I'm planning a game. This game to me would be awesome and very time consuming but, I have a problem with the knowledge and the programs that I must have. This game would be in arcade mode first and then gradually putting up detail like the 3-D graphics explosions and such. i want it to be RTS-Real Time Strateg, FPS-First Person Shooter, and Simulator almost like Spore but, I want the battlefields to be intense and such but, what programs do you think I need to have and how should I start it off.
Visual Studio and a beginner C++ book.
It sounds very ambitious - everything will take much longer than you are expecting. I would recommend working on something with a much smaller scope first. A common indie developer approach is to rapidly make a series of prototype games based on ideas that you think could turn out fun. Then you one which has worked well and expand upon it. This is also a good way to learn if you're new to programming or to a particular set of tools.
But anyway, if you're determined to go 3D then you might want to look at Torque or Ogre. These are game engines that you can adapt for your own use.
I like what you are saying but were would I get these and the visual studios program hasn't really worked out well for me with the drawing toolbar gone.
http://creators.xna.com/en-US/
xna is microsofts thing to help people develop games
it will show you what to download
forums for help
the language used is c#
thanx if anyone has any better ideas or more to add please do.
Unless you have experience in not only coding but designing, planning and developing software, it's safe to say that it's way overambitious. Sorry.
Start with something a lot smaller that lets you learn the tools, mainly, VS or at least the VS Express editions. C++ or C# seem to be the languages of choice, although if you want to go cross platform Java may be an alternative as well. Try 2d graphics first. Actually, try no graphics first, if you have no coding experience at all. If you're a real beginner (and it sounds like it), realtime and anything resembling AI will be a long while yet.
A simple top down scroller, the good old TRON lightbike, something like that, until you master the technology. And stay away from the so called 'Game Developer Kits' you often see for 50€ at the local computer store - learn the language, look for tutorials, look for good snippets of code you can copy, but try and understand what you do instead of just pasting complete solutions. If you're looking for the cause of bugs, you need to know which part of your code does exactly what and why it does it the way it is implemented.
But, get started! Don't ask around too long. Get an IDE (VS/Eclipse,/whatever) and just TRY what you can do! It's often more gratifying to try out some new tricks and find that stuff works and you can apply that to the next thing you want to try than setting unachievable goals from the get-go.
as a application/tool coder I aggree with all the caution suggestions, but the only way to find out if you can is to TRY. the people that look for answwers in books(students) often get left behind the current point in the area.
another old but true maxim is you have to learn, then DO and keep DO-ing till you succeed
harpo
True but, to say something I'm not an all out beginner. I know the coding base but, the only thing I have problems at times is that since I can't work on the gameing department everyday I forget alot of the codes and the bad part that I need are the varibles and such that you need for solutions on how things will be timed, moved, and so on. Thats all. But if you know of a site or a book orsomething that would be best suggested to look at or buy, because other than that the only way I'd be able to excel faster in the gamming era is if I had a teacher next to me to tell me my mistakes and give suggestions but,as you can see I don't.
If you already have any familiarity with C#, XNA is a very easy way to learn some basic development without needing to get into the really technical aspects (DirectX, timing, etc). However as XNA is basically an addon for Visual Studio, you will still need to have and be familiar with VS.
well theres a problem with the drawing toolbar that I'm supposed to have that alows me to make things spin and such without the variables but thats none existent.
If you're looking for a book, Game Coding Complete is usually heralded as a great one to be familiar with. You can get it a lot of places, but here's a link to the Amazon product page
Just make sure to research programming books before purchase... Most of them I have are worthless peices of junk.
sounds like you need help with scope. I mean I'm all for supporting large scope games (I mean, I'd be a hypocrit if I didn't) but
"i want it to be RTS-Real Time Strateg, FPS-First Person Shooter, and Simulator almost like Spore" is... well... damn! That is a TON of work. AAA titles have a hard time getting cross-genre games to work, and they've got teams of 30+ people working 3 years to pull this stuff off. I just came back from a discussion from Big Huge Games talking about how hard it was just to have RTS and RPG together.
So I'm not saying don't do it, just be careful to limit yourself. Esepecially for a 1st project, its better to have what is called a 'verticle slice' where you take 1 aspect of the game. A very small 1 aspect, like say a single level and single gameplay mechanic, then do just that. If you want a first person shooter part, do just that. if you want a real time strategy part, do just that. Only once you've mastered at least 1 game play mechanic, should you even consider doing a 2nd. chances are, by the time you finish the 1 you'll realize how much better you are now from when you started, and you'll want to do it all over again! At least at that point you'll have something. If you try to do a RTS, FPS, Sim game and you don't focus on 1 thing at a time, then you'll more likely end up with a lot of nothing.
anyway, thats my advice.
Great suggetsions above. it seem most games are were done in C++ and many good tools recommended above. Here is one place i heard of but havnt tried... maybe it might help you get a head start, even if serious developers probably wouldnt use them..
www.thegamecreators.com
www.fpscreatorx10.com
thank you all I will look at this later on this week and ask further questions on this post but, if you have any more suggestions like the animation part on how to make a 3d figure move would be gratefully appreciated.
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