I'm gonna make a damn game. Join me.

  • Thread starter Deleted member 10571
  • Start date
D

Deleted member 10571

Unconfirmed Member
Hi.

After reading yet another topic about female protagonists in gaming and how apparently many people think the situation at hand is perfectly fine, while I think it absolutely isn't, I decided I'll try to help. This is not the topic of the thread though, here's what is:

I have absolutely no idea about programming. I do know how to use FLStudio on a beginner level, I'm somewhat able to draw crude comic characters and I played a shitton of point& click adventure games back in the days. I tried to create a game with some fellow gaffers once but sadly the project fell apart after we set up a working demo, partially because I was an egoistic ass at times.

I once checked out some adventure creation software like AGS and Visionaire, but that has been a while and even then I just played around with it, with no aim or reason.

I will start this weekend checking in on these programs again and thinking about actual setting/story ideas. My general idea so far is a world of tiny tiny people-like creatures living in places under our noses, the garden, next to the street, etc. Specifically I'm thinking of a girl with a matchstick torch in a cave full of things like bottle caps, and I'll probably keep that as sort of an idea blueprint.

I have absolutely no idea if I can keep interest up for longer than a day, but I kinda always wanted to do my own game and why not now.

Anyone else who never did this joining in with her or his own project so we can motivate each other and compare progress?

Edit oh god :D Guys guys, I don't want to sound like an ass, but I'm not asking you to help working on this particular game. I do want to do _this_ project on my own for now, just to see how far I can go. What I'm asking for though is everyone to start their own projects too, so we can compare progress and keep motivating each other :) I'm super sorry if I didn't explain this part well enough and if this is disappointing to anyone.
 
A

Atomski

Member
I keep thinking about trying to make a game. Ive started learning blender to do 3D stuff. Thing is though when it comes to time its either mess with blender or play a game. Kinda hard to give up gaming to make a game lol.
 
LordRaptor

LordRaptor

Member
Make this a game jam and I'm in (depending on when you schedule it for).
Post in the GAF indie thread for more 'people what can and do make games' interest too if I were you.
 
K

KJRS_1993

Member
Oh man.
While I'm not saying you can't, what I will say is it seems you're severely underestimating the commitment required.
 
A

Adam_Roman

Member
I can do art stuff and I've been looking for a project to get involved with before buckling down and working on my own stuff. PM me if you're interested and I'll send some of my 2D and 3D work.
 
D

Dusk Golem

A 21st Century Rockefeller
I won't discourage you, in fact we live in an era where if you want to make a game, the only thing really stopping you is yourself and ability to pick up on things.

However, and this is my severe recommendation: Minimalize your concept, keep it simple, do something that excites you, find a way to keep yourself motivated, and realize your first game is never going to be your best game. I've been releasing a few small games on Steam, and they've been surprisingly getting very good response, despite my severe limitations as a developer, but I've been getting better. Been making small games since 2012, released my first game onto Steam last August with surprisingly good response (and have released a second game to positive response, and working hard right now on my third project as we speak), but again, I have severe limitations as a developer. You just gotta work with what you have.

Making a game is not easy, let alone a super ambitious game. I would highly, HIGHLY recommend start with something simple, something really simple, and build on it. If it's a bigger community project, I can contribute one or two things, but I do have my hands full with my own stuff. If you want to go for it, then go for it. Decide which engine best fits what you want to do and works well with your inexperience. But know this is not something to be decided lightly.

This said, I am interested to see where this goes.
 
TriAceJP

TriAceJP

Member
First, plan and draw out what you want to do. Make sketches of concepts that Show what it will look like in action.

Secondly, choose an engine. I wouldn't recommend starting on your own, not until you understand what it does. It also saves a massive amount of time and a lot of major ones can support just about anything you have in mind. Picking 2D versus 3D is important.

Once you get that engine, just play around in it. Make stupid little games. Make tic tac toe. Recreate Mario 1-1 with simple sprites. Get used to the way it works. Add more and more details. Add new features.

Once you do this, start bringing your game to life. It's no easy task. It'll probably take years and a lot of free time if you do it solo.

Also, don't hinge the game on 'having a female protagonist'. Don't highlight it at all. Having it as a bullet point for game features would ruin the sentiment. Let the character be natural.
 
autoduelist

autoduelist

Member
Bufbaf said:
Hi.

After reading yet another topic about female protagonists in gaming and how apparently many people think the situation at hand is perfectly fine, while I think it absolutely isn't, I decided I'll try to help. This is not the topic of the thread though, here's what is:

I have absolutely no idea about programming. I do know how to use FLStudio on a beginner level, I'm somewhat able to draw crude comic characters and I played a shitton of point& click adventure games back in the days. I tried to create a game with some fellow gaffers once but sadly the project fell apart after we set up a working demo, partially because I was an egoistic ass at times.

