A notebook... not, not the PC, the paper one XD
That's where everything starts :D
Yes, I'm useless, but, hey, you got a bump :P
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Actually that is probably best advice that will be given in this thread.
Creating game in some SDK is so far in development cycle that most people don't bother to think it through.
If you spend time with pan and paper in preparation period, game production time and complexity rises exponentially.
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Gameguru and RPG maker seem to be good beginners ones. They are what I plan to use when I start
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Gameguru really is not that good if you want to get into game development. It's a great tool to play around in and try some things (like maybe try out how a map would look in some way), but doesn't have enough standard assets (and a terrible AI) to really build a nice game.
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so its good for practice but not necessarily to make a whole game.. got it thanks!
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Basicly yes. The only thing I used it for is just to play around a bit with how I should make the terrain and where to put some houses (even though the selection of buildings is small in GameGuru, you can import your own models), since this can be done really quick in GameGuru.
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GameGuru is garbage, it's only okay-ish if you want something to play with, but not if you're actually serious about making good games. When it comes to RPGMaker I wouldn't use anything other than MV due to limitations of the older versions.
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just bought this for him and he really enjoys it. thanks for the suggestion
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The RPG Maker bundle ?
Everyone can make some semi-decent game with that ...
A guy with some skill , can actually make some good game mby :?
Sry i just want more Good RPG Maker games >.<
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Buy him this, very cheap
GameMaker: Studio Master Collection
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Gamemaker is a good program for people just getting into game development, BUT I wouldn't reccomend spending $800 on the full version, there's a free version that he should check out first and see if he likes it and then wait for a sale on the pro versions. I picked up the $100 version a few years ago for $25.
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I haven't worked with it extensively, but Game Maker is pretty intuitive and was used to make some very successful recent indie games in a variety of genres.
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I think this is a good starting point: Axis Game Factory's AGFPRO v3 in terms of creation software. It has been bundled before and it is on sale right now so it won't kill your budget. Also, for inspiration give Door Kickers a try, a game with 96% Positive feedback made by only 3 devs.
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Please explain little more what kind of beginner is your friend.
Is he programming beginner, game design, etc.
Game Maker Studio and Unity are free, if he needs environment to build, but if he cant even code, then there is long road in front of him, before he does any game development.
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This. Programming is a huge part of gaming (and not too hard to learn if you are not too stupid)
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Sorry to burst your bubble, but programming is quite hard.
But I'm guessing that you are referring to coding, known as writing a code.
I agree that you can learn it, but even if you are "too stupid", you just need to practice enough,
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Haha, I once had a lib-ed professor in university claim that anyone could learn to be a programmer. I seriously doubted it (and still do), and asked if they meant "writing a little bit of code to make the computer do something simple". The conceded that was what they meant. There's a seriously big difference.
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Everyone can be/learn anything, but amount of effort vary from person to person to become proficient at it.
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RPGMaker is quite newbie-friendly. Unity also has a lot of assets and tutorials for its engine and it's free, even.
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gift him some rpg-maker game and tell him that's exactly what he shouldn't do. :3
greenlight trash will also do the trick
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Kind of what Mullins said but more elaborate:
Give him the entire Digital Homicide catalog to show him what not to do.
And give him To the Moon, some choice Vlambeer games and/or Gunpoint to show what can be done with some of the more popular toolsets.
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thank you everyone sooo much. I'm going to check out each suggestion. Thanks again!
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You could try some of the game creating games/software on steam like RPG maker or that Game Guru (I think that's what its called?)
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true! I'm really thinking about getting it since a lot of people had told me its good for beginners. I'm getting some mixed opinions about it though. Some people are saying its horrible and others saying its perfect. No first game he makes is going to be great though (unless were lucky) so any beginner program counts. thanks :)
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Lol I honestly have no opinion of either of them considering I don't make games and would be terrible at it if I did lol. But I do know that the RPG makers are super simple (Cause its RPG lol) but my brother has been experimenting with the Unity engine so I would also recommend checking that out especially since its free
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In my opinion Gameguru is not that good. Sure his first games won't be good, but Gameguru has too little to work with in my opinion. Get him RPGMaker instead. It's great to play around with and it even offers some basic logic that is used in programming, if he ever wants to learn that. You can also make your own scripts in it, giving you even more possibilities.
If he is interested in learning to program (if he can't already), you should suggest him Unity 3D. It's free (unless you sell more then 100.000 copies (I think that's the number)) and offers you almost complete freedom (if you know how to program).
EDIT: I used Unity for school the past 12 weeks and it was really easy to use (I have experience in programming however). The interface can be customized and everything is pretty logical.
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GameGuru is VERY simple...it's mostly a map editor. I wouldn't call it a programming tool by any means....it's ok to muck around with if you are a wanting to be a map designer, but will offer nothing in terms bettering ones programming skills.
RPGMaker is slightly better than Game Guru, but is also a bit harder to learn. You can make better games, that have a large fanbase(Quite a few people love RPGMaker games...even I do to an extent), but you are limited to the types of games you can make...mostly it's going to be JRPG titles or Visual Novels....so unless he's interested in making those types of games, he might wanna stay away from that.
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Construct 2 is a great software as well. Or you could think ahead and gift him a Greenlight Developer Access.
