Hi. I'm new. This is my post and I hope to learn.
First off, I am a total beginner. I have no knowledge of programming and the stuff that make games work.
It's okay, I know where to look so I don't need to be directed to "what language or how to".

BUT REALLY.


I'm INTO gaming.
And as a kid, I was always hoping to build my whole future into the industry.
As I grew up, (and I'm sure as everyone was growing up), we were told that life is hard and our goals are impossible to achieve.
It's not people who tell us. WE tell ourselves that.

I mean, who would've thought making games was THAT difficult as a kid?

But I digress

I've heard that it's really hard to put one up and it isn't done alone.

So tell me GDnet.
Where does Andrechan begin?

Right. It's a matter of preference.


Okay then.
[color="#ff0000"]
I dont know what I should specialize in.
[color="#ff0000"]I don't know what's there to specialize in.
[color="#ff0000"]

Heck, a lot of question come into mind when I finally had the guts to pursue this gamedev career.
I'd like to ask a [color="#008000"]few if you don't mind.


1)Do I really need to learn programming?
I acknowledged earlier that I knew it was hard and I knew that it wasnt done alone.
(I also acknowledge that it can be done alone, but i'm talking big leagues here)
To be in full control of the game and results, do I need to learn programming and make my own engine?

>>>>that question's been asked before(i think)
-okay, here.What if I were to command a team to develop a game. Do programmers come at top tier?
(I can only imagine so, because he knows what he wants it to look. But really I can only guess coz I have no knowledge what so ever)

Coz I'm at a point where I should go and study programming.
But if I don't need to, I can pass on it.

2)Engines
I wont say much about engines. I have no idea how they work.
Correct me if I'm wrong, but engines are like CPUs of the game?

That's not really my question.

Would it be degrading as a developer to use someone else's engine? I mean, I've seen game maker. It's cool. But don't you feel...I dunno what's the word for it.
Has something to do with being Indie and just that.

3)Graphics
I'm gonna let myself go here and be a total idiot.
I know it's probably not easy...but how DO those big companies make those graphics?
How come I've never seen anything like those replicated in the Indie game world?
(for this question, can someone be more specific...like the hardware or software that's needed. I cant seem to fathom how they do that.Sure I've done projects using Maya, but how come their stuff looks so good?)


4)Future. What is there for me?
Okay, it's a multi billion dollar industry. I get it. But isn't it too big of a world out there. We ourselves(let's just assume that I was already a gamedev), are all competitors in this world. We want to make it big, don't we? (Yeah, sure some do it for the art-but reaaaally?) So, are do we just stay here and make indie games?
Or do we need each other so we can develop a skill set to get accepted in Nintendo or something?

I was born in Arizona but I live in a third world country now where no one cares about games coz they'd rather care about poverty.
What do I do with my skills? Where do I go? Do I just sit there waiting for my stuff to sell?

Now what's the word for this term again? Cynical? Skeptic...I dunno.



Keep in mind, I don't know how this whole industry works, so if I may have said something stupid, please excuse me.
I'm trying to grasp what it IS I am going to be, and since I don't know where to turn...I decided to sign up and ask the folks all over the world who have more experience.
------------------------------------------------
One skill that I have though is that I am a leader. I dunno how that will help.
I guess when forming a team, I guess.

P.S. What kinds of people do I need to make a game making team?


Thanks for reading. I hope to get good comments and I hope to learn from you guys soon.

I'll try to make this thread noticeable with a good title....
Ho-hum


I'm sure I still have other questions to ask, I just cant think of it yet...I'll post next time when I do. Thanks.

