[link]age=1

taken from gaiaonline thread years back written by Pirogoth Wolfblood


So you want to make a game, huh?



About Me
I'm just a semi C&T regular on the Gaia forums. I've been programming for several years in various languages and using different packages. I'm decently familiar with Maya PLE as well as SoftImage. I've been moding UT for a while now and have modded quake 2 and 3 in the past. I'm a gamer, tried and true. I'm a very creative person, at least in my mind. I do a lot of artwork, both by hand and through 3D modellng. I believe myself to be a decently well rounded person. I'm also read on a regular basis. Keeps the mind sharp and broadens the horizons.

Why Write this?
Recently I've noticed the gaia forums as well as other are plagued with posts asking how to make a game, or asking for a game maker. Any number of things. And the dreaded, "I'm making a MMORPG, can you help?" posts are annoying. I write this because I'm tired of hearing it. And once and a while they do make a game, but it is far from worth playing. This is a personal opinion only, but one that's fixed. So I wish to try and fix this by explaining the process of making a game. Not the "use this array" or "type this" or "click this" but a general overview of the process. The skills needed and though process and leadership skills you have to get on your own. I cannot provide these.

How to make a game.
I will discuss the basics on how to make a game. What you need, what you don't. A few tips here and there. This is the bulk of this manual. Enjoy.



The Basics

There are a few basic steps you need to take. I've noticed when people decide they want to make a game, Usually someone will post in a forum and say "Hey I want to make a game, wanna help?" Then more often then not there will be a couple of people interested, but have little to know idea what it entales. Then someone will ask what it's about, and they'll be given a rather vague idea of the plot. Or none at all with the excuse that they havn't thought of one yet. This is a terrible way to go about it. Very rarely will a game ever be made, and most often, the game is either unplayable, or not worth playing. So I'll explain the right way of going about it.

A) Plot
It's great that you want to make a game, but without a plot, it's pointless to even try. Your game will be very dry and usually rather pointless. No one will want to play it. You may say that in an FPS you don't need a plot, say UT for example. Guess what, UT has a plot. As does Quake III and any other FPS you can think of. I guarentee it. The plot just holds everything together. It gives a reason to the madness.

When you make a plot have it well thought out. This is NOT a five minute process. This can take hours, days, weeks, months and in some cases years. Plan everything out to the last detail. Have all the dialogue written. Where are they supposed to go? What are they doing? Have the basic maps planned out, have concept art for everything. I don't care if you can draw, still have a rough concept. Have everything planned out to the last detail. And I mean the LAST detail. Do NOT make this up as you go. It will not hold together. This is probably the most important part to making a game. Although it is not the funnest part, it is the most important. This is not the time to start slacking or to start thinking you'll get by without doing this. It is drasticly important.

When making a plot keep in mind the audiance your targeting. A game based upon religion might do well, if done the right way. Put down one religion or another, insult one race or another or anything of that nature and you will get flamed. No one will be interested. And most people will be inulted. Keep in mind also, that your audiance is not stupid. Don't dumb things down for them. Explain explain explain, but do not ever make the user feel stupid. They will delete your game and will not continue.

A plot doesn't have to be complex. Never has to be. Take a shooter for example. We'll use Quake III Arena. You are trapped in an arena battling for your life and glory. The winner is set free. Or at least that's what I remember of the plot. Quake III was an incredible game that did extremely well. It did NOT have a very in depth plot. It had excellent game play. But, if you are not going to have a gameplay that can hold it's own, don't do this. Quake was decently origional. Chances are, your game will not. So keep the user interested. Don't make another quake, cause honestly if it was me playing your game, why would I download a 300mb game that's just like quake...when I can go play quake? Keep the player interested and captivated. Keep the plot suited to the genre.

Simple plots can do well, but they don't have to be simple. Take an RPG for example such as Baldur's gate. Another game that did extremely well. This game had a VERY in depth plot. They did not just have something simple. They had a very deep, in depth plot where all the characters were necessary and used to a good extent. It involved the users interaction and required the user to make choices. They didn't feel forced into anything, they were in control of the movement of the game and their character/party's actions. In the case of RPG's it's typical to feed a little bit of the plot to the player at a time. A good example is Final Fanatasy 8. Great example. They just fed a little bit of the plot to you at a time. At the beginning of the game they didn't tell you everything that's going on. Just the very basics of what you needed to know then. But as the game progresses they lead you through a lot of twists and turns, many trails all leading to the main goal, wich you don't find out till near the end. Then you get the big picture and it all makes sense. You don't have to do this in the plot, but it's suggested. It keeps the player interested and keeps them asking questions such as "why?". This is a great tool. Use it to your advantage.

Summary: Plot is important. So is concept art. Have everything done before hand and well thought out. It will take time, and will take multiple revisions. Do not slack off in this area. This is the most important part of making a game. Every part is important, but the plot holds it all together. it's the stitching of a piece of fabric. Without it, it doesn't hold together and in the end, you have string with no direction. It's purpose is defined by the stitching and form. You have to give your game that stitching, that form for it to be of any purpose.


B) Concept Artwork
Concept art is decently important. It gives a good idea of what to expect. Have everything drawn out on paper. What are each of the level's/maps gonna look like? Where are the spawn points? Where's the ammo? Weapon pickups? Where is that wand of blue magic? HP Vials? MP potions? Magic spells? Merchants? Have it all planned out. This step is important when trying to get a team together and you shall see why later.

