Making a video game with no experience... help?

[Cpu46]

So like the title says I am really motivated to make a video game, I had a great idea and bounced it off of some friends who added more ideas so now I have a more or less fleshed out project on my hands. Problem is that aside from a college degree full of mechanical 3D modeling experience (Autocad and solidworks) I have no clue what to do.

The game will be a Multiplayer FPS that I plan on sprinkling with survival horror somehow. I am going to want to be able to put in at least a simple enemy AI, have the ability to randomly spawn structures at the game start, and be able to incorperate loadouts and a variety of weapons.

So I have 2 questions:

1. What is the easiest to use game engine out there. Keep in mind I have no coding experience but have always wanted to learn. Also as a sidenote, don't recommend gamemaker I've seen what it can do and thats not where I want to go with this.

2. Are there any 3D modeling softwares out there that are built for game making and are similar enough to Solidworks or autocad. I have tried blender and other modeling software but outside of making a cube and having no idea what to do with it I cant do anything. Accursed paradigms!

Also any other advice would be helpful.

Thanks.

 

[ohnoitsabear]

My first piece of advice would be to start small. Don't go with your super awesome dream game right off the bat. Ideally, you should try to make something small that you know you can do, but that will still require you to learn new skills. Remember, the things you make don't have to be good, you just need to learn something from making them.

Anyway, for an engine to use, Unity is supposed to be really easy to use. I would definitely start with that one. It's basically designed to make just about any 3D game on any platform as easily as possible. I've also heard good things about Unreal engine and CryEngine, although I'm sure those will be more tricky than Unity.

I really don't know anything about modeling, so I can't answer your second question.

Also, when you're learning how to script (which is basically programming, and you will need to learn this no matter what engine you decide to use), always make sure you understand what you're doing and why you're doing it; don't just mindlessly copy code. Also, consider learning programming in a separate language (java, python, or visual basic are good, easy ones to consider), because you will be able to transfer any skills learned from one language into another language.

 

[lechat]

you should prolly look into 3dsmax http://usa.autodesk.com/3ds-max/ for modeling/animation. it's really common for game devs to use it and with your cad experience it should be a fairly easy transition. with very little experience in keyframe animation or IK set ups you can build a pretty solid foundation for a game leaving you only to worry about the coding side

as for the game aspect i would strongly advise 3dgame studio http://www.3dgamestudio.com/
not sure if thats the one you said you don't like but it is prolly the best jumping off point if you want to build something half decent without a team of 100 experts and years of study
been a while but last i checked it had modeling and animation tools (i always just exported from 3dsmax) and it's own programming language that is close enough to C that it makes it worth learning/using and trust me you want to learn C++ so thats an added bonus
it also has a bunch of prefab characters and props so you can use those as place holders until you get your own models and levels built. using those tools i was able to build a fully functioning fps in under a week using some custom models and animations with zero experience in programming or game development

 

[MasochisticAvenger]

Sorry, but if you're saying "ahh I'll fit this in somehow" and you're talking about an entire game genre, it doesn't sound like you have a fleshed out project at all. Especially since FPS and Survival Horror are pretty much on the opposite ends of the spectrum and require more planning to mesh together than "I'll figure it out later". It's going to be a major aspect of the game, and change the entire dynamic of the project. It's something that needs to be worked out in advance.

 

[Senare]

1. I have used Unity 3D for a school game project and it is certainly capable and easy enough, without dumbing things down to the point that you can't see the connection to an AAA game engine. And multiplayer is easy to add to Unity.
Unity 3D can be programmed with different programming languages (if i remember correctly) - C#, objective C or java script. C# is usable for regular windows programming and is a good language for learning programming in general, objective C can be used for making iPhone apps and java script is sometimes used for web pages. I recommend C#.

You could also try the Unreal engine, though I would not recommend it if you are not intent on making a FPS. Unreal is fine, but upon release it was hard to find good tutorials on how to use it. It is also focused on easily making FPS-games in particular, so if you want to make something else you have to whip it harder. This is not personal experience, but word-of-mouth from other development teams in school.

2. I am not a 3D artist, so I can not help you there.

Other advice:

- Go on and make your game immediately. I have heard that your first dozen or so games will be bad, but you will rapidly learn what to do and what not to do if you try it out. Waiting for "the perfect idea" is not worth it because what is and is not a good game can only be judged by playing it.

- Use online tutorials. Pull up google and search for "tutorial" and any subject you need to learn.

- Do not focus on graphics first. Focus on getting the game running and getting the feel for the gameplay. It is OK if your first version of the game is just a series of cubes and planes and text.

- Consider going to a different forum such as gamedev.net.

 

[SonicWaffle]

Also any other advice would be helpful.

Thanks.

My advice would be not to worry about having no experience - you only need that if your game has RPG elements to it.

Bad jokes aside, I can offer your absolutely no useful advice, meaning this entire post was for the sake of a really crappy pun. Hooray!

 

[lechat]

Also any other advice would be helpful.

Thanks.

My advice would be not to worry about having no experience - you only need that if your game has RPG elements to it.

Bad jokes aside, I can offer your absolutely no useful advice, meaning this entire post was for the sake of a really crappy pun. Hooray!

and well worth it too

 

[Beautiful End]

When I think of FPS and survival horror, I think of Left 4 Dead. And boy, is that a game that wasn't done in one day!

That seems like a big project if you're barely starting out. L4D has some pretty good AI that cues small music notes to make you feel stressed, random mobs that attack you if you stand still for too long, an engine that punishes you if you're sucking at the game, powerful Infected that literally hunt you down, a very well developed path that ensures you will not stray away from the main road, a responsive set of controls that allow you to interact with zombies and allies alike, etc. I could keep going, really.

It might seem tempting to go after the big project right off the bat. Believe me, I'm in a similar situation. But if that is indeed your big project, then you gotta wait until you got more experience. Don't waste your spirit bomb on Krillin, ya know.
Personally, we wanted to tackle the big project right off the bat but we knew that was impossible So we came up with a small, really simple 3D platformer game. It's not meant to be awesome; it's just so that we get an idea of what to do for the big project. The way I see it, if you go ahead and make your big idea into a crappy game and then your following projects are awesome, you're gonna look back and wonder if that game could have been better. But that's just me.

I'd also suggest Unity; don't know much about 3D modeling. How about Maya?