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I like your answer on the greenlight access because I didn't know that was something that had to be paid for. Really good gift idea. I have a question though, if I pay for greenlight, will that last forever or does it expire and have to be paid for again?
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It's a one-time fee, as shown in the description. Also, you're doing charity as the fee is donated to Child's Play.
But mind you, is a loooooong road for someone to get a proper game done. I've been trying to get a game done by myself, and its not an easy thing to do.
Other than that, I suggest probing your friend a bit more. Does he/she likes programming? There's a great deal of good books on C# (script used in Unity engine) that could help your friend in this case. If he's more into design, then one of the tools a lot of people mentioned are great.
RPG Maker is a very well know platform, but has the downside of being a bit limited in the aspect of what kind of games you can do, that is, J-RPGs. There's great games done with RPG Maker, and I guess To The Moon is one of them. But if he's into other kind of games (puzzles, FPS, Tower Defense, 4X and the list goes on) then you're looking at the wrong tool.
Gamemaker Studio and Construct 2 are great tools for 2D games with a better range. Hotline Miami was done in Gamemaker, if I'm not wrong. Construct 2 also has great possibilities and a good community on Scirra's forum. And there's free versions so he/she can give it a test first.
Other than that, there's Unreal, Cryengine, Source, Unity and stuff. Some has free versions, but the road to master those are way longer than the other. Those can deliver more complex projects, but the programming skills are essential to get things done.
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I'm not sure if he likes programming because hes very new to the whole thing, but I'll be sure to ask. Great ideas. Thanks for taking the time to write this theres a lot of great suggestions. I know that he is very much into story driven games which is why I think RPG maker is the way to go, for a starter. The other ones you have suggested sound pretty reasonable too so I'll look at them all. It sounds like its going to be a hard journey, but it will be a nice try. Thanks for all the suggestions!
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No problem at all, glad I could help. If you choose for RPG Maker, you can probably get it easily on a trade since it has been bundled (I won a copy myself). Mind you, even with RPG Maker it is not an easy task to get a game done. Everyone can make a game in RPG Maker, but its not like any game will be worth playing :) The first answer you got is still valid: get a notebook and start writting. Think about history, game mechanics, visual identity, get it all written down. Play with the ideas for a long time. Then you start putting on a small level to test the ideas.
Make sure you'll let us know if your friend get a game running, he'll have no problems to find beta testers :)
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thanks for the tip about the trade! I agree, I've played some pretty awful rpg maker games, so I hope I can help him avoid that, if I do decide to buy that for him. I love the notebook idea. Sometimes it can get overwhelming with all the programs, I forget that the starting creative process is very important.
You were ridiculously helpful and I really appreciate it! I feel like we have a long way to go, but if he gets a game made I cant wait to ask this community to be beta testers. I've gotten amazing responses from everyone on here. Way better then any forum I've gone too. Thanks again!
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First this book: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Homo_Ludens
Later a software of their preference.
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Unity 5 is for free
https://unity3d.com/5
Pretty easy to use when you know how to code stuff
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Unity is great, free, and has a really friendly community and tons of learning videos and blog posts round about. The nicest part is that it's a full suite so you can arrange your game and write your code. It runs on Mac and PC just fine, and if you are running on PC you can get Visual Studio Community Edition and get the Unity for Visual Studio add-in and have a really good code editor. (The Mono editor Unity comes with is adequate.)
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You are all amazing. I expected a couple people to respond only. All of these ideas are very helpful. Can't wait to check them all out.
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Almost all tools needed are free. Blender is free(modeling etc.) Unreal Engine 4 is free, which has quite a lot of features.
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i also would say rpg maker^^ you dont need to know much about creating games but the more you are working with it, the more complex things you can do^^
i would also recomment to buy with it a copy of to the moon - great game, so even if he loses his interest in making games, he has something to play. it shows also, that you can create with the rpg maker brilliant games wich even sells nice^^
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thanks for the suggestion! I like the idea of gifting him with a game with a program, and I love To The Moon so its a perfect idea.
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i liked this not very expensive..and have potential:P
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Maybe some game programming books?
If you prefer game engine then probably Unity or Unreal which is free (But it's pretty complicated though)
Maybe go with what most people said, rpg makers. Oh, there's Yoyo Games too which i believe the engine used to make Spelunky.
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Totally unrelated but Yoyo Games have a nice office... I got to see it once :x
I also got to eat free pizza that time
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packtpub.com has some inexpensive books on both of those engines. They have a subscription that you can get access to everything, or there are frequently specials that you can pick up a good book for $5.
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I'm actually looking for good books on coding and programming so good suggestions. I think I may get him a pogram with a book
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Is your friend more inclined towards coding or art? :3
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I have a coupon for a game's source code
33% off on the title Hacker Evolution Source Code.
(Valid until 1/22/2016, 10:59:20 AM)
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I have a friend who's birthday is coming up and his goal is to be a video game developer. He has never made a game in his life and has no software to do so. You all seem to be more expert then I when it comes to games. Can the community help me out :)
What is a good program/game that I can buy that would help him with his goal. Dont forget he is a beginner! Also I dont have a specific budget but nothing to crazy.
thanks for the future advice!
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