Hi everyone, I am a first year computer-science major and in our software engineering module we have been assigned to make a game(I have never built one before other than a tic-tac toe game that I made to waste time on). We are going to use a game building kit/platform that works on mac, windows and linux. So first, I would like to know if someone can tell me of the platform he might be talking about. Second me and my mates are a bit confused on where to start.(the lecture said any game will do, but I want to make the best there is) so I imagined if the game can support the three platforms then it might not be too graphic intensive and the fact that it is a 9 weeks. So we were looking at playstation one games, like alien resurrection, tekken 3, mortal combat 4, quake 2, Xena and those sort of games. Are we going overboard or are we thinking too small ( on a 9 week project ).I am willing to work day and night to make the best game. I will accept any advice and maybe game ideas or like games on other platforms (like IOS) and I will do the research. Plus I will give update on what the platform is after two weeks when we will be told so you can give me help. Thanks everybody in advance!!
For the software, they may be talking about Unity.
Click Here
I know it supports win and mac although i'm not sure about linux.
As for your project:
If your task is to recreate an older game, I'd go for something smaller scale (maybe an old 2D game?)
Although you have newer tools, you have to question how long it took the original developers to finish the game.
Creating a game on several platforms (classing win/linux as a single platform, and mobile OS's as another) may be VERY overboard.
It takes a lot of work to create a game that works on both platforms (different programming language, directory handling ect.).
If you're intent on creating a game on several platforms, go for android and PC/Mac. Dev kits are easily avaliable for both.
I've got not idea of the scope of your study or how fast you can create something in 9 weeks, but something smaller scale on a single operating system might suit you better if you're new to a developement tool.
Try to create something that shows off your programming skill and creativity rather than how much you can work.
Maybe some strange mechanics?
Upadate me later on!
~ Alex.
We are going to use a game building kit/platform that works on mac, windows and linux. So first, I would like to know if someone can tell me of the platform he might be talking about.
There are a few possibilities, depending on the scope. As Alex mentioned, he could be talking about Unity3D, which is a cross-platform 3D game engine that is kind of popular for entry-level home-made 3D games. But frankly, I doubt that in your first year of CS you would be asked to do a 3D game, even a simple one. It just seems a bit over the top, and also, you would be spending a lot of time just working out the kinks of 3D graphics and modeling, and not much time coding.
It is possible that he is referring to a simpler 2D platform. Something like SDL, or maybe even flash (which is basically just interactive animations, really).
What programming languages have you been focusing on? Because that would be quite telling of which platform your prof has in mind.
I imagined if the game can support the three platforms then it might not be too graphic intensive
The fact that it supports all three platforms has no bearing on the intensity of the graphics. In fact, Windows is the worst platform for graphics, and it's pretty good, so, there isn't much of a limit here.
and the fact that it is a 9 weeks.
That's the main limitations. I don't see how it would be even remotely possible to make a "real" 3D game in 9 weeks. Unless you rely on an engine and a platform that already has 95% of the work done for you and all you need to do is fill in a few blanks, then I don't see that happening. Considering that you are supposed to be doing CS or software engineering, I can't imagine that they would want you to use this kind of "ready-made" engine, because all you would have to do then would be to create some 3D models and write a few basic game-logic scripts, and there's really no CS / Soft-Eng. educational purpose for that. A "ready-made" game engine would have all the interesting soft-eng problems already worked out under the hood, and you'd be left to only have to do the cosmetic work.
Are we going overboard or are we thinking too small ( on a 9 week project ).
I think you are going overboard. My guess is, they probably expect something more along the lines of Angry Bird, i.e., a 2D game with some simple mechanics. And if this is for a software engineering class, they probably want you to focus on the engineering of the code that powers the game, not so much on getting impressive graphics and whatnot.
I think you are going overboard. My guess is, they probably expect something more along the lines of Angry Bird, i.e., a 2D game with some simple mechanics.
they probably want you to focus on the engineering of the code that powers the game, not so much on getting impressive graphics and whatnot.
This pretty much sums it up.
The kind of games that really push the limits of the hardware take months for entire teams to complete and optimise.
Stick to something you can show off with, and that you can still manage.
Thanks everyone for contributing I will keep you updated Thanks!
Ok so we will be using a development environment that is pretty 'easy'( based on the teachers opinion). No language will be used but we have done C and now we are doing Java. The thing is in writing the documents associated to the game is hard because we dont know what the engine is capable of(What should I do?) Should I just write based on one I like to make or wait for the IDE. The 2d-games that I want to make are like supermario, duck hunt,snake, and tekken 3(something I can make for the project and work on my self and play it, I miss mario by the way :P). I would really like your ideas on games. Based on 2-d.Thanks Guys I will pass you the Software engineering documentation to review.
Here are the graphics-like I would like to implement I would really like your opinions on them Click Here. Apparently the IDE might be called 'scratch'.
You should ask your teacher, not us, what the scope and requirements of his course work are.
Ok, I've used scratch before when tutoring early comp studies students.
It's an engine capable of rendering 2D games, but it's pretty simple.
The one concern I have with your aspirations of recreating most of those games is the heavy use of highly detailed pixelart.
The people who drew the artwork for most of the games you've posted have taken a huge amount of time and are highly skilled in their crafts.
Maybe something like the original mario (as opposed to super mario, as you mentioned) might be more suitable.
@humorousone yes Its scratch, I was wondering how far scratch can go and if a tetris game would or mario game wouldnt be too far. Because it doesnt seem to have that much of capabilities. Can you give examples of games that can be built Would really appreciate it.
both Mario and Tetris are registered trademarks, so don't use the names or artwork in your own project...
Please forgive my intrution into this topic, I'm sorry I can't help out in this area. I've just noticed the topic and this is what directed me to this post. I personally enjoy the game Minecraft, I have been moddify the game myself.(Swords, armor ,and such) Except I have hit the end to what I belive I am capabale of. I am looking for help. I would like have structures randomly spawn in a mod. This is possible, except i don't know how to link the code to the world generator. If there are Minecraft modders out there that can help please contact me.
Hi @Houmourosone I decided to make a simple pong game but I am having trouble with the AI for the cpu player can you help me?
My suggestion to you is , that incase if you have time(not more that one week required) try using a software that makes game making easy and doesnt require much of coding.I am specifically talking of game maker.Just spend one week and create the game you had in your mind.(download game maker free version or trial and just in 30 minutes with the provided tutuorial you can make your first game)
By doing this you will be clear of all basics regarding the world of games and what implications you might face when you will program the game(which would not take more than just 100 mouse clicks in game maker).
This is my approach.I started with game maker. then moved to doing basic game making using TC (graphics.h :D ) and then moved to XNA from microsoft(currently doing the same) and thinking of moving to open-gl or unity 3d afterwards.
Moral :Thing is that alone you wont be able to make a good game, you need a team(with a designer for your sprites and other stuff) , to make a desirable game.
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