Hi,

I'm a student currently learning web development and design. I have learned a bit of JavaScript, HTML5, Flash and next semester i will be taking a look at PHP and Sql.

However my passion has always been videogames and I have decided to learn how to build one.

I have read the FAQ for beginners on this site and it anwsered most of my questions but i would like to get some advice from experienced developers if possible.

My goal is to create a 2D turn based RPG similar (and inspired by) http://armorgames.com/play/505/sonny.

I do not expect my first creation to be anything worth uploading but simply something that works and allowes me to learn more about programming/design/development along the way.

1st Question: Do i use Flash and Javascript for my first creation or go straight for Unity and C# ?

This questions stems from my teacher saying Flash is basically dead.

2nd Question: What platform do i aim for ? do i go for the mobile devices such as android or do i go for my initial choice which is pc (and eventually make a game enjoyable enough to upload to kongregate/newgrounds/armorgames to get feedback).

3d Question: Do you have any advice you could give to a greenhorn who has never actually made a game? are my expectations unrealistic? should i focus on the programming languages first instead of trying to do both?

The community on this site seemed like the right people to ask in the meantime i will be looking for more information myself.

I'm aware that i could probably find the anwsers to my questions if i dig deep enough i'm just hoping this thread doesn't get closed bc it remindes you of how you started

ty in advance

If this is just for an learning experience and you do not plan to release then go whatever route you feel like and just have fun with getting lost in code :)

Avoid flash, horrible this that should have died years back. If you are comfortable with JS then that it a good option. C# is a great language to work in that is becoming multi paradigm so you can bring functional aspects of JS into play if you wish.

Unity will mean you can target multiple platforms at once so if you want to cover a few platforms that could be a good choice. Not sure how much targeting mobile will cost though in extra licences etc?

SO the key advice... have fun and enjoy learning and at the end step back and review to see what you could have done better or to make the code cleaner and easier to work with etc :)

If this is just for an learning experience and you do not plan to release then go whatever route you feel like and just have fun with getting lost in code

Avoid flash, horrible this that should have died years back. If you are comfortable with JS then that it a good option. C# is a great language to work in that is becoming multi paradigm so you can bring functional aspects of JS into play if you wish.

Unity will mean you can target multiple platforms at once so if you want to cover a few platforms that could be a good choice. Not sure how much targeting mobile will cost though in extra licences etc?

SO the key advice... have fun and enjoy learning and at the end step back and review to see what you could have done better or to make the code cleaner and easier to work with etc

Thanks! just what i needed to know.

I will get myself unit and follow some intresting guides that explain what i want to build.

the sooner i get started with C# and Unity, the sooner i can bang my head against a wall and learn from my mistakes :)

You could try giving your threads titles relevant to the topic. "A request for advice". "A recipe for baked goods". It's all vague. Fix it.

Sorry about the vagueness, 2 excuses for that:

1.because i am asking 3 seperate questions which all add up to asking advice.

2.A vague titel might get someone intrested enough to view and respond.

Again sorry for annoying you :/ i'll make sure to be more accurate next for next topics.

1st Question: Do i use Flash and Javascript for my first creation or go straight for Unity and C# ?
This questions stems from my teacher saying Slash is basicly dead.

Yes, use what you know and focus on learning the new skills required for game development. Ignore your teacher here: you're not going to be writing a widely-distributed AAA game for your first few attempts.

2nd Question: What platform do i aim for ? do i go for the mobile devices such as android or do i go for my initial choice which is pc (and eventually make a game enjoyable enough to upload to kongregate/newgrounds/armorgames to get feedback).

GO for the PC. You have one (9 points), you're most familiar with it so you can focus on learning the new skills required for game development (another 9 points) and most of your friends and family you're going to show off to have one (3 points).

3d Question: Do you have any advice you could give to a greenhorn who has never actually made a game? are my expectations unrealistic? should i focus on the programming languages first instead of trying to do both?

Focus on the game programming first, and don;t set your expectations too high for your first few games. I'm not saying don't set you expectations high, I'm saying make your first goal a small simple game (say, Breakout, Pong, Tetris), then move on

You're going to know it's time to move on to something like C# and Unity when you can no longer do what you want using the tools you know to do the bugger stuff. By then, you'll already have a fundamental understanding of things like the game loop, asset management, and so forth.

Sorry about the vagueness, 2 excuses for that:

1.because i am asking 3 seperate questions which all add up to asking advice.

2.A vague titel might get someone intrested enough to view and respond.

Don't worry about it. Your theory about a vague title getting somebody interested is probably not accurate, but there's nothing really wrong with the thread title or content and the user who chastised you had no business doing so (I've removed the post).

1st Question: Do i use Flash and Javascript for my first creation or go straight for Unity and C# ?
This questions stems from my teacher saying Slash is basicly dead.

Yes, use what you know and focus on learning the new skills required for game development. Ignore your teacher here: you're not going to be writing a widely-distributed AAA game for your first few attempts.

On the other hand, he says he also knows HTML5. While HTML5 isn't fully supported yet, increasingly the industry is trying to support it. While Flash isn't fully dead yet, increasingly the industry is trying to move away from it. And Javascript is here to stay for the foreseeable future.

I fully agree with the "use what you know", but if you already know a little of both, and are wondering what to invest more time in, you might as well invest more in what seems to be coming up rather than in what seems to be dying down. You're right that regardless of what he chooses, it won't be wasted effort, because the language-agnostic skills he'll learn is more valuable than the language-specific knowledge he'd learn.

But I ain't a web developer (just a C++ desktop programmer), so take that with a grain of salt.

You mentioned JavaScript and HTML. Did you look at webgl? You can certainly make a 2d game with it (3d isometric they won't be able to tell the difference). It'll run right off the browser. Makes it very easy to show off to friends.

You mentioned JavaScript and HTML. Did you look at webgl? You can certainly make a 2d game with it (3d isometric they won't be able to tell the difference). It'll run right off the browser. Makes it very easy to show off to friends.

No i have not taken a look at webgl but in about 5 minutes i will :)

thank you for the suggestion