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i have an infection in my butt, a game design infection

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Posts

  • AntimatterAntimatter Devo Was Right Gates of SteelRegistered User regular

    game design =/= programming

    though you need to know how to speak programmer

    yeah

  • MeldingMelding Registered User regular
    being fast at coding isn't really a skill you need to have. so long as you can get some kind of prototype together you can get people interested. they might even want to help.

    right now my coding ability is at roughly just enough to be dangerous, but not enough to get anything done. but boy am i good at logicing programs out.

  • BallmanBallman Registered User regular
    Hey! Hey. I want to make games. I have an engineering degree but my coding background is like 75% self-taught. I shouldn't be allowed to do an art. What's a good tool/programming environment to get started with making games?

  • OrikaeshigitaeOrikaeshigitae Registered User, ClubPA regular
    Ballman wrote: »
    Hey! Hey. I want to make games. I have an engineering degree but my coding background is like 75% self-taught. I shouldn't be allowed to do an art. What's a good tool/programming environment to get started with making games?

    http://inform7.com/

  • FishmanFishman Put your goddamned hand in the goddamned Box of Pain. Registered User regular
    Yes. Design =/= programming. I wasn't very clear about that in my post, but I get to be one of those people for whom thought can become action, so I switch from one to the other when I get into a creating groove. The two are entwined for me.

    X-Com LP Thread I, II, III, IV, V
    That's unbelievably cool. Your new name is cool guy. Let's have sex.
  • BallmanBallman Registered User regular
    Ballman wrote: »
    Hey! Hey. I want to make games. I have an engineering degree but my coding background is like 75% self-taught. I shouldn't be allowed to do an art. What's a good tool/programming environment to get started with making games?

    http://inform7.com/

    I see. Based on what I see here, this is mostly text-based? I had the idea that I'd be doing things graphically anyway even though my art skills are poor, but my idea doesn't really need it. I may give this a shot and see if it fits. That said, do you know of a good starting environment for something a little more graphically inclined? I'm not afraid to do some more traditional programming.

  • ButtlordButtlord Fornicus Lord of Bondage and PainRegistered User regular
    hello yes

    i am an

    ideas man

  • OrikaeshigitaeOrikaeshigitae Registered User, ClubPA regular
    Ballman wrote: »
    Ballman wrote: »
    Hey! Hey. I want to make games. I have an engineering degree but my coding background is like 75% self-taught. I shouldn't be allowed to do an art. What's a good tool/programming environment to get started with making games?

    http://inform7.com/

    I see. Based on what I see here, this is mostly text-based? I had the idea that I'd be doing things graphically anyway even though my art skills are poor, but my idea doesn't really need it. I may give this a shot and see if it fits. That said, do you know of a good starting environment for something a little more graphically inclined? I'm not afraid to do some more traditional programming.

    well, there's AGS and Ren-py. If you're trying to make a platformer or something, there's always Unity or the UDK.

  • MeldingMelding Registered User regular
    Buttlord wrote: »
    hello yes

    i am an

    ideas man

    you're a dime a dozen at best. Sorry mate.

    I got the same issue. get some skills to show off your ideas, make people care about them.

  • ButtlordButtlord Fornicus Lord of Bondage and PainRegistered User regular
    Melding wrote: »
    Buttlord wrote: »
    hello yes

    i am an

    ideas man

    you're a dime a dozen at best. Sorry mate.

    I got the same issue. get some skills to show off your ideas, make people care about them.

    it was a Joking

  • TenTen Registered User regular
    I am not a game designer, though I have ideas for games. If I learned more game design, I could probably get closer to making them a reality, because then I could code up a prototype and start iterating. I get frustrated too quickly though, and need people to bounce ideas off and to give me art, because I lost motivation when I'm just looking at my dumb programmer art for weeks.

  • TenTen Registered User regular
    I could probably do great things if paired with a prolific 2D or 3D artist/animator, if somebody is throwing art at me then I love nothing better than to write the code to get it into a game.

  • AnosognosAnosognos Who wants to play video games?Registered User regular
    edited April 2012
    Antimatter wrote: »
    Antimatter wrote: »
    i wanted to be a game designer/work on games when i was in middle school

    but then i took some computer science classes, among other things, and realized I couldn't code

    and if I couldn't code, how much could I really do

    how did that realization occur

    i kind of marvel at the idea of anyone going 'i can't learn a skill'

    i tried and i tried and i tried but i couldn't make myself learn

    my brain wouldn't store any of the guidelines for coding, word order, keywords, and I couldn't figure out how to do even the basics which the rest of the students could do

    i tried my damnedest and i just couldn't do it

    This is absolutely a thing that happens.

