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| New to all of this: what engine should i try? | Locked | |
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| Sep 25 2013 Anchor | ||
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I am developing a D20 (D&D) based RPG game. It originally was going to be a tabletop traditional D&D game i could play with friends, with an ongoing campain and what not. I spent about 2 years of off and on (mostly off) developing all the details, the systems i want to implement, ideas, and overall core of the game. I am not active in my community to find other D&D players, although i have a few at work that are semi-interested. I finally decided that since i have all this content that i have written bare-bones for, it was time to aucutally start fleshing out real details and real progress that i could (and others) see. The cost of making a really cool game isnt much, just need a great idea and a pad of paper when it comes to D&D. However, to really get players involved it far better to have a digital version and something visually they can play. I wanted to originally create the game on a tabletop, with a playmat that i was designing, i had all the various spots, and some maps etc laid out. As development moved forward i realized my project was far to big of scope for something simple, if i wanted to continue adding things, the tabletop experience might be to basic to try and fit everything in. I'm not trying to make a super complicated game, although everything i have so far, looks complicated if it were converted to a real life player played game and would be a lot upkeep and time on me setting it up, breaking it down, explaining it all, and would spend more time doing that than aucutally playing. Thus the idea of taking it to a digital format, which then would greatly speed up things. Now i can design as i go, create my game world, my characters, write story, and flesh out a real world where you can play and interact. Now i can tell my friends, look at this game i am designing and send them a link to try it, and enlist local help and co-workers (who are also gamers) to help along the way, to play the game etc. I am literally starting from 0 knowledge of any of this though, writing and designing a fake game (essentially that's what it is, without actually having substance and a physical/visual base to start from) is all new to me. I realize that a lot of you are developers, coders, and some even have their own studios, so i guess my real question here is this: What game engine would be good to start out with, doesn't have to be the same engine i finally choose, i just need something to start putting things into it, playing with various ideas, and something that is simple yet allows me to add in things as i need, has to be pretty customizable, graphics decent although i always say gameplay over fancy graphics any day (old school RPG'er here, the good ol days of Final Fantasy on NES/SNES) I need advice and help and just reaching out to you guys on what i should do first, i am more into writing story, writing and designing items, characthers, and the aucutal core elements of the game, like level design, maps, the systems like in an rpg a bank and bag system, items to go in said bag/bank, dungeons, monsters...all that stuff. Combat, skills, quests...that's what i love to do, and would love to start showing others what i have been doing and get feedback and learn from others, as well as create my own style. I need an engine where i can do the main 2 things: have a dice rolling system or random number generator, and it can be tied to databases (like in a real rpg, when you kill something, it rolls to see what loot you get) I'd like to be able to create a tactical based combat system, like Final Fantasy Tactics, similar to those kinds of games, tile sets, and have world maps you move between things. Aucutally if you have played Tactics that's basically the core of what i would like to do, but with D&D/D20 hybrid, and many other features to add in The 2nd thing i need it to do is be able to randomize everything, that's key in my game. i want to be able to write/design a system that every time you play it is different, like quests, when you encounter a quest make it so that it pulls from a random number of quests, and then from that basic core, pull out x objectives. Random weather, dungeons, monsters, loot, quests, all that as per standard on a lot of RPGS. The dice rolling system is to give it a old school feel/flare Basically a hybrid of a bunch of games such as FF Tactics, D&D, World of Warcraft (MMO's in general), a Dice roll system for everything, a card system (all things like quests, items, abilities etc are on cards you collect, or interact with, most randomized) Imangine FF Tactics the basics of its tactical combat, but much more. imagine each player controlling a avatar a hero of your choosing, with skills and all that, and can interact hang out with each other, and all events and things pop up as Cards like you are running along and BOOM its a trap! a card pops up and shows a card with a visual representation of it, or say your skills, all your skills are represented by cards in your inventory menu, quests come up as cards (when i say cards basically boxes that are card-like and for visual representation of stuff) at the end of battle a card pops up showing you all the loot you gained etc. All this with a heavy D20/D&D emphasis, with tons of classes and races to choose from, each fully fleshed out and detailed, with backstory, lore, and classic iconic abilities and look/feel like rogues being rogues, a paladin, or even clerics. To give an idea of what i am going for........ VERY SLOW LVL PROGRESSION (SEVERAL SESSIONS FOR 1 LEVEL UP) 5 TIER ITEM SYSTEM (RANDOMIZED STAT SYSTEM) DIVERSE SET OF GEAR (LOTS OF CHOICES) STANDARD DUNGEON & TERRAIN (DUNGEON TILES & AREAS FEEL EPIC WITH DEPTH/STORY) 4 TIER PROFESSION SYSTEM (APPRENTICE, ADEPT, EXPERT, MASTER) 11 PROFESSIONS (YOUR CHOICE OF 2 PRIMARY & 2 SECONDARY) UPGRADING GEAR SYSTEM (USES SPECIAL ITEMS, AND PROCESS) -ADDITIONAL POINT SOURCES (ADDITIONAL BOOKS, TOMES, AND SOURCES GIVE PERMANENT ADDITIONS) RECIPIE & LEARNING PATTERNS (LEARN PATTERNS & RECIPIES, BUY OR AQUIRE IN ADVENTURE) FLEXIBLE COMBAT SYSTEM (ADDITIONAL STUFF ADDED, RATINGS, BALANCED & FAST COMBAT) BANK SYSTEM (PULL OUT ANYTHING FROM ANY BANK ANYWHERE) SHOP SYSTEM (GEAR, MAGIC, TRAINERS, INFO, SKILLS FEATS) DOUBLE HP FOR MONSTERS (DOUBLE STANDARD MONSTER HEALTH SO THEY ARENT WUSSIES) that's just a small sample of the scope and details of the game world i want to create, its a pretty massive undertaking but i think with the right help and support as well the tools i can start making this project into something really cool. so if any suggestions or comments I'm open to discussion Thanks |
