Hello everyone,

Quite a time i want to make a 3D FPS game, but the problem is that i have no programming skills.

I wanted to use an engine like cryengine or unreal, but many people say that's to hard to begin with without programming skills.

Some people said to me that i should start with unity. My question is now: Can i do this, or do i need to learn a programming language in order to make a game. I already started java once, but it was really hard and i didn't understand much of it. So if you say that i need to learn a programming language first and you think java is good, could you please tell me a good source or way to learn it.

Many many thanks!!!

I'm by no means an expert, from what I gather though you should begin with what you want to make. Depending on the style of game your going to make that will dictate which engine you should use.

For example if you just want to make a 2D game you might want to look at rpg maker or even some of the simpler enginge like game maker so you can get a feel of the process before you commit to a larger project. I know serious developers scoff at these but I feel they are a good building block to understand some core criteria in constructing a game and it is laid out for beginers.

Where as if you want to make a 3D fps or action game for the PC then you've got a lot of options like unreal, cry engine, unity, etc.

As far as where to start just you tube it, I created a wave zombie FPS in unity just looking up different tutorials on you tube. there are hundreds of videos for the different engines and coding types to create the basics of many different game types.

To answer if you need programming skills, well if your doing it alone yes you do. Even if you team up with a programmer you still want to understand the basics of code so it is easier for you to work together.

Do you need to know how to program to make a game? Technically no. There are game engines out there like Game Maker Studio, RPG Maker, etc. that allow you to drag and drop game play elements and build a game. But this only allows the most bare-bones basics of a game. Without programming, you'll be restricted to the engine's building blocks.

But damn near every game building engine allows some form of scripting to get around the limitations of the building blocks. If you'd like to do something unique that the engine designers didn't think of, you'll have to learn to program in their scripting language.

There's probably a FPS engine out there that would allow you to import your own models, skins, weapons, and have some kind of level editor. Without scripting knowledge, you'd be restricted to whatever weapon types the designers could think of like bullets, projectiles, explosives, mines, etc. But let's say you wanted a grapple hook that could hook onto surfaces and swing you up, or hook into players and pull them off of ledges... For something like that, you'd probably need some scripting knowledge.

Starting with an engine like Joshua.Hower suggests is a great way to start. Do a little bit of research for FPS engines. Read a little gamedev. And start messing around. You'll quickly realize where learning to program will help and then you'll be far more motivated to learn to program when you have a real reason to. Without scripting, it will be obvious that your game is a cookie cutter engine game.

Standard Disclaimer: Starting with an FPS as your first project with no programming knowledge probably isn't the best idea for learning to program. Read any of the multitude of threads on "Where do I begin???"-threads and they'll all tell you the same thing. Start small....REALLY small. But you're not going to listen to us, so I'm not going to tell you that. :) Go mess around with the engine and find out for yourself.

Here's an article on getting started with Unity:

http://www.gamedev.net/page/resources/_/technical/game-programming/introduction-to-game-development-using-unity-3d-r2875

If you decide to learn to program, once you get the basics down I recommend starting here:

http://www.gamedev.net/page/resources/_/technical/game-programming/your-first-step-to-game-development-starts-here-r2976

Read those articles. If you can't be bothered with reading them. It might be time to retire from game-dev. :)

Good luck sir,

- Eck

Let's try a few variations on this theme, shall we?

i want to make a 3D FPS game high-end sports car, but the problem is that i have no programming auto mechanic or automotive design skills.

i want to make a 3D FPS game spacecraft, but the problem is that i have no programming rocket science or mechanical engineering skills.

i want to make a 3D FPS game large industrial building design, but the problem is that i have no programming architectural design skills.

As a practical matter, either you have the skills necessary to do a project, or are willing to learn them painfully along the way, or you do not.

What do you want to do? Do you want to be a programmer? Do you want to be a level designer? Do you want to be an artist? Do you want to be a modeler?

There are several off-the-shelf engines you can use that are already built, which you (without any programming knowledge) can modify. You can get Unity or Unreal or C4 or some other system and then buy a prebuilt FPS game library.

Download a library, Unity is free and probably the easiest for this. Download a bunch of models and resources and script engines from the Unity Store. Then put the walls up and make a level of your own. But then your job is being a level designer, not a programmer. Are you okay with that?

If that is what you want, then by all means go for it. We need skilled level designers in the industry.

Just know that when most people talk about making their own 3D FPS game, they are normally talking about a project requiring multiple work-years of effort.

wow you really helped me all.

And frob, you are completely right, is see that now!

Okay i'm gonna learn java now, start small and just grow.

Is this a better idea?

Okay i'm gonna learn java now, start small and just grow.
Is this a better idea?

Yes, good luck!

Okay i'm gonna learn java now, start small and just grow.

Is this a better idea?

It can be a better idea, if your idea is to be a programmer.

Just know that your first projects will be things like getting "Hello, World!" to appear on the screen.

Then you'll graduate to "guess the number" which is a very popular beginners game.

Eventually you'll reach the point where you can make "Tic-Tac-Toe" AI in under a week. Don't worry, you'll get faster as you gain experience.

Then perhaps you will move on again to make text-based dungeon crawlers, your first will probably take days, weeks, or months, but an experienced developer can churn one out quickly. (I made one about six months ago for a column on the site, took about two hours... but I've got three decades of development experience.)

One day, perhaps after a few months of gaining experience in the text based game arena, you'll want to make your first Pong clone. Then when you figured it out, a breakout clone.

When learning to program, getting to the point where you make your own 3D engines is a long way off, typically several years in. Once you finally get to the point where you can understand it enough to do it yourself, you will pick up an engine and jump in, quickly figuring out exactly the few pieces you need to make a full-featured game. But if you didn't have all that experience in programming simple stuff, you may not survive the baptism-by-fire of jumping directly into a major engine.

Most people learn very well by starting small, then growing line on line, principle on principle. Eventually you will reach mastery and also continue growing and learning.

That being written...

Some people DO learn best by jumping in the deep end and struggling hard. For those few individuals, perhaps using a major engine and jumping right in (and trying not to drown) is best for your learning style.

Well i can tell you i'm NOT that kind of person

But many many thanks to everyone who replied, you helped me all really much.

Let's try a few variations on this theme, shall we?

You need to put this in a blog post or something so I have a nice URL I can link to people who ask these questions.

You need to put this in a blog post or something so I have a nice URL I can link to people who ask these questions.

He already has => http://www.gamedev.net/topic/657556-starting-game-making-help/?view=findpost&p=5159304