My goal in life has always been to make video games and give kids, teens and maybe even adults the same experience that I received as a kid and teen playing video games. Making frag videos has really only been a hobby, and while I still have some interest in keeping it a hobby, it's not really something I want to take and branch out to something more serious with.
There's a problem, however. I have absolutely no ideas of where to start learning what I need to know to make this happen. Coding... programming... whatever it is that comes first, or even last. I have no idea where to start.
Anyone want to spare some time and give me a hand figuring out what I should do/where I should start?
My goal in life has always been to make video games and give kids, teens and maybe even adults the same experience that I received as a kid and teen playing video games. Making frag videos has really only been a hobby, and while I still have some interest in keeping it a hobby, it's not really something I want to take and branch out to something more serious with.
There's a problem, however. I have absolutely no ideas of where to start learning what I need to know to make this happen. Coding... programming... whatever it is that comes first, or even last. I have no idea where to start.
Anyone want to spare some time and give me a hand figuring out what I should do/where I should start?
just do basic tutorials and make your own things
flash games are pretty easy to start making, that's where developers like solgryn started (he made i wanna be the boshy and has a greenlit game coming to steam right now)
he's also like 18 years old, but he started with making flash games and branched out
don't try to take on a huge project, just think of some simple games like pong and try to emulate it with what you already know about how it works and build up from there with each game you make
to get better at coding you can take courses at codeacademy and work your way up from there too
tl;dr the best way to learn how to code and develop games is to keep doing it until you get better at it
it's how a lot of indie devs get started
just do basic tutorials and make your own things
flash games are pretty easy to start making, that's where developers like solgryn started (he made i wanna be the boshy and has a greenlit game coming to steam right now)
he's also like 18 years old, but he started with making flash games and branched out
don't try to take on a huge project, just think of some simple games like pong and try to emulate it with what you already know about how it works and build up from there with each game you make
to get better at coding you can take courses at codeacademy and work your way up from there too
tl;dr the best way to learn how to code and develop games is to keep doing it until you get better at it
it's how a lot of indie devs get started
Learn programming in general first. Learn about using APIs second, this'll be really fast. Learn some game engine structure third (this is actually a touchy subject in the game dev community lately, with all sorts of fundamentally different ideas clashing). Learn how people handle game logic fourth -- anything goes, but it's nice to have an example. Now you're ready to make your own game, if you have the motivation.
If you don't want to handle the first three parts, game maker and stencyl are legitimate options. It would be pretty hard to make a 3d game or a high performance game, but even Gang Garrison was made in game maker.
Using Game Maker will slowly teach you the first three points I listed above, and the community is nice enough to share knowledge around. You can get a freeware version of GM here: http://auntiepixelante.com/?p=1240 (not piracy, just redistribution of an abandoned freeware version of the software -- read link for details)
If you use game maker, you can just use snippets that people post around on forums until you slowly figure out how they work through immersion. That's how I learned about game engine structure.
Learn programming in general first. Learn about using APIs second, this'll be really fast. Learn some game engine structure third (this is actually a touchy subject in the game dev community lately, with all sorts of fundamentally different ideas clashing). Learn how people handle game logic fourth -- anything goes, but it's nice to have an example. Now you're ready to make your own game, if you have the motivation.
If you don't want to handle the first three parts, game maker and stencyl are legitimate options. It would be pretty hard to make a 3d game or a high performance game, but even Gang Garrison was made in game maker.
Using Game Maker will slowly teach you the first three points I listed above, and the community is nice enough to share knowledge around. You can get a freeware version of GM here: http://auntiepixelante.com/?p=1240 (not piracy, just redistribution of an abandoned freeware version of the software -- read link for details)
If you use game maker, you can just use snippets that people post around on forums until you slowly figure out how they work through immersion. That's how I learned about game engine structure.
The better you are at learning, and the more patience you have, the more prepared you'll be to learn "actual" programming.
Check out Alice - it's a program teachers use to teach students the fundamentals of computer science, or the way that programming languages will interpret lines of code.
