Codename - Incentive

[kronoscar]

Hey everyone.

I'm having this thread because I've seen the games that have surfaced lately and I'm really enjoying them.

Therefore, I want to make a game of my own, but I wanted to use an open source IDE or use a game engine without having licensing problems and so on...(maybe I'm just too paranoid about it)

Aaaanyway, I have the story all set, I've started writing it weeks ago. The only problem is, I don't know what to use to actually make the game.

As far as the gameplay goes, I want it to be a platformer with levelling opportunities to improve defence/attack/so on... I thought about using RPGmaker, but that's not really what I want. Menus tend to become a bit boring after a while.

The one that I'm thinking of using is GameMaker(HoundsOfBlade and Nanocrysis were made using that game engine), but I don't know if the lite version(free) actually has everything I need to start making the game.

I'm looking for advice and if you think the thread does not belong here, then I'll delete it or give details about the game. Thank you for reading and I hope you can give some good advice ^_^

 

[azurezero]

Re: A shout out to game developers...

Hey everyone.

I'm having this thread because I've seen the games that have surfaced lately and I'm really enjoying them.

Therefore, I want to make a game of my own, but I wanted to use an open source IDE or use a game engine without having licensing problems and so on...(maybe I'm just too paranoid about it)

Aaaanyway, I have the story all set, I've started writing it weeks ago. The only problem is, I don't know what to use to actually make the game.

As far as the gameplay goes, I want it to be a platformer with levelling opportunities to improve defence/attack/so on... I thought about using RPGmaker, but that's not really what I want. Menus tend to become a bit boring after a while.

The one that I'm thinking of using is GameMaker(HoundsOfBlade and Nanocrysis were made using that game engine), but I don't know if the lite version(free) actually has everything I need to start making the game.

I'm looking for advice and if you think the thread does not belong here, then I'll delete it or give details about the game. Thank you for reading and I hope you can give some good advice ^_^

download the gm8 demo and check then, take you ten minutes to figure it out if it's got a missing feature you need

 

[helhansen84]

Re: A shout out to game developers...

I want to make a game of my own

do you intend to finish this project? because it might take months/years to accomplish such things. a lot of people forget that, make a big announcement and then vanish into oblivion.

 

[kronoscar]

Re: A shout out to game developers...

Yes. I already know some programming and it won't be that hard on the programming part. The only part that is really tough right now is making sprites. Any good tutorial on how to do that effectively is really welcome.

Basically, I've been lurking for about two years and thinking about this idea for quite a while now.

I loved CoC(fenoxo), but some visual wouldn't hurt.

codename-incentive.blogspot.com/

That's the basic intro.

I've been researching for almost 2 weeks now, finding pros and cons to everything. The thing is, I could easily upgrade to full GameMaker, 40$ is not that big of a deal. More than 50$ might be...

But I want something that's easy and enjoyable to use, but also have flexibility in terms of adding personalised content. If it's not easy, I'll get over it, but the other two are a must. I'm not looking towards a HUGE game in the next month. Rome wasn't built in a day ^_^. But I'd like to have a playable demo by summer with at least one or two enemies in it

 

[BlueLight]

Re: A shout out to game developers...

Hey everyone.



Therefore, I want to make a game of my own, but I wanted to use an open source IDE or use a game engine without having licensing problems and so on...(maybe I'm just too paranoid about it)

Just because you used a IDE with your program, doesn't mean any company has any rights to your software. IDE's just help you program.

As for what you should use, if your going into a text based game i suggest java. It will allow some of the same support Flash provides like running inside a browser and on any desktop while also being simple enough for text based games. I would never dream of using a game maker of any type to do a text based game. RPG maker is about the only one i would try and that would end very well.

I likely have some old code that you could use. I request that you credit me and maybe link to my blog if you do... you know, so i can spam your players with google ads!... nothing ethically questionable here, no siry.

 

[Shinji62]

Re: A shout out to game developers...

