you a game developer? - and game development in general, i guess

[Smaug's Smokey Hole]

Like I said, I don't know coding, programming, or anything else. I'm just a worthless idea guy, but if you're one of those idea guy creative types who wants to make a game and you actually have the will to make it work but can't get the hang of coding or programming for whatever reason, keep it small and simple.

A good piece of advice is to put a bow on even the smallest things that you start because finishing is a skill that hobbyists and indies lack. That also applies to anyone making a short RPG Maker game that no one will ever play, instead of starting something new, try to wrap it up and see how that goes. It doesn't have to be good but it needs to end and the end is hard to commit to - just look at big budget video games that just goes eeeh - the end.

 

[RadicalCentrist]

pretty sure no one gives a fuck but ludum dare is coming up soon so if you wanna participate in a game jam from the 2nd to the 4th or 5th, here's your chance

Guess I know what I'm doing this weekend.

You joining too?

 

[DeadwastePrime]

Guess I know what I'm doing this weekend.

You joining too?

eh im gonna be busy with something over the weekend so i really cant

 

[Syaoran Li]

Sorry for the thread necromancy but I figured I want to touch up on this topic some more.

I'll admit, I'm an ideas guy and consequently utterly worthless.

Not everyone can learn to code or be a programmer, but I've kind of always wanted to see a proper video game adaptation of George A. Romero's work. I know there was that Land of the Dead game for the original Xbox that wasn't too good, but aside from that, not much else.

I'll admit, zombies are a dead genre but I've sincerely loved the genre even before it was a popular fad and I still genuinely and unironically love the genre even though it's now unpopular.

I've actually started typing up a design document for a zombie FPS game (I know, it's been done a million times but again, what hasn't?) but it's specifically a single-player game that would be a loose adaptation of the 1968 film Night of the Living Dead

That movie is in the public domain, although the sequels like Dawn of the Dead and Day of the Dead are copyrighted.

Dumb and autistic of me, I know.

But if there are any Kiwis who actually know how to code, program, or anything else that's related to game development, let me know.

 

[Jones McCann]

Sorry for the thread necromancy but I figured I want to touch up on this topic some more.

I'll admit, I'm an ideas guy and consequently utterly worthless.

Not everyone can learn to code or be a programmer, but I've kind of always wanted to see a proper video game adaptation of George A. Romero's work. I know there was that Land of the Dead game for the original Xbox that wasn't too good, but aside from that, not much else.

I'll admit, zombies are a dead genre but I've sincerely loved the genre even before it was a popular fad and I still genuinely and unironically love the genre even though it's now unpopular.

I've actually started typing up a design document for a zombie FPS game (I know, it's been done a million times but again, what hasn't?) but it's specifically a single-player game that would be a loose adaptation of the 1968 film Night of the Living Dead

That movie is in the public domain, although the sequels like Dawn of the Dead and Day of the Dead are copyrighted.

Dumb and autistic of me, I know.

But if there are any Kiwis who actually know how to code, program, or anything else that's related to game development, let me know.

You're wrong about not everybody can learn to code, it just takes time and dedication to the craft. When it comes to game development the biggest investment is in assets (models/sounds/animations) which is why there are a lot of premade asset packs to choose from. If you're interested in learning more about game development or to train your skills as a ideas man/designer there are a lot of open source games you can contribute to, here's a list. There's also the farms SS13 server.

 

[jimsterlingspronoun]

is programming in professional game development really that interesting? I mean most of the interesting bits are done by non programmers, you probably wont be allowed anywhere near the graphics engine unless you're some superstar programmer (thats assuming it's in house).

 

[Considered HARMful]

is programming in professional game development really that interesting? I mean most of the interesting bits are done by non programmers, you probably wont be allowed anywhere near the graphics engine unless you're some superstar programmer (thats assuming it's in house).

Developing "systems" and tools can be quite challenging and interesting. As for graphics engine...it depends. If you're targeting semi-retarded platforms (mobile, browsers) then it's more of a frustrating, headache inducing balancing act.

 

[jimsterlingspronoun]

Developing "systems" and tools can be quite challenging and interesting. As for graphics engine...it depends. If you're targeting semi-retarded platforms (mobile, browsers) then it's more of a frustrating, headache inducing balan

No I don't work in the games industry, but I thin in general most people starting out programming think they will have a bigger say in what they do than in reality. Things like story, settings in games are done by professional writer/producers are they not? Most of the interviews I read with game producers t say they come from a non-programming background.

Personally I find the tools aspect interesting but I think most people looking into getting into games through programming do not expect to be working on the tools.

 

[ducktales4gameboy]

I hate actual game design but love doing tools/system design. With tools you at least have a target to optimize towards where you can be reasonably sure the output is correct and nobody is going to bitch that your lightmap optimizer isn't fun.

Sorry for the thread necromancy but I figured I want to touch up on this topic some more.

