How to Make Your Own Game

8/14/2019 How to Make Your Own Game

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Presented by Erik Briggs


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You have to measure your success by the wayyour audience responds to your games. No

matter how small that audience is, it's yours.Your game is part of the lives and thememories of those people in a way thatWordPerfect or Lotus 1-2-3 or Windows can never

be.

- Orson Scott Card


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Dreams make you click, juice you, turn you on,excite the living daylights out of you. You

cannot wait to get out of bed to continuepursuing your dream. The kind of dream I'mtalking about gives meaning to your life. It isthe ultimate motivator.

- Jim Collins


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First computer at age 5(Texas Instruments)

First PC at age 8

(Tandy 1000 sx)


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Atari

Nintendo

Super Nintendo

On, and on, and on


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I knew early that games were something I could reallylove

Games almost prevented my graduating High School(Ultima Online)

I learned the danger of them

Was intrigued by addiction

Even when I lived in the Philippines, and had no accessto games, they still made an impression

Studying Psychology only helped cement my interestin games

Many aspects of game design tie directly into my field of choice

In 2004, I Beta-Tested a game I will never forget


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What is it?


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Project Wish is an ongoing project to develop anEMMORPG based on the spirit of the now-defunct game,Wish. We are in no way affiliated with Mutable Realms,nor are we trying to copy or reverse engineer their game.

This project is following the spirit of what we feel Wishwould have brought to the MMORPG genre, had it beenfinished. That being said, everything in this project is 100%our own creation.


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How it began?

There was this game we werebeta-testing

It got canceled?!?!?!We weighed our options

The adventure began in Jan.2005

Accepted applicationsMet in IRC and MSN


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Website came first (forums)Place to gather

Forums are commonplace and comfortable

Divided our talent into teams and startedresearchingChose Ogre 3d due to community, progress, track record

Leaders made choices

We had frequent meetings to stay in syncOver 50 people to start


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Mistakes from 200550 is way too many to start with, especially if they are all learningNo set design, and therefore direction

Recreating Wish was not enough

Too many tools (really for programmers) non-programmers

cant be expected to use programming toolsToo many egos lead to fightsWebsite was lacking forums werent enoughLeadership was inconsistentPeople came and went as they pleased


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New Website (CMS)

New blood

New lessons learned

New direction

Old blood returned

DWARFWhich lead to much more


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More dedicated people joined, not just thestandard high turnover

Gift of hindsight led to new focus

Synergy team thrives on progress from anyfront

Design is documented

More careful recruitingTeam is more streamlined, with less bloating


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What was it in 2005?

Time to learn


Time to decide


Time to prove

What is it now in 2008?Time to step up


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Set achievable goals (with deadlines)

Make consistent (scheduled) progress/updates

Keep motivation highGive yourself multiple tasks to avoid burnout


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Springboard to break into the biz!I like ______ (fill in the blank)

Art (Concept, Modeling, Texturing,Animation, Interface, Web)Programming (Tools, Game

engines, AI, Networking, Logic)Audio (Foley, fx, Composingthemes)Writing (Script, back-story,dialogue)Design (not just ideas, the big

picture)Management/Leadership

Start a game companyJust to have fun and learnsomething newHanging out with friends


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You need to take action!

Learn all you can about your area

Create a portfolio:

Consisting of your best work (hopefully professionalquality)

Setup a website for it (mainly artists)

Understand the process well enough to impress


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The best way to move game design forward is simply todevelop, design, and construct a game. And make sure youfinish it. No matter how bad, how simple, how slow yourfinished product is, you will learn an immense amount

simply by building a game on your own.Read, experiment, design, develop, play, and mostimportant of all, have fun. In the end, having fun is whatgames are all about.

- Ben Sawyer (adapted)From The Ultimate Game Developer's

Sourcebook


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Ideas are cheap. A dime a dozen, as they say.It's the implementation that's important! The

trick isn't just to have a computer game idea,but to actually create it!

- Scott AdamsK-Power Magazine, June 1984


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GoodCrytek (Far Cry)S2 Games (Savage, 2004 IGF GrandPrize)

Project Offset now with IntelShattered Reality Interactive (KaosWar) in progressPopular Mods:

Trauma Studios (Desert Combat forBF1942)

Threewave (CTF for Quake)NWN

Crayon Physics (2008 IGF GrandPrize)Team Fortress Software


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Bad

The one(s) you never evenheard about

Money-motivated games(not idea or innovation-driven)

Those who suffered from

poor leaders/ decisions(Mourning, Irth)

Limbo of the Lost


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A visionary [game] doesn't simply balance

between idealism and profitability: it seeks tobe highly idealistic and highly profitable itdoes both to an extreme.

- Jim Collins


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Is making a game possible?Is getting funding possible?

Is publishing a game possible?

Am I making a game or a company?

The minute you believeNo is the answer to

any of these questions isthe same minute itbecomes true.


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GameStarts with an idea/concept

CompanyStarts with people

In fact, leaders... that go from good to great startnot with 'where' but with 'who'. They start bygetting the right people on the bus, the wrong

people off the bus, and the right people in theright seats... first the people, then the [idea].

- Jim Collins


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The critical ingredient is getting off your buttand doing something. It's as simple as that. A

lot of people have ideas, but there are few whodecide to do something about them now. Nottomorrow. Not next week. But today. The trueentrepreneur is a doer, not a dreamer.

- Nolan Bushnell, founder ofAtari and Chuck E. Cheese's


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Find what motivates you, find your passion!

Dont be afraid to try and fail.