Once you learn that, I recommend getting into C# or Java. Depending on your will to learn by reading and doing, I'd recommend getting and reading a textbook, taking notes, and doing examples, when you have the time. Never hesitate to look up tutorials, but also don't just copy things straight from a video or article - learn concepts and understand the mechanics so you can implement them how you want to.
Foxjust do basic tutorials and make your own things
don't try to take on a huge project, just think of some simple games like pong and try to emulate it
to get better at coding you can take courses at codeacademy and work your way up from there too
All of that. CodeAcademy has free online courses that serve as previews to the given language / concept, and probably their courses (but enrollment is $29/month - I don't know the quality, but if you have the time and the drive, I'd say gopher it).
The better you are at learning, and the more patience you have, the more prepared you'll be to learn "actual" programming.
Check out [url=http://www.alice.org/index.php]Alice[/url] - it's a program teachers use to teach students the fundamentals of computer science, or the way that programming languages will interpret lines of code.
Once you learn that, I recommend getting into C# or Java. Depending on your will to learn by reading and doing, I'd recommend getting and reading a textbook, taking notes, and doing examples, when you have the time. Never hesitate to look up tutorials, but also don't just copy things straight from a video or article - learn concepts and understand the mechanics so you can implement them how you want to.
[quote=Fox]just do basic tutorials and make your own things
don't try to take on a huge project, just think of some simple games like pong and try to emulate it
to get better at coding you can take courses at codeacademy and work your way up from there too[/quote]
All of that. CodeAcademy has free online courses that serve as previews to the given language / concept, and probably their courses (but enrollment is $29/month - I don't know the quality, but if you have the time and the drive, I'd say gopher it).
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LvDvjMrWmUg
http://teamfortress.tv/thread/16061/?page=1
I did several streaming sessions before Mr Slin shut it down
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_fVz7xGhXzU
To echo #3's points about game maker, Hotline Miami, LUFTRAUSERS, and Nuclear Throne are all Game Maker games. It is very possible to make something fantastic with it.
(NB: Hotline Miami was eventually ported to Sony's Phyre Engine by a third party contractor, but it was originally game maker. The game maker version is still available alongside the Phyre version, and you get both when you download it on Steam.)
To echo #3's points about game maker, Hotline Miami, LUFTRAUSERS, and Nuclear Throne are all Game Maker games. It is very possible to make something fantastic with it.
(NB: Hotline Miami was eventually ported to Sony's Phyre Engine by a third party contractor, but it was originally game maker. The game maker version is still available alongside the Phyre version, and you get both when you download it on Steam.)
I used game maker a bunch when I was younger. I'd recommend it if you've never programmed anything. It has a pretty decent markup language with lots of potential.
I used game maker a bunch when I was younger. I'd recommend it if you've never programmed anything. It has a pretty decent markup language with lots of potential.
LangeTo echo #3's points about game maker, Hotline Miami, LUFTRAUSERS, and Nuclear Throne are all Game Maker games. It is very possible to make something fantastic with it.
(NB: Hotline Miami was eventually ported to Sony's Phyre Engine by a third party contractor, but it was originally game maker. The game maker version is still available alongside the Phyre version, and you get both when you download it on Steam.)
The original Spelunky was a GameMaker game as well.
[quote=Lange]To echo #3's points about game maker, Hotline Miami, LUFTRAUSERS, and Nuclear Throne are all Game Maker games. It is very possible to make something fantastic with it.
(NB: Hotline Miami was eventually ported to Sony's Phyre Engine by a third party contractor, but it was originally game maker. The game maker version is still available alongside the Phyre version, and you get both when you download it on Steam.)[/quote]
The original Spelunky was a GameMaker game as well.
Thank you all for the awesome responses!
I'm going to look into Game Maker and see what comes from it. Does anyone here have any experience with the RPG Maker that's on Steam? I'd like some feedback if possible. Thank you again!
Thank you all for the awesome responses!
I'm going to look into Game Maker and see what comes from it. Does anyone here have any experience with the RPG Maker that's on Steam? I'd like some feedback if possible. Thank you again!
RPG Maker with mods is amazing.
TF2: The Quest For Invite - Christmas 2015
RPG Maker with mods is amazing.
TF2: The Quest For Invite - Christmas 2015