I want to get into game development. How do I start?

[ZombiLoin]

I've looked at the Unity Engine, Blender Game Engine (kek), UE3 and 4, and even older engines like open-source idTech3 and idTech4. I'm worse than an amateur at coding, all I know is a little bit (and I mean a little bit) of Java, and while I'm learning modeling (I'm okay at it) it's really daunting to get into it.

Any tips or suggestions?

[Ad Bot]

[Buu]

examples of models pls

[ultimamax]

Depends on what kind of game you want to make. I'd start by learning a bit more Java, personally, since you already have experience there and it's a pretty standard language. There are Java game engines but it's a pretty slow language so after wrapping up Java I'd jump to another language like Lua or C++ and use the LOVE engine (2D) or Polycode (2D and 3D). (The Polycode engine isnt fully developed yet though, there are only beta releases so far)

I haven't begun getting into Game Development extensively yet, but I've used Unity, which seems to be good for basic starting 3D games.

Remember, for your first game, don't shoot too high. Make it as simple as possible, then you can either expand on that game or build more and more complex ones. I'd ask around in the Game Design topic in the Creativity board for better advice about what engine to use.

[D3ATH LORD]

What is it with everyone trying to make games?

Other genres of programs exist too, you know. I'm just saying, you could try to maybe make a utility program, like a personal version of notepad or a calculator which supports string input. Or an image viewer/editor.

Personally I find little interest in making or looking at games, but programs which demonstrate the programmers' mathematical and logical skills have much more value in my eyes. Stuff like Port's shaders are very impressive to me. Of course, games also fall into this, but if you made a platformer I'd be much more interested in seeing how you made the scrolling work rather than the game itself.

[ultimamax]

What is it with everyone trying to make games?

Other genres of programs exist too, you know. I'm just saying, you could try to maybe make a utility program, like a personal version of notepad or a calculator which supports string input. Or an image viewer/editor.

Game development allows you to be creative. Games are art, every text editor/image editor does the same thing with mild variance.

[D3ATH LORD]

Game development allows you to be creative. Games are art, every text editor/image editor does the same thing with mild variance.

How could you say that!
I find beauty in text editors ; ;

On topic, I'd recommend just learning C or C++. C might not be as relevant for game development anymore, but whatever. There are so many tutorials on both that it is actually unreal. For C, I used http://www.iups.org/media/meeting_minutes/C.pdf, which is a book written by the creators of C itself. As for C++ I would just go to a book written by it's author again. If you can find official documentation, then do it before turning to some 3rd party half-assed "tutorial".

Just something I found off the internet in a matter of seconds, http://www.stroustrup.com/crc.pdf. Honestly I don't even know if it's relevant but you get my point.

also, forget java.

[Stick Man]

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lGar7KC6Wiw

[ultimamax]

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lGar7KC6Wiw

indie games

[McJobless]

You should really start by attempting to make clones of old games, and as you gain confidence start to introduce variations in your games, until you're ready to try and make something from scratch.

For example, try and build Pong, Tetris and the first level of Super Mario Bros in either Game-Maker, Unity, UDK or any other engine. If you have no idea where to start, there's plenty of free tutorials online, but DO NOT STICK TOO CLOSELY TO THEM. Over-reliance on tutorials will prevent you from becoming familiar with how to code for yourself, so it's best to try and come up with the solutions by yourself before seeking help.

One good way to approach making your games is list down everything you need. For example, in Pong you need:

Models:
1) Pong bats
2) Ball

UI:
1) Score

Code:
1) Ball Physics
2) Ball launch at start
3) Bat Physics
4) Player score zones (when the ball hits the edge of a screen a player scores)
5) Score increase
6) Game reset

etc etc. If you figure out everything you need to make a game work beforehand, you then have an idea of both the SCOPE of the project, and also give yourself little objectives that may make the project seem a bit easier to work with.

Game Maker and UDK both offer module scripting/visual scripting, so you can just connect blocks together to make actions happen.

Keep making games until you've got some awesome and original stuff for your portfolio. You can use this to impress potential bosses if you want to work for a professional studio. Otherwise, just keep building games until you're ready to release something you made and you love to the public.

I really, highly recommend that if you're serious, you also look at "A Theory of Fun" by Raph Koster, and also watch all of Jonathan Blow's speechs, as well as Extra Credits (which covers a lot of game design) and read Gamasutra.

And don't be afraid to ask for help :)