    In high school, I had a mental block that kept me from being able to write all but the most basic programs. I would have to look up syntax for literally every line I wrote. When a program wouldn't compile or didn't work as intended, I had no idea where to even begin looking for problems. I simply couldn't wrap my brain around it. This wasn't due to lack of effort. I worked harder in that class than any other but made poorer grades as well.

    In my first job after college, I had an idea for some simple software that could make my non-programming job a lot easier. I taught myself some basic coding and wrote created something with some fairly complex logic with little trouble.

    I'd guess the mental block had to do with brain development. My then teenage brain simply wasn't ready for programming.

    Anosognos on
    Beemo_Controller.png
  • Kuribo's ShoeKuribo's Shoe Kuribo's Stocking North PoleRegistered User regular
    Ten wrote: »
    I am not a game designer, though I have ideas for games. If I learned more game design, I could probably get closer to making them a reality, because then I could code up a prototype and start iterating. I get frustrated too quickly though, and need people to bounce ideas off and to give me art, because I lost motivation when I'm just looking at my dumb programmer art for weeks.

    I lament the loss of punch rumble

    We were on to something!

    xmassig2.gif
  • TenTen Registered User regular
    Ten wrote: »
    I am not a game designer, though I have ideas for games. If I learned more game design, I could probably get closer to making them a reality, because then I could code up a prototype and start iterating. I get frustrated too quickly though, and need people to bounce ideas off and to give me art, because I lost motivation when I'm just looking at my dumb programmer art for weeks.

    I lament the loss of punch rumble

    We were on to something!

    I'm still determined to make a side scrolling beat 'em up one of these days, I think there's a lot of novelty still in the genre that could be tapped.

  • Kuribo's ShoeKuribo's Shoe Kuribo's Stocking North PoleRegistered User regular
    Ten wrote: »
    Ten wrote: »
    I am not a game designer, though I have ideas for games. If I learned more game design, I could probably get closer to making them a reality, because then I could code up a prototype and start iterating. I get frustrated too quickly though, and need people to bounce ideas off and to give me art, because I lost motivation when I'm just looking at my dumb programmer art for weeks.

    I lament the loss of punch rumble

    We were on to something!

    I'm still determined to make a side scrolling beat 'em up one of these days, I think there's a lot of novelty still in the genre that could be tapped.

    I agree!

    I recently played Mighty Final Fight, it's an nes game that's a really crude version of the stuff I wanted to do with Pumch Rumble. Comedy, RPG elements, etc

    let me know when you need a story guy!

    xmassig2.gif
  • FishmanFishman Put your goddamned hand in the goddamned Box of Pain. Registered User regular
    Also, @LaCabra, get in here and show off.

    X-Com LP Thread I, II, III, IV, V
    That's unbelievably cool. Your new name is cool guy. Let's have sex.
  • Brian KrakowBrian Krakow Registered User regular
    I have designed one game. It was pretty awful.

    Had fun making it though! Should probably try again, one of these days.

  • DarmakDarmak RAGE vympyvvhyc vyctyvyRegistered User regular
    Fishman wrote: »
    Also, @LaCabra, get in here and show off.

    @RainbowDespair and @slash000 should join in too.

    JtgVX0H.png
  • tuggatugga Makin' movies Makin' songsRegistered User regular
    what would you like to hear about

    the pace of the action in games seems to have slowed down quite a bit overall and shifted towards more of a narrative medium

    this isnt so bad, but why is it so hard to infuse fast paced gameplay like we had in the mid to late nineties with the newer engines?

    It seems as graphics engines get better, gameplay is slowing down. I havent played any of the madden/ncaa games since the PS2 because i cant stand how everything seems to be crawling through mud.

    basically what im asking is why doesnt anyone remake NFL blitz that feels true to the original(s)

  • tuggatugga Makin' movies Makin' songsRegistered User regular
    i got the half life pack during xmas off steam because i have never played those games

    i just started half life 1 recently, and from the looks of it its based off id tech 2. I just grew up playing games that were a bare bones environment filled with things that can kill you, and as technology has advanced it seems they are transforming things that can kill me into things that make the room look better. Prettier room, but less things to shoot. I understand there's an obvious give and take here, but how is that over time game designers have sacrificed so much core gameplay (ie shooting bad guys) in favor of aesthetics.

