I have a game idea

[abigsmurf]

I'm semi tempted to give UDK a go.

I've still got that shooter/puzzle hybrid idea floating around in my head and Uscript seems a fairly easy to use java-esque language...

[Tig]

No offence, but ideas a dime a dozen-squared.

This, unfortunately.

Warren Spector has ranted about this topic:

Ideas are the easy part. I have 300 game concepts on that laptop over there. Right now, if you stole that, you'd have 300 game ideas. Literally, I'm not even exaggerating. I counted them one day. Everyone in this business, including people at Disney, think, "Oooh, we have to keep our ideas secret." Ideas are nothing. They're irrelevant. If you think your idea is so important you're doomed. The reality is if you don't like one idea, I've got 299 more. If I tell you my idea and you can execute better against that idea than I can—great, I get to play a terrific game. I don't think you can, but if I told you my best game idea, even if you execute against it better you're still going to do it differently than I do. Why do we care about ideas?

This seems a bit extreme to me... but it's probably true that ideas are the "easy" part of game creation. The hard part is getting anything made.


Anyone who is capable of making a game, is likely to have their own 'pet' idea which they dream of creating some day. So the chances of someone choosing to make your idea in lieu of their own are pretty slim.
Hell, no doubt every individual working in the games industry has got an idea which they think would be great.



But on a positive note... there are loads of options out there for anyone trying to make a game at home. If you can find the time (probably a LOT of time), there's nothing stopping you!

[Malc]

If you take a cynical approach to everything you wont get very far in anything you do in life. You have to be positive about what you are going to do, in this case wanting to make a game, but you also have to be realistic.

The chances of getting a game made and out to a wide audience is fairly slim, but why should that stop you learning a programming language/UDK and having a go? In the end if you are dedicated enough you will at least be able to get a small group of people to play your game like the community here, but don't go in expecting your first game to be a massive success, and also be prepared for a lot more work/dedication to making your creation than you think.

Also, if you are going to make your game, try to do it for the fun of actually making it, not for the financial/fame reward (as there probably wont be). You need to enjoy the creation process itself, before your hard work/passion for your game shows through.

[Wil]

I think what Malc says goes for any sort of 'project', not just game making. I'd also say that if you actually get off your backside and finish something you're already ahead of most other people.

Edit - I've also suddenly lost a lot of respect for Mr.Spector for saying things like "if you execute against it". No doubt he was 'moving forward' when he said it.

[Grapple Convoy]

I have to admit, I had the idea of making an iPhone/iPod Touch game, not out of some get-rich-quick ambition, but, well, because I've always wanted to make something. Inability to 'do' programming makes that completely implausible, however.

[Malc]

I have to admit, I had the idea of making an iPhone/iPod Touch game, not out of some get-rich-quick ambition, but, well, because I've always wanted to make something. Inability to 'do' programming makes that completely implausible, however.

Why not learn programming then? Everyone has to start somewhere.

[Grapple Convoy]

Why not learn programming then? Everyone has to start somewhere.

I know that it involves learning programming, but the correct sort of education courses are way out of my price range, unfortunately.

[Brad]

Edit - I've also suddenly lost a lot of respect for Mr.Spector for saying things like "if you execute against it". No doubt he was 'moving forward' when he said it.

Grabbing some of that low hanging fruit too no doubt.

[Flabio]

I learned to code long before I was academically taught how to.

Was different in the eighties though. There were *childrens books* that covered coding from Usborne. Can imagine trying to pitch something like 'Better Basic' to a modern book publisher... hehe.

[Kaido]

I know that it involves learning programming, but the correct sort of education courses are way out of my price range, unfortunately.

Self taught here, there's nothing like blagging your way into a job you cant do to make you learn fast

[abigsmurf]

10 color random
20 plot random(400), random (400)
30 goto 10

Pretty!

Programming is fairly straight forward to learn yourself so long as you don't throw yourself in at the deep end.

Lots of people/idiots will tell you to learn in C which is a horrible idea for a newbie. You have to learn to run before you can walk with C, using arrays or API programming just for a basic data type and you spend more time dealing with NULL pointer exceptions than learning fundamentals.

Java is one of the best learning languages, teaches OOP, encourages but doesn't force good practices. It still may be best to start with a simpler language though.

Try some javascript it's very forgiving as a programming language for the learning the absolute basics and learning to handle all the DOM stuff eases you into some OOP concepts that will help understand Java or C.

Actionscript (Flash) is based off of the Javascript syntax so can be good to learn. Has the added bonus of being a good tool to use to make simple games.

Don't be afraid to google how to do things and to copy example code. Learning how to work with other people's code is handy and adapting their code to your usage will build up your knowledge without you realising it.

[Flabio]

Java is generally the starting point at degree level these days (and Computer Science degrees don't actually assume you already know how to code).

[Decider-VT]

You could always try Python as well- it closely resembles natural English and lets you do things like use numerical operators with strings, which was an odd luxury after finding out that you can't do that sort of thing in Java. I didn't use it for long enough to make anything other than a basic text adventure but you could check out Pygame to see if you think it'd be suitable for you. There's a free ebook called Think Python to get you started if you want to dip your toe into the water.

Java is a fun language to learn, though. We've been doing it for the first year of our Computer Science degree and it's rewarding enough for us to consider the other modules a bothersome distraction. I really want to run with it and learn C# over the summer break...

Don't be afraid to google how to do things and to copy example code. Learning how to work with other people's code is handy and adapting their code to your usage will build up your knowledge without you realising it.

This is really good advice. You'll learn best by example as you're getting used to dealing with abstract problem solving- often you'll find that you can solve a problem with a fairly convoluted manipulation of what you already know, only to find something lurking in the API that has been designed to make your life easier. It may also be worth having some design patterns handy for reference in case you get stuck trying to figure something out as you move onto more advanced programming.

[Malc]

I guess I started the wrong way round then, I started learning C++'s basics (no game programming involved) with this book, and now I'm doing a degree in computing which will involve Java.

I've always been a bit awkward.

[Flabio]

Java didn't even exist when I did CS at uni, so it was Pascal in the first year and then C++ for the rest.