Hi, i'm a student trying to create a game, and i need a kind of guide to get me started. Specially what to learn and use. Does anyone know "threads of Fate"? For now, i like to create a version or clone?? of that for practice. I'm sorry if i don't know the right terms to use. I want to learn how to create something like that, i know it will take time and skill but still i want to try. I'll make a note of what i would like to know.. 1. First of all, is "threads of fate" what you call a 3d platformer? 2. What do i use for this kind of graphics? I really like it's clean and simple characters and background, and i think it's more feasible compared to "ffxii" characters and background since it's my starting point. 3. I'm sorry if it doesn't belong here, but what do i use to create this game? the language or software to use and learn. I hope someone can help me get started.. thanks for your time!!

It's an RPG, not the best genre to begin with :)
I recommend you try something simpler, for instance Pong or even a text-based RPG for now.

I don't want to be an ass but you'll probably get nowhere unless you train yourself for some time. Specially on the programming side. Lots of algorithms to learn, etc. Take baby steps and learn from your mistakes, that's the best advice I can give you.

Cheers.

hehe, i know it's hard, and i do plan on following the path to game development thread i read about here at gamedev, I just want to know about what software to learn for the graphics and the programming language to use, so i can use that language while doing the path to game development so i can get used to the syntax ,so someday.. hope it comes.. when i finished the path, i can get on doing my, for now, planned goal.. the game mentioned above hehe...

thanks for the reply, this is a really nice forum, what quick replies..

Most people recommend Python now adays, I would just jump right into C or C++ (although many others would recommend you C# as well) At the end it's the language you're the most comfortable with, so you may want to read about them and find out which one fits you best. All of the aforementioned languages are very well supported and are available for free, so you won't have trouble in that area.

Graphics... most will say Photoshop, I would say Photoshop. But if you can't afford it, don't worry... use mock-up graphics for now; programmers rarely get their hands on real artwork at the very first stages of development.

You should worry about the game code right now and leave graphics for later, once you achieved your goals you can start working on the graphics side, or you can take turns on each field, it's up to you.

If you're serious about it, get yourself a wacom (or similar tablet) and practice day and night your drawing skills, you'll get there eventually.

However, understand that game development is much more than coding and graphics and that's why it's such a hard thing to do "properly".

I take it you already have a ton of articles to read so that would be a great starting point, although, a book or two on the matter would be the ideal approach. (the net is full of crap articles sadly...)

Good luck.

i see, i think i'll go with c++, i have basic background with c, java and visual basic(almost completed an inventory and sales system) too bad i can't apply that experience here.. T_T

Thank you for the advice sir gusso, hehe, i have a bit confidence in my drawing skill, and i have patience for that, but i do believe, coding will be my first priority as you mentioned.

Yeah, i thought i found a treasure cove when i stumbled upon this site, since there are so many topics, but since there are a lot, it's very hard to choose from the different advices given!!! well, i should still be grateful for the quantity of materials...

That's why i started this thread and set a planned goal to accomplish so that i might get a more specific answer to what to learn and use to accomplish my goal.. thanks to you though, i think i have a more clear idea now.. and i should start soon..

if you have any more advice, please keep them coming, i think i need that more other than luck.. hehe.. much appreciated anyway!

Quote: Original post by gusso
Most people recommend Python now adays, I would just jump right into C or C++ (although many others would recommend you C# as well)

Use a nice, modern language, preferably Python or C#. Learning C/C++ in order to make a game is a fools errand, you will spend more time learning the intricacies of the language than you ever will spend coding your game (8 years in, I am still learning new, fundamental things about C++).

Quote: Graphics... most will say Photoshop, I would say Photoshop. But if you can't afford it, don't worry... use mock-up graphics for now; programmers rarely get their hands on real artwork at the very first stages of development.

As a student, you can often pick up a copy of Photoshop pretty cheap. If not, try GIMP. - it isn't Photoshop, but it gets pretty close.

Quote: (the net is full of crap articles sadly...)

And unfortunately, this site contains many of that type of article, though there are hidden gems if you dig deeply.

i see so python is a much better choice for now?? i've been reading in this site for a while and i've got a question..

what is pygame, pyglet, sdl and openGL, sounds very important to me.. :)

in regards to this site, i'll be sure to dig deep then

Quote: Original post by LawLuna
what is pygame, pyglet, sdl and openGL

OpenGL is a fairly low-level library for hardware accelerated 2d and 3d graphics.
SDL is a C library for window creation, input and 2d graphics, which can optionally provide an OpenGL rendering context.
PyGame is a python wrapper for SDL.
Pyglet is a windowing and input library for Python that provides an OpenGL rendering context, and some high level wrappers to ease OpenGL programming.

If you are starting out with a 2d game, I would recommend Pyglet, but rather than diving straight into OpenGL, you can use Pyglet's 2d sprite support.

so pyglet then, yeah i'll start off small creating simple games for now working my way towards my goal game..

i'll follow your advice then, thank you very much sir, any more inputs will be very appreciated..

Seeing as your original questions sort of went unanswered:

Quote: 1. First of all, is "threads of fate" what you call a 3d platformer?

Yes, Threats Of Fate (at least the one i remember) is a side-scrolling 3D platformer.

Quote: 2. What do i use for this kind of graphics? I really like it's clean and simple characters and background, and i think it's more feasible compared to "ffxii" characters and background since it's my starting point.

3D Modeled graphics generally, to which you'd use a 3D modeling program like Blender, Maya, 3DS Max, etc. or whatever your comfortable with.

Quote: 3. I'm sorry if it doesn't belong here, but what do i use to create this game? the language or software to use and learn.

Using Python/Pyglet is a fairly good choice since its easy to learn and can be quite powerful, although you'll likely learn more than one language along the way. Incidentally you may find these python resources to be useful.