I once checked out some adventure creation software like AGS and Visionaire, but that has been a while and even then I just played around with it, with no aim or reason.

I will start this weekend checking in on these programs again and thinking about actual setting/story ideas. My general idea so far is a world of tiny tiny people-like creatures living in places under our noses, the garden, next to the street, etc. Specifically I'm thinking of a girl with a matchstick torch in a cave full of things like bottle caps, and I'll probably keep that as sort of an idea blueprint.

I have absolutely no idea if I can keep interest up for longer than a day, but I kinda always wanted to do my own game and why not now.

Anyone else who never did this joining in with her or his own project so we can motivate each other and compare progress?
Click to expand...

Can't wait to see the results!
 
B

BroBot

Member
Subscribing, OP. Any more details on the girl protagonist incase people want to do a few sketches? Basic things like hair color, clothing style and such? Some enemy details would be nice too.
 
D

Deleted member 10571

Unconfirmed Member
tintin1029 said:
That's a really cool idea, OP.

Can't think of the last time a game did that kind of concept.
Click to expand...
Honestly can't tell if you're being sarcastic lol

Alienous said:
If it gets made I'll buy a copy.
Click to expand...
I'll quote you on this
Dusk Golem said:
I won't discourage you, in fact we live in an era where if you want to make a game, the only thing really stopping you is yourself and ability to pick up on things.

However, and this is my severe recommendation: Minimalize your concept, keep it simple, do something that excites you, find a way to keep yourself motivated, and realize your first game is never going to be your best game. I've been releasing a few small games on Steam, and they've been surprisingly getting very good response, despite my severe limitations as a developer, but I've been getting better. Been making small games since 2012, released my first game onto Steam last August with surprisingly good response (and have released a second game to positive response, and working hard right now on my third project as we speak), but again, I have severe limitations as a developer. You just gotta work with what you have.

Making a game is not easy, let alone a super ambitious game. I would highly, HIGHLY recommend start with something simple, something really simple, and build on it. If it's a bigger community project, I can contribute one or two things, but I do have my hands full with my own stuff. If you want to go for it, then go for it. Decide which engine best fits what you want to do and works well with your inexperience. But know this is not something to be decided lightly.

This said, I am interested to see where this goes.
Click to expand...

Thank you a lot for your insight! Same for everyone else!

TriAceJP said:
o
Also, don't hinge the game on 'having a female protagonist'. Don't highlight it at all. Having it as a bullet point for game features would ruin the sentiment. Let the character be natural.
Click to expand...

Yeah that came out wrong. It's just that discussion that helped my decision, its not supposed to be a "selling point" or the crux of the thing in any way.

Imma share any sketches etc I'll make, for now I'll figure out what software best suits my needs .
 
T

tintin1029

Member
Bufbaf said:
Honestly can't tell if you're being sarcastic lol
Click to expand...

I guess I'm just really bad at knowing videogames.

Bufbaf said:
Yeah that came out wrong. It's just that discussion that helped my decision, its not supposed to be a "selling point" or the crux of the thing in any way.

Imma share any sketches etc I'll make, for now I'll figure out what software best suits my needs .
Click to expand...

Yeah, most ideas come from the smallest little thing that sounds cool to you, and you build the game around it until the big picture can stand on it's own.
 
S

StoneFox

Member
You need to ask the basic questions, how does it play? Would I need a tutorial to explain it? Is it 3D, 2D or something in between? What would be the average length? In terms of scope, how much would I be willing to drop if I need to push release or focus on a different feature? How dependent would I be on visuals, or would the game be fine on prototyping for a while? What platforms will I release on and what are the strengths and weaknesses of that platform? What are the fees and terms of service for releasing on said platforms? If the game is for a profit, how is the monetization going to work? What engine would be the best to tackle this project and what language(s) does it work with? If I could explain the game in two sentences, what would they be?

There are many more from there. Pre-production is a very important first step before you even make your first primitive.

> coming from someone who took seven months to make a game originally planned for two.
 
J

Jacksinthe

Banned
Join us in DevGAF!

http://m.neogaf.com/showthread.php?t=965454

For starters - I knew nothing about programming. Studied with freebie books on my own years ago and now I have opened my own studio with a couple of devs from around he globe and we are partnered with Sony, MS and Nintendo. Our current game is set to release on PS4 and PC :D

Good luck!
 
D

Deleted member 10571

Unconfirmed Member
StoneFox said:
You need to ask the basic questions, how does it play? Would I need a tutorial to explain it? Is it 3D, 2D or something in between? What would be the average length? In terms of scope, how much would I be willing to drop if I need to push release or focus on a different feature? How dependent would I be on visuals, or would the game be fine on prototyping for a while? What platforms will I release on and what are the strengths and weaknesses of that platform? What are the fees and terms of service for releasing on said platforms? If the game is for a profit, how is the monetization going to work? What engine would be the best to tackle this project and what language(s) does it work with? If I could explain the game in two sentences, what would they be?