Making a game yourself is a lot of work. Make sure you're prepared to spend at least a year in development, especially if you're working on it yourself. You'll also need to make sure you're a good enough artist, animator, musician, and programmer. Just a warning. I'm making games with RPG Maker, and devoting a giant chunk of my time to it, and it's still taken me over 3 months to make just over an hour of gameplay, and the art isn't done yet. That's also not having to do any concept artwork for any characters, since my game is using parodies of characters from other series. Since you seem to have trouble with the artistic side, I'd find an artist to help. Especially since art can take up just as much time, if not more time, than the programming.

Anyway, as for your engine, you'll have to make one yourself if you're really that paranoid.
Software that lets you develop games don't own anything you create, like RPG Maker and GameMaker. However, they generally have limitations in comparison to one you make yourself.
I used the trial version of GameMaker before moving on to RPG Maker, and while it seems to be pretty easy to use, and have a lot of useful tools. You'll have to buy it to really know for sure. The trial version didn't work properly with my computer though, which is apparently pretty common with Windows 7 users. So, I decided against it, since I couldn't properly test it out.

You could also try using Flash. You can make some pretty impressive stuff with it, if you know how to code.

 

[Magus]

Re: A shout out to game developers...

Thanks for the shout. I'm going back to college this year for Video Game Design. Please wish me luck! After I get done, I'll take a request or two right here from the ULMF forums

 

[kronoscar]

Re: A shout out to game developers...

Mhm, I see... Well, I'm a pretty good musician, no troubles there, concept artwork is fine, no troubles there either and programming is fine too. I guess I just have to work on animations harder than anything else...

Shinji, thanks for the advice. If I go into making a game engine myself, it's going to take me quite some time... but Java is pretty easy to use, so I don't see why not, even though it's going to take a lot of my time.

Actually, besides college, I plan to dedicate my hours into doing this game. So far, day in, day out, it's all I'm doing.

Right now though, I'm in the pre-production faze. I'm writing down all that's going to be in the game, drawing the character/character variations(you'll see what I mean by that).

Well, again, thank you everyone ^_^ I'm going to post updates to let you know what work I actually did and what I decided. So far, my mind is pretty set on Java, so I have to spend about one month on learning and actually making the game engine. So far, that seems to be the easy part

As for the music, you can expect awesomeness. I do pretty good stuff when it comes to that. Also, if anyone needs help with music, you can pm. I'll do it for free, as one piece(~3 minutes) with infinite loop just takes me about an hour or two. No big deal. I like making music .

Ok. That's about it for now. It's 2pm here, so I'll make another post when I go to sleep. Good luck on doing your games. Never give up! Never surrender!(unless you're playing a ror game and someone wants to rape you or something) ^_^

 

[BlueLight]

Re: A shout out to game developers...

Shinji, thanks for the advice. If I go into making a game engine myself, it's going to take me quite some time... but Java is pretty easy to use, so I don't see why not, even though it's going to take a lot of my time.

Well, again, thank you everyone ^_^ I'm going to post updates to let you know what work I actually did and what I decided. So far, my mind is pretty set on Java, so I have to spend about one month on learning and actually making the game engine. So far, that seems to be the easy part

okay, while i think java is just fine for a text game, i do think your going to have some trouble with more complex games. for instants i see problems with anything to do with files.

Basically the pissed off version as what the problem is, is this. The java community doesn't know what the F*** they're doing and so they have about 3 theories as to why Pictures or files in general aren't working. All of them saying that their reason is the correct one and there way is going to make it work.

I love java but it took me 3 months to figure out how to break convention and get a picture to load out side of a jar file. It took me the next 3 months of attempting to follow convention to figure out no one had any fricking clue what they were doing or saying.

Anyways, if you still have your heart stuck on java, i'll dig up some of my old codes to make your stay a better one. Besides, i need some one to test out some of the code i had written. I basically made a class for a game to manage pictures for me, and designed it for use in other programs i had plans to make.

 

[kronoscar]

Re: A shout out to game developers...

