Hello GameDev.net community,

The reason I am posting is because I am looking for some input/suggestions for a very small, fun game. I am novice developer and I am not trying to make the next World of Warcraft or Half-Life release. I am looking for a small project that myself and a couple peers will be able to complete from start to finish. We will be using Panda3D as the game engine, and part of this exercise is to gain experience with this platform. Below are the objectives I hope to achieve with this project

- Start/finish a complete prototype for a game/mini game.
- Gain experience with a new Game Engine (namely Panda3D)
- Gain experience with game development in general
- Focus on fun gameplay and practice good game design. Since there are no true artists in the group, this will be essential.
- Define a project that can be accomplished in a few weeks by a group of 4 coders that are experienced programmers, yet relatively new to game development.

Some ideas I had were:
- Mini 3D turn based battle engine similar to those found in Final Fantasy or Pokemon.
- Simple Arcade-like shooter similar to popular titles from the 80's
- "fresh take" on a classic retro game

Does anyone have any input? I would appreciate any/all suggestions or ideas.

Thanks!
Chris

- Start/finish a complete prototype for a game/mini game.
- Gain experience with a new Game Engine (namely Panda3D)
- Gain experience with game development in general
- Focus on fun gameplay and practice good game design. Since there are no true artists in the group, this will be essential.
- Define a project that can be accomplished in a few weeks by a group of 4 coders that are experienced programmers, yet relatively new to game development.

Some ideas I had were:
- Mini 3D turn based battle engine similar to those found in Final Fantasy or Pokemon.
- Simple Arcade-like shooter similar to popular titles from the 80's
- "fresh take" on a classic retro game

Does anyone have any input? I would appreciate any/all suggestions or ideas.

Hello fellow noive Game Dev.,

While I'm writing design documents for games I would later maybe make; when I am more knowledgeable in programming, you are already starting on your way. Good for you! Now we will assume that you want to build a solid game and not a rush rush game just to say you have created a game. The best thing, in my humble opinion, to do first is to start with a simple project. This means something in which balancing various elements in the game isn't that much an issue. The mini 3D like Final Fantasy and Pokémon is an example of a game that needs balancing. You have to fine tune their attacks so that most attacks are generally on par and all characters have a reasonable chance to win, which makes the games exciting. Of course, this would give you an insight on how hard this aspect is in games!

However, you just want experience in creating a game! So going for the most basic in games is best for you. Go for a simple arcade shooter or a very simple game like a simple tower defense game. Don't make it complicated overall. (I technically already created my first game Mastermind; simple isn't it?) Is the game done? Maybe make a sequel and build on the simple solid foundations, to make an awesome game! Start small as a beginner so you don't get discouraged by the many walls that you will face in large projects. Small games tend to actually get done around here, big dreamy projects come crashing down!

And if you are going for a fun wacky platform game à la Mario, I would play it, hehe.

Tyberthia.

I am also a novice in developing games.

I think that copying famous small games is a quick way to learn basics and to gain programming experience. Plus, while trying to accomplish programming goals, you will have several new ideas inspired by those masterpieces or you simply apply a small change, which may turn out a fun element. In my view, it's a efficient way both to learn and to create something my own.

Unless you want to dive head first into AI programming for the logic of enemies and such. I'd suggest you stick to something more of a puzzle game like Sokoban. But don't copy it, instead try new things with it...blocks that can be pushed and pulled, blocks that are tied together allowing the player to push/pull the whole assembly, etc. There are a lot of Gameboy games that did this sort of thing, might prove an inspiration.

Thanks for the input everyone. I have had some experience with AI and actually tend to enjoy learning/studying it so I wouldn't be completely opposed to dabbling with it. The problem is that this is intended to be a relatively short project and time may not allow for a well integrated AI system into something like an RPG battle sequence. I would like the game to be in 3D to gain a bit more experience with working with 3D models, textures, and the math/linear algebra necessary to implement a 3d environment, though this isn't a requirement. Also, a big objective of this project is to gain experience using Panda3D and exploring its capabilities. The games I currently seem to enjoy playing most tend to be retro games, most of which are on the Nintendo platform. Since these games tend to be simpler, I may try to implement a smaller 3D "flavor" of one of these types. I like this approach because I think it will allow the project to be scaled down to a small enough level to still be challenging but do-able. Any thoughts? I would be interested in hearing about some old school NES-style games that people particularly enjoyed, or think a 3D implementation might be enjoyable.