Well, you will need to do one of the hardest parts now: getting people to make your game.

Don't get me wrong, but as you might already know, there are a lot of people out there that think they have the best idea, but the fact is, they don't. I'm not saying there aren't people with a lot of potential out there, but there are so many things people overlook when actually designing something. You might want to ask yourself also, do I have an idea which I laid out in somewhat more detail, or did I actually designed a game?

I'm saying this, because you will need to convince others to do the work for you and well.. not everyone wants to jump in a project that is just another idea someone had and I am not even talking about the costs involved. Making an MMO, at least a proper one, takes a lot of skill and time and you are asking people to work for you, expect that they want some sort of compensation.

Your best course of action now is to go out and look for people if you are sure you can get them. When it comes to that, you will have to present your idea in a manner that will attract people to come and work for you. You can post some in the right forum here or any other forum that lets you do that. Prepare to blow them away with your idea and if/when you have people that are interested, let them get into the design.

Once again though, don't expect people to just make your game. Good luck out there!

I have created an INTIRE game and have put it all in black and white.
I have no experience in making games at all but I figured that's what your for, I'm just the guy who is really creative and comes up with new games and new ideas for games everyday.
I guess my question for you is. What's do you think is my next move?

It depends. What is it you want to accomplish? You ask us for your next move but you erroneously assume we know where you're trying to go.
Where are you trying to go?
How old are you?
What level of schooling have you completed?
What's your current occupation?
Any or all of these articles might contain the answers you seek:
http://sloperama.com/advice/idea.htm
http://sloperama.com/advice/lesson10.htm
http://sloperama.com/advice/lesson7.htm
http://sloperama.com/advice/lesson16.htm
http://sloperama.com/advice/lesson29.htm
http://sloperama.com/advice/entry65.htm

Thanks Mr. M. for your input. Another question, do I need to find a publisher before I find my team?

No, that is pretty much impossible, publishers aren't interested in ideas, they will do business with studios who allready have a nearly finished game for them to publish or a trackrecord.

Your main obstacle will really be getting a team to work for you, everyone has ideas and most people who actually know how to make games learned it in order to turn their own ideas into real games, You have to convince them to abandon the very reason they started developing games and work for you instead. (Remember, in their minds their own ideas are most likely better than your idea).

When recruiting for a team there are a few things you should keep in mind:

1) If you're not paying your workers you are asking them to invest in your project (time = money) and no sane person will invest in a project where the project leader himself is unwilling to invest more than they are.

2) MMOs are very complex, you really don't want to work with amateurs on a project of that scale.

Your best option really is to learn how to program and start making the game yourself, It will give you a much better idea of how feasible your design really is and it puts you in a position to drive the development forward (Which makes recruiting alot easier). (Allthough when you go down this path you are likely to abandon your MMO idea anyway and start designing games that are more suitable for small teams)

I am an INTJ, like Tom Sloper, but I tend to be more direct/blunt/not-so-holding-back-on-bad-news than most. I believe that being honest and realistic with/about yourself is necessary before you can be honest with anyone else and see the world in a realistic light. Then you can start actually being successful instead of wishing you were and trying to make up for it, but at your age you won’t get there for another maybe 5 years.

#1: It is a problem when you don’t actually know the word for what you want to do.
There are 2 kinds of producers. The big producers are the only ones known to the outside world, and they have all the money so they make the final decisions.
But they don’t design the game. They get a rough idea of what they want, gather ideas from one or more designers, pick the best one, and outsource it to a small no-name company to save money, because that is all that matters to producers.

Those small no-name companies have their own producers. Their job is to keep the project running, make sure schedules are met, etc., and communicate with the client. Their creativity has no meaning.

I imagine you aren’t the fat business guy with all the money, and since you are asking about the creative process, with a bit of management thrown in, I am fairly sure you meant to ask about being a game designer. Or a hobby-time hybrid of both, since you feel you will need to manage people and be the creative head of the project.

