lets get started making some games!
So lets start our journey! You are here because you want to learn how video games are made, this guide will give you some good directions as to where to start. You will learn what your first steps should be and what direction you should take after finishing this guide.
On your own, or with a small team you should not expect to build games with the same quality as the ones that you see on the stores... If you invest some time in this hobby tho, you will develop the skill to make some quality indie games such as the ones that you see on steam, yes you can put your game on steam too if you got what it takes!
You can not start creating such complex games right away tho... you will need to develop some important skills in order to do that, it will take some time but it will be very rewarding. Basically you will need to learn how to use a game engine, learn a programming language, learn how to make models and how to animate them and maybe even how to create your own sound effects and music for the game.
But this is not the way that I recommend you to start! I suggest looking into a free game engine that will help you make 2D games with ease... it doesnt require the knowledge of a programming language so it should be quite easy to grasp. You should get familiar with this program and make a few simple games with it, and then you should progress to a normal but easy programming language.
Game Maker... Maybe you have heard of this neat little program before, I am sure that you will love it. You will be able to make some beginner games with it very quickly! Click on the image above to visit their website and download the program.
Once you install it I recommend that you read the documentation over: >>Here<<
Also you should watch some Youtube videos about it, you should find many interesting tutorials on the program there. To be honest you have lots and lots of possibilities with Game Maker and should stick with it until you master it before moving on!
taking the next step!
So I hope that you try out and make a few games with Game Maker before you move on...
Once you have mastered this awesome little program tho, it will be time to move on to more serious things! You will have to learn how write scripts, this is a vital skill for making video games since without it you can't create any sort of command to structure how your game will work. Without it you will have just some objects on a game engine, sitting still... Throw a few lines of code to them and you can make them move, dance, hunt you... you get the picture!
Once you have mastered this awesome little program tho, it will be time to move on to more serious things! You will have to learn how write scripts, this is a vital skill for making video games since without it you can't create any sort of command to structure how your game will work. Without it you will have just some objects on a game engine, sitting still... Throw a few lines of code to them and you can make them move, dance, hunt you... you get the picture!
Now I know that you have seen some pictures of code and you are probably scared of this alien language... Don't be afraid tho it will be quite easy once you learn it!
You should start with a simple language. I recommend JavaScript or C#. Since they are widely used by many developers and if you master them they should be a very handy skill. You can use these languages with the Unity game engine which I will talk about in a bit.
For now your next goal is to start learning one of these languages, to do that you should find a good book, do a simple research online and you should find one. Just be sure to read reviews first so that you know that it is good. You can find free ones but I recommend getting a physical copy of the book, it will be much easier to study.
I know that this feels like studying for school or something... but it is a necessary skill if you want to move beyond Game Maker and start making some quality games...
Also you can join a forum if you have trouble with something and want help, there are many programming related forums out there for you to choose from!
Don't forget that there are many Youtube programming tutorials out there too!
If you happen to find these languages difficult... Then you should try out BlitzBasic, it is a very simple and fun language to learn and comes with a sweet compiler that you can make some cool games with!
Click on the image to get to the BlitzBasic products... I recommend checking out BlitzPlus as it is free and very easy to learn, there are many tutorials for it out there and it has an awesome documentation too!
What should I do next?
After getting the hang of JavaScript or C# you should look into the Unity game engine, it is one of the best game engines for indie developers and you can get the basic version for free! With this engine you will be able to bring 3D models into your game world and write scripts for them to execute. It has a ton of factions and will surely meet all your game developing needs.
Check out their official page >>here!<<.
Unity has many great services, if your game is good enough you can even publish it for consoles with their help! They can help you with your future as a game developer greatly and could prove to be a great start.
I guess that you understand why you should definetly check it out!
Unity is also very easy to learn, you should check out the tutorials that they have available for free on their website and also do a youtube search for tutorials, TornadoTwins have some really good ones, you should be able to find lots of information to get you started and if you devote some time on it you will have enough knowledge to create some pretty cool games.
Don't forget tho that if you don't know a programming language well enough you will not be able to make a game with Unity, (or with any other game engine for that matter).
Check out their official page >>here!<<.
