Hi game devs! My name is Morten.

I want to start develop my own multiplayer 2D sim building sim game. Not sure if its gonna be a normal windows application or browser? 

I want to make a complex game like Sim City 2000, but with better and newer multiplayer support. Might wanna do it open source.

My question is, where do i start? What engine software would you recommend? I have looked at Unity and also looked up on some unity courses on udemy, but I wont spend alot of money on some sort course that wont help me at all. Is unity with C# the way to go as a beginner? I have a pretty fair knowledge with php

I hope someone can guide me in the right direction.

-PS Graphics will not be a problem. Got plenty of design skills in photoshop and illistrator

Cheers!

What you're saying is akin to saying "I'm just getting started learning to draw. I have a vision to draw Mona Lisa, but better. I'm thinking of maybe using charcoal, or maybe oil paint. Haven't decided yet. But as a beginner, how should I start, working on this first-ever project to make something better than a well-known work of art, which was made by a practiced professional?"

So, that's not how art works, and that's also not how game development works.

If you're comfortable with php (which is C-like), you might be comfortable learning C#. That could be a good starting point for you. Or, so could C++ (unreal engine), or.. I don't know you. You might like game maker or another design tool. You might prefer JavaScript (which has many game engines to its name). I'd advise you to do some research and try out a few, see what you like best.

Really the best advice: start at the beginning. Learn how to make pong. Then build from there. Your first project can't be a SimCity game. I'm not saying I doubt you, because I don't doubt. I've just been at this long enough to know that the project you described is huge, and there's a reason why games like SimCity were built by _teams_ of _professional_ game developers. My advice to you is to start small and work on projects that can be finished.

From a game design perspective Will Wright's games are very sophisticated, much more so that most realize.  If you want it to work like Sim City you are going to have to learn a lot of things about game and simulation design that few people today know.  Sim City is based on a very old form of scientific simulation design called "Needs, Wants, & Desires" and if you don't understand this form of simulation design then you can't do a Will Wright impersonation.

I would think more in terms of just making a city building game because anyone can do that.  Imitating Will Wright requires a lot of simulation design knowledge that is nearly extinct at this point.

I realized that my comment may have come off as me saying you couldn't do it.  You can.  It's not just you, there are very few people left around these days who actually understand what Will Wright's games actually were.  Sim City is not a city building game, it is a scientific modeling simulation of the day-to-day function of a community of people.  The "citizens of the simulation" act based on an "instinctive AI".  You are actually just "building the village" in which they live.  The people are the simulation, not the city... which is what led Will to the idea of The Sims.  A classic example of this form of game design relating to using this to create a simulation of the process of evolution was the inspiration behind Spore.

I recently posted this book for a teacher who was wanting to design games for their students.  This is "Will Wright's Bible", the game design book he read back in the 1980's that he took to heart and created what you know as his "unique style".  It sounds like you've played a lot of Sim City, this book will explain too you what Sim City really is and how it actually works at its core.  Between your experience with Sim City and reading this book, you will know what you need to know to do this type of game right.  This form of game design is one of four or five key elements that I combine that creates my own "unique style" of game design, so I have decades of experience with the type of game you are wanting to make.

https://www.amazon.com/Designing-Games-Simulations-Illustrated-Handbook/dp/0803929560

Its great to know the kind of game you want to start with starting off with such a big project when youre new can often lead to a lot of confusion and disappointments. Im also a beginner like you, and I had similar ambitions for a long time and such goals really prevented me from progressing forward as a game developer for a very long time. 

I wont ask you to shelf your project forever, but its important to learn how to walk before you can jump. Try and focus on smaller projects. Get some complete and finished projects under your belt. Start with a project which will take you a week to make. And then another one, slowly work your way up to projects which will take you longer and are therefore bigger in scope etc. As you progress these small projects will really give you a lot of motivation and they will be something you can fall back on in times of despair when all goes south. 

The last couple of months for me have been about completing projects, small ones. I have two complete projects which are live on the app store! I know that they arent ground break or great by any stretch of the imagination but I am very proud of what I have accomplished. The good thing about small projects is that they have a small scope so you can see the end or you can imagine it when you start on the project.

I recently started a youtube channel where I share some tutorials and teach people how I made my first games and I talk about the lessons that I have learnt! If that is something that interests you check out and I hope that it will be helpful for you! All the best on your project!