Yeah.. I don't know what the spatulas are for..

Hey guys, my name is Marc, and this is yet another one of those "help, i need you to tell me what to do, and im doing it in the wrong subforum) kind of thread.

I'm finally done with school, and i have the means to start becoming a developer (i know this is a long and rough process)

I am willing to spend all the time necessary to study this craft until my skills are sufficient, and I can develop the game I have in mind. Therefore, i have some questions for you guys around starting up as a developer. I did have a look at some older threads, however i couldn't find answers (perhaps because I didn't search for too long...) and it seemed easier to write all this crap..

I am looking to develop a first person adventure game with a mix of black and white and colours (as in that it changes between the two at various points of the story) As of right now, I only know a bit of Unityscript, but as I said, I am prepared to spend all the time necessary to learn whatever I need.

So, what i really need to know is: What engine should I pick guys?? Like I said, it's a first person adventure (think something along the lines of Stanley's Parable). I have been messing around with both Unity and Unreal Engine 4 (I have the full subscriptionbased version) but i don't know which one i should choose? My plan is to introduce a programmer to the project when i get way further into it, so he can take care of animations and scripting, and I'll be doing level-design, artwork, soundtrack and narrating (which will be a key feature in the game)

Unity uses Unityscript, as far as I know, but also C# i think?? Unreal uses C++ which I've heard is the hardest to learn/use.

I really hope you guys can help me a bit? Which engine should i learn to use, and which programming language should i learn (I would only be doing basic stuff since i'll outsouce the major components of the scripting and programming..)

I really hope you guys can help ;) Thank you so much in advance, and sorry for just throwing this into the biggest subforum ,but i dont know what to do :D

Therefore, i have some questions for you guys around starting up as a developer.

Developers are the guys who actually code. In game dev these people often implement AI/gamelogic/rendering systems, therefor I would sugguest to start coding of some tech demos, not games, to show off your coding skills. If you want to get a job, these tech demos + an IT degree helps a lot (I fear, that the degree will be most likely mandatory for many jobs in the AAA industry).

If you plan to go into game design, a small, simple, innovative game which show off some interesting game mechanism is more suiteable than using a hi-end engine to show of same fancy art which was made by someone else.

If you plan to go the indie-route (make a game by yourself or a small group of people), using an existing engine and making a game is a valid option. In this case a modding an existing (udk or unity based) game would be a good start.

Therefore, i have some questions for you guys around starting up as a developer.

Developers are the guys who actually code. In game dev these people often implement AI/gamelogic/rendering systems, therefor I would sugguest to start coding of some tech demos, not games, to show off your coding skills. If you want to get a job, these tech demos + an IT degree helps a lot (I fear, that the degree will be most likely mandatory for many jobs in the AAA industry).

If you plan to go into game design, a small, simple, innovative game which show off some interesting game mechanism is more suiteable than using a hi-end engine to show of same fancy art which was made by someone else.

If you plan to go the indie-route (make a game by yourself or a small group of people), using an existing engine and making a game is a valid option. In this case a modding an existing (udk or unity based) game would be a good start.

Did you even read my thread -_-''

I'm slight confused - if you want to do the level-design, artwork, audio....then the engine itself should really be up to the programmer to decide. Let him (or her) use their experience to pick their preferred engine, add your assets and make them work together.

that said, you are going to need to build a prototype before you get someone interested, for that I would advise you use the engine you feel more comfortable to get a running demo.

Best of luck!

Your post seems weird. On the one hand you say you are willing to invest the time to become a developer, on the other you say a programmer will do the programming work.

I guess you have the wrong idea of what game development means. How far do you think you will get as a developer who is not much of a programmer?

In any case, you should not start with such a strong focus on the game you will eventually make. You need to start with simpler things.

Eh, I don't think starting with making a 3D game is a good idea. I mean, here you said you're just starting. Listen to any advice people give you. It's a useful attitude when you're learning. Ashaman's post is right, you know. If you want to know what you need to learn, here you go.

First of all, you will want to learn a programming language. For the love of all mothers, just pick one and actually get started. Don't get too busy picking the 'right' language. I'd recommend Python, though, because it's less likely to stress you with syntax errors and stuff. Well, whatever language you pick, you will end up learning about Object Oriented Programming. Make sure you understand that before going further because it will give you an abstract idea of how things work.

Well, there's so much after that, really. It will make a very long post to explain what you need to learn to become a game developer, because it really is a lot. My advice is to learn a programming language and try to make a simple game like Pong to give yourself a taste.

I'm slight confused - if you want to do the level-design, artwork, audio....then the engine itself should really be up to the programmer to decide. Let him (or her) use their experience to pick their preferred engine, add your assets and make them work together.

that said, you are going to need to build a prototype before you get someone interested, for that I would advise you use the engine you feel more comfortable to get a running demo.

Best of luck!

Well my idea of the work i was going to do, was that I'd be doing most of the gamedesign, however, i figured I would need some type of prototype to show people what i was even talking about before I could get someone competent to work on my game.. Therefore, i would need to learn some programming as well. It would be nice to learn it anyway just for the sake of knowing how things work.