The Only True Failure is the Quitter Unknown

Google it is a skillWhat you are lookingfor exists, you just haveto know how to find it

Peer-support 2 is betterthan 1

Learn, learn, learn, learn,learn


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Gamedev.net

Game Engine websites (Torque)

3d-engine sites (Ogre3d.org)

Gamasutra

Tom Slopers Advice site

IGDA

DevMaster.netXNA
http://www.gamedev.net/http://www.garagegames.com/http://www.ogre3d.org/http://www.gamasutra.com/http://www.sloperama.com/advice.htmlhttp://igda.org/http://www.devmaster.net/http://www.xna.com/http://www.xna.com/http://www.devmaster.net/http://igda.org/http://www.sloperama.com/advice.htmlhttp://www.gamasutra.com/http://www.ogre3d.org/http://www.garagegames.com/http://www.gamedev.net/


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Programming

MS Visual Studio Express Editions (C#,C++, etc.) free and not (Standard, etc.)Open Source world (developing in linux) (Eclipse, Codeblocks, etc.) freeMiddleware

Most anything you could want (AI, Sound,

Networking, Tree rendering, lots more)Engines (full-blown, specialized, etc.)UE3OffsetOgre 3DTorqueCryEngine

SoundAudacity (free)Fruityloops (cheap)Reason, Cubase/Nuendo, Sound Forge
http://www.propellerheads.se/products/reason/http://www.steinberg.net/http://www.sonycreativesoftware.com/products/soundforgefamily.asphttp://www.sonycreativesoftware.com/products/soundforgefamily.asphttp://www.steinberg.net/http://www.steinberg.net/http://www.propellerheads.se/products/reason/


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DesignFreemind Mindmapping software Open source (free)

ArtThe GIMP (OS Photoshop clone) freeBlender (OS Modeling/Animation) freeXSI ModTool freeBig boys: Photoshop, Painter, 3dsmax, Maya, XSI, Modo, Silo, Zbrush,Mudbox, etc.Crazybump (was beta), Topogun (in beta)MapZone texture creation

Wacom tablets
http://freemind.sourceforge.net/wiki/index.php/Main_Pagehttp://www.gimp.org/http://www.blender.org/http://www.softimage.com/products/modtool/http://www.crazybump.com/http://topogun.com/http://www.mapzoneeditor.com/index.php?PAGE=HOMEhttp://www.wacom.com/index2.cfmhttp://www.wacom.com/index2.cfmhttp://www.mapzoneeditor.com/index.php?PAGE=HOMEhttp://topogun.com/http://www.crazybump.com/http://www.softimage.com/products/modtool/http://www.blender.org/http://www.gimp.org/http://freemind.sourceforge.net/wiki/index.php/Main_Page


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Hardware

1 x 17 LCDmonitor

1 x computer

Software

MS OfficeBlender


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Hardware2 x 19 LCDmonitors

1 x computer1 x server

1 x externalHDD

Software

ZBrushHexagon


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Hardware2 x 19 LCD monitors1 x 17 LCD1 x laptop2 x computers1 x server

2 x external HDD1 x tape backup drive1 x Wacom Tablet (9 x 12)

SoftwareZBrushHexagon

PhotoshopTopogunXSIMS Visual StudioFreemind


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Many small complete games will lookbetter on a resume than a few largerincomplete games

Petri Purho is still a student at HelsinkiPolytechnic in FinlandHe made Crayon Physics in 7 days

There is something to be said aboutmaking simple games.

Check out:http://www.experimentalgameplay.com/
http://www.experimentalgameplay.com/http://www.experimentalgameplay.com/


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We believe that, as game developers, there aremany ways of improving our craft. Readingbooks, attending seminars, enrolling inuniversity programs, enlisting the help of amentor all of these are worthwhile and cancontribute to the breadth and depth of onesgame development skillset. In the end,however, theres just no substitute for

experience.-Ad Lib Game Development Society

(ALGDS)


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Small projects start with a specific, reachable goal

Large Projects goals are lofty, and tend to take muchlonger

More people = more variables

Small projects are typically programmer-heavy

As projects grow, the ratio of programmers goes down

Projects following programmer-centric processes

(Agile for example) no longer see the benefitsArtists, Writers and Sound/Music team members arenot programmers

Real Life happens to both small and large projects


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Ambitious projects are adime a dozen, but dontlet that stop youStarting with the proper

people is moreimportant than a DesignDocumentDont be afraid of OpenSource libraries they

can make your lifemuch easier (Dont letthe ambition stand inthe way of commonsense)


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Large-scope = Morework

Totally engine-

dependentIf you go Home-grown, you have tobe ready for the

extra work


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Server(s) Hosting for Website, Files, Source Code, etc.Source Control CVS, SVN, SourceForge, Perforce, etc.Wiki Living documentation, versioning, collaborative

Mediawiki (Wikipedia), DokuWiki, DekiWikiTrac Integrates with SVN, does bug tracking and tasks

Communication IRC, MSN, VentriloIRC is better for keeping record, but is slower than real-time voiceWebsite Acts as your interface with potential recruits

Using a CMS will let you spend time on actual workPublic and Private areas are essentialGreat place for interviews across time-zones

Will build a community around your game (via updates, blogs, news,releases)

File Repository accessible to all, reliable (backed up)Bug Tracking - BugzillaTask Management Agile Track, Trackit, XPWeb


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Definitely not trivial

Shouldnt be an afterthought

Should be there whenever needed

Should be knowledgeable in every process

Dual/Multiple Roles is possible

BUT Managing can become the unwanted burden


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Every Game/Project is different

Comparisons should be used to help/improve, butnever to bash

Keep your eye on the prize, stay motivated


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You will makemistakes, accept it

Mistakes only needbecome regrets ifrepeated.

Grow a thick skinIf you cant take theheat, get out of thekitchen

Grow used to thingsbeing hard

Its much easier if youenjoy being challengedThis part is nodifferent working inthe industry or athome


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How to Make Your Own Game

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