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SometingStupid

Want to make a video game...

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Or more appropriately, would like to know how to make a video game.

See, thing is, I've long been a fan of the medium, and listening to various podcasts and the like makes me want to get in on the whole "indie games" scene, not in a way that makes me seem like a greedy corporate capitalist, but in a way that would enable me to have fun making a video game and see how other people like it.

I've put a reasonable amount of thought into this, and I've decided that I am probably in the most comfortable position to make a game as anyone can be, with being so young, I don't have a job to tie me down time-wise, and I don't need to pay to keep a roof over my head.

So basically it boils down to "how?" rather than any other question. I don't really have any experience in a programming language or such that would help perform such a task, but I have constructed websites with HTML, obviously this is only useful to prove that I am somewhat adept at learning these things.

I ask of you, my fellow thumbs, to just point me in the right direction here, give me advice and the like, I'd be extremely grateful for anything that you have to offer, whether it simply be just a nudge forwards or otherwise.

TL;DR, N00B WANTS TO MAKE VIDEO GAME, N00B WANTS YOUR HELP.

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Making 2D games with a Flash-specific framework is a relatively easy way to start. Check out either www.flixel.net or www.flashpunk.net . They both integrate into Flash as a way to quickly get the mundane stuff out of the way, like how to draw graphics/animations on the screen, input and physics etc.

They both share a tutorial site called www.flashgamedojo.com - there you'll get some great "Getting Started" tutorials.

Or, when you're ready to dive into more advanced stuff (but still, easy to use tools) www.unity3d.com provides a free engine and toolkit for making some 3D games.

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I appreciate both of your help, due to a link that lead to another, I'm taking a brief excursion into GameMaker to learn a bit of the logic behind making a game, it's going pretty well so far though I don't have anything solid to show for it yet. After that I might delve into the flash frameworks as recommended.

Though if anyone has anything more to add, please do!

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As well as for Super Friendship Club, this year I've heard a lot of love for Stencyl, including, from a programmer, "It's like GameMaker but it doesn't suck".

Also, play a fuckton of other tiny indie games. Collectively, @retroremakes, @realnoyb, and @terrycavanagh are an excellent starting point for that on Twitter, because they tweet a lot about other people's interesting games as well as their own.

Depending on what you want to produce, a pen and paper might be the best place to start, leaving the technical aspects to those who might volunteer...

I would advise for and against this.

Pen and paper for mucking around with ideas at first: YES. Once they have a vision, people get lost in tech, and spend a month fiddling to make something just so. Doodling can help to keep you focused on the actual idea, as well as asking bigger questions about it.

The latter bit though: Numerous mod teams fail in exactly this way. If you're going the route of making something big and needing a team, try out a bunch of stuff then pick something you enjoy to develop your skills in. Have a thing that you definitely do, other than have ideas.

Ideally "game designer" is a job, but there are a lot of small teams that just cannot support one full time if they don't also do something else, like code, or design levels. That goes for non-commercial projects too. The capacity of one person to design can far outstrip the capacity of a small team to produce, which leads to all kinds of uncomfortable situations mainly ending in resentment or tears.

There are also too many posts that read "HAY GUYS I have kool idea for a kool gam I just need artists, coders, level designers, modelers, animators, a musician, and a sound effects guy so let me know thx".

Edited by Nachimir

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Depending on what you want to produce, a pen and paper might be the best place to start, leaving the technical aspects to those who might volunteer...

Pen and paper really isn't my forte as far as artistic skills go, I'm actually just looking to be able to do it all, technical stuff included.

As well as for Super Friendship Club, this year I've heard a lot of love for Stencyl, including, from a programmer, "It's like GameMaker but it doesn't suck".

Also, play a fuckton of other tiny indie games. Collectively, @retroremakes, @realnoyb, and @terrycavanagh are an excellent starting point for that on Twitter, because they tweet a lot about other people's interesting games as well as their own.

I'd love to check out Stencyl actually, sounds like it would fit in great for what I (and probably a lot of other people) would like to do.

I also really need to play more indie games, I have two of the humble bundles and a lot of love for Terraria, but I need to get around to playing them more. These are people I will check out.

The latter bit though: Numerous mod teams fail in exactly this way. If you're going the route of making something big and needing a team, try out a bunch of stuff then pick something you enjoy to develop your skills in. Have a thing that you definitely do, other than have ideas.

Ideally "game designer" is a job, but there are a lot of small teams that just cannot support one full time if they don't also do something else, like code, or design levels. That goes for non-commercial projects too. The capacity of one person to design can far outstrip the capacity of a small team to produce, which leads to all kinds of uncomfortable situations mainly ending in resentment or tears.

There are also too many posts that read "HAY GUYS I have kool idea for a kool gam I just need artists, coders, level designers, modelers, animators, a musician, and a sound effects guy so let me know thx".

Yeah, I understand that for a lot of people, ideas does not equate to inclination. I really didn't want to come through like that in this thread/post as I realise that when you spend so long making a game, you can't just give up half way through. If anything, art is my weakest subject, though I may mess around with art styles that suit me more, or I may grab a friend to help out with that.

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Pen and paper really isn't my forte as far as artistic skills go, I'm actually just looking to be able to do it all, technical stuff included.

I think you missed what I was suggesting by: Completely. I was talking more about game design, not artistic skills. I would personally advise, and this is coming from a position of no experience whatsoever, so I could be very wrong, to start your game design on paper - not in an IDE. In other words if you can figure out what your game needs before you start with the technical work, you can try to stop wasting time developing things you don't need.

You might just want to get your fingers dirty.

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Hey. You could try downloading AGS to mess around in - it's a free engine in which you can make some pretty solid 2D stuff.

http://www.adventuregamestudio.co.uk/

Also, I second using pen and paper! If you have ever played a tabletop RPG or the like, you'll understand that it can actually be a very amazing, immersive experience with absolutely no art required at all. I once played a game of Vampires: The Masquerade that blew my mind. Designing the gameplay mechanics, balancing everything and creating rules - it's actually some pretty complex stuff, and great fun to get your teeth into and try get to grips with :D

Check out some of the rulebooks of games like Vampires - gameplay at its core. Sweet!

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Yes, TP and Yufster speak truth. Pen and paper are excellent tools for playing around with ideas. Not only do they help you avoid getting distracted by tech, they also take you well away from the distractions of the internet. When it comes to design, you can get properly absorbed in a notebook :tup:

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Thank you all for the support, I'll definitely be looking into AGS for a little while while I wrap my head around it, and I have a notepad with which I have already jotted down some ideas and what my head dubs to be 'screenshots' of an intended game.

I'm starting to think that 2D is a much better avenue for the kind of games I wish to develop, I think it gives games a certain degree of linearity that many 3D games don't offer, obviously this makes sense in a massive RPG such as The Elder Scrolls, but I definitely don't intend to make an Elder Scrolls at this point in time.

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This is an interesting subject, and a huge one too.

My suggestion (and what I've done to some extent) is to take a game you enjoy with a solid editor and then start working with that. Figuring out what works within the context of the game's systems and mechanics as well as what you enjoy creating.

I had loads of fun trying to create detective stories with unusual narration in low-scale but high-density settings for Neverwinter Nights. I usually got sidetracked by the first alley or house or so, but the potential was there!

By taking this route you don't have to create your own assets and can focus on gameplay, narrative etc. and ultimately gives you more time to "just design." If you do want to learn to model/texture/animate that can also easily be done - just look at forums like Polycount for advice!

I hope this helps!

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