Aside from:
Programming
3D Program (in my case Blender)
Aside from those 2 things, I have no idea what else is essential to make a game, seeing as how I'm new to this.
I am currently learning C#, using XNA, but i'd also like to learn how to make games WITHOUT using XNA, so I am making games for stuff other than the 360.
Blender is going to be a bit difficult, seeing as how I am looking for a good set of video tutorials that show me practically everything.
But aside from those 2 things, what else do I need to learn to make a fully functional game, say like, a platformer such as Spyro? (minus the voice acting of course)
I want to make a game by myself, what are all the tools I need to learn?
It's not about the tools, it's about the skills.
To directly answer your question...
A compiler/toolchain (i.e. Visual Studio)
A text editor to edit code (i.e. Visual Studio)
An image editor (i.e. Gimp or Photoshop)
A 3d modeling tool, assuming you're making a 3d game (i.e. Blender)
An audio editor (if making your own sound effects) (i.e. Audacity)
...and, thats about it.
The list of skills you'll need is a much larger list.
The forum FAQ should be a good place to start looking for more info.
To directly answer your question...
A compiler/toolchain (i.e. Visual Studio)
A text editor to edit code (i.e. Visual Studio)
An image editor (i.e. Gimp or Photoshop)
A 3d modeling tool, assuming you're making a 3d game (i.e. Blender)
An audio editor (if making your own sound effects) (i.e. Audacity)
...and, thats about it.
The list of skills you'll need is a much larger list.
The forum FAQ should be a good place to start looking for more info.
It depends on what kind of game you wanna make and which platform will the game be on. If it will be a PC game then you could start with a open source engine like Ogre. It has a basic framework for a simple game.
Quote:Original post by Drakonite
A compiler/toolchain (i.e. Visual Studio)
A text editor to edit code (i.e. Visual Studio)
An image editor (i.e. Gimp or Photoshop)
A 3d modeling tool, assuming you're making a 3d game (i.e. Blender)
An audio editor (if making your own sound effects) (i.e. Audacity)
I Think he also needs DirectX. And, based on all of these he still needs to make a lot of other tools such as Exporter, UI Editor, Scene Editor, etc. ;)
Since you use the word 'make' and not 'program', I suggest use blender and buy both modelling and the real time game making book on blender (go to blender shop at blender3d.org for more info).
2d or 3d? GameMaker (yoyo-games.com) is a nice one. Use GIMP for 2d images.
Your question is a open ended - tools for what language? what kind of game? Anyway, I'm a game engine person (I want to develop games, not game engine), so I give game engines examples.
But, IMHO, I repeat, IMHO, a person should develop games using game engine first, to know the overall aspect of a game, before develop one using programming. This allow them to have a bird eye view of how the final product look like and behave internally, so they didn't suffer the 'missing the forest for the trees'. This usually where you wrote code that work fine in their own, but hard to interact with other aspect of the code, and causing a re-write or re-factoring. But of course, that is how people build experience - you don't get things right from the start.
Still, if you use game engine to develop a game (let say, game maker), at least you know the logic by now, and you also know what kind of function and capabilities you need to code / develop.
But of course, that is my opinion.
EDIT: change bit to bird
2d or 3d? GameMaker (yoyo-games.com) is a nice one. Use GIMP for 2d images.
Your question is a open ended - tools for what language? what kind of game? Anyway, I'm a game engine person (I want to develop games, not game engine), so I give game engines examples.
But, IMHO, I repeat, IMHO, a person should develop games using game engine first, to know the overall aspect of a game, before develop one using programming. This allow them to have a bird eye view of how the final product look like and behave internally, so they didn't suffer the 'missing the forest for the trees'. This usually where you wrote code that work fine in their own, but hard to interact with other aspect of the code, and causing a re-write or re-factoring. But of course, that is how people build experience - you don't get things right from the start.
Still, if you use game engine to develop a game (let say, game maker), at least you know the logic by now, and you also know what kind of function and capabilities you need to code / develop.
But of course, that is my opinion.
EDIT: change bit to bird
3DSMAX /MAYA
PHOTOSHOP
PAINTSHOP
these are the essientals but i believe there is alot more used ..
PHOTOSHOP
PAINTSHOP
these are the essientals but i believe there is alot more used ..
You're asking the wrong question. There is no single tool that you must use if you're building a game. Rather, you've set yourself certain goals and you're trying to find out how to achieve them - and which tools can help you therein.
For instance, you need to create levels for your game. If it's a 3D game, you'll need some way to create 3D environments. How would you do so? Likely by using a 3D modeling package - but perhaps generating geometry with some algorithms will do just fine, if that's the kind of style you want to achieve, or perhaps creating a bitmap or a text-file where certain character/colors denote walls is fine too. It depends on the game.
You'll probably need some art - but whether you should buy it, generate it, or create it yourself using a raster or vector graphics editor (Paint, Paint.NET, the Gimp, Inkscape, Photoshop, Illustrator, ...) depends on what exactly you need, and what you can afford.
A moderately complex game will likely require some scripting and often some custom data here and there. A general-purpose text editor is always handy. A hex-editor can be useful from time to time. Sometimes it makes sense to use a spreadsheet tool to author some data, sometimes a specific IDE can help you out with scripting...
There will also be cases where there's no existing tool that suits your needs. Sometimes using multiple tools together will do, sometimes modifying an existing tool is an option, sometimes it's better to build one yourself. It depends on the situation.
As for engines, frameworks and APIs... which one to choose really depends on the platform(s) you're working with, on the kind of game you're going to build and on what you're familiar with (or can get familiar with within reasonable time).
For instance, you need to create levels for your game. If it's a 3D game, you'll need some way to create 3D environments. How would you do so? Likely by using a 3D modeling package - but perhaps generating geometry with some algorithms will do just fine, if that's the kind of style you want to achieve, or perhaps creating a bitmap or a text-file where certain character/colors denote walls is fine too. It depends on the game.
You'll probably need some art - but whether you should buy it, generate it, or create it yourself using a raster or vector graphics editor (Paint, Paint.NET, the Gimp, Inkscape, Photoshop, Illustrator, ...) depends on what exactly you need, and what you can afford.
A moderately complex game will likely require some scripting and often some custom data here and there. A general-purpose text editor is always handy. A hex-editor can be useful from time to time. Sometimes it makes sense to use a spreadsheet tool to author some data, sometimes a specific IDE can help you out with scripting...
There will also be cases where there's no existing tool that suits your needs. Sometimes using multiple tools together will do, sometimes modifying an existing tool is an option, sometimes it's better to build one yourself. It depends on the situation.
As for engines, frameworks and APIs... which one to choose really depends on the platform(s) you're working with, on the kind of game you're going to build and on what you're familiar with (or can get familiar with within reasonable time).
Author
I'm learning C# atm, I was learning C++ but my friend wanted me to learn C# because it's easier and we could work together.
I want to design all sorts of games, one main one being a platformer.
I want to design all sorts of games, one main one being a platformer.
If you're using Blender I'd strongly recommend learning Python, as it's Blender's scripting language of choice. I'm learning Python now for the very same reason. Then most of the work can be done in the modeller/game editor and all the game specific stuff can be coded by hand. Keeps the pipeline simple, but productive.
Author
I hope Python isn't extremely complicated like C#/C++? I am having a hard enough time learning the basics of C# as is, I want to get to the point where im making games, not spending years and years learning the code.
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