  • OrikaeshigitaeOrikaeshigitae Registered User, ClubPA regular
    tugga wrote: »
    i got the half life pack during xmas off steam because i have never played those games

    i just started half life 1 recently, and from the looks of it its based off id tech 2. I just grew up playing games that were a bare bones environment filled with things that can kill you, and as technology has advanced it seems they are transforming things that can kill me into things that make the room look better. Prettier room, but less things to shoot. I understand there's an obvious give and take here, but how is that over time game designers have sacrificed so much core gameplay (ie shooting bad guys) in favor of aesthetics.

    basically, game development is an unsustainably risky business, and by pursuing prettier graphics (partially driven by hardware sales & cross-promotion deals) and therefore assets which require more labor to produce, game budgets have ballooned to the point where appealing to the lowest common denominator is the only real option

    so, games are basically powerpoint slideshows with cutscenes interposed, save for a few mold-breaking studios doing things like dark souls and reaping the benefits

  • tuggatugga Makin' movies Makin' songsRegistered User regular
    i suppose this discussion would lead to the land of 'why do people with bad ideas make money' but

    it seems too many games get made that are either unnecessary sequels, or blatant design copies. I've had the opportunity to be involved with a small closed focus group where i work closely with some devs from a major dev, so ive sort of had a (very very) small peek at how some of the inner workings of a large game company works. Some of it really isnt that surprising, but again there is a lot that gets prioritized simply because it is fiscally reasonable in the short run, with almost no consideration in the long run.

    When Quake III was released, it came with 30 maps right out of the box. Battlefield 3 came with 9.

    I know that bf3 maps are quite more complex and detailed than q3a maps, but if you look closely at bf3, a lot of the buildings and brushes are recycled. I guess the question would be is how do you design a game that is fiscally reasonable while at the same time delivering quite a bit of value for $60.

    Maybe we need to stop paying $60 for the crap most devs put out. Hell bf3 was the first game i bought brand new for $60 in quite a long time. I'm not completely disappointed, it is a fun game; but i just find the experience forgettable. I play when i'm bored. When I was playing quake 3 competitively, i would think about playing while at work. I would come up with new ideas and strats while not playing.

    I find games like Shadow of the Colossus, Portal, Amnesia, and LIMBO have so much stock in the design of the game as opposed to the aesthetics, that the immersion is actually higher. Pretty much anyone with which i have a serious talk about games, i mention shadow of the colossus as i find that game to be a design masterpiece. Its that rare game that had all the knobs turned just right. To date it has sold 1.14 million copies worldwide. In comparison, MW3 has sold 13.86 million copies in six months. And it is virtually the same game as the other two.

  • Speed RacerSpeed Racer Scritch scratch scritch scratch scritch scratch scritch scratch scritch scratch scritch scratch scritch scratch scritch scratch scritch scratch scritch scratch scritch scratch scritch scratchRegistered User regular
    MW3 has a lot more universal appeal than SotC

    in one you get to be a badass soldier shooting bad guys and saving democracy

    in the other you get to be some guy with a sword, quietly traveling through a completely empty world on your horse and occasionally fighting a monster

  • AnzekayAnzekay Registered User regular
    edited April 2012
    am i seriously the only game designer on this forum, no way

    no way in hell

    Game Design is my area of study at university currently! So, no, you're not.

    I'm actually currently working on a dossier for the project I'm hoping to get started with some folks I know (from all over the place, including a few of the guys from the AusPax thread, hopefully!). I've had this really annoying luck when it comes to getting this started where every time I set aside some time to write this up I have something urgent pop up or I'm just so dead tired I can't focus enough to get it done properly.

    Regardless of that, what I can say so far is that it's going to be an RPG! Not sure exactly what sort of RPG yet, but of the guys I have been discussing this with so far we're thinking about having some sort of party mechanics so I'm considering having us give something like a Baldur's Gate style system a go. Or something like that, at least. We have a rough setting and premise, obviously needs a ton of refining and development, but so far it seems like a solid base to work with. Chances are we'll end up using the UDK, as there are a lot of things about it I like and I'm hoping it'll be an appropriate choice for what we want to do.

