How Do We Create A Game ????

jbadams, in my opinion one needs to start with 2D games first, because I've found that they are best for beginners in game development. For instance, even now in 2013 I still have no idea how Super Mario Bros from 1985 works. It has enemies, gravity, hidden tiles, good collision detection(for that time) and whatnot, and I still cannot do those properly and efficiently like that in my own game...

Hafido:

Just a little tidbit, you don't need to include your name as one of the topic tags :)

Your question is quite vague so I'll do my best to answer it in the most general way I can :] You have several paths you can take depending on your background and your preferences, so I'll just try to list a basic plan for you. Remeber to definitely check out everyone elses advice on here. Hit up the search bar and check out questions like yours. Also the links jbadams posted are great links that will give you a good perspective and what you should take into account. Well, here goes!

1. You already have a firm grasp of programming in one or more programming languages

If this is the case then you have a good head start! At this point I would recommend deciding whether or not you want to use an engine, use a library with your programming language of choice, or do everything yourself.

a) You have an engine of choice:
Excellent! At this point I would recommend reading around, definitely picking up the docs for the engine and briefly scanning them until a very specific issue pops up, at which point you can pinpoint that in the docs. Most likely the engine's site or community forum will come with a variety of excellent tutorials. I would highly recommend you make your way through these, and integrate yourself into the community there as well as here and whenever you have any specific questions, make the posts as directed as you can to expedite the process and make it easier and more enjoyable for everyone involved :)

b) You have a programming language of choice and a library of choice
Great! I'm assuming you already have a working level or higher of proficiency with the language so at this point all you really need to do is learn your library. Just like with the engine, direct yourself over the library site, download the docs, and integrate yourself into the corresponding community and sections of that community over here at gamedev.net There are bound to be tutorials and examples galore of your engine laying around the internet; at that point just exercise some google-fu and thou shalt find what thou seeketh, or something. Definitely check out open source projects that use your library to get a good idea of how to use the library. Watch lots of YouTube videos about your library, seeing other people's work is great inspiration and motivation to keep going :)

c) You have a progamming language and are going to build everything yourself
I honestly have no advice here except I applaud your determination and wish you the best! Maybe get familiar with your operating system and how to program native apps, and....yeah....this is out of my area of expertise :P

2. You have no experience in programming or very little

a) Game creation software
There are many game creation suites out there that can help you create games with little to no programming knowledge. Hit these sites up and check out their products and see if any are to your liking. From there, just like any other piece of software like Excel or Powerpoint it's all about learning the features. After that you can start focusing on design and how to actually make games.

b) Learning a language or two
Great! Pick a language, hit the books,internet,YouTube, what have you and venture forth. After you have a solid grasp of a language of choice, redirect yourself to section 1 of this post :P

After you have picked your tools the rest is slightly less technical and deals more with design itself. At this point you have to decide on a couple things but for now the simplest path would be to choose whether you want to make a clone game for practice, or try your hand at your own game.

I. You want to make a clone game

This is a great place to start, and I'm sure many of us started here. First, familiarize yourself with the game. Play around with it, but also take note of the many aspects of the game. I don't just mean the gameplay, but notice the artwork, music, user interface, and all the details you can. Once you're ready, break out good old pencil and paper and try "sketching out" a model of the game. If you are using object oriented programming, try modeling what classes you will need, the methods they will have, and how the objects will interact with each other. After you have a general idea of the game, start with a plan, and go from basics to advanced. Code up your game making sure to SAVE and DEBUG regularly. This part is crucial if you want to avoid punching a hole through your computer 13 hours later when you end up with an unusable amalgam of code that doesn't look like anything, nor does it do anything anymore, and oh, you forgot to save so it's all gone anyway.

Once you have a working game, play it! Sometimes we get so focused on the actual development part that we forget to sit back and admire our work, however sloppy or great it might be. From there you can add your own modifications to it to give your own personal touch. Congratulations! You made a game :)

II. You want to make your own original game.

This is a little bit harder than creating a clone game but it has its rewards as well. The first thing I suggest of course is just playing games you like until you get some inspiration. Jot down your ideas on pencil and paper and play around with those. Once you have a general idea of what you want to do in the game, it's time to narrow your scope. A lot of times when starting a new project we go crazy and try to add in everything we can possibly imagine, and things just become unmanageable and insurmountable. Focus on a core element of the game be it a mechanic, artwork, or anything that you can really center the game around. Then you can just refer to section roman numeral I and go from there designing your game's hierarchy. Congratulations! You have made your own original game! Show it off to the people at gamdev.net and we'll play it and let you know what we think :)

Well there's my behemoth of a post. Take it as you will, but I hope it helped you in some way or another :) For the future, try to keep your posts as directed as possible so people can respond so specific questions and we can all make progress much faster. I hope you find the answers you are looking for and manage to get started in game programming. I wish you the best of luck!

-Adrian