Howdy, just curious about how you''d go about proto-typing a game. For RPG''s and the like it''s probably best to go down to pen & paper, but what about action-orientated games? For example, I want to write a truly original Arkanoid game (so original it has no bat, no ball and no bricks!), but I have no idea how to play around with the concept to see if it warrants actual development, or what parts of it should be tweaked.

I know some people use Shockwave Flash to prototype; you could also probably do some basic GDI.

Now that''s a neat idea. I hadn''t thought of going that route at all. Thanks chap.

No problem. I''ve considered learning Flash myself; I just haven''t gotten around to it yet.

I would suggest Virtools. Excellent for prototyping 3D games. But then again Flash might just do the job in a simpler and easier way. Knowing your tools is half the job done!

Thanks

Marque Pierre Søndergaard
BA (Hons) Computer Games Design student
Coordinator of Uni. of Teesside IGDA Student Chapter
IGDA Member # 20021589

Well, I''ve been using Warcraft III so far and while it works reasonably well, it does have the limitation of not being able to fully customise the controls properly :-)

I will go and get VirTools and see what I can do.

Many of the games in the 24 hour independent game competition used Python and Pygame.

I''m asking myself the same question lately. I''d second Python and Pygame as a starting point. I think the main thing you want is a framework that''s already done. So that you don''t bog down implementing a pile of technologies instead of a game. As a 3D guy I''ve had a very, very bad habit of getting obsessed by all the picky details. I never get an actual game done, I just get bogged down in low level 3D concerns. So for the next several months I''m going to avoid 3D completely. Stick to 2D. Of course, my optimization habits die hard so I want 100,000 2D alpha blended sprites :-). Pygame can''t handle that... some people tell me I''m falling into the technology trap again. I''ll be doing Managed DirectX 9 and C# for now, to get the performance with alpha blending. I''d rather do Python but C# is a better resume skill in Seattle.


Brandon Van Every, 3DProgrammer, Seattle, WA
20% of the world is real. 80% is gobbledygook we make up inside our own heads.