    The big thing though, is that even though I want us to design up a full game, we're only going to make some sort of demo or prologue or act 1 to begin with. Make it, refine it really well, and throw it onto the internet and see what the howling mobs thing of it. If it could be a thing, or even remotely a thing, then we can put some more serious effort into making the entire thing.

    Hopefully once I get this dossier sorted I'll talk some more about what we're up to here, and I'll probably set up a development blog or something anyway.

    The team is pretty decent so far too, though we're sort of spread all over the world so that may well get in the way a bit. We have some artists, some design folks, a dedicated writer, a musician/sound designer, some 3D graphics guys and a few people who can do some coding/scripting. I can't say more people would be a bad thing though, as for the most part everyone is going to be treating the project as a bit of a hobby, because almost all of us have full time work or study to juggle this with. So I'm expecting people to give what time they can, and we'll work with that. It's a fun learning experience, and a chance to make something we can all put into our portfolios.

    One thing I really am a bit stuck on though, is all the legal shenanigans. I've never been very good with legal stuff, and I have no idea what sort of things I need to look into in order to not only step on anyone else's toes, but also to protect our project and team from anything that might cause some issues. In fact, I really don't know too much about what sort of things I'd have to watch out for aside from the obvious things like copyright infringement etc Anyone know anything about that?

    Anzekay on
  • BallmanBallman Registered User regular
    tugga wrote: »
    i suppose this discussion would lead to the land of 'why do people with bad ideas make money' but

    it seems too many games get made that are either unnecessary sequels, or blatant design copies. I've had the opportunity to be involved with a small closed focus group where i work closely with some devs from a major dev, so ive sort of had a (very very) small peek at how some of the inner workings of a large game company works. Some of it really isnt that surprising, but again there is a lot that gets prioritized simply because it is fiscally reasonable in the short run, with almost no consideration in the long run.

    When Quake III was released, it came with 30 maps right out of the box. Battlefield 3 came with 9.

    I know that bf3 maps are quite more complex and detailed than q3a maps, but if you look closely at bf3, a lot of the buildings and brushes are recycled. I guess the question would be is how do you design a game that is fiscally reasonable while at the same time delivering quite a bit of value for $60.

    Maybe we need to stop paying $60 for the crap most devs put out. Hell bf3 was the first game i bought brand new for $60 in quite a long time. I'm not completely disappointed, it is a fun game; but i just find the experience forgettable. I play when i'm bored. When I was playing quake 3 competitively, i would think about playing while at work. I would come up with new ideas and strats while not playing.

    I find games like Shadow of the Colossus, Portal, Amnesia, and LIMBO have so much stock in the design of the game as opposed to the aesthetics, that the immersion is actually higher. Pretty much anyone with which i have a serious talk about games, i mention shadow of the colossus as i find that game to be a design masterpiece. Its that rare game that had all the knobs turned just right. To date it has sold 1.14 million copies worldwide. In comparison, MW3 has sold 13.86 million copies in six months. And it is virtually the same game as the other two.

    Love LIMBO. Played it through twice in two sittings the weekend I downloaded it.

    Another thing to think about is advertising. There's a reason campaigning politicians pour so much money into it--it works. Because of where the money sits, we are always inundated with ads for the latest shooter. In contrast, I'm not sure I ever saw a TV ad for Shadow of the Colossus. Then again, didn't Portal 2 get some solid air time? What were its sales like?

  • MaydayMayday Cutting edge goblin tech Registered User regular
    am i seriously the only game designer on this forum, no way

    no way in hell

    I am here.
    I am designing a game. I have a giant SDD already and it's only like 25% of the full game I have in mind.
    Problem is, I'd rather talk about specific game design decisions than "game design" in general. In fact I can hardly think of what would be appropriate AND interesting discussion for a general game design thread. It'd be very shallow and quick I imagine.
    But I guess we can try! When I have the time.

  • AnzekayAnzekay Registered User regular
    Well specific lines of discussion are just as valid as more general ones, I think. They're certainly much easier to apply directly to things.

  • UnbrokenEvaUnbrokenEva HIGH ON THE WIRE BUT I WON'T TRIP ITRegistered User regular
    hey

    hey

    Who wants a 270-part video tutorial on making an action RPG in Unity?