Start by coming up with ideas of what the main character/characters are going to look like. Sketch them out in different clothing till you come up with something you like. This will make modeling of your characters so much easier in the long run. Maybe come up with a short little bio of the character's. Could be nice for future reference as to why the character acts the way he does.

Have decent ideas for the bad guys. The main villain (if there is one) should have some character sketches as well. Different clothing in the like till you come up with something your comfortable with. Again a nice bio would be nice, but the bio isn't necessary for either the main characters or the villain. It's purely optional, as this should be covered by the plot anyway.

Have, if nothing else, a top down view sketched out of all your maps and levels (or at least a handful of them, to get you started). The idea is so you can get a feel for your game, how it's gonna play, what it's gonna be like. What it's going to look like. It gives it a visual feel. This is important when starting a team. Again, you'll see why later.

Items should also have sketches done of them. Notice how everything is being planned out before any computer work is done? This is important.

Now you have everything you need to start making a game. Onto the next section, shall we?


C) Getting a Team
Now it's time to decide, do you wish to do this completely on your own, or do you want help? If you want to do it on your own you have to have a very good understanding of programming concepts, especially those used for game design. You have to be proficient at making textures and tiles. If your game is in 3D then you need to have experience in one modeling package or another (Maya is my choice, but XSI is also quite nice, as is Blender 3D (free)). If you are lacking in one of these area's, your either going to have to take the time to learn them, or your going to need help.

A good place to start getting help is on a forum. In Gaia's case perhaps the C&T forum or the video game forum. I also recommend checking out the 3DBuzz website forums. Very nice resource with plenty of people who might be interested. Now when asking for help, do not post "Hi, I'm making a game. Wanna help?" This is NOT the way to go about it. You will be shot down very quickly. A good way to do it is to give them all the information about your game. All the written info, and a FEW of the concept sketches. The full plot, everything. Explain the genre of the game your making, all the little details. This shows that 1) It's been thought out. And 2) It gives them some confidence in that their time will not be wasted on some small project that will never be completed.

With any luck you will have a few people interested. You are going to need modelers, programmers, artists, music composer's, map designers, GUI designers. There's a long list. You are going to need a team leader. This will most likely be you, as it is your game. Your going to have to organize everything, keep everyone in contact with each other and keep tabs on everything. You are the lifeblood of the team. Without organization, it is all going to fail. This does not mean that you are God.

A small suggestion, hire those that you are confident in. Watch how they compose themselves. If they can't seem to manage to use proper English in a post on a forum, how good are their skills going to be? What effort are they going to put in? (The exception to this is if they are learning English as a second language or something of this nature. If it is their first language, this is a red flag. They will not likely put the best effort into the design of the game.)

D) Game Engine and Graphic's
Now is the time to begin on the actual design of the game. You need a game engine. There are a multitude of free one's and commercial one's. Or you can simply make your own. This all depends on the skills of your team and what engine's support what features you need. Choose wisely, this is a big decision that you WILL regret if you have to change half way during the creation of your game.

As for what features are needed in the game engine, is completely up to you and your team. I cannot say as I don't know what your game involves. You can ask me if you need help at pirogoth.wolfblood@gmail.com. You are welcome to e-mail me for clarification on any of this, actually feel encouraged. I love helping people with things like this.

While the game engine is being designed/worked upon it is time to start working on the graphics. Remember the concept art you worked on? Now is the time to pull it out. Give this out to your modelers. They can start working on the models for the characters and other things. Again, I'm assuming this is a 3D game. 2D is slightly different. Rather than modelers, your going to need sprite artists. Either way, now is the time for them to start working on the artwork of the game while the engine is being created and modified.

Once the engine is done being created it's time to start working on the GUI and the maps/levels. Make sure they fit the theme and go according to the plot. This is not the time to start throwing random things in (no hidden secret demon cow levels....ok maybe a few...). Take time with the maps as this is what people are going to be in the most. Your world. If this is not done well, people will not be happy and will not play the game. Just being honest. The GUI should be visually pleasing and easy to navigate. No half haphazardly placed menu's.

Try to make everything connect to the plot and side plots. Make it fun to play! The easiest way to make a game that will be fun, is make a game that you'd want to play. A game you'd go into the store and look at and go..."I WANNA BUY THAT!!" While it doesn't have to be THAT exciting to play, why not shoot for it as a goal though? Make it the best it can be. Make it fun to play!


E) Advertising
Advertise the game. Do so on forums, e-mail. Anywhere you can. This may cost you, but it doesn't have too. Word of mouth can be a powerful thing. Just get the game out there. The game itself should be done by now, or rather at least in Beta stage if not final.


F) Keep Working
Your never going to really finish. There's always new content to add. Bugs to be fixed. Your job is never really over. You might get lucky and your game will be incredible. I rather hope it is. You'll get a fan base, and yes, they will help. They will give you their opinions, their suggestions. Listen to them, but don't play to their every whim. Keep the game as it should be. Don't try to make it into something it isn't. Keep your mind open.





Last Words
And that's the end. At least for the most part. I will continue to update and revise this as I go. I'm working on a mod for UT2004 and wanted to get this out of my system. As I work on the mod, I will very likely update this with my personal process. And I might add, I will not be advertising my mod on Gaia, at least not in the C&T area, so don't worry about advertising.

If anyone has any suggestions, or anything that they'd like to add, I'd love to hear it. Either reply to this or send me an e-mail.
If anyone has any questions at all, feel free to e-mail me at pirogoth.wolfblood@gmail.com or reply to this message, I'll be watching it like a hawk.

-Pirogoth Wolfblood
AKA: Ryan Taylor, Piro, Pirogoth, Wolf