There are many more from there. Pre-production is a very important first step before you even make your first primitive.

> coming from someone who took seven months to make a game originally planned for two.
Click to expand...

As I said, I already did plan, and worked on creating, a complete game together with a handful of GAF peeps, which also was a point'n'click. This helped a lot in getting a better picture of the work that's needed for game design, graphics and sound alone, which are the parts I've been involved in. What's completely new is the actual dev work and programming, which I hope will be managable with a good non-script (or just-a-little-scripting) adventure game maker.

I might be absolutely and utterly wrong though :D

Here's what I can answer so far from your list:

- Point'n'click adventure a'la Lucas Arts/Sierra/etc
- Only very basic tutorial if even that
- 2D
- About 20 minutes to half an hour if you know what to do I guess.
- Scope as of my general idea would be 20-30 screens max, some of them scrollable but only few.
- Prototyping is fine and will probably happen a lot.
- Didn't think at all about marketing, publishing, monetization, and probably won't for a while.

- "A light-hearted and fun slice-of-life adventure happening right under our feet. A game for kids and grown-ups alike."


Edit: I will surely not start a game jam, oh god. WAY too unprofessional for that, and I wouldn'T have any idea how to even start that in the first place.
 
J

Jobbs

Banned
Spring Drive said:
What's a game jam?
Click to expand...

crazy people work non stop to make some kind of game all at once typically over a few days. It's usually set up as a friendly competition and has a theme established (like, make a game about cowboys, or whatever).

not worth it IMO, but some people love it
 
A

Alexm92

Member
Jacksinthe said:
Join us in DevGAF!

http://m.neogaf.com/showthread.php?t=965454

For starters - I knew nothing about programming. Studied with freebie books on my own years ago and now I have opened my own studio with a couple of devs from around he globe and we are partnered with Sony, MS and Nintendo. Our current game is set to release on PS4 and PC :D

Good luck!
Click to expand...

Kudos man. That's some achievement.

As for the game, ill buy a copy if it gets made. I don't think I'd add much as I am just a pre second year computer programmer.
 
J

Jobbs

Banned
tintin1029 said:
I could see people that are good at making games having fun doing that.
Click to expand...

You need to crunch the whole time and it's pretty intense, and the end result is typically going to be kind of a minimal/shitty game because making a polished or nice game usually takes much longer.

Just not worth the effort IMO but some people enjoy the novelty or the community aspect
 
LordRaptor

LordRaptor

Member
Spring Drive said:
What's a game jam?
Click to expand...

You come up with a theme, you come up with a time limit, you make a game using that theme within that time limit.

e:
Jobbs said:
You need to crunch the whole time and it's pretty intense, and the end result is typically going to be kind of a minimal/shitty game because making a polished or nice game usually takes much longer.

Just not worth the effort IMO but some people enjoy the novelty or the community aspect
Click to expand...

A lot of that is based on how tight the time limit is.
Like, a week long Jam, you can make something pretty nice as a prototype. A month long Jam you can make something pretty well polished. A 4 hour Jam, you're lucky to get animations or sound.
 
D

Deleted member 10571

Unconfirmed Member
Oh boy I seem to have worded my OP poorly, so I edited this in:


Guys guys, I don't want to sound like an ass, but I'm not asking you for help working on this particular game. I do want to do _this_ project on my own for now, just to see how far I can go. What I'm asking for though is everyone to start their own projects too, so we can compare progress and keep motivating each other :) I'm super sorry if I didn't explain this part well enough and if this is disappointing to anyone.

End of edit.

Again, I _really_ don't want to come off wrong here, I couldn't disappoint another dev team so this one I'll do on my own. I am however incredibly thankful for any advice, idea bouncing and whatever else comes to mind!

Aw man now I feel bad.
 
kamineko

kamineko

Does his best thinking in the flying car
I did some experiments with Inform years ago, but that probably won't be a lot of help.

I writes pretty good, though, if you need help with creating or proofing text and/or scenario planning.


orthodoxy1095 said:
Still waiting for Dudebro: My Shit Is Fucked Up So I Got to Shoot/Slice You II: It's Straight-Up Dawg Time
Click to expand...

Funniest thing I've seen all day, no lie
 
D

Deleted member 10571

Unconfirmed Member
kamineko said:
I writes pretty good, though, if you need help with creating or proofing text and/or scenario planning.
Click to expand...

Right, when it ever comes to proofing, I will definitively need GAF's help lol. My English is far, far from perfect.
 
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