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[risen28]

Hi guys firstly i apologise for starting a thread on this and if there is a topic covering it please direc me as i could not find it.....

I am web developer ( php , Javascript , html ) mainly. Now i already confessed my love and collection of modded games but i understand that making even the simplest of games takes time and is the place to start. I have read around this forum a bit and i se unity pop up quite a bit , i was just wondering where do you start as a game developer , programming wise. Im guessing a 2d pixelated type game would be the best place to start.... My goal is to end up making something like toribash down the road.
Obviously baby steps

Any advice would be appreciated , ps as a web developer i never though much of game developers but looking around the forum here i have to give my respect. It seems harder than what i do .   

[subliminalman]

Unity is a way to get in quickly with a game engine. It does a lot for you in terms of collisions, rendering, editor tools, and gives you multiplatform out of the box. If you're interested in just making a game I would say grab that or another game engine such as Game Maker Studio 2 or Unreal. If you want to better understand how games work under the hood you could look into some books that have you make a 2D engine yourself in javascript or other language. Another way to go is to use a framework like Love2D or FNA that give you a bunch of code with help for drawing, audio, and input.


SOOOO many things so here's a list of great resources that you can check out.

Unity 3D
Unreal
Game Maker
HTML 5 Games
Love2D

Remember to start with something small so you can finish. No need for the MMOFPSRPG thinking till way later (and millions of dollars)

Also see if there's any game jams in your area to see if you can team up with someone who has made a game before. If not in your area check over at itch.io they have a ton of jams happening online all the time.
 

[Photon]

1.) Brainstorm and decide on a concept (but do it quickly)

2.) Work on it for a week or two

3a.) If its becoming apparent that you've selected something too big in scope, go back to (1) and choose something much smaller.
3b.) If you're losing motivation but its blatantly obvious that you can reasonably finish it, kick yourself in the butt and finish it anyway.

4.) Repeat steps 1-3 until you finish something. (Yes, that many mean going smaller multiple times.)


Once you've finished something, you have a frame of reference of what you're capable of and how you can grow from there. In my experience, you really have to immerse yourself in the process perpetually to understand what you're up against. Don't be afraid to fail.

TL;DR:

1.) Finish something as quickly as possible.
2.) Absolutely do not stop until you complete step 1.

[ThemsAllTook]

It depends on what sort of programmer you are. I've always been into low level nuts and bolts stuff, so the way I started was by first by figuring out how to compile the most basic C program as an executable for my platform. From there, I started poking at system APIs until I figured out how to create a window, handle events, draw a graphic, draw a moving graphic, and play a sound. Once I understood these things, I had all of the necessary building blocks to make a basic game - strictly speaking, all it takes is to be able to get user input and do something visible or audible in response, with a some form of logic governing the interaction.

This approach probably wouldn't work for everyone. If you're mostly just into game design and don't want to tinker too much with your computer to figure out what makes it tick, something like Unity might be a better place to start. There's a wealth of tutorials and starting points available that let you dive right in and make something move without having to understand all of the low level details of why it works as it does. Since you already know JavaScript, that's honestly a fine place to start - just make some little interactive thing that runs in your browser and mess around with it until it starts feeling like a game. If you get stuck and don't understand how to do something, use google, read API documentation, ask other game developers, read books, etc. It takes curiosity, dedication, and dogged persistence to figure all of this stuff out, but it's so worth it once you get over that first hurdle and bring your creation to life.