer to do many unpaid things as it gives you more work to put forward, and allows your stuff to get around. and gives people who don't have money a chance to reach their dreams, or give them something fun to do for nothing but feedback. Even if you wanna be paid for things, try to do a couple of freebies now and again. Unless its something that is massively time wasting, then get ya money man!
Putting your game out thereAfter Choosing your skill, designing your game, attracting a team, choosing a team and so on. If you actually have put forth work. And got anything finished (from a beta to finished) you might wanna have people test/play it right? well then, this is where you start to put it into hands of friends, family's and spamming other sites
(just try not to get banned) Make sure you have a site as your base of operations so they can go to to look at screenshots and features.
Oh that's another thing SCREENSHOTS! PUT THEM IN THE FRICKEN OPEN! I hate looking for games and finding they either have no screenshots or you have to dig to find them, Get as many shots as u can, Take shots of every feature. the more Screenshots, the more someone thinks about giving it a try. Please no shots of you doing different things in the same spot either.
Other tips and tricks.This section will give you some tips and tricks and explain things for you. this will also repeat some things and explain things I haven't talked about.
Programmer: The programmer is a vital point in game design, They create the game. That's really to the point on what they do. You code every last aspect that is in the game, their the problem solvers and have to strict to the laws of programming. as well as be able to find out where things are going wrong. Knowing some math helps out with this.
3D Artist: 3D modelers are good for 3D games, some may work for free, but if your doing something paid, prepare to open your wallet as they are in high demand, and work very hard. 3D modelers use geometry to make their graphics. There are many 3D modeling programs out there so you can test if this is what you want to do. Go through tutorials to find out how these programs work as well.
2D artist: The 2D artist is a good member to have, especially if you want to make a 3D game. The artist will create a blueprint for a 3D modeler to use as a guide. Artist can draw from life and imagination. You don't need tons of artist to make the game, but have a couple so they aren't loaded with tons of work. Artist need an imagination and the skill to put whats in their mind on paper.
Composer: Composers are great aspects for games, unless you want a dull boring, soundless game. Music always attracts people to games, and they make it feel more fun. You also need composers for sound effects such as attacks or explosions.
Project Manager: Ok many people think, you actually need to be able to do a skill up there to make the game. Project Managers are the leaders of the game. Project managers actually do a lot for the game, without them, there is no project. The project manager must make sure he Relays assignments to all members, Keeps things organized, Sets up dates for meetings, and that all things are kept on schedule. This may sound easy, but its not. It becomes a hassle trying to keep up with all members and get assignments done for each. Aswell as make sure they are doing what they are suppose to do.
Build a game, not an engine.YOU DO NOT NEED AN ENGINE TO BUILD A GAME! many people think this, this is not true, engines can lighten the load though. Also if u plan on building an engine, build it for a specific project. if u have no goals for the engine, then it goes absoulutely NO WHERE! and you will have wasted time coding a lump of garbage. if you are gonna build a game, just build it. Code the game and all features, it'll turn out better. And you will save time!
Stay InspiredThere are many times I dropped projects because I could not stay inspired. Please have something that will always make you want to finish the project. If you stay in love with what you do, you will continue to do it.
Mmorpg'sThese are popular games, and they are hard to make. but the myth of them is, that they are impossible unless you have tons of cash. You can make a mmo just by yourself if you have the time and patience as well as skill. dont let anyone mislead you, Mmo's can be hard, but they are completely do-able. Just make sure you know some type of coding language, and can get the rest done.
Still not done with it, i'll continue to edit it.
Community
