Cliffski nailed it on the head, but to add my own $0.02 worth:
First, if you really want to get something out the door before you die of old age, consider licensing an inexpensive engine (and there are several under $500.00, and two free that are worth using IMNSHO). For $60.00 you can buy the book that comes with the full source code for Fly3D, an OpenGL-based engine that has _zero_ use restrictions (I''m working with it for my next couple of titles, both first-person arcade games). For FREE you can get Genesis3D, an acceptable engine that has a lot of community support (I used it for my last open-source project, now spun off on its own). Writing your own engine (and by this I mean 3D graphics and audio systems along with the tools to support your custom engine, not including the AI and such) will add an easy 6 to 8 months to your development cycle.
Second, you''ll definitely need more artists than programmers for anything even faintly RPG-ish (and I''m assuming you mean that kind of thing when you say ''adventure game''). The amount of content that has to be dumped into such a game is _scary_ _huge_. If you''re doing a first-person shooter you can get away with less content (fewer textures, less audio work) but you''ll need killer engineers to get you excellent AI and top in-game effects (or you''ll end up in the bargain bin, a fate somewhat worse than death in some cases).
You might consider structuring your game in "episodes" - get the engine done, and put together a short (2-3 hours of play) "intro episode" and see how it works out. It lets you get some proof of concept for your game design before you commit to putting together the game equivalent of War And Peace...!
In my experience you can put something interesting and fun to play together with about 1-2 programmers and 3 or more artists, provided you''re not trying to outdo Diablo II. This is all, of course, in my arrogant and obnoxious opinion!
How many programmers and 3D/2D artists are needed to make a game?
It wouldn''t be a BGD thread without cliffski''s tired old tirade about not needing big budgets and don''t forget about roller coaster tycoon etc.etc.etc.
But if you''ve never produced a game before, starting off with a 3d adventure game is pretty unrealistic. Unless you''ve just won the lottery...
But if you''ve never produced a game before, starting off with a 3d adventure game is pretty unrealistic. Unless you''ve just won the lottery...
Whew let me boil it down into a simple plan for you:
1) Read articles on GameDev and www.gamasutra.com
Your post painfully shows that you''ve done little or no research at all. Research is one of the keys to being a project leader, and also a way I generally start my work day off.
2) Play some more games. I see a lot of people that just played X title and want to make a game just like it. Expand your horizons and see what others have done, as every title you play may serve as good reference material in some form or another.
3) Read Gamedev''s Help Wanted section and play spot the whiner. You can get some good knowledge of how NOT to behave as a project lead form there. (Sorry guys, but it IS true).
4) I''m guessing you want to be the designer. Well then write a design document, or two or three. In fact write a design document on a game about washing cars. If you can make that into an interesting concept then you''re on the right track. Make sure to detail how EVERYTHING works. You don''t need to get into engine code, but you should know how many frames an animation should take etc.
5) Once you have those docs you can even begin to balance out how many people you''ll need in each department vs. the alotted time and the scope of the game.
6) Work. Project lead can easily become the equivalent of 2 full-time jobs with the time you''ll be investing.
Once you can do all that, you''ll know the answers.
1) Read articles on GameDev and www.gamasutra.com
Your post painfully shows that you''ve done little or no research at all. Research is one of the keys to being a project leader, and also a way I generally start my work day off.
2) Play some more games. I see a lot of people that just played X title and want to make a game just like it. Expand your horizons and see what others have done, as every title you play may serve as good reference material in some form or another.
3) Read Gamedev''s Help Wanted section and play spot the whiner. You can get some good knowledge of how NOT to behave as a project lead form there. (Sorry guys, but it IS true).
4) I''m guessing you want to be the designer. Well then write a design document, or two or three. In fact write a design document on a game about washing cars. If you can make that into an interesting concept then you''re on the right track. Make sure to detail how EVERYTHING works. You don''t need to get into engine code, but you should know how many frames an animation should take etc.
5) Once you have those docs you can even begin to balance out how many people you''ll need in each department vs. the alotted time and the scope of the game.
6) Work. Project lead can easily become the equivalent of 2 full-time jobs with the time you''ll be investing.
Once you can do all that, you''ll know the answers.
This topic is closed to new replies.
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