Unity has many great services, if your game is good enough you can even publish it for consoles with their help! They can help you with your future as a game developer greatly and could prove to be a great start.
I guess that you understand why you should definetly check it out!
Unity is also very easy to learn, you should check out the tutorials that they have available for free on their website and also do a youtube search for tutorials, TornadoTwins have some really good ones, you should be able to find lots of information to get you started and if you devote some time on it you will have enough knowledge to create some pretty cool games.
Don't forget tho that if you don't know a programming language well enough you will not be able to make a game with Unity, (or with any other game engine for that matter).
So for the time being you should learn how to use Unity together with your programming language to make some games.
As time progresses so will your skills using these tools.
After you feel that you have got the handle of this, you should try learning how to make your own models and animations to use in your game.
This is another great skill that you or a person of your team should know in order to make a complete video game.
As time progresses so will your skills using these tools.
After you feel that you have got the handle of this, you should try learning how to make your own models and animations to use in your game.
This is another great skill that you or a person of your team should know in order to make a complete video game.
In order to make 3D models you will need a modeling tool, take a look at Maya or 3Ds Max. These are the best out there. These programs are quite complicated tho and you should study them for quite some time to become decent at them. Check out Youtube tutorials or just use Google. What I always recommend is joining Forums if you want to look for help for a certain program.
If you devote enough time in mastering the use of a game engine together with modeling and scripting you should be able to make quite some good games.
If you devote enough time in mastering the use of a game engine together with modeling and scripting you should be able to make quite some good games.
- When you feel like moving on you should look into texturing and sound or music creation.
- You can create great textures using PhotoShop or Gimp. They should bring more quality to your games.
- For sound you can use Audacity, it is great for editing sounds or music.
- You can record your sounds on your own and then edit them or buy them online, same goes for music.
is there anything left?
If you have learned all the things that I have talked about so far then congratulations, you are well on your way of being a great game developer since these are almost all the skills that people need to make great quality indie games.
You should spend a long time practising with the tools that we have talked about and make quite a lot of games with them.
If you ever feel like moving even further down the gaming path then you should look into forming a team with some of your friends or people online to combine your efforts to make something better.
If you see that you are able to make some cool creations you should put your game out there for others to see. Maybe it will end up on steam, you should send it to them if you want them to consider putting it on their store.
Also you can talk with the guys at Unity about exporting your game to some kind of console.
You could end up working for a big gaming company, or even forming your own... who knows ?
By the way if you are looking for something new you could try making your own game engine to suit your needs. If you reach that point then you have pretty much learned everything there is to developing indie games.
I know that all of this info could be tiring to process, but maybe you should take another read of our guide, don't waste time tho you should get started on your journey of game making right away. Start with the simple things as we said and then progress slowly as you master each of the skills that I mentioned.
Just be determined and do your research in order to better understand each tool.
P.S. I know that some of you wanted this guide to also include info on how to use the tools that I recommend but that would be impossible since there is so much to learn about all of these complex applications. This guide would be endless and unreadable. You should search online for each tool and you should be able to find some great information on how to use them, I highly recommend Youtube!
You should spend a long time practising with the tools that we have talked about and make quite a lot of games with them.
If you ever feel like moving even further down the gaming path then you should look into forming a team with some of your friends or people online to combine your efforts to make something better.
If you see that you are able to make some cool creations you should put your game out there for others to see. Maybe it will end up on steam, you should send it to them if you want them to consider putting it on their store.
Also you can talk with the guys at Unity about exporting your game to some kind of console.
You could end up working for a big gaming company, or even forming your own... who knows ?
By the way if you are looking for something new you could try making your own game engine to suit your needs. If you reach that point then you have pretty much learned everything there is to developing indie games.
I know that all of this info could be tiring to process, but maybe you should take another read of our guide, don't waste time tho you should get started on your journey of game making right away. Start with the simple things as we said and then progress slowly as you master each of the skills that I mentioned.
Just be determined and do your research in order to better understand each tool.
P.S. I know that some of you wanted this guide to also include info on how to use the tools that I recommend but that would be impossible since there is so much to learn about all of these complex applications. This guide would be endless and unreadable. You should search online for each tool and you should be able to find some great information on how to use them, I highly recommend Youtube!