Quote:Original post by jyk

Quote:Original post by Murdok
Sorry for my ignorance, but what exactly does the game engine do? I thought it helped to make the game, but I don't know exactly what it does. Is it better to make one or buy one? What all do I need to have to make a game? Before I get programmers, etc. I would like to have what I need so things will be fast and easy.

Game development is rarely if ever 'fast and easy', game engine or no.

I think it would be helpful if you were to provide some more information, such as:

- What type of game you want to make (2D, 3D, FPS, RTS, RPG, etc.).

- What your eventual goal is (freeware, shareware, retail).

- What sort of resources you have at your disposal (i.e. budget).

- What skills you yourself bring to the table.

As it stands I get the feeling that you're in a bit over your head, but I could be wrong about that.

Also, 20+ views with no replies is perfectly normal. People read posts for all sorts of reasons (curiosity, interest in the subject matter, looking for an answer to the same question), but usually only reply when they have something in particular to contribute. Therefore the view to reply ratio is usually pretty high.

First-Person Shooter
Retail
I know a lot about the game market and about gaming in general.
Budget is not a problem.

Well, if budget really isn't a problem (i.e. you have a few hundred grand to several million available) you should be good to go :)

At this point this really becomes a 'business of game development' topic (and probably belongs in that forum). It's not that you won't get good input here on game engines and whatnot, but if you yourself have a budget but very little knowledge of the actual process of making a game, you should hire people who do have the knowledge rather than trying to make these critical decisions yourself.

Ultimately, the people best qualified to choose an engine for the game will be the programmers who will actually be doing the work. Assuming you hire qualified people, they'll be able to determine (given the budget and project requirements) what engine suits the project best.

If you want to lead a team of programmers, artists,... to make a game and you do not know anything about game engines so why not let the programmers decide about the engine to use?
If you think that after buying a game engine and reading the documentations you can easily make a game you are wrong, you still need to write a lot of code based on the API provided by the game engine. If you want to make games for consoles you first need your own game studio and a lot of money to buy the SDK. But you will need much more, the game engine will not make your game look good if you do not have excellent 3D models and textures. Professional 3D modeling programs like 3D Studio Max or Maya are expensive too...
Maybe it would better you first try to use a free game engine, free compiler and free modeling programs and make a demo, you will see how much work it is and you will get familiar with all the stuff.
And do not forget that you will need a publisher after finishing the game, people here can tell you how hard finding a publisher is even if have produced a nice complete game.
Maybe DevMaster's Game and Graphics Engines Database can help you finding the right engine.

[Edited by - Kambiz on November 25, 2006 3:41:44 PM]

Right now, I'm using Unity. I don't if you realize, but its for Mac OS X only (for the development environment). If you have a Mac, this is the best way to go in my opinion. you might want to check out unity3D.com they are sponsoring a contest that is being held at idegames.com, and you could win Unity Pro. Also you can try unity Pro for free if you email OTEE (makers of Unity).

Btw, Unity can make Mac OS X, Windows, Web Player, and Mac widgets with it.