And To Herwin: I didn't mean to be rude or anything, but I've been closely following the gaming industry for almost 10 years, and I do mean closely! I know, what a programmer is and what he does, and I know what a Designer does. I just didn't seem like he even read my thread.. I'm not looking to get hired, and I'm not interested in making Tech demoes.. I want to make this game, and this game will be the showcase of all the things I'm about to learn. I don't have any illusions of game-developing being easy. I know it's damn hard, and I also know how it works. I just thought i made it clear from my post, that I wanted to do an indie game with me and another person who would join development at a later point.. And I don't want to mod ;(

Well my idea of the work i was going to do, was that I'd be doing most of the gamedesign, however, i figured I would need some type of prototype to show people what i was even talking about before I could get someone competent to work on my game.. Therefore, i would need to learn some programming as well. It would be nice to learn it anyway just for the sake of knowing how things work.

And To Herwin: I didn't mean to be rude or anything, but I've been closely following the gaming industry for almost 10 years, and I do mean closely! I know, what a programmer is and what he does, and I know what a Designer does. I just didn't seem like he even read my thread.. I'm not looking to get hired, and I'm not interested in making Tech demoes.. I want to make this game, and this game will be the showcase of all the things I'm about to learn. I don't have any illusions of game-developing being easy. I know it's damn hard, and I also know how it works. I just thought i made it clear from my post, that I wanted to do an indie game with me and another person who would join development at a later point.. And I don't want to mod ;(

You need a good design document to make people interested too. Sometimes you will find difficulties in showing people a prototype (you might meet some bugs while showing them, etc), and it also takes time to make one. A well-written design document can give enough information to make people interested to join your team, and it acts as a looking-point while you're working on your game.

The design focus is written in the design document, as well as the sub focuses and other stuff like what engine you're going to use, what kind of art, music, why, how, etc. Even when you're working on your prototype, a design document can be helpful too, so make that first. You might find some potential problems or benefits you haven't seen before while writing it.

A good game designer should understand every components of a game. He needs to understand visual art, music, story telling, programming, and project management, but there's no need to be an expert on those. You don't have to be a maestro who can play 18 instruments. You just need to know what kind of music can make a boss fight feel daring.

For now, just learn a programming language and Object Oriented Programming. You will find a lot more to learn as you go.

Edit: A design focus is the idea that makes the game interesting. For example, Dark Souls' design focus could be its difficulties, because some hardcore gamers love challenge. Other stuff like gameplay, art theme, and story are chosen to achieve the focus. In Dark Souls' case, the difficulties is served in a real-time action RPG (the gameplay) and resolves around a main character who's a weak undead (story line). The game is wrapped in a dark atmosphere (visual) to support the difficult nature of the game. All of these stuff is written in the design document.

Well my idea of the work i was going to do, was that I'd be doing most of the gamedesign, however, i figured I would need some type of prototype to show people what i was even talking about before I could get someone competent to work on my game.. Therefore, i would need to learn some programming as well. It would be nice to learn it anyway just for the sake of knowing how things work.

And To Herwin: I didn't mean to be rude or anything, but I've been closely following the gaming industry for almost 10 years, and I do mean closely! I know, what a programmer is and what he does, and I know what a Designer does. I just didn't seem like he even read my thread.. I'm not looking to get hired, and I'm not interested in making Tech demoes.. I want to make this game, and this game will be the showcase of all the things I'm about to learn. I don't have any illusions of game-developing being easy. I know it's damn hard, and I also know how it works. I just thought i made it clear from my post, that I wanted to do an indie game with me and another person who would join development at a later point.. And I don't want to mod ;(

You need a good design document to make people interested too. Sometimes you will find difficulties in showing people a prototype (you might meet some bugs while showing them, etc), and it also takes time to make one. A well-written design document can give enough information to make people interested to join your team, and it acts as a looking-point while you're working on your game.

The design focus is written in the design document, as well as the sub focuses and other stuff like what engine you're going to use, what kind of art, music, why, how, etc. Even when you're working on your prototype, a design document can be helpful too, so make that first. You might find some potential problems or benefits you haven't seen before while writing it.

A good game designer should understand every components of a game. He needs to understand visual art, music, story telling, programming, and project management, but there's no need to be an expert on those. You don't have to be a maestro who can play 18 instruments. You just need to know what kind of music can make a boss fight feel daring.

For now, just learn a programming language and Object Oriented Programming. You will find a lot more to learn as you go.

Thank you. You have been very helpful :)

Don't really understand the downvotes ... people read your post ... but there is a mismatch between the "I'm pumped and I will do whatever it takes" statement and "I would only be doing basic stuff since i'll outsouce the major components of the scripting and programming..".

We need to know your "target performance levels" as a programmer and/or as a game designer in order to provide helpful advice.

If you want to be able to develop an Indie game, you should start with something simple like Snake and Tetris.

That is the only way to see how awfully hard seemingly basic things are.

It seems that you want to make sure that are not confronted with that advice, but maybe I am wrong!?

I'll just say that you will pay the price if you specialize on an engine and high level libraries without getting a feel for the programming basics and the big picture stuff.