Well, I don't know much either but I can add that these days they are looking for the best of the best .. so do know things such as C++ (or other industry standard languages) wouldn't be a bad idea even for the graphic designers. I say this because It is hard to communicate with everyone when there all off being a solo minority on their own (When this happens nothing gets done and the interest level shuns itself to the ground) But it really depends. You have a choice and you should stick with it because there is to much to learn in both graphic-design and computer programming .. I have yet to see a big title come out with amazing graphics an epic storyline and to top that it was made by one guy developing his own graphics and his own engine. So do you want to be on the graphics side? which I have no opinion over because I simply take a course on it to merely understand it not to become one. Or programming, do you want to be behind those engines they make. As for how they get the graphics so good. Well these are some of the top dog programs they are using here and they if you see the site it's not just one programmer heck its not even one company that puts these together, or even language. I don't know if this helped but I say take a look at both sides very carefully and decide which one your the best at because in the gaming industry they don't care if you enjoy making silly functions or that you enjoyed making that boat using 3DS max a few years back, they want the highest skilled professional they can get. I really hope this helped and if not feel free to ask I recently found myself asking the same thing but I was lucky and I got my questions answer young through failer( thank god It wasn't now because I wouldn't have a chance)

Well, I don't know much either but I can add that these days they are looking for the best of the best .. so do know things such as C++ (or other industry standard languages) wouldn't be a bad idea even for the graphic designers. I say this because It is hard to communicate with everyone when there all off being a solo minority on their own (When this happens nothing gets done and the interest level shuns itself to the ground) But it really depends. You have a choice and you should stick with it because there is to much to learn in both graphic-design and computer programming .. I have yet to see a big title come out with amazing graphics an epic storyline and to top that it was made by one guy developing his own graphics and his own engine. So do you want to be on the graphics side? which I have no opinion over because I simply take a course on it to merely understand it not to become one. Or programming, do you want to be behind those engines they make. As for how they get the graphics so good. Well these are some of the top dog programs they are using here and they if you see the site it's not just one programmer heck its not even one company that puts these together, or even language. I don't know if this helped but I say take a look at both sides very carefully and decide which one your the best at because in the gaming industry they don't care if you enjoy making silly functions or that you enjoyed making that boat using 3DS max a few years back, they want the highest skilled professional they can get. I really hope this helped and if not feel free to ask I recently found myself asking the same thing but I was lucky and I got my questions answer young through failer( thank god It wasn't now because I wouldn't have a chance)

You need to find a project that challenging but accomplishable. Then you need to look back at that project every few months to see what in it can be improved. WHILE you're doing that, you find another project that's a bit more challenging but accomplishable. Wash, rinse, repeat.

Hi. I'm new. Thanks.

Well you are right you have a game engine, roughly speaking you break that down into the following, the graphics engine(renderer) This is the code that actually takes your models you made in mayo and allows them to be displayed on the screen. You also add all your fancy tricks like lighting, bump mapping ray tracing and all the latest goodies the GPU manufactures come up with. To do this for a AAA game like BF3 you would use C++ as the primary language and utilize graphics libraries like OpenGL or DirectX to actually do the graphical work. Potentially 100,000 of lines of code.

In the engine you would also need AI, Sound, scripting, networking(for multiplayer) and Physics(for collisions and things like water, trees, car mechanics etc) engines. C++ again.

Essentially your looking at millions of lines of code, now whether that code is complex to you of not will depend of your skill, your mind(your capacity to take in and remember large amounts of information), your personality, your philosophy on life and obviously how hard you work at learning it.

You would also need your own tools to create maps, that's a huge task in itself.

And now you need the art, modeling, animators, level designers, modelers, sound engineers, web designers, game testers, publishing company, you'll need lawyers and accountants. The list could go on and on.

So all and it's takes a lot of money to create a top of the range game, what i would say is go and read up on the history of id sowtware and see how they started this is the first of 5 videos i think http://www.youtube.c...h?v=zeFEW7akDqI .

So basically it's a very competitive world and you have to be very talented, so your saying to yourself how do you get talented, basically buy a book and start learning. There is no time to waste, it would be a tough few years before your got up to a decent level, then start applying to companies to see if they have any work for you talk to them you never know them may find some project at your current skill level and then once your in the door you can learn heaps, but you'll need to be prepared to eat sleep and breath programming.

