Where should I start?

mrkfc · Post by **mrkfc** » Sat May 21, 2011 7:54 pm

I have not been on this forum for a while, but last year I starting using irrlicht. I got a team of 20 together and we attempted to build a 'l33t' MMORPG, needless to say we failed in the end. We put hard work into story and game content, and then realized that programming it would be a mammoth task. I found the initial development of the game was very fun, as it progressed things started to get harder. The team gradually fell apart and the project died.

Now I am wondering, what sort of thing should I make in my first irrlicht project? I want to learn how to make a person run around and pick things up, and a few other simple things. Any help would be appreciated a lot

Thank you

Radikalizm · Post by **Radikalizm** » Sat May 21, 2011 7:57 pm

If it doesn't matter which kind of game you want to make I could really recommend making a puzzle game (either 2D or 3D), this doesn't have to be complex and teaches you a lot of fundamentals of game programming

Don't know if others here agree though

mrkfc · Post by **mrkfc** » Sat May 21, 2011 8:00 pm

Yeah a puzzle game would be interesting to make, when I started using irrlicht I tried using Code::Blocks, what program do you think is best for C++ programming with irrlicht?

Thank you.

Radikalizm · Post by **Radikalizm** » Sat May 21, 2011 8:07 pm

Code::Blocks is a good option for both Windows and Linux development, although I prefer Visual Studio for windows development

captainkitteh · Post by **captainkitteh** » Sat May 21, 2011 8:09 pm

I stopped and did a double take the moment I read "MMORPG". I hope you learned a lesson from your failure.

That said make something YOU want to play. Do you have a game you play a lot ? Want to improve it ? Want a sequel ? Well you are a game developer now, use your power to make one.

EDIT:

Seriously, don't go for puzzle games or witty side scrollers just because others are doing it. Make something that challenges yourself. You are not in the soulless business of producing accounting software for a bank. Cherish this thought and make your own dreams of playing a better videogame come true. Imagine what would you do if you were a movie directory now apply that thinking to game making.

mrkfc · Post by **mrkfc** » Sat May 21, 2011 8:11 pm

Code::Blocks is a good option for both Windows and Linux development, although I prefer Visual Studio for windows development

Ok, I usually learn code best by looking at code examples and re-writing them. I have learned PHP very extensively and code examples helped me out a lot. I will take a look at the examples in the irrlicht download package. Hopefully I can persevere and make a simple game

Thank you.

mrkfc · Post by **mrkfc** » Sat May 21, 2011 8:13 pm

I stopped and did a double take the moment I read "MMORPG". I hope you learned a lesson from your failure.

That said make something YOU want to play. Do you have a game you play a lot ? Want to improve it ? Want a sequel ? Well you are a game developer now, use your power to make one.

EDIT:

Seriously, don't go for puzzle games or witty side scrollers just because others are doing it. Make something that challenges yourself. You are not in the soulless business of producing accounting software for a bank. Cherish this thought and make your own dreams of playing a better videogame come true. Imagine what would you do if you were a movie directory now apply that thinking to game making.

Yeah I have a good ability for thinking up game ideas, but I usually get carried away and think of a game that would be impossible for me to make.

Radikalizm · Post by **Radikalizm** » Sat May 21, 2011 8:36 pm

captainkitteh wrote:Seriously, don't go for puzzle games or witty side scrollers just because others are doing it. Make something that challenges yourself. You are not in the soulless business of producing accounting software for a bank. Cherish this thought and make your own dreams of playing a better videogame come true. Imagine what would you do if you were a movie directory now apply that thinking to game making.

While 'follow your dreams' is a nice concept, it's close to impossible to make it happen in a first project

If you still have to figure out all the basics of game development and all related mechanisms, you can be sure of the fact that your project will fail (and it will fail hard)

If everyone would be able to make their dream games without taking babysteps first we'd have a whole lot of extremely polished AAA game titles, but it takes one look at any game developing forum to see that this isn't the case

Grumpy · Post by **Grumpy** » Sat May 21, 2011 11:05 pm

Attempting a MMORPG for your first program, you are setting yourself up for failure... as you already said in your first post. Start small (same type as the RPG, just bare bones)in what whould make you happy, and yet expand your programming knowledge. Then go back and attempt a MMORPG. Alot of programmers find out the dificulty of such emence tasks and we never see them again (or constantly looking for help).
Dont give up, just downsize alot for your first project and forget about the MMO for now.

mrkfc · Post by **mrkfc** » Sat May 21, 2011 11:36 pm

Attempting a MMORPG for your first program, you are setting yourself up for failure... as you already said in your first post. Start small (same type as the RPG, just bare bones)in what whould make you happy, and yet expand your programming knowledge. Then go back and attempt a MMORPG. Alot of programmers find out the dificulty of such emence tasks and we never see them again (or constantly looking for help).
Dont give up, just downsize alot for your first project and forget about the MMO for now.

Yeah, I have now setup Irrlicht so it works with Code::Blocks, I am going to get some code put together and hopefully get a basic RPG working, I like RPG games and it would keep me interested.

Thank you.