Ok, so now I am a fairly capable and competent programmer. The only problem I have: What order do I go about making my game? This is where you come in, I need some people with experience to put the following things in order of when they should be done, starting with the earliest, ending with the latest.
{Icons}
{Skills and Skill System}
{Admin Verbs}
{Maps}
{Character Creation}
{Save System}
{Items}
ID:151568
 Mar 20 2010, 9:49 am
|
|
|
Mar 20 2010, 9:52 am
|
|
Stephen001
  |
First work out what content the game should have. What's the objective for players, then branch out from there. What game mechanics will they need to actually do the objective, what information will they need displayed, etc etc. All the things you've listed are the result of that process of design, their order is mostly (not entirely) irrelevant.
|
Pretty much this.
I start by designing things, but I generally don't put major detail into this. Probably because I have a short attention span. But I have a general idea and concept and write this stuff down, then as the game is being developed I flesh the ideas out. After that I focus entirely on getting the basics of the game finish. The engine basically, all the systems and features that make the game work. Once this is done, it is basically a game without anything to do, after which I simple start adding content (which I find to be long and boring). Other things, such as graphics and so on come as they come. Place holders for what is not finished, whatever is finished gets added. I generally use graphics to break things up though. If I am getting bored of adding content, I'll draw stuff for a few hours and so on. | |
Well first I just design the game in my head. If I was making an RPG, I'd ask myself:
1. What kind of RPG? Do I want my characters to be humans, or do I want everyone to play as an animal? Do I want the game to have one huge map to explore, or several different smaller levels to play on? Would my game work better if it was turn-based, or is my game definetly going to be better if I were to make it real-time? What will make my game unique and stand out from the rest of BYOND? 2. Can I create this game? What will I need to carry out everything? Is my internet good enough to host games myself, or will I need to find someone to host for me? Am I a competent enough programmer to effectively create this game, or do I need to continue learning or hire someone else? Then, I begin my drawing my game out. Lets say I was going to have a game about an evil league of lollipops that invade a small city to give everyone cavities. I then make some DM files. Main.dm ( for all my main code ), Turf.dm ( for all my turfs ), and Object.dm (for all my objects). Then I make the icon files and begin drawing the map and programming the turfs in. I'll probably draw a city with grass, houses, trees, water etc and then draw what the mobs will look like. After everything is drawn, I program the game. I get the lollipops to move around, I get them to attack the players, I get the players to die from gingivitis if they lose too much HP and so on. Then I test the game myself. If the game is a multiplayer game, I use another key to log in to make sure stuff works between two players. You know you're ready to build hype for your game once all thats left to do is polish your game. That means title screens, hub images, special features for members, all that good stuff. That way, many people can anticipate your game. After hype is built and I got my title screens and help files and hub images finished, I host the game and see how the game runs. Then the only thing left to do is fix the inevitable mistakes you've made in DM and update the game with more content so that players don't get bored. N thats all folks. Don't worry about things like "Should I make admin verbs before I make the save system?" Theres no special order in which you have to program things in. Just make sure you plan first, create next, build hype and then publish. | |