Game Dev

I assume that somewhere in the mess of people, there's people who make games either indie or with a studio. I'd like to become one of you. Where's a good place to start for someone with little to no programming experience?

You're in for a long ride. Five years at the least for normal people, if not a decade.

A good place to start is to master at least one language, and become adept in several others. Make a lot of toy apps and small (eg, text, 2D, simple 3D) games along the way.

Don't even think about making something serious until you finish university.

so you want to make games? be prepared to read many things. if you don't like maths, too bad because it is essential in real-time action games.


1. The 6 Indie Mistakes
http://www.kuro5hin.org/story/2005/7/28/235328/642

2. The Art of Computer Game Design
http://www.vancouver.wsu.edu/fac/peabody/game-book/Coverpage.html

3. the Wiki pages of DevMaster.net
http://www.devmaster.net/wiki/Main_Page

>>1
>I'd like to become one of you.

Sure, if you want to be unemployed and broke as hell. At least I LOVE WHAT I DO AND THATS ALL THAT MATTERS HMPH

This shit doesn't happen overnight. Everyone *thinks* they know how to make games, but very few have the skills and dedication to do it.

A lot of indies do it on the side. You don't have to be broke.

Of course, after doing enterprisey all day, who wants to look at a computer when they get home?

Thanks to whoever posted this for me.

>>2

Looking at it as a potential career choice, so the length of time don't bother me that much. Shit, I'd expected 15-20 years to become top-notch.

Is that estimate based on studying full-time, or on the side?

>>3

I love you. :3

>>4

Apart from the loving what I do bit, you just described my present situation. :D

>>5

Heh. That's honestly what I expect to wind up doing, and it seems fairly appealing.

Is that estimate based on studying full-time, or on the side?

At least two years of hobby hacking before entering university does wonders. University itself takes three to four years full-time.

If you want to get as good as Carmack or Sweeney, yeah, it'll take a lot longer. Both of them have been making games full-time for around fifteen years. Shit, in some ways they had it easy, since they rode the increase of complexity. Writing a 2D game to the metal is a bitch in its own way, but nothing like current engines.

I can't be more accurate than that though, because home-brew games come in an amazing variety of shapes and forms. If the main objective is to make something fun that other people will want to play, you might even be able to pull off a fun little 2D game, or 3D if you're apt at math, after six months. We have a wealth of libraries now available that make all this easier.

I honestly don't think you should worry about it. Go out and have fun learning.

Don't major in CS if you are going to college. Take courses with lots of classical physics courses.

>>8
lololol

http://gamedev.net

Man I mucked that up.

For read-only, you can do a shortcut using decorators. It goes like this:

class Example:
    def __init__(self):
        self._text = "foo bar"
    @property
    def value(self):
        return self._text
If you want to be able to both read and write:

class Example:
    def __init__(self):
        self._text = "foo bar"

    def _getValue(self):
        return self._text
    def _setValue(self, value):
        self._text = value
    value = property(_getValue, _setValue)

Aw fuck. Today is a bad day.

Don't be a faggot. Until you make a game in javascript and svg or flash don't bother with anything more serious. I'm totally serious. You game dev fags never finish anything and you're all big losers because of it.

Also don't close source your shit. You can't produce what is necessary, you might as well let other people try if they want to.

>>13
truth bitches. FUCK WUT YA HERD

>>9
What? A lot of game programmers are physics or EE majors with some knowledge in programming.

YOU NEED TO TIGHTEN UP THE GRAPHICS

>>15
Maybe people who started years and years ago.  Now you'll end up with shitty, unstructured programs if you get people with little CS experience working on a game.  I'm not saying physics isn't important, but it would be best to get CS with a physics minor, or double major CS and Physics.

>>17
I guess, but you don't need to know Combinatorics and Graph Theory to make games.

>>18
Ew. You fail. Those are basic. Any programmer should know them. They're indirectly helpful for all sorts of algorithms. If we'd say, tensors, I'd agree with you, but I think these two among the rest of the basic Maths tools that get teached at university are a requirement for a decent, serious, professional programmer.

If you want to be the next carmack or whoever, don't learn programming.  Many of the best game designers never learned it.

>>18
Graph theory is pretty much essential for any form of programming beyond
10 PRINT "HELLO WORLD"

>>18
I don't think you know what is taught in higher level CS courses.  For example, graphics and real time rendering courses.

>>20
Those free flash games you play at work don't really count.

>>20
Yeah, if by game designers you mean the artists, because I'm pretty sure most artists can't program.

Technically, >>20 is right. Note he said game DESIGNERS, not programmers. You can work only on the game ideas and such without having to program.

>>25
Technically, >>20 is WRONG. Note that he said THE NEXT CARMACK. Carmack, last I checked, wrote graphics engines, not design documents.

I want to be the next Pixel...

I want to have sex with pixie...

Aren't they a bit small, >>28?

Learn to program, forget games for a while, beginning level programming is the first place people find out they don't have what it takes.  Knowing C++ is a bare minimum.

"Game designer" is not a copout to avoid programming.  It will get you away from the low level stuff, and large amounts of math, but you're still expected to be able to do things like scripting for npcs etc.  Design still requires proficiency with game art or programming. (More often, both)

If you do plan to do programming, expect to have to deal with a lot of math.

DO NOT plan or even hope to do it for a living.  Unless you turn out to be a brilliant artist, programmer, or designer.  The game industry is one of the hardest to break into.  No degree or certificate will make it any easier.  To break into the game industry, you have to PRODUCE something first. 

The only reliable way into the industry is to create a successful game on your own.  You can do other things, program impressive demos, create high quality art for free games, or simply get recognized for having good ideas.  All three require a lot of ability, and a lottery winner's luck.

All in all, the money is bad. The job security is nonexistant.  The hours are long.  It's a fun hobby, but don't expect to ever make a living off of it.  You're ahead of the game if you can ever get ANY income from it.

>>29
you obviously haven't seen >>28's cock

>>31 are you sure >>28 is male?

>>32
there are no girls on the internet. stupid.

>>30
Lies, the game industry isn't hard to break into. It is just hard to get paid well. They have tonnes of turn over because people can't handle the abuse, the lifeless slobs who suffer from aspergers and OCD stay along for the ride because they have nothing in life other than low paying work.

Also game programming is not fun when it is your job. You can't avoid the hard problems and you have to deal with reams of hack code. I don't mean good hacks I mean johnny thinks he knows C++ so abuses you with unnecessary undebugable macro programming which is incompatible with all your current types.

Doing it as a living is no fun. Consider this a warning: http://ea-spouse.livejournal.com/274.html?thread=752658

Is any of you stupid morons actually in the game industry or are you talking out of your smelly asses like always?

>>21
>Graph theory is pretty much essential for any form of programming beyond

Dumbest statement ever posted on the Internet.

>>35

If you check somewhere around April this year, EA's settled with the programmers involved as well as pretty much all their artists for a figure around 30 mill.

>>38

I got this when posting that:

"That was VIP quality!
I am the 1000 of my GET.
VIP is my body, and kopipe is my blood.
I have created over 999 posts.
Unaware of /b/.
Nor aware of fchan.
Withstood bans to create many flamewars.
Waiting for one's arrival.
I have no regrets, this was the only path.
My whole life was Unlimited Troll Works. "

Can somebody explain this shit to me?

>>39
wapanese faggotry

>>36
I am. Sure I'm broke, but at least I get to work on games all day! It's not like I have a life or anything lol.

LISP