I'm... actually planning to do a hybrid game. I did enjoy visual novels for a while, but the standard for what I have in mind right now is much higher than that.

I'm planning on using mainly animations, not CGIs, but with a great storyline. I'm sure it's going to take a long time and the summer will already have passed before I'll even have a working demo with decent gameplay in it.

I plan on having a very interactive world. There will be quests, drama and suspense xD. I will have a battle system which I'm not decided if it should resemble more the pokemon style or a platformer, but you'll definitely have stats and probably a corruption/degradation meter going on.

Anyway, I'll pm you for the code or something if anything goes wrong. And thanks for the heads' up on the Java community.

 

[kronoscar]

Re: A shout out to game developers...

One more thing...

I need some advice on which programs I should use to make some artwork... digitally. So far, GIMP has been a bit of a pain, everything seems counter-intuitive. I'm just not used to drawing that much, that's all.

And by the way, it doesn't really matter if I know the actual workspace or not, I'll learn it. I just need to find an actually good one with which I can work. It's even better if it's free.

Also, if you happen to know a good environment for working on animations, that'd be great too.

 

[RainDrops]

Re: A shout out to game developers...

For making pixel sprites, I suggest using this one.

You must be registered to see the links

I haven't used it much but I think it's pretty good.

 

[UrineOnU]

Re: A shout out to game developers...

One more thing...

I need some advice on which programs I should use to make some artwork... digitally. So far, GIMP has been a bit of a pain, everything seems counter-intuitive. I'm just not used to drawing that much, that's all.

And by the way, it doesn't really matter if I know the actual workspace or not, I'll learn it. I just need to find an actually good one with which I can work. It's even better if it's free.

Also, if you happen to know a good environment for working on animations, that'd be great too.

Personally I would suggest Photoshop because that's what i use for everything(pixel art and cg) and I'm just too used to the interface(I export to an animation program for gifs), but Graphics Gale and gimp are nice free alternatives, in the end it all comes down to your preference and how fast it will take you to learn to tie your shoelaces.

If you're going to do a lot of drawing, I'd defiantly suggest you invest in a drawing tablet it makes it so much faster and clean.

 

[azurezero]

Re: A shout out to game developers...

Personally I would suggest Photoshop because that's what i use for everything(pixel art and cg) and I'm just too used to the interface(I export to an animation program for gifs), but Graphics Gale and gimp are nice free alternatives, in the end it all comes down to your preference and how fast it will take you to learn to tie your shoelaces.

If you're going to do a lot of drawing, I'd defiantly suggest you invest in a drawing tablet it makes it so much faster and clean.

Speaking of hows your games coming along

 

[Shinji62]

Re: A shout out to game developers...

One more thing...

I need some advice on which programs I should use to make some artwork... digitally. So far, GIMP has been a bit of a pain, everything seems counter-intuitive. I'm just not used to drawing that much, that's all.

And by the way, it doesn't really matter if I know the actual workspace or not, I'll learn it. I just need to find an actually good one with which I can work. It's even better if it's free.

Also, if you happen to know a good environment for working on animations, that'd be great too.

Sounds like you need Photoshop. It's one of the best for making animations.
Painter is better for CG, because it has a wider range of brushes, and the scratchboard tool is perfect for inking. But if you're looking to animate, and only want to use one program, then you can just use Photoshop for both.

Also, if you don't have one, you'll need to get a graphics tablet, just like Urine said. Doing spritework is ok with a mouse, but to effectively make quality CG, you'll need one. Otherwise, you'll end up spending many more hours making CG.

I'd also recommend getting a second monitor. It makes making sprites and CG way easier. Since you can have any references you need on one, and then your workspace on the other.

 

[UrineOnU]

Re: A shout out to game developers...

Speaking of hows your games coming along

Doing what i can,when I can... It's getting there, I'm actually quite amazed with how it's coming along considering. If you want to see how it's looking I'll show you a picture in a pm if you want.

 

[ProlongedProcrastination]

Re: A shout out to game developers...

One more thing...

