i'm a beginner but i will need a tool any way to design my games? but what about the tools like dark basic for non-programmers which can make full games ? can any one just make full game just like this then what's the benifet of study and books then thanks

Just having tools isn't enough. You need to have creativity and skill as well. Anyone can but paper and paints. Doesn't mean they can paint the Mona Lisa.

Tools like Dark Basic still require a degree of programming, as far as I am aware. They also offer you far less flexibility than coding the engine yourself. They are definitely a good way for a designer to get a working game made however.

The problem with most systems that help you in writing programs is they don't always do exactly what you want. Java (and no I'm not trying to start a Java flame war)has had a hard time entering the embedded market due to things like the automatic trash collector which doesn't allow you to have deterministic programs.

Auto generating code may be able to make fine programs but I can't believe they will be even half as efficent (read require twice as fast a computer) as actually coded programs for some time.

The only tool you need for game design is word processor (MS Word or Wordpad and a notebook). Game design has nothing to do with creating the game. It's the blueprint of the game in exact detail before you even begin to make the game.

There are some really great articles here about writing a game design. I suggest reading them first.

Any tool you find for easy game development will always be greatly limited in scope.

The tools I use for game design would be:

Wordpad:
It's a basic text editor that allows me some formatting options and which is included with windows. You could also use notepad if you didn't mind a lack of formatting, or something like Word if you don't mind paying for the extra features (although most people tend to pick up a copy of Office at some time anyways, so you probably have Word). Used to type up a design document. The formatting for bold headings, etc. is nice but entirely unneccesary; notepad is just fine.

MS Paint:
Again, it comes free with windows, and I don't need any fancy features for design. This is for creating simple diagrams to better illustrate an idea in the design document if required.

Whiteboard:
I have a small whiteboard I like to scribble ideas down on. It's very easy to change what I've written, and I can put it next to the computer when I'm coding or writing up the ideas.

A notepad:
Yes, an actual physical notepad. This is for writing down ideas I think of. You never know when a good idea might occur to you, and if you don't write it down you may not remember it later.

Both of the programs I mentioned are bundled with windows, and the two items I mentioned can be bought fairly cheaply - no need for anything fancy. [wink]


As for middleware authoring solutions and the like, I consider them good for creating simple prototypes of ideas (depending on the idea of course), and people who are skilled with them can create some quite good products, but they don't really compare to actual programming knowledge (or hiring a programmer if that isn't your thing).

i find a notepad really useful as a programmer. Quite often i'll think of a solution to a problem im having when im not near a computer, and jotting it down on a notepad ensures i dont forget it. Same thing with designing, you never know when a good idea comes to you (i remember reading the guy who came up with the idea for skill trees in diablo thought of it while in the shower)

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Original post by dAmAtA_cHiP i find a notepad really useful as a programmer. Quite often i'll think of a solution to a problem im having when im not near a computer, and jotting it down on a notepad ensures i dont forget it. Same thing with designing, you never know when a good idea comes to you (i remember reading the guy who came up with the idea for skill trees in diablo thought of it while in the shower)

While in the shower? Surely diablo wasn't the first game to implement skill trees? I can't think of a game to prove my hypothesis but I don't remember playing diablo and thinking it's system was genius (since I'm sure I had seen something similar before).

I also get most of my ideas while in the shower, it's the one place where all you can do is think (and wash, I guess).

So my advice:

Get a shower.

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Original post by sanch3x Quote: Original post by dAmAtA_cHiP i find a notepad really useful as a programmer. Quite often i'll think of a solution to a problem im having when im not near a computer, and jotting it down on a notepad ensures i dont forget it. Same thing with designing, you never know when a good idea comes to you (i remember reading the guy who came up with the idea for skill trees in diablo thought of it while in the shower) While in the shower? Surely diablo wasn't the first game to implement skill trees? I can't think of a game to prove my hypothesis but I don't remember playing diablo and thinking it's system was genius (since I'm sure I had seen something similar before). I also get most of my ideas while in the shower, it's the one place where all you can do is think (and wash, I guess). So my advice: Get a shower.

Oh You can do a lot more than that in the shower. :P

But for game design you can start anywhere with any tool and put in as much detail as you want to make your game. Some start coding, others daydreaming, and some in the shower. You can use a UML program as your first tool or Paper and pen. Depends on where the best place for you to work is and finding that out can take many many different game ideas. Dark Basic is a place to start or you could start with C/C++ or even with a couple dice some 'Magic' cards and a bucket of spaggetti sauce. There is no real definite place to begin. Books and studing come when you want to actually add a feature that takes more knowledge than you have. Five year olds playing in the park can come up with a game of tag. But they don't have the knowledge to make Halo for the xbox. Go with what you know how to use first and be creative with that knowledge. If all I know how to do is display an image, play a sound, trap keyboard events, have two players across a network, and detect collisions; I would make a game where your in a race with another person to trap randomly moving balls by placing millions of tiny blocks on a huge screen.

So, the main point, only use what you know in making a game not what you 'think' you can learn how to do.
If you don't know anything; study and learn by doing examples.

You need more than paper and pen to design games. Game design is partly about ideas, but I've found in general it's mostly about iteration. The most valuable thing you can be able to do as a game designer is prototype and iterate designs fast.

Note that this doesn't mean you need to program... Running paper RPG campaigns, designing board or card games, etc, are pretty much the same skillset, so you can get started with those as you learn to program or find a programmer to work with.