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Is it worth trying to learn side scrolling game design nowadays?
jakemud
Registered User regular
Registered User regular
One of my favorite video game genres is the side scrolling platformer. Nowadays though, there's pretty slim pickings. Hell, even 3D platformers aren't that prevalent either. This is obviously a pretty big forum, I was hoping that someone who works or has worked designing side scrolling platformers would offer their opinions. Specifically:
-The type of tools/software that you used (and what your recommendations are for someone who wants to learn)
-The process that you go through during an average day's work.
-Any additional tips/advice for an aspiring side scrolling level designer.
Thanks in advance!
-The type of tools/software that you used (and what your recommendations are for someone who wants to learn)
-The process that you go through during an average day's work.
-Any additional tips/advice for an aspiring side scrolling level designer.
Thanks in advance!
jakemud on
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indie games like super meat boy and dustforce are proof that the genre is far from dead, but aside from hijinks and capers like Tim Schafer's million dollar day, the chances of you getting paid by someone else to make a game in a "traditionally" unprofitable genre are pretty low.
Now is the BEST time to get into game design. Never before have there been so many options and free tools for budding designers to get their work published. Not only that, gamers are more accepting than ever of various art styles, so you don't necessarily need to be a professional artist to get your game done.
Now, I primarily work on the art side of things, so that's where all my suggestions are going to come from.
My suggestion for platform would be either iOS or XBLIG (XNA). Both are super cheap to get a license for (around $100) and while there is an approval process, it's not like scoring a publishing deal with a major publisher. If you finish your game and it isn't a broken mess, you're going to get it published on either of these channels without too much additional effort.
Tools wise... it depends on what your goals are. 2D or 3D? What do you want to contribute to this project? What skills do you have? You really should team up with a partner at the very least. One person covering art, the other the programming. Doing it all yourself is extremely difficult and you're more likely to never finish without help, especially if it's your first time! Don't bite off more than you can chew. Keep it simple! I've had far too many projects crash and burn early on because they were just too ambitious for my level.
I personally work primarily with 3D software, so that's what I'd suggest. I use UDK. It's free up until you generate $50k in revenue, then you pay royalties. I started with Unreal 2 in school, so I have a bit of experience... but UDN is a treasure trove of information. YouTube has TONS of tutorials and the community for UDK is fantastically helpful.
Personally, I haven't worked with Unity, but I hear great things about it as well.
As far as software, Blender is a free 3D application that works with UDK and Unity. I used it a bit forever ago, but moved onto Maya when I went to college. There's also 3DSMax which is the most popular 3D application in the industry right now. Both Maya and 3DSMax come with a hefty license cost however.
All that said, if you're going to be working on a side-scroller platformer and you're not shooting for a 2.5D look, you may want to consider using Flash. It find it easier to learn than 3D applications.
If you're going to do this, get started right away. If you're asking this sort of question you're already motivated, so take advantage of that and never let your motivation go. A body in motion tends to stay in motion, while a body at rest tends to stay at rest. Once you get that ball rolling it will get easier with time.
Make sure you plan everything on paper before you start on the computer side of things. Pre-production is the most important aspect of game design. Capture your imagination and excitement early on and write/draw it down. Your enthusiasm for any given project is likely to wane as time goes on and having everything planned out prior to the design phase will keep you on track. Trust me on this one. You don't want to be trying to make important decisions down the line when your mind is fragmented and tired from staring at vertices and edges all day.
Above all, keep in mind that while playing games is fun, making them is hard work and will require a huge time investment. It is fun and rewarding in it's own right but it's not easy. Don't get discouraged if you feel like you're behind the curve or not performing at the level you feel you should be at. Whenever I feel like I'm not good enough, I look at other games made by indy designers to remind myself that I can do this. It's funny how inspirational shovelware can be. :P
Check this site: http://www.gamasutra.com/ There's lots of resources for game designers there. You have to dig a bit, but it's there.
Hopefully I helped you out here. There's quite a few successful game designers who are members of this forum, they likely have some better information than I. If you search you'll find similar threads to this one with responses from them that likely have more answers for you.
Good luck!
If you really want to make a platformer, just go for it. I'm currently making one, in the sense that I'm designing characters and sketching out key frames for sprite animations. Work is slow, as I'm doing it in my free time (much of which gets eaten up by playing too many games), but it's something I want to do.
As for tools, it really depends on your level of expertise. Can you program? If not, look for something like Game Maker or Construct. Just dive in, get better over time and strive to make a game that you'd want to play.
Thanks for the awesome response! Was pretty helpful.
And yes, I'm also curious about tools, specifically 2D tools. I messed around a bit with Lunar Magic, but I'm looking for more.
Well some of the best selling games of this generation are 2D platformers. Then again, Nintendo might not be hiring.
(Please do not gift. My game bank is already full.)
In short, it's not a waste of time learning to make 2D games.
As an example, Super Meat Boy passed the million sales mark back in January, and their other 2D game (not a platformer) Binding of Isaac just reached the 450k mark. And those are fairly unusual games, either thematically or in design (or both).
There are about a zillion examples of 2D games selling well on mobile, but Super Meat Boy was the best example of a 2D scrolling platformer that I could come up with on-hand with sales numbers.
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I'd also love to recommend Pygame, but there are better things out there now.
It all depends on what you're trying to do. I never got into Source, but have been working with Unreal for awhile now. If you're just tinkering with level design and thinking of doing an FPS style mod you can get up and going fairly quickly. When I first started learning I was able to make a decent little level in my first night with just BSP brushes. The Mastering Unreal books are simply amazing if you can find them (even if they are a little dated). If you can get your hands on a copy you could get the skills to start making your own levels in a weekend easily. It's when you start diving in and wanting the engine to do something other than FPS that things get complicated.
The one major hangup here is that unless you want to be the dude who works completely with the engine and have an artist supplying you with assets you're going to have to learn a 3D application. You can only do so much with BSP brushes... you'll need to learn Maya/3DSMax/Blender to make static/skeletal meshes.
Personally, I love working with Unreal. Moving from 3D app, to engine, to play testing is quick and seamless once you get the pipeline down. Being able to get my game going on an iPhone with relative ease excites me beyond words. What I like best is that I know that the skills I learn with this engine will be relevant for a long time yet. It's going to be used in the next gen... heck, it pretty much already is the next gen (Samaritan). Epic is just waiting on the hardware to catch up.
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