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5 days ago · Hilltop describes it as a Japanese sh*tpost game from the year 2000, and they’re not wrong. Actually moving your hamster pal is a trial, since it requires you to drag the mouse around the screen ...
- Design ?
- Art ?
- Code ?
- Audio ?
- Polish ?
- Market ?
- Conclusion
Advice?
You’ve got a great idea. * But how do you capture it in writing? Everyone’ll have their own way of doing that best. Some compose 60-page design documents. Others, like me, write a page of badly-written notes, unreadable to anyone else. I don’t know what’s best for you. But I can give suggestions on what to write about: 1. Hook. What makes your game idea great?For me, this is the most important to write down. Once you capture this, you can write down the next three points much easier. Is your...
Resources ?
All of the below are tried and true. (?) means I use it currently. Note-taking: 1. Notes for Mac (?) 2. Google Docs (?) 3. Trello Collaboration (for teams): 1. Google Drive 2. GitHub (?). Requires git and Unity .gitignore. 3. Unity Collab. Easiest out of the three. The free version has limitations. Heads up — Unity is the game engine I use to make games, so I’ll be mentioning it throughout. Feel free to use a different engine. Game design: 1. The Art of Game Design by Jesse Schell 2. Gamasutra
Advice?
You’ve planned out your idea; congrats, that’s amazing! Now, you can work on the actual game. (If you don’t know how to code, I suggest doing stage 3, Code, before Art. You don’t want to create art that you’ll trash later because you can’t code it in.) Thomas Was Alone — a beautiful yet simple game
UI
Think about how you can make it unique — have a distinct color scheme, font(s), shape(s), and icon(s) — while functional. Is the important information readable and obvious? Do the colors/fonts/icons distract from that at all? Who would win? ?
2D animations
You have two options: 1. Frame-by-frame. Draw out each frame of the animation. For this, you should use sprite sheets with TexturePacker (or if you’re using Unity, Sprite Packer). 2. Bone-based. Draw each animated limb, then animate the limb’s position, rotation, and whatnot in-game. Can be faster, easier, and save memory. If you’re doing 2D and using Unity, try editing the pivots of sprites or Anima2D.
Advice?
Your first step? Decide on a game engine and an IDE(Integrated Development Environment — basically, an app that lets you code). My recommended game engines+IDEs are in Resources below. Your second step?Code. Don’t know how to code?No worries. I got you. You can learn. These CS fundamentals should be enough to start. (All code examples here are in C++, one of the main languages the Unity 3D game development framework uses.) 1) Data types and variables.At the root of all code is data. That data...
Resources ?
Game engines: 1. Make your own. Requires C/C++. Low level. Really, really low. 2. Unity (?). 2D/3D. Requires Javascript/C#. Mid-level. Cross-platform. 3. Unreal Engine. 2D/3D. Requires C++. Mid-level. Cross-platform. Notes: 2D support is not great. 4. pixi.js (?). 2D. Requires Javascript. Mid-level. Web. 5. GameMaker Studio. 2D/3D. Requires GML. Beginner level. Cross-platform. 6. Corona. 2D. Requires Lua. Beginner level. Cross-platform. IDEs: 1. Visual Studio Code (?). For MacOS. Gives me no...
Advice?
First: Do you want audio? Audio can do wonders for immersion and mood. But, it can cost memory. If the answer’s yes, what audio? Will you include music? Sound effects? Voiceovers or narration? For any of the above, record and mix them in a way that matches your game’s mood. For example, Bastion uses organic mouth and instrument sounds, matching its game world. Crypt of the Necrodancer uses a blend of electronic beats and chiptune rock to match the colorful, rhythmic game. If your audio doesn’...
Resources ?
