Innovate!

This means either making your Tetris clone bigger, badder, better, or making something bigger, badder, better besides Tetris.

Think about the very core of game. You can make a game based around moving a dot on the screen and have a good chance no one's ever done it! I'm serious, why don't you make a game where you move a dot around the screen. Maybe dodge things, enemies, stuff.

Games are all about innovation. No one would play games if they weren't different. from each other (although paradoxically they like clones more than original ideas as a mass majority). Be creative. Don't make games we tell you, they'll be boring. And because we suggested them, we'll make the same game AND BETTER because we're the ones with the vision for it (that dot game? I actually do have plans.).

The easiest way to innovate is to take a game you love (I guess I'll stick with Tetris) and refine or redefine it. Maybe Tetris should actually be played with balls instead of squares. And instead of matching lines, you have to match colors! Well... that's not so original, but it's an example.

In your predicament, though, I'd suggest thinking simple. Invent something out of clay. How can you expect to build a house when you can't turn clay into a model? Same thing for gaming. Make something original with little, and you'll probably be able to make something awesome with lots.

Quote:Think about the very core of game. You can make a game based around moving a dot on the screen and have a good chance no one's ever done it! I'm serious, why don't you make a game where you move a dot around the screen. Maybe dodge things, enemies, stuff.

Err... sorry to say, I've done that already in the early 90's on my bro-in laws brand-new back then Tandy 1000 computer, using Tandy basic. At least I think that was the model.

Feel free to improve on my dot and dodge game idea though ;)

Just because you've done A dot game, doesn't mean you've done MY dot game.

The full game description is you play a futile, life-hating dot who has to dodge turrets, sweepers (they do what the name says), obstacles, spikes, and tons more, but I haven't even gotten to the crux of the game yet! The basic concept was actually that you also enter portals to parallel dimensions where everything changes including you. You can become an energetic pentagon, a lethargic square, a narcissistic star, etc. And all the enemies and level designs change with that.

But my point was that reinventing the wheel is what this industry is built on. I won't need to wait until I've been into programming for 10 years before I make the game I just described. I only expect to need elementary game-making skills and lots of patience. Lot's of patience.

So I guess telling more about my game idea actually emphasizes my point more and I guess I should have done so straight from the get go.

Hope this has helped.

Quote:Original post by macmoy
your an experienced game developer,,wow!! can u teach me how to attain that point?? how can i be a professional gamedev like u..

By not panicing and continueing to make games. Practice. You seem to be totally lost, even though you've already created a game... Look at it: what went wrong and what went right? What did you learn from it? How can you use that knowledge in a more complex project? And if you encounter problems, how would you solve them? Has anyone else already solved them and if so, can you learn from their solutions? If not, how could you solve it otherwise? You don't have to write a super game immediatly, or create a perfect design up-front. That's something you'll learn over time.

Quote:Original post by macmoy
about the DOT game.. for my thesis?? will my professor like it??

I don't know - I'm not your professor. Ask him if you want to know. And when you can't come up with an idea, perhaps your professor has some suggestions. Brainstorming with a few friends might help, too. After all, it's your thesis and your professor, and you will have to create that game.

Quote:Original post by macmoy
hey,, when you're still a beginner,,what games are your making?? me,, as a 17yr-old boy,,is it nice to make a 3d tetris?? am i late to be a professional gamedev like you??

I made a 3D tetris around that age too. I wouldn't be afraid of having started too late if I were you.

However, I don't see C++ as a good beginners choice anymore. Python + PyGame is relatively easy to use and allows for much faster development. It's a nice option for 2D games. I'd stick with 2D anyway if I were you, because the same core elements apply to both 2D and 3D games, but 2D games are easier on the math-side so you can focus on more important things. If you're going to continue with C++ however, you should take a look at SDL, Allegro or Haaf's Game Engine. These frameworks can make development significantly easier and faster.

I'd hope I'm not to late. I'm 19 and was jumping for joy and cookies when I successfully made a black box on the screen that stayed there until I X'ed out! I don't think age has much to do with anything. At least I hope not. But there are people who didn't even get into the industry until their late 30's.

Quote:Original post by macmoy
about the DOT game.. for my thesis?? will my professor like it??

If you make it likable. Know that any game can be good if its fun and you're the one who makes it fun. But in the long run, if you don't see how it's fun before you start, it won't be fun after you start. You need a vision. Alrecenk is right. If you're going into graphics, it doesn't even need to be fun! If you're going into other areas, it just needs to fit those areas.

But the bottom line is, that dot game was just an example. Does the example inspire you? If it doesn't, you need to make something else. But find some idea that is interesting. Obsess over it. Made a game design document. Show it to other people. Talk about games with friends. Make something that inspires you to make it.