Original post by CaseyLink I have spent the least five years playing and developing video games more so than I should probably admit. During this time, I've had a lot of chances to see what works, and what doesn't when it comes to video games. Because of this, I feel I've been able to refine my own game design ideas into potentially successful products...
I just have no way to go about creating them.
I'm in the same boat as you. What's especially problematic for me is that I'm terrible at math, especially calculus, so I can't see myself getting into programming or any other more technical aspect of gamemaking.
Original post by CaseyLink I have spent the least five years playing and developing video games more so than I should probably admit. During this time, I've had a lot of chances to see what works, and what doesn't when it comes to video games. Because of this, I feel I've been able to refine my own game design ideas into potentially successful products...
I just have no way to go about creating them.
I'm in the same boat as you. What's especially problematic for me is that I'm terrible at math, especially calculus, so I can't see myself getting into programming or any other more technical aspect of gamemaking.
When I started game programming, I was barely in junior high school. You don't need a lot of mathematical ability to do game programming, at least not with all the the high-level tools available.
My advice to both of you is to at least give it a good shot. That and learn to write really well, so you can write good design docs reasonably quickly. My understanding is that that alone will make you valuable to the industry, even if you spend your time writing about other people's ideas.
Original post by CaseyLink I have spent the least five years playing and developing video games more so than I should probably admit. During this time, I've had a lot of chances to see what works, and what doesn't when it comes to video games. Because of this, I feel I've been able to refine my own game design ideas into potentially successful products...
I just have no way to go about creating them.
I'm in the same boat as you. What's especially problematic for me is that I'm terrible at math, especially calculus, so I can't see myself getting into programming or any other more technical aspect of gamemaking.
When I started game programming, I was barely in junior high school. You don't need a lot of mathematical ability to do game programming, at least not with all the the high-level tools available.
My advice to both of you is to at least give it a good shot. That and learn to write really well, so you can write good design docs reasonably quickly. My understanding is that that alone will make you valuable to the industry, even if you spend your time writing about other people's ideas.
Quoted for truth. I started developing games when I was 12, and I knew jack for math, but still managed to make some decent (if simple) games. So long as you stick to 2D you really don't need much in the way of high level math. It could help, sure, but so long as you understand basic geometry stuff like Cartesian coordinates, you'll do great.
I suggest a program of chronic failure. Just like a writer of short stories trying to get published, just keep plugging away. The Sloperama articles above are a good way to get an idea of what you're up against. Keep reading GameDev, ask questions to enrich and refine your understanding of what makes games good, do some mock-ups and simulations of how a game might play or be structured, and you can become a very knowledgeable and formidable scholar of game design without writing a single line of code.
Try to meet designers and talk to them about what they do and how they do it. Read a bunch of articles and books, here and elsewhere, to get a good feel for the mechanics of the industry.
Don't let yourself become an obsessive madman, sequestered in your study with your pet projects, knowing that they're awesome and that the "games industry" is fundamentally broken such that they can't see your brilliance. Look at your brainchildren with some detachment, find flaws, scrap whole projects, laugh at yourself and keep moving forward.
Make sure you have a job, in the industry or elsewhere, so you don't wind up sleeping on the street with design documents for blankets.
Yes, everyone and their brother, especially around here, has reams and reams of game ideas. God knows I do. Try to imagine what people think when they meet you and see your pitch. Flame threads here at GameDev are a great source of perspective on this. Will they ridicule your lack of knowledge of the industry? Go learn about the industry and come back. Will they tell you that your combat system is clunky and poorly balanced? Start a thread discussing what makes a combat system that meets your requirements without being clunky or imbalanced. Will they tell you that nobody will want to play a game like that? Do a little soul-searching and find out whether that matters to you.
Identify obstacles and overcome them. Persist. Maintain perspective. Benefit from other people's input. Don't be a dick. Don't emoragequit. Enjoy what you do. All the principles and practices that lead to success in any field of human endeavor apply to your situation.
Hell, run a bunch of ideas past us here. Like I said, we've all got ideas and few of us have the infrastructure in place to whip up a game on short notice, so don't get paranoid about forumgoers stealing your idea and "scooping" you. Keep the ideas small and specific, and you'll likely get very useful and interesting replies. Root through Wavinator's threads, he's the king of starting threads that stay on topic and lead to good, productive conversations.
Learn some other skill other than game design that's useful in game development. This doesn't necessarily have to be programming, e.g. make some levels/maps or models for some games, or do betatesting, etc. This will help you prove to other people that you have the potential to realize your ideas, instead of only talking about them.
Ideas are plenty. Even programmers have them, and unless you can convince them to listen to you (because of your money, (proven) skills or personality), they'll end up working on their own games instead. ;)
The main problem with a company accepting ideas from outsiders is that it makes them liable for a lawsuit. This is true for any company, in any industry. Say they grant you a meeting to pitch your idea to them. What if the idea you pitch is something they were already working on? Now they've needlessly opened themselves up to a lawsuit for creating a product that you can claim they stole the idea for. The mere possibility for this means they won't even let you pitch an idea to them.
Original post by Funkymunky The main problem with a company accepting ideas from outsiders is that it makes them liable for a lawsuit. This is true for any company, in any industry. Say they grant you a meeting to pitch your idea to them. What if the idea you pitch is something they were already working on? Now they've needlessly opened themselves up to a lawsuit for creating a product that you can claim they stole the idea for. The mere possibility for this means they won't even let you pitch an idea to them.
Not all publishers are totally closed to all submissions, and not all publishers who are closed to all submissions are so for this reason. But you will see evidence of this problem in the submission agreement, when you find a publisher willing to accept a submission. http://www.sloperama.com/advice/lesson21.htm
One thing to consider. If you can make your idea come true by yourself or your indie team, why should you knock a big company's door and offer it to them? Don't you think it'll be an overkill?
Original post by wirya One thing to consider. If you can make your idea come true by yourself or your indie team, why should you knock a big company's door and offer it to them? Don't you think it'll be an overkill?
Because publishing is MUCH harder than developing. It entails an entirely different set of skills and an entirely different business model.
Original post by wirya One thing to consider. If you can make your idea come true by yourself or your indie team, why should you knock a big company's door and offer it to them? Don't you think it'll be an overkill?
Because publishing is MUCH harder than developing. It entails an entirely different set of skills and an entirely different business model.
this is every bit as nonsensical as saying developing is much harder than publishing and trivializes both professions. even if we agreed on what hardness entails then we have to agree on some ordering. that is, it implies you have arrived at a universal and quantified definition of 'hardness' and have a well ordering relation on it.
