Getting Started Making Video Games.pdf

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How do I get started
making video games?
John Horton
Everybody has at least one game in them. I believe this is the 21st
century equivalent of “everybody has a book in them”. Games are
powerful; they can tell a story, entertain, persuade and bring joy or
sadness. To their creator, video games offer satisfaction, educational
advancement and even personal wealth.
What more powerful reasons do we need to get that game out from
within us and onto the Google Play, Apple App store, Steam, XBOXLive
Arcade or where ever we think our video game should be?
The problem
The problem of course is that you want to make video games but you just don’t know where, how or the best
way to start.
This brief article was written for you if any of the following 3 questions are going round in your mind and you
have so far not managed to find an answer:
1.
Which is the best language (C++, C#, Java, Python, Objective C, HTML5, etc.) to learn?
2.
Which is the best platform (PC, Android, iOS, Mac, SteamOS etc.)?
3.
Which Engine (UnrealEngine, Unity, GameMaker, Cocos, LibGDX, AndEngine, CryEngine, etc.)?
The first thing to point out is that there is no “best” platform, engine or language and anyone who tells you
there is, is either biased, blinkered or just plain wrong.
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The solution
The answer to all these questions can be much more easily found by talking about you and your game. It is
desperately important to have this discussion with yourself because if you head off down the wrong path you
could blow a serious amount of time before you realise you should have done things differently.
If you ever get that sinking feeling knowing you have just burnt an unrecoverable hour of your life on
Facebook or Candy Crush, trust me, that is nothing compared to learning a programming language which
appeared to offer so much but turns out it can never deliver what you want. Furthermore, using a scatter-gun
approach and trying to learn a bit of everything will make progress very slow and possibly cause confusion.
Talking about you and your game
To make sure you get it right first time, write down on a piece of paper or in a text editor, your answers to all
the following questions. Wherever possible, elaborate a little so at the end of this short exercise you will have
a few paragraphs that detail everything about you and your game. Make sure to do this before we move on
to the part of the tutorial that will allow you to match your goals to languages, platforms and engines.
Q1: Where are you starting from?
Are you already a programming guru in one or more languages or are you a complete beginner
with absolutely no programming experience at all? Perhaps you are somewhere in the middle.
Write it down and then move on to the next question.
Q2: Where do you want to end up and when?
What do you see as a successful conclusion to your efforts at learning to make games? Do you
want to be the lead programmer at Rockstar or Infinity Ward? Perhaps you have seen Indie Game
the Movie and have a passionate drive to become an indie dev’. Maybe you just want to have fun?
Perhaps you are just looking for the absolute easiest path to getting published or simply finishing
your game for yourself? How much time are you prepared to put in to this? A weekend, a year, as
long as it takes?
Q3: How do you like to learn?
Do you want to learn the absolute ‘proper’ way without any shortcuts or useful tricks? You want
a fully comprehensive a-z learning pathway with zero shortcuts- no matter how much fun
the shortcuts might be. Do you want the polar opposite of this and want to get to the games
straightway or maybe your way is somewhere in between the two.
Q4: Do you have a preferred target platform?
You might not have an answer to this one; you might have several platforms in mind. It is even
possible you absolutely must develop your game for every platform. Whatever the case, write it
down before moving on.
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Q5: Do you know what type of game you want to make?
There are so many different types of game and which one you want to make will certainly steer
you towards different learning pathways, engines and languages. Write a sentence or two about
the game you want to make. Be sure to mention the genre, perhaps, 3d, 2d, FPS, RPG, survival, retro
arcade, multiplayer sandbox or mobile match-three. Obviously the preceding list is not exhaustive
and might not have mentioned the type of game that you want to make.
Q6: The important question
Which of the above aspects about you and your game is the most important to you? Some choices
are occasionally hard to reconcile together. Often some kind of compromise of goals is necessary.
For example, how important is it that you make your game for your favourite platform/genre
compared to how fast you want to see results, etc.
You and your game conclusion
Hopefully the above questions will have left you with a statement about you and your game, perhaps
something like the following:
“I did a little bit of programming at school but it is probably best
to start again at the beginning. I have a strong desire to be a
successful indie dev’ and I am prepared to do whatever it takes
to achieve this but I must be able to learn alongside my existing
job which pays the bills. I want to learn everything thoroughly but
I also want to be building games as fast as possible. I wouldn’t
mind making games for any or even all platforms but most of
all I would like to make my game for desktop PC’s and, one-day,
get my new game green-lit on Steam. That would be a real buzz! I
want to make a 2d game with retro graphics but it must feel new
and exciting to play. I don’t have all the details yet but I have loads
of ideas. Maybe a platform stealth, rogue-like set in a dystopian
world run by an evil dictator and the player has to make his way
through the world taking on progressively tougher enemies and
bosses before the final show-down with the dictator himself.
The most important thing is to get it on Steam, anything else is a
bonus.”
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Matching your goals to reality
By now you should have a personal statement which clearly details your game building goals. Take a look
over the following table. Use the priorities from your statement to target the appropriate column and then
study the row (which represents the attributes of a specific game building solution) to see if it also matches
your other priorities or requirements. This will also start to make clear the language that would be most
appropriate.
There will always be a match! But, there will always be compromises to be made. Study the table and then
we can talk more.
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Tool
Suits genres/
perfect use
case
3d*
Want to build a
AAA game and
don’t care how
long it takes.
Main
language(s)
used
C++,
Blueprint visual
scripting
Platforms Difficulty assessment
deployed to
All
Inc Consoles**
Very easy to begin building 3d
worlds but piecing together
full games eventually becomes
complex.
Simpler, visual scripting
alternative to programming.
Want to work for AAA consider
starting here.
Pro
Con
UE4
Totally free and fully featured to
learn and develop.
Arguably the best and fastest 3d
engine.
Amazing for designing 3d worlds.
Loads of up-to-date beginner
tutorials
Arguably the best looking
graphics of any game engine.
Amazing for designing 3d worlds.
No royalties!
5% Gross royalty payable on
turnover for released titles.
CryEngine
3d*
C++,
Lua
Desktop and
Consoles**
Very easy to begin building 3d
worlds but piecing together
full games eventually becomes
complex.
Want to work for AAA consider
starting here.
Small monthly fee around $10
Less complete beginner tutorials
compared to Unity and UE4.
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