I have a serious passion for videogames, and my lifegoal would be developing one. but I dont know where to start.. at all. ANYTHING would help. You guys had to start somewhere, right? If so, where, and what do you guys recommend? Or any articals/books I could buy that refer directly to an idiot like myself?

Are you specifically talking about game design, or game development in general?

In any case... some links to help you get going.

Start Here
Articles & Resources



[edited by - Sandman on January 6, 2003 2:03:22 PM]

the reference section here.

You want to develop games, okay. What''s your position? You have to have one, no one hires someone unless they have a distinct position. Are you a programmer? Are you an artist? Musician? Gmae designer? Producer? Everything?

For a programmer, get a book on a popular programming language. I recommend C++. As soon as you finish the first few chapters and have the very basics down, just start programming. Come up with an idea that seems feasible for where you''re at, and try to make it. It really just goes on from there, keep programming, keep learning new techniques, and don''t stop. You''ll screw up constantly, but that''s all part of getting better.

Artist? 2D or 3D? Start gathering the equipment you need and practice like hell. Same for the musician. You need to get good, really good. Build up your portfolio.

Game designer? Forget it. Unless you''re working alone, no one needs a game designer. The only way people get into game designing positions is by working their way up the gaming heirarchy through another position, and working their butt off the entire way. Even then, it''s not as rosy a position as it appears to be.

Producer? More commonly called the "leader" in most online projects. This is almost as silly as trying to be a game designer from the start. Most people have this weird idea that a producer slacks off while he gets the team to do stuff. Not true, if this position interests you then read up on articles about just how dedicated and capable a producer needs to be to ever get any attention.

Everything? Then you''ve really got your work cut out for you. Chances are, you can''t do everything. Several things, sure. Design, program, and model maybe. Getting different skills under you belt won''t hurt, it will definately help if you''re in a situation where you need to interact with people in other positions (programmer - artist is always a great connection to have).

So this is where you start. Games don''t just get "made". A bunch of people doing a bunch of jobs make them. Which job is yours?

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"It''s all part of the conspiracy of conspirators conspiring to conspire their own conspiracies..."

If you like programming, decide which language...I like C, I'm learning C++...I'll give you the names of some languages:

Direct X
OpenGL
C
C++
Java (games you see on the Internet)
There are many more, these are the main ones.
And first, for an idea of how a game works, download the trial version of Stagecast (look up on Google). It is really simple, but should show you how a game works (kinda).

And....game design is much more serious and strenuous than playing games. But still...if you become a good game developer anyway, it benefits everyone.

edit: and don't forget, programmers are probably the most important part of a team. and, if you try to break in the industry by claiming you have good ideas, so does every gamer (or so they think, many are unrealistic). But still, making games is very rewarding.

So...how does this "reproductive system" of yours work? -Anonymous

[edited by - OstrichOfDestiny on January 6, 2003 8:09:45 PM]

[edited by - OstrichOfDestiny on January 6, 2003 8:12:34 PM]

Just to clarify OstrichOfDestiny''s post, DirectX and OpenGL aren''t languages. They''re APIs.

You''d have to learn a language like C, C++, Basic, Visual Basic, etc... and then you would learn one (or both) of those APIs and apply them in the language that you are using.