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| Sep 25 2013 Anchor | ||
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To answer your initial question, you could use FlashDevelop, Unity, or UDK if you're looking for a free engine to prototype with. Paid ones wouldn't be worth it for you since you admit to zero experience. There are plenty of tutorials on all of these engines that you could potentially get something up and running within a couple of weeks. It may not look pretty, but having a square moving about on a screen is better than nothing. However, I would advise against trying to make your first game such a grand experience. The problem with your idea is that it is too grandiose and out of scope for someone with no experience making games. I understand that you have a seemingly immense knowledge of D&D which is good at coming up with rules and design. But your claim that going digital will speed up the process of making this idea a reality is woefully incorrect. You are going to have to dedicate yourself to so many different disciplines before you have anything of merit; coding, art, design, level building, the intricacies of what engine you are using, sound design, etc. Some of these things take years to get good at. My advice to you is to vastly reduce the scope of what you want to do. Pick a unique feature and focus on making that single thing fun and entertaining. Then expand later when you have more experience. If what you have listed in the post truly is a 'small sample' of what you want to get done then you are going to have a rough time, my friend. |
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| Sep 25 2013 Anchor | ||
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I'd advise against pants1067 engine suggestions VERY strongly. Clearly you're a newb who doesn't know his hand from his ass when programming or any other basics of making a video game. If you're this new at video game creation, then you need to follow a path to bring you to your eventual goal. You can't just pick up any old engine's scripting language and begin making the game you're attempting. I'll not lie, it's going to take you a while. First you must make a choice, programming, graphics, or both? I recommend both, while you don't need to be an exemplary artist or an Algebraic genius, you should understand how everything works at the basic level. For simple 2D graphics, you can use a program called GIMP, (see links below), there are many tutorials out there on it and you can find out everything there is to know about basic pixel art and simple, frame-by-frame animations. When it comes to programming, you should first learn and understand how basic Object Oriented Programming works. If you look at an OOP Language, you'll notice they all include variables, class, functions etc. Learn what these mean, learn what most languages are comprised of logically. Then, you can start learning specific languages, and that is where you go about looking for an engine. I personally recommend GameMaker as a first step into game development, as it is EXTREMELY simple and has a very simple scripting language, (but if you don't pick it up quickly don't worry; your first language will always be the hardest, but after that they'll just come to you in an instant as most are simple changes in syntax). Once you know how to make simple graphics and understand the basics of not only programming, but scripting in Game Maker, then you can start to prototype features from your game idea. But you must start small, prototype single features, one-by-one and eventually you can put them all together and get a better idea of your game's final picture. Then get someone more experienced in art to add to your art assets and make them better and BOOM. You have the beginnings of a video game. In the end, stay positive, commit, and REMEMBER, NO ONE WANTS TO WORK WITH SOMEONE WHO JUST HAS IDEAS, LEARN HOW TO PROGRAM, DO ART, OR BOTH OR NO ONE WILL WORK WITH YOU!!!! You MUST carry some of the load. Good luck from another game developer hopeful. ;P P.S. If you ever need some extra programming help, PM me and I'd be glad to help you with your project if I can. |
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| Sep 25 2013 Anchor | ||
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Woah, woah woah. Slow down a bit. First off, an engine is not a game. They do not have inventories built in. They do not have combat systems (mostly; stuff like UDK have default FPS stuff, but that won't help you). They do not have all sorts of different gear. That ALL comes from you. An engine implements all the really low-level stuff, like rendering&animation, it has a bunch of built in methods and classes (instructions and containers, essentially), and usually has a sleek interface. You CANNOT just say "I want a Alchemist who needs a lab." You need to tell the computer what a lab is, and what all alchemist is. But, pretty much any engine will do what you want it to do. That said, I'd recommend learning Unity. Unity is extremely powerful, but easy to get into. Bonus: You can use C#. If I were you, I'd start by getting visual studio C#, and making a few simple apps and games (a calculator, card games, tic-tac-toe, monopoly, etc) in there, without the distractions of particle systems, and level design and such. Learn how to use the Random methods, and learn how to use classes. When you need the better graphics & general functionality of Unity and such, you'll be in a great position to leap off and make your RPG. Edited by: ANumberSquared |
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| Sep 26 2013 Anchor | ||
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I agree with Ausländer's points but his word choice was a bit harsh for this case IMO. The OP comes off pretty mature and takes things seriously unlike your standard idea guys. The important thing is to stay humble. You might be experienced in D&D but with video game development you still start out from zero. There are no shortcuts into learning to think like a programmer and getting to know certain mechanics that are used in programming so you can instinctively use stuff like if-then-else, loops, classes, inheriting, wrapping. That will be unavoidably seriously bottlenecking your progress and it will probably be a good amount of time before you have any of what you can visualize on screen. As long as you accept that and stay patient, realistic and not too ambitious, you can achieve your game in one form or another sooner or later. Doesn't matter which engine you pick at this point. Just learn programming. For later on I'd recommend Unity or BGE if you intend to make this in 3D. Find out about them and see if using them makes sense to you. |
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