Managing people means you need to work well with them and have their confidence. This will probably come with age, but certainly not in your current situation. But don’t worry; people weren’t confident in me either when I was young. Everyone grows up.

#2: The fact that you think playing a lot of MMO’s makes you a good designer shows that you are a bad designer.
Everyone and his or her dog has “good” game ideas, but usually a lot of them can be a little more objective when talking about themselves. You know, not over-doing the good side, possibly actually mentioning some of the bad sides/weaknesses.

For an idea of what actually does make a good designer, watch this: http://penny-arcade....a-game-designer


Key notes:
* You are not the director.
* Advice: Stop thinking it is all you. You praise yourself so much that I would never consider working with you. That is a red alert to me that this guy or girl is inflexible and wants the game done “the right way”, but misunderstands that the right way is his way and not the team’s way.

* Game design is not to make stories or concepts.
* Advice: “Every one of you budding designers probably have 5 or 6 you could pull out right now.” He is talking to you. Keep watching the video.

* You are the worst judge of your own games.
* Advice: He is talking to you. Keep watching the video.

* Just because you have played a lot of games or a whole lot of a single game does not mean you are prepared to make games.
* Advice: He is talking to you. Keep watching the video. By the way, don’t bother mentioning that while you were playing all those MMO’s you were studying them and trying to figure out what makes them tick, how their internal mechanics work etc. At this point it would be nothing but saving face. If you really knew that that was the skill that actually makes a good designer, you would have said that instead of saying that you played a lot of MMO games.

* Technical writing skills. Grammar, punctuation, and spelling.
* Advice: Use a spell checker. Always. Don’t SHOUT when you intend to emphasize. “INTIRE”? I think you meant, “entire”, maybe “entire”.
Paragraphs are your friend. Don’t be afraid to put a few blank lines between different ideas in your writing. My post is longer, yet still easier to read.
By the way, this simple act makes people more confident in your abilities, which would go a long away towards getting people to work with you…


#3: More bad news.
I am just taking a gander, but by your style of writing and choice of words, you are just under 11 months away from being 22.
I wanted to be a game designer, but I was 12. 2 years later I realized I was in your position, and that no one would make all my cool ideas for me, so I would have to make them myself. At 14 I started learning to program and playing keyboards/piano and making music. Yep, I wanted to be sure my games would have music too, and besides, I also knew a designer needs to communicate with the whole team.
When I finally did get a chance at professional game design, it was not my own game I was designing. I had no inspiration for that entire genre of game, and the result is basically your standard quality. Not bad but far from special. I knew I would have to do this for a while before ever getting my own ideas made.
The point is that it is a little bit late to start learning piano or programming, and it is very very hard to get into the industry as a designer without experience.
Even if you did get a job (I assume that would be the ultimate goal right?) you have to realize that you would be starting at the very bottom, and would not have a chance to make your game a reality (again, you need professionals to make an MMO, not an adhoc group of hobbyists) for many many years.


#4: But if you can accept reality, I do actually have some good news.
All that time while you are working your way up, if you are as good as you think you are, you will catch people’s attention, they will respect you, and they will be willing to work with you on a real project in their spare time. This is called “making contacts” and it really helps in more ways than can be counted.
Kazuhiro Kinoshita, author of 3D Character Animation Manual, and Masao Tsubasa are contacts I have met who are interested in making something with me once my engine is ready. Mr. Kinoshita has donated test art for my engine as well. Talk about a dream team in the art department, and free (well, their price is that they want to make their own ideas first, but that is fine with me—would it be fine with you though?)!
You never know who you will meet, but if you can be patient and play reality the way it was meant to be played—realistically—you will have your own dream team of programmers, artists, and musicians willing to make games with you. Or enough money to fill the gaps.


There is no shortcut unless you have money. But since you were willing to tell us how great your ideas are but no mention of your wallet, I will assume there is nothing worth mentioning in the wallet.
Try to get into the industry. Start at the bottom and work up. Learn to present yourself as a more confident and professional person and people will see you as such.
Make contacts, and, finally, just keep going.


L. Spiro