Hi Guys,

I'm looking to create a game, but I'm looking for something in particular from it. I'm obviously a beginner so you'll have to excuse layman terms; but I'm going to give you a scenario as it's the only way I can think to describe and convey what it is I'm looking for.

I'm looking to create a thief type game, and just like in any of the elder scrolls games, or the "Thief" games I'm looking to create a mini game where-by a lock whether digital (for passcodes) or analogue (mechanical) appears in some sort of overlay with various functionality. I'm also looking to grow it, so that various lock breaking tools can be selected.

Now I'm sure I'm going to get blasted with warnings like "That's for L33T's only!" or "You should start with something simpler! For now just focus on making a basic character" and I completely understand where people that may say that are coming from. But here's the thing, I don't mind the learning curve, and all I want to know is what software can I get, preferably for free of course, that would allow me to do that; and if anyone has any idea how to do it, then how would I do it?

SlipSpace

There's no "tutorial" for game mechanics. You have to figure it out yourself. That's why people start simple, to learn the basics and move up

That's like saying "I'm going to make a car! But I'm not going to do anything to help me learn how to build a car!"

Generally available software tends to be quite general. The whole idea of such software is that a lot of people use it, which means it has to be usable for a wide range of problems. That said, there is a whole lot of game development software aimed at specific areas or types of games.

Maybe you can tailor such software towards your ideas more easily.

I have very little knowledge if this area, but Adventure Game Studio (AGS) comes to mind, a program to write point & click adventures (where your room is probable a single-ish screen with a watch). More generic is Game Maker, but I don't know if that would be usable for you. You can even consider Scratch, which is aimed at young children to learn programming.

You have a clear target ahead of you and it is very good as it will let you focus on some less exiting stuff before you could make your dream game yourself.

Unfortunately there are no shortcuts. Programming is an ability to connect unrelated pieces of code to make something working. Without knowing those pieces you won't be able to achieve much.

If you hadn't already, you should read the FAQ. Then I would start with python. There are great free books on http://inventwithpython.com/ that focus on creating simple games. Python is also free and that is all you need at start.

Just one thing - as you read through the books, after every chapter think how you can use that knowledge in your game. In what part it could fit? What problem it could solve? Do it regardless of how simple or abstract the chapter was.