Andrechan,
The career and career preparation questions you're asking are discussed fully in the FAQs for the Breaking In forum. Those questions are very different from the sort of technical questions usually cropping up in For Beginners.
So this is moving to Breaking In. Scroll up, click the FAQs link, and read about the various careers in the industry and how to prepare for them.

[quote name='andrechan' timestamp='1322151839' post='4887294']
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Friendly hint: next time *snip* long quotes.

Well here's the thing.

If you were an incredible artist, woke up every day and painted to your hearts content and loved computers someone might say, hey if you wanted maybe you could take a stab at video game art.

If you were an amazing programmer but found your 9 to 5 a little boring, had money saved up and really wanted to test your mettle, why not try game programming?

If you just like games and you want to make games it's comparable to liking chicken sandwiches and proclaiming, "I love chicken sandwiches, I shall go on a quest to making them because I'm so passionate about how great they taste, could be even better!" Then you find out in order to make chicken sandwiches you have to set up farms and brutally murder chickens. Now replace chickens with your dreams and that's the gaming industry.

You need to look at your strengths and think about how you can exploit them.

Get your hands on some decent computers and load them up with the necessary stuff, unity, max, zbrush (there are ways), unity, . Now find some down on their luck but fairly intelligent kids who are being brutalized by the living conditions of your third world nation. Bring them into your home and provide them computers and decent living quarters. This will be your dev team. It's going to take years for them to contribute in any capacity but this is a long term strategy and as far as i can tell your only option. If you're lucky, one of them will turn out to be some sort of programming god who can somehow turn all your good ideas into a scaled down and working piece of code.

Good luck, keep on dreaming big, and try not to catch Malaria.

Well, thanks so much for all that information guys. That helped a lot.
I'm more informed now that I was when I first typed that whole post. I really enjoyed putting together everything you guys were saying.

Now I know that if I were to make a game, I'd have to learn all that gibberish and to my understanding-There are lots of gibberish to learn.
OpenGL this DirectX that, C++ this C# that, Zbrush and Unity, and making engines and I can only imagine...Is very hard. And it would take lots of creativity to make some new stuff(i really dunno)
....And dont even get me started on the graphics. So, yes. I've come to a conclusion that I can't do it on my own.
I guess I'll have to familiarize with one thing and do my best with that.(Or can I visit other horizons?)

Okay, i've learned that much.

Now I'd like to ask a few more questions.

So I've established that I can't do it on my own.
How many people at least, does it take to make a game? Say for example Doom or the 16bit Final Fantasies or better yet, Earthbound-but in today's standards.
What divisions are there in that said group?


Can someone give me links to famous Indiegames that became famous?
I only know of AngryBirds but I dunno much maybe it's not even Indie.


I've established that I'm from a third world place
I guess I'll be making my own company then. Seriously. I don't know if we'll ever move back to the US coz of my parents work

So I guess I'm stuck here. I'm good at pitching and business talk. Maybe I can get sponsors....(oh yeah, this isnt a question, sorry)
Although I think I need help on startup money and stuff.

1. So I've established that I can't do it on my own.
How many people at least, does it take to make a game? Say for example Doom or the 16bit Final Fantasies or better yet, Earthbound-but in today's standards.
What divisions are there in that said group?
2. Can someone give me links to famous Indiegames that became famous?
3. I only know of AngryBirds but I dunno much maybe it's not even Indie.
4. Maybe I can get sponsors....(oh yeah, this isnt a question, sorry)
Although I think I need help on startup money and stuff.

1. Read the credits for those games. Look in the instruction manual or search online. Reading credits can be very informative.
2. Sure, someone can spoonfeed you, but it's better (better for you; you learn more) if you research it yourself.
3. Look up Angry Birds on the internet. Read the story of the company who made it.
4. You need to write a well-informed business plan before you can get money. Read FAQ 29 and FAQ 63. The FAQs link is above.