Greetings all. I just joined this community on the recommendation of a friend from back in my highschool computers class. I am far from being a programmer. It was a subject i just did not connect with well. I did a lesson on VB, then started C++ and SQL but did not go to far with either. My interest just is not in programming at the moment. The reason why i joined here is to try and get some ideas for what i need to get a game from my head to a shelf at a store. I have a friend who is real good at C++ and has made a few simple online games which never went anywhere. I tried to ask him what i would need but despite his proclamation of being a genius with computers, i am finding that he is far from. His fourth year of college learning C++ after two years in highschool of it and he still hasn't done anything. After realizing that my easiest source for game creating knowledge was lacking, i began a search for someone who could help me. Now i know that a person should start small and work up to the bigger things, but i want to sidestep that a little. I have the idea for an online game that could develop into a large scale project, but i both need and want to figure out the proper way to go about making a game. I do not intend to create the whole game myself. I only had a beginning idea and am working off of that idea to create a real plan. So here is where i am right now: -I have an idea and have began laying out some of the basic information. A friend of mine is sharing the creative burden with me, hoping that we will be able to smoothe out some flaws pre-coding by checking each other over. -I am planning on creating all the formulas needed for executions prior to the start of coding. -I plan on creating all the ingame components that a player would interact with that require the use of stats in formulas in what i expect will be a spreadsheet of some kind (unless there is a better way). -I have a few friends who will work on providing the visual drawings of both the characters and the ingame world. -I have an overall idea based on how the game should run and play based on current similar game types on the market. -And overall, i really have nothing more than a head full of ideas that i want to put into a game that i believe (and those i have explained it to believe) could really be a good game in 3 to 5 years. And here are the things i figure i will need that i don't have right now: -A team capable of taking my ideas and formulas and putting them into a working game code. -A team capable of taking the drawings and models created and putting them into a computer to create the 3D world to go with the code. -A team capable of publishing the finished product and distributing it to the consumer. -A team capable of getting the game onto servers and hooked up to the interenet for the consumers to play.-Money. So after reading that i assume you look at it and say, "WOW, i have never heard of a person being in a situation like that before". I am aware of where i am and my chances but i am bored with life and this is something i am going to try to do. I have been a computer game player since i was 5 and first played "Where in the World is Carmen Sandiego" on a computer with a black and orange screen. I always liked console games but they never compared to PC games. After all the gaming i have done in my life, i have come to a conclusion. Everygame i have played has left me desiring more and wishing that i could do better. Now, i believe i can. I just need a little (actually a lot of support and advice). So if you wouldn't mind, i would appreciate hearing from some of you. Whether you have suggestions that are negative or positive, i would appreciate hearing them. I have a destination but the things along the way are kinda fuzzy right now. Thanks alot everyone for reading this.

There was a thread recently that offered tutorials on all the stuff that you'll need to learn. You'll do better if you decide that you want to get into animating, modelling, or programming yourself because you will probably not find any programmers/animators/modellers that will work with you for free.

One thing you could do is you could learn modelling and team up with your programmer friend and build something small together.

Don't give up your goal of wanting to make a 3D MMORPG
Check out this thread.
http://www.gamedev.net/community/forums/topic.asp?topic_id=270535

I apologize for posting in this section of the forums. I was not aware that there was a more appropriate section.

As for the rest, of course i criticized my factual knowledge. That is why i am here. I am trying to learn the process behind getting a game from my head to a shelf in a store. If i had the factual knowledge i needed to get this game to where i want it, i would not be here asking for help and advice.

You also speak of the actual groundwork to implement them. This confuses me a little. I may just be misunderstanding you, but i did not think that i needed to have the idea all drawn out, the code all worked up and the graphics created and set to the code. The whole point of me coming to this forums and starting this thread was to get advice on what i needed to do.

I guess these forums are not here to serve the purpose of helping people with the questions they have on game development. The website's name just confused me a little i guess. I will continue my searches elsewhere i guess.

Quote:Original post by CoderGuy
There was a thread recently that offered tutorials on all the stuff that you'll need to learn. You'll do better if you decide that you want to get into animating, modelling, or programming yourself because you will probably not find any programmers/animators/modellers that will work with you for free.

One thing you could do is you could learn modelling and team up with your programmer friend and build something small together.

Don't give up your goal of wanting to make a 3D MMORPG
Check out this thread.
http://www.gamedev.net/community/forums/topic.asp?topic_id=270535

Thanks alot for this reply. I haven't ruled out taking up programming, modeling, or animating myself, i just wouldn't know where to begin at this point. Once i lay out my ideas a little better i may look into learning one of those. I have messed around a little with modelling in my webdesign work and it provokes some interest from me, so i may look that way. Once again, thanks. I will be sure to check out that link.

No problem man, I hope it helps. Mostly everyone is saying to learn animating or programming yourself because it's very hard to find a team to help you make your game for free, unless you can help out somehow, either by helping with animating, or creating models, or programming, maybe even help with music/sounds. You could pay a team possibly to help you out, but learning one of those skills would be a lot cheaper and more beneficial for you. :)

Thanks FireNet. I found what i am assuming is something by you (given the same name) on the google search. That is the types of things i am looking for. Just simple ways to understand the basics behind coding and graphics. I can easily find the people to do the work, but i do not want to come to them with a few ideas on paper that are just generic. I want to be able to give them something they can work with right away, requiring me to know at least the basics of what they are doing. This should be a big help in the graphics area.

Anist, thanks for that last post. I understand a little better where you were coming from. I am used to people on the gaming forums lacking the maturity to simply ask and answer questions with the intent of helping someone.

As for me asking for a team, i assure you, that is not why i am here. I just need a little guidance before i get much farther in this project. I have the ideas but me giving all my ideas to a C++ programmer is not a good way to do it. My goal is to be able to sort out my ideas and fill in any holes based on what i learn. Then i can bring a programmer the exact things they need, rather than a pile of papers with only 2 sentences they can use. Thanks though for checking me on that. It will help me to be a little more specific in the future when i post.