    I've got some sorely underused programming training under my belt, but every time I open up a new Unity project my brain seizes up trying to figure out where to start, even if all I want to make is a basic prototype. Hoping this will help both as a programming refresher and to give me ideas on how to structure a project.

  • LaCabraLaCabra MelbourneRegistered User regular
    Fishman wrote: »
    Also, @LaCabra, get in here and show off.

    oh, alright

    Hey dudes, I am a game developer, the first notable game I created was Shotgun Sunrise, which is a Source mod (a TOTAL CONVERSION, as they were once known) that was a community project on these here forums to which a whole bunch of people contributed odds and ends. Mostly it was me, @Remington, and @Slapdash, and also @thejazzman did some great stuff but most of it didn't get into a released version. It took about a year. Gabe Newell calls it the World's First Co-Op Zombie Western but I don't know if that's true or not. My favourite thing about it is how almost all the youtube videos of it were not made by us and are filled with dudes laughing non-stop.
    http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7F30PLCew1s
    After that everyone got super busy and couldn't do anything for a while so I made a custom Left 4 Dead 1 campaign which a lot of people think is the best one, even though the SDK got broken to the point where I couldn't finish it. The first two maps are out though and you can go play them. The attached flying Gabe Newell to Australia so he could playtest it thing is how I know that guy.
    Then we faffed about trying to make a game that was too big for us in a disorganised way for a while, then put that on hold, and started making a physics puzzle game on UDK for a bit, and then iOS support came out and we diverted for about four months onto a Shotgun Sunrise iOS game called Vroom. Here is James Benson talking about it.
    http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=n5laYLQjcrs
    It's temporarily fallen off the app store but it'll be back in a few days and you can go spend a dollar on it.

    Now we (some of the same guys from Shotgun Sunrise and Vroom, and also other guys) are back on that physics puzzle game, and I just recently got funding from Film Victoria so I'm able to work on it for money, and pay guys, and it's all very exciting and somewhat intimidating. Here is an old trailer for that game and a newer flythrough of some of the environments, and some concept art.
    http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yhqoalypkpY
    http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ODwW1n8pj80
    6955725126_83a55a7522_b.jpg
    6955725396_529c378419_b.jpg
    6959866484_e99f17718d_b.jpg
    6684324081_a0b0fb9b97_b.jpg

    sorry if this is an overlarge post, I merely come when the Fishman calls

  • MorivethMoriveth BREAKDOWN BREAKDOWN BREAKDOWN BREAKDOWNRegistered User regular
    What about Velociraptor Job Interview

  • MugginsMuggins Registered User regular
    Hot damn dude that looks awesome

    BdVvFJu.jpg
    hey satan...: thinkgeek amazon My post |
  • LaCabraLaCabra MelbourneRegistered User regular
    edited April 2012
    Moriveth wrote: »
    What about Velociraptor Job Interview
    Then we faffed about trying to make a game that was too big for us in a disorganised way for a while
    We'll probably still do something with that concept eventually as older and wiser men but it will be different.

    Also congratulations on baby dude. <3

    LaCabra on
  • MugginsMuggins Registered User regular
    Oh my god you're behind Velociraptor Job Interview?

    BdVvFJu.jpg
    hey satan...: thinkgeek amazon My post |
  • LaCabraLaCabra MelbourneRegistered User regular
    Simulator Pro

  • LaCabraLaCabra MelbourneRegistered User regular
    Also, Vroom just went back up on the app store so you can spend your dollar now.
    here it is

  • ButtlordButtlord Fornicus Lord of Bondage and PainRegistered User regular
    what do you model your games after

    i model mine after titties

  • LaCabraLaCabra MelbourneRegistered User regular
    asses. i feel our styles could be complimentary

  • LaCabraLaCabra MelbourneRegistered User regular
    Oh hey, I should actually post this in here: I'm looking for a modeller to pay to work for me for a bit, the catch is you have to live in Victoria, which is in Australia. This probably excludes all of you but what the hell.

  • DarricDarric Santa MonicaRegistered User regular
    Ken Levine (Thief, System Shock 2, Bioshock) and Amy Hennig (Legacy of Kain, Jak and Daxter, Uncharted) talk about game writing and creative directing:

    http://irrationalgames.com/insider/irrational-interviews-11-amy-hennig/

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