Games one ought to make?
Author
I'm not sure if this is the appropriate section of the forums, but here goes.
For long a time I've been interested in game development and I've made a few very incomplete attempts at making games. However just recently I decided once again to take the plunge and try making some games, but really not chew off more than I can swallow. And at the moment I've created a tetris-clone in flash (not really complete yet, quite a lot of bugs to iron out still).
And the question I have is, do you think there is some games that a game developer should have made, like a rite of passage?
Depends on how far you want to take your rite of passage :)
Beginner:
Guess the Number
Tic Tac Toe (with a computer-controlled opponent)
Pong or Breakout
Intermediate:
Tetris
Pac-man
Tankwars / Scorched Earth
Single-screen platformer (original Mario Bros or Donkey Kong)
1-axis Scrolling shooter (R-Type)
Advanced:
Lode Runner (single screen platformer with much more complex gameplay)
Scrolling platformer (MegaMan, Super Mario Bros)
Top-down 2D racing (Micro Machines)
Very Advanced:
Anything involving 3D, physics, or networking.
Beginner:
Guess the Number
Tic Tac Toe (with a computer-controlled opponent)
Pong or Breakout
Intermediate:
Tetris
Pac-man
Tankwars / Scorched Earth
Single-screen platformer (original Mario Bros or Donkey Kong)
1-axis Scrolling shooter (R-Type)
Advanced:
Lode Runner (single screen platformer with much more complex gameplay)
Scrolling platformer (MegaMan, Super Mario Bros)
Top-down 2D racing (Micro Machines)
Very Advanced:
Anything involving 3D, physics, or networking.
Start small, that's what I'm doing, and when I'm done the small time project I work on, I feel very good. I made a few mad libs and stuff for myself that run in Console, then share them with a couple friends for fun. Something very simple, adding in a new feature or something each time, or changing up and doing something new each time.
Nypyren - thats an great reply! I guess that also gives programmers an idea of how "skilled" they are. I will be ticking off the list myself tonight.. Ha-ha
One thing I've heard a lot is to 100% complete the projects. Make them so that you can give them to your friends/family and they can pick them up and enjoy them without interaction by you. Even a simple game like Tic Tac Toe that is complete with a title screen, etc is very rewarding and definitely raises your confidence as a developer. My vote would be to finish your tetris-clone and then start ticking off the list that Nypyren put together.
I agree with natedogg635.
If you are looking for jobs in the gaming industry, it's probably best to have complete games no matter how small they are. Everyone can start making a game, but not everyone can complete it.
If you just do it for fun as a hobby, then feel free to make as many half-made games as you like. Since the important thing here is to have fun :)
If you are looking for jobs in the gaming industry, it's probably best to have complete games no matter how small they are. Everyone can start making a game, but not everyone can complete it.
If you just do it for fun as a hobby, then feel free to make as many half-made games as you like. Since the important thing here is to have fun :)
Author
Thank you for some very interesting replies.
Perhaps it should be said that I'm not really aiming for the game industry, I've heard so much bad stuff about it so I'd rather not go there.
Actually I'm not sure what I'd like to do as a career, but very probably it will include programming.
And that leads into another question; what projects should I do if I'm looking for any kind of programming job? (I mean, web programming is obvious, but..).
Perhaps it should be said that I'm not really aiming for the game industry, I've heard so much bad stuff about it so I'd rather not go there.
Actually I'm not sure what I'd like to do as a career, but very probably it will include programming.
And that leads into another question; what projects should I do if I'm looking for any kind of programming job? (I mean, web programming is obvious, but..).
In my job there is a great deal of Java, and whilst im not new to Java or its syntax i was caught out by the application server side of things (coming from a games degree).
Some other advice I would give is to get a knowledge of different build tools, the primary choice in my company is Ant but we have been doing some experiments with Maven too.
This isn't a definitive guide but it would have helped me massively - fortunately my employer knew my strengths and weeknesses so have been helpful in getting me up to speed.
Some other advice I would give is to get a knowledge of different build tools, the primary choice in my company is Ant but we have been doing some experiments with Maven too.
This isn't a definitive guide but it would have helped me massively - fortunately my employer knew my strengths and weeknesses so have been helpful in getting me up to speed.
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