I need some advice on which programs I should use to make some artwork... digitally. So far, GIMP has been a bit of a pain, everything seems counter-intuitive. I'm just not used to drawing that much, that's all.

And by the way, it doesn't really matter if I know the actual workspace or not, I'll learn it. I just need to find an actually good one with which I can work. It's even better if it's free.

Also, if you happen to know a good environment for working on animations, that'd be great too.

For artwork (CG) I would suggest using Paint Tool Sai and Photoshop. I love Sai because of it's simplicity and that you can easily export/import into it as well as make quick tidy edit's to your work. Photoshop, being the much more complex and powerful daddy of most graphic programs is better for everything else. So try and get a feel for both in my opinion.

But I totally agree with Urine that Photoshop is the best option for sprite work, Gale has a really confusing setup for me personally and just doesn't seem to up par with Photoshop.

Anyway, that's my opinion hope it helped.

 

[kronoscar]

Re: A shout out to game developers...

This just gets more complicated by the minute. It's not like I hadn't anticipated it, but you know... hope dies last.

About the graphics tablet, buying a second monitor and photoshop... yyyeeeaaahhh, I'm kinda low budget right now, but I'll see what I can do about that in the near future.

For making pixel sprites, I suggest using this one.

You must be registered to see the links

I haven't used it much but I think it's pretty good.

This actually really seems to hit the spot regarding the sprites. Thanks for the suggestion.

For artwork (CG) I would suggest using Paint Tool Sai and Photoshop. I love Sai because of it's simplicity and that you can easily export/import into it as well as make quick tidy edit's to your work. Photoshop, being the much more complex and powerful daddy of most graphic programs is better for everything else. So try and get a feel for both in my opinion.

But I totally agree with Urine that Photoshop is the best option for sprite work, Gale has a really confusing setup for me personally and just doesn't seem to up par with Photoshop.

Anyway, that's my opinion hope it helped.

I have used Paint Tool Sai in the past, but not that much. It really is much more easy to use than photoshop because it just doesn't have THAT many things in it, but what it does have, are great tools.

All in all, great advice anyone. I'll keep you posted ^_^.

 

[Shinji62]

Re: A shout out to game developers...

This just gets more complicated by the minute. It's not like I hadn't anticipated it, but you know... hope dies last.

About the graphics tablet, buying a second monitor and photoshop... yyyeeeaaahhh, I'm kinda low budget right now, but I'll see what I can do about that in the near future.

Well, game development is by far the most complicated project you can take on. Which is why it's generally done with teams of people, instead of just one. You're essentially doing every project imaginable at once. Since you're doing the initial concept, the character design, UI design, programming, character art, environment art, all the writing, as well as any other artwork or modelling. This doesn't even include having to learn different programs you might use. It's a giant project, which is why most people give up after they start, or put together a team.
That's why I'm only making RPG Maker games right now. There's no way I'd have the patience to learn how to program, and then work on the same game, constantly, for 2+ years.

Anyway, you can actually get a graphics tablet on ebay for about $50. It's not the best, but it'll work. My tablet that just died I bought for $20 on ebay, and it lasted me 7 years.
Photoshop also has a 30day trial that you can use to help you learn the program before buying it.

 

[kronoscar]

Re: A shout out to game developers...

Update! ^_^

I'm going to be investing a lot more time into the game and game development. I've written down how the game should be, how it should behave during certain actions and events, Java is really friendly, unlike weird C++ errors I always got. I don't know if that's because I got better at writing code or C++ just gives out random errors sometimes. I think it's a little bit of both xD

Anyway, I wanted to let you know that while I've familiarized myself with photoshop quite a bit, I won't be using it for this game. Instead, I've decided to go with Graphics gale and not draw anything complicated just yet. I do like making sprites, though I have to admit, it does take a lot of time, which is why I'm going to have everything more animated than not. Maybe I'll do some sketches. scan them and then put them into the game, in the gallery mode or something. I'll figure it out later.

I wanted to let you all know that I'm not dead and this game isn't either.

Thanks for reading