Hello everyone,

I have only just discovered this forum and realised what a great tool it can be, so first off thank you.

Over the past year I have been wanting to get into game design and my intention is to create a survival based game which is apocalyptic (No zombies or un-dead beings however.)

In the game I would like to include an inventory feature, hunger feature, thirst feature and health. However the hunger, thirst and health would not be status bars slowly running down, you would have to judge how much you drink or eat dependent on how your character is feeling through regular status messages (very much like DayZ.)

I would like to begin by learning how to use any coding language. It would be great if I could get some recommendations, I would also like to know if C++ is a good option.

Obviously with this is not going to happen over night, I am very willing to dedicate lots of time into game design and maybe see if it could be a potential area to work in the future.

Also, if any of you could share any assets such as buildings, weapons etc. that would be greatly appreciated!

Thank you for taking the time to read and or post some recommendations down below.

Also, I have been messing around with unreal engine, do you guys think I should use Unity instead?

Thanks again!

-Oli

I would never recommend C++ as a first language. If you already know it, or already spent more than a few weeks learning it, continue doing so... but if you haven't I don't think it's the best option. The language is very firmly entrenched in the idea that you already know what you're doing; it can be very slow going for a neophyte compared to other alternatives.

Unity would be a good choice, as it uses C#, which I think is a far better language to learn first. Unreal would also work well though; it's Blueprint scripting mechanism is extremely powerful, especially for prototyping new gameplay ideas. However outside of Blueprint your only real extension mechanism is via C++, and in particular I don't think learning C++ through Unreal is a great idea (because Unreal implements a garbage collector and wants to impose certain paradigms on your use of C++... these can both make it easier to pick up on C++ and harder to learn actual C++ as opposed to "C++ in the context of Unreal").

Try both out and pick the one you like better. You could also forgo Unity and Unreal and build the whole game yourself, however this will require significantly more up-front investment on your part in learning how to program and in building multiple smaller games beforehand. If your really jazzed about making this game you envision right now, something like Unity or unreal is probably a better bet.

I would never recommend C++ as a first language. If you already know it, or already spent more than a few weeks learning it, continue doing so... but if you haven't I don't think it's the best option. The language is very firmly entrenched in the idea that you already know what you're doing; it can be very slow going for a neophyte compared to other alternatives.

Unity would be a good choice, as it uses C#, which I think is a far better language to learn first. Unreal would also work well though; it's Blueprint scripting mechanism is extremely powerful, especially for prototyping new gameplay ideas. However outside of Blueprint your only real extension mechanism is via C++, and in particular I don't think learning C++ through Unreal is a great idea (because Unreal implements a garbage collector and wants to impose certain paradigms on your use of C++... these can both make it easier to pick up on C++ and harder to learn actual C++ as opposed to "C++ in the context of Unreal").

Try both out and pick the one you like better. You could also forgo Unity and Unreal and build the whole game yourself, however this will require significantly more up-front investment on your part in learning how to program and in building multiple smaller games beforehand. If your really jazzed about making this game you envision right now, something like Unity or unreal is probably a better bet.

Cheers man, will definitely take this advice on board. Due to not researching much into any particular programming language yet, I will most likely go away and begin to get familiar with C# if that is the case. Thank you :)

Also, do you recommend purchasing the professional edition of Unity in my situation or sticking with the personal edition? Is there any crucial benefits of subscribing to the professional edition or not?

You absolutely do not need to spend money on any software at this point in time. The freely-available versions basically everything will offer far more capability than you are ready to utilize so far.

(Edit: Also, I shrunk the text size of your signature to somethign more reasonable; we really don't like signatures that distract from the posts themselves here)

Okay thank you once again, and alright I understand :)

Over the past year I have been wanting to get into game design and my intention is to create a survival based game which is apocalyptic (No zombies or un-dead beings however.)

It's good that you've had this idea for awhile, but you need to start off small.

In the game I would like to include an inventory feature, hunger feature, thirst feature and health. However the hunger, thirst and health would not be status bars slowly running down, you would have to judge how much you drink or eat dependent on how your character is feeling through regular status messages (very much like DayZ.)

This is much too grand a scale for you right now, bro. I'm assuming you're going to be working on this solo dolo, and with no prior skills in anything game development wise it's going to be rough, to say the least. And considering it's going to be 3D just adds more complications for you. Why not start off slow... That's how a lot of us started. Make a Pong clone, make a Tetris clone, make a Mario clone, and then move to your own project setting attainable goals for yourself that you can realistically achieve. After a handful of games that you've created then you can move to something like this. You haven't even stated if it's multiplayer or not, and if it is, then holy shit man. Lol. Have fun learning about server/client systems on top of learning the ABC's of whatever language you're interested in coding in. Ha ha.

I would like to begin by learning how to use any coding language. It would be great if I could get some recommendations, I would also like to know if C++ is a good option.

Lmao. Of course C++ is a good option. It's a language that is used to make AAA games. You should probably start off with learning something easier like Python or Ruby. Java might be good for you too, since it has its own garbage collection and you don't have to worry about memory management as much as C++.

Obviously with this is not going to happen over night, I am very willing to dedicate lots of time into game design and maybe see if it could be a potential area to work in the future.

This will literally take you years. I don't think you fully understand that.

Also, I have been messing around with unreal engine, do you guys think I should use Unity instead?

Yes.

"This will literally take you years. I don't think you fully understand that."

I completely understand that is going to take a long period of time, I am really interested in investing lots time into game design

"This will literally take you years. I don't think you fully understand that."
I completely understand that is going to take a long period of time, I am really interested in investing lots time into game design

That's good then. I'd follow the advice I gave you and start off small. You'll learn a lot by making small projects like that, trust me. Python and Pygame are good starting points, C++ and SDL are also good choices, but in my opinion a bit harder to learn for someone just starting to learn programming. Good luck.

Hey there OliL.

In keeping with the starting off small theme, what you might even want to consider is further breaking down your project. Say the first game you make is something really simple that has you just moving around (basic locomotion system) and maybe eating food you find to keep your hunger from depleting (simple object interaction). Then you create another game based off that framework that implements things to avoid or it's game over (enemies). Then you build another that grants you access to a single simple firearm... etc, etc, etc. That way it ensures you're not doing too much and get overwhelmed, the number one cause of abandoned projects.

That said, I think one of the more important things is to just make sure that you keep working on it, even say once a week for a few hours. This will take a long time, but hell, it's what we do and enjoy (when we're not pulling our hair out). Best of luck!