I'll admit, I'm an ideas guy and consequently utterly worthless.

Not everyone can learn to code or be a programmer, but I've kind of always wanted to see a proper video game adaptation of George A. Romero's work. I know there was that Land of the Dead game for the original Xbox that wasn't too good, but aside from that, not much else.

Did you ever play the original dead rising, particularly the bonus mode that gets unlocked after you finish it where the story is removed and the goal is just to survive inside the mall for a week without running out of food as the horde increases? I really wish the sequels had went in that direction, it felt much more Romero then what we got instead.

 

[Gimmick Account]

is programming in professional game development really that interesting? I mean most of the interesting bits are done by non programmers, you probably wont be allowed anywhere near the graphics engine unless you're some superstar programmer (thats assuming it's in house).

Yeah there's a lot of in-between stuff bridging regular game logic to autistic graphics stuff. The latter isn't stuff you're "allowed" to do, it's shit you're headhunted for after a lifetime of suffering and dropping so much LSD on weekends that you shoot ultraviolet beams out of your eyes. As a junior you might be doing tools or fun scripting stuff, but every game that isn't some boilerplate clone garbage is gonna require someone to get creative or yoink shit from research papers to do something cool.

So yeah if you have talent it can be interesting as fuck, as long as you dig doing transformative and revolutionary work that will never be appreciated, then burning out and being discarded by corporate cunts who were secretly surveilling your workstation and tallying every single erotic ASMR you listened to while coding throughout your employment in a spreadsheet with your name on it.

 

[Smaug's Smokey Hole]

Yeah there's a lot of in-between stuff bridging regular game logic to autistic graphics stuff. The latter isn't stuff you're "allowed" to do, it's shit you're headhunted for after a lifetime of suffering and dropping so much LSD on weekends that you shoot ultraviolet beams out of your eyes. As a junior you might be doing tools or fun scripting stuff, but every game that isn't some boilerplate clone garbage is gonna require someone to get creative or yoink shit from research papers to do something cool.

If you peep at and get Siggraph while sanding down your own thing then graphics are exciting. The math isn't insanely complex when implemented but getting the funny characters and numbers into something you can type on your keyboard requires some knowledge. That's why wait-and-see is the method I would recommend, let the AAA developers develop and refine the bleeding edge.

What's more important, in my opinion plus it's much easier, is understanding game logic and how it relates to graphics/geometry. You see so many small games where it's hard to pick something up or it requires a specific angle or something can be picked up through a wall. Tons of things like that, if you know how a game works you will immediately understand why something fails. It's not the big bucks career but it's something you can use to go indie.

If anyone reading this is a graphics programming phenom, go for that 100%, I don't think anyone reading this is a graphics phenom. They're extremely rare and we all know about John Carmack but there are many, many people like him that have carried a studio on their shoulders. Like Tim Sweeney. He's just fantastic.

 

[Gimmick Account]

Yeah, I completely agree, and graphics is 90% of what I fuck around with outside of designing science fiction dildos. I've just never been paid for it. I'd hate to disssuade anyone if they have an aptitude for this stuff; I just wanted to give an industry perspective on it. If you have a handle on that shit then by all means pull some giant electromagnets out of stadium subwoofers and wire them into your brain and rewrite all reality

 

[Considered HARMful]

No I don't work in the games industry, but I thin in general most people starting out programming think they will have a bigger say in what they do than in reality. Things like story, settings in games are done by professional writer/producers are they not?

This is correct.

Personally I find the tools aspect interesting but I think most people looking into getting into games through programming do not expect to be working on the tools.

Absolutely, many people derive their vision of working in gamedev from doing household Unity (free of course) based minigames. And often not even finishing them when it comes to the boring (for many people), technical parts, like implementing the UI. And yes, I'm guilty of this too and only recently started to force myself through to actually finishing such projects and appreciating the amount of work and actual engineering that has to be poured into such pieces.

 

[Bongocat]

Yeah, I completely agree, and graphics is 90% of what I fuck around with outside of designing science fiction dildos. I've just never been paid for it. I'd hate to disssuade anyone if they have an aptitude for this stuff; I just wanted to give an industry perspective on it. If you have a handle on that shit then by all means pull some giant electromagnets out of stadium subwoofers and wire them into your brain and rewrite all reality

I actually think the hardest part of graphics isn't so much the math, but rather staying organized. Making shadowmaps or a lightmapper or subsurface scattering on a stanford bunny or whatever really isn't that hard. It's getting it to work with everything else that's the real bitch.

Graphics tech is almost invariably based on tracking implicit state due to needing hyper-efficiency and it can be incredibly difficult to keep all that stuff straight. That's one reason a lot (most?) college courses onbeginner graphics teach ray tracing rather than something like OpenGL. The theory is significantly easier to choke down when you don't have to deal with stuff like aligning stupid input registers on your GPU.