Audio tools: 1. Logic Pro. $200. MacOS only. 2. FL Studio (?). $99–899. Has free demo. 3. Reaper. $60–225. 4. Audacity (?). Free. Limited capabilities. Useful for cleaning audio. Retro sound effect generators: 1. Chiptone. 2. Bfxr. 3. Leshy SFMaker. 4. as3sfxr. Free sounds: 1. Soundcloud (?). S_oundcloud has a t_on of gorgeous gems under Creative Commons (CC). Here’s a playlist to get started.Make sure to provide attribution if needed. 2. Incompetech (?). CC music. Must attribute. 3. Bensound...
Advice?
Hey! You’re here! You made it; that’s absolutely incredible(I’m serious, if you get this far, I’d love to hear about your game; hit me up)! You’re done.. right? Well. There’s a 99.99999% chance there’re bugs. It’s time to bug test.
Bug testing your game
1. Get others — not you — to play it.Preferably in front of you, because if they encounter a bug, they might not realize or have a hard time describing it. 2. Play it on all targeted platforms.It may work in the editor, but does it work where it matters? For Linux and the different versions of Android especially, I find that things get a little wonky. Alright. You’ve found a bug. What now? 1. Check the console for exceptions.Found one? Great! Find the file and line number where the exception...
Common errors
1. NullReferenceException. Problem: You’re doing a thing on a null(nonexistent) variable. Quick fix:Check if the variable is null before doing the thing. 1. SyntaxErrorException. Problem:Your code has invalid syntax. Quick fix:In the Exception message, it should tell you what character is throwing the error. Change that character. Note:If the character is a double quote, make sure you’re using dumb quotes instead of smart quotes: 1. Pink or black screen. Possible problem:Some shader can’t ren...
Advice?
Congrats!? You’ve made something. It’s time to show the world what you’ve made. Personally, marketing is my most anxiety-inducing stage. If you, too, get doubtful, the game developer communityis helpful. You’re not alone in this. And you’ve come so far — might as well get through to the end, right? 1. Draft. Create drafts of your game page on all your targeted game distribution platforms. Find a list of platforms in Resourcesbelow. 2. Network. If you go the full networking mile, you’ll want...
Resources ?
Game distribution platforms: 1. Steam (?). PC. Requires $100 USD fee per game. 2. Origin. PC. 3. GOG. PC. Free to publish. Game must get accepted. 4. Mac App Store. MacOS. Requires Apple Developer account. 5. itch.io (?). PC/Web. Free to publish. 6. Game Jolt (?). PC/Web. Free to publish. 7. Armor Games (?). Free to publish. Must apply to be a developer. 8. Kongregate (?). Web. Free to publish. 9. Newgrounds (?). Web. Free to publish. 10. GitHub (?). Web. Free to publish on your own site with...
There’s no cheat code to making a game. It’s just a lot of determination and effort. You’ll get confused. You’ll make mistakes. You might even cry (I did—and still do). But that’s okay. It means you’re growing. If you‘re putting in that much effort, I believe in you and your game: You can do it. supportive foxtato by Emily’s Diary If you liked read...
Dec 18, 2019 · Game Wizards & Interactive Tutorials. Getting started in Buildbox Free is easy. We have a quick-start guide that leads you through the initial game setup for both 2D and 3D game creation. There are also mini interactive tutorials that cover game design basics like how to make a character or enemy.
Apr 28, 2023 · The best free game making tools. From small and specialized game engines like Bitsy and Ren'Py to the free versions of bigger tools like Unity and Unreal, here are a few of the best tools with the lowest barrier to entry.
- Danielle Riendeau
Mar 20, 2014 · What happened to Japan? James Mielke, a game developer and former video game journalist who started BitSummit after working in Japan, puts the decline down to a number of reasons, including the...
CryEngine is a powerful 3D game engine aimed at delivering state of the art graphics for console or PC. With solid VR support and advanced visual effects, CryEngine appeals to developers looking to make photorealistic games or next-gen games on a platform like Steam.
Apr 14, 2020 · Learning tools: A few free written and video tutorials that cover the basics and some that dive more into how to make specific genres of games like turn-based RPGs, tower defense, and farming...
