Well, I will get right to the point: me and my two friends are all only 16 and wish to begin our game development careers, by programming a few games now. By the by our tentative name is Saiykotix Inc. But anyway, I have a few questions off the back, and take into consideration that we have absolutely no experience in game development: we are just a group of kids who love games and wish to know how to create them. 1)What would you suggest to be a good starting language to learn? I have heard a lot about C and C++, but Im not completely certain that is where we should begin. 2)Should we recruit more members into our team if we plan to tackle something in the future like an MMO? 3)What software would you suggest we purchase if we have a little bit of income from all team members collectively, lets say $10 each a week?

I would also suggest C#. But don't bite off more than you can chew. There is nothing more frustrating that aiming too high, and then getting more frustrated than you have to. Focus on the basics of programming first before you work on a team.

GD

Disclaimer: I suck.

Quote:Original post by JamesLogan
2: you should recruit more staff members, as this sounds like a big project, I wouldent mind helpen out if ya wanted..

This is probably bad advice. In fact, a team period is probably a bad idea. Unless, of course, that team is a programmer, artist, and something else like web developer or sound engineer. The reasoning is simple. If you have a team of three inexperienced programmers and you assign them all to the same project, they won't get total hands-on experience since they'll all be working on a different part of the game. Take Pong or Space Invaders as an example. As these will likely be your first graphical games, try to imagine how you can fit three people into it. Sure, one person could do physics, one could do collision detection, and the other could do input, but then that would bar the other from personal experience in each area. Yes, they can look at the code and talk to you about it, but there's nothing like hands-on experience with a particular subject.

As far as money goes, don't worry about it. If you choose to go with C#, then Visual Studio 2005 Express is free. Python compilers and IDEs are also free. Hell, C++ IDEs are free! Basically, all the tools you need are free. Need to make graphics? Get a copy of Paint.NET or The GIMP. Both are free. Need sound? There's plenty of free resources on the web.

Quote:Original post by violentcrayon
Disclaimer: I suck.

Quote:Original post by JamesLogan
2: you should recruit more staff members, as this sounds like a big project, I wouldent mind helpen out if ya wanted..

This is probably bad advice. In fact, a team period is probably a bad idea. Unless, of course, that team is a programmer, artist, and something else like web developer or sound engineer. The reasoning is simple. If you have a team of three inexperienced programmers and you assign them all to the same project, they won't get total hands-on experience since they'll all be working on a different part of the game. Take Pong or Space Invaders as an example. As these will likely be your first graphical games, try to imagine how you can fit three people into it. Sure, one person could do physics, one could do collision detection, and the other could do input, but then that would bar the other from personal experience in each area. Yes, they can look at the code and talk to you about it, but there's nothing like hands-on experience with a particular subject.

As far as money goes, don't worry about it. If you choose to go with C#, then Visual Studio 2005 Express is free. Python compilers and IDEs are also free. Hell, C++ IDEs are free! Basically, all the tools you need are free. Need to make graphics? Get a copy of Paint.NET or The GIMP. Both are free. Need sound? There's plenty of free resources on the web.

Maybe I should have clarified more: me and my colleges are LEARNING how to program. Meaning, we are all trying out game development individually, but hope to make games together once we master a few languages and have some recognition with a few individuals. Nothing special, but maybe something out of flash, or something you would find on miniclip.com. And development teams that know what they are doing, don't fight over "well i always have to do physics!!" or anything like that, because all of them are well rounded enough to pull from each others talents. That is the kind of status I was hoping to achieve before we talked something like an MMORPG. Im not stupid, I know it will be well over a year or two before we can make a successful one, especially with the ideas we have in mind.

Quote:Original post by Saiyko
That is the kind of status I was hoping to achieve before we talked something like an MMORPG. Im not stupid, I know it will be well over a year or two before we can make a successful one, especially with the ideas we have in mind.

I hope you don't mean over a year or two before you make a successful MMO LOL. MMOs are probably the most difficult genre to make games for.

But anyway, I think this article might be of some use.

BTW: About the language to start with, I would try a couple different languages, read some tutorials and look into what features that language has, then decide if it suits your needs and you are comfortable with it.

Good luck.