Yay! It's another stupid "I Wanna Make Dah' Games!" Thread... YAY!

Discussion in 'Public Game Developers Forum' started by bunksteve, Feb 10, 2014.

  1. bunksteve

    bunksteve Member

    Feb 10, 2014
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    So I was just curious if I was looking in the right place. Trying to meet like-minded individuals for long, romantic walk- wait... wrong forum.

    The long and short of it is: I would like to make games. I've been playing them since I was old enough to hold an object with both hands and focus on something else at the same time. From Oregon Trail on an Apple 2 to Tazmania on my Atari 2600, to current day consoles (That I can afford) and my tricked-out PC gaming rig (That I built myself, thank you very much), gaming has been a large part of my life.

    So how come you no learn how to program and get to it, monkey boy?

    First off, didn't realize we were giving each other nicknames that reference cheesy 80 movies, butthwad. Secondly, I tried. Kind of. I almost read a book once. Swear.

    But over the years I've realized that I can only cram so much useless knowledge into my brain, and by the time I got interested in learning to program all available room was taken up with Spaceballs trivia and all of the lyrics to The Downward Spiral. So yeah... that's pretty fruitless.

    So... what are you... artistic or something? Got some pretty concept art?

    Well.... no. My drawing never really evolved beyond trying to draw like Bill Watterson and failing before resorting back to squiggly stick figures. But what I lack in tactile artistic ability I make up for in an artistic eye. I like to think that despite my lack of abilities I have a pretty good instinct for... well... when things look "right". If a color is distracting or a character design contains ugly attributes or something along those lines, then I'm usually quick to recognize and point them out. Basically I'm incredibly judgemental.

    I can also do passable pixel art if asked.

    Okay... So you can't draw. Can't program. Why exactly do you want to make games again?

    Cuz I like them. And maybe there are certain things that I find lacking in the games currently found in the App store. Stories I'd like to see being told, game mechanics being implemented that haven't been previously, taking the ones that have been previously implemented and turning them on their head and using them in a way that hasn't been attempted, finding game mechanics that have FAILED in the past and figuring out ways to make them work.

    On top of all of that, I am also musically inclined. I record lots of music in my spare time just to... you know... get it out of my brain.

    So I'd like to think that between my storytelling/writing abilities, musical abilities, and my history and knowledge of games, I'd make a pretty good teammate when it came to designing and building a game.

    Granted, all of this is just speculation. You never know for sure until you try.

    So anyway.... if you're looking for a writer/musician/tester with a funky sense of humor and unique perspective on the world and games... maybe we should talk.... and make some magic. The video game kind. Not the dirty kind.
     
  2. Wizardo

    Wizardo Well-Known Member

    Jul 30, 2012
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    Starving indie developer
    New Jersey!
    Made it halfway through the post. Too many words and jokes.

    Good luck to the rest of you.
     
  3. originalcopy

    originalcopy Well-Known Member

    Sep 10, 2009
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  4. Cilo

    Cilo Well-Known Member

    Feb 2, 2010
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    Go to school, learn to code, the end. Or not, and make it a hobby, the other end. :D

    Rationale: Just because I like movies doesn't make me a director, just because I like music doesn't make me a musician, just because I like to eat doesn't make me a cook. End of lecture. Good night!
     
  5. originalcopy

    originalcopy Well-Known Member

    Sep 10, 2009
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    It's dreamcrusher night here at TA!
     
  6. Wizardo

    Wizardo Well-Known Member

    Jul 30, 2012
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    Starving indie developer
    New Jersey!
    Read the whole thing.

    The problem is you're offering ideas to developers who have plenty of ideas of their own on top of marketable skills. If you can't bring something else to the table like drawing or programming you're not going to find anybody to work with.

    I suggest you learn Unity at least. The download is free and there's a ton of resources for learning it online. Being able to put together an engine in Unity will help you find artists to work with.
     
  7. Destined

    Destined Well-Known Member

    Aug 11, 2013
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    I actually read the wall text (was really hard, so i am not sure writing skills is your best asset), but what he brings to the table is music. This is actually pretty good skill.

    I am sure you can find groups on indiedb or unity forums looking for some music.

    I however agree it would be hard to find someone to code your ideas for you with the skillset you are offering. The ideas man is normally the least important part of the process because was wiz mentioned everyone has ideas, it is all about execution.


    I suggest posting your music and see if you can find a project (that is nearly finished) which needs some music. You don't really need to join at start because your part is like way down the track when you have prototype, art etc and are starting to develop a feel for the game.
     
  8. RaindropGames

    RaindropGames Active Member

    I thought this OP was posting this as satire? Sometimes this kind of satire thread will show up on the Unity forums so I just assumed.

    If this is not satire, learn programming or art, or both. If you can't be bothered to push yourself to learn one of these core disciplines, then you don't have what it takes to get a game done. Getting a game done is REALLY HARD!
     
  9. bunksteve

    bunksteve Member

    Feb 10, 2014
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    Hey guys, sorry for the late reply.

    I guess my original post was too busy trying to be clever that the point of it got completely lost. My bad. Let me try again:

    First off: I think my original post may have implied that I didn't think coders or developers have any ideas or imagination. Please know that this is absolutely NOT that case. I realize I'm saying, "Hey guys, I've got a bunch of ideas! Where should I put them? On... on the pile in the corner? K...."

    And if anybody who replied to my original post with disdain or negativity and is an established developer or coder: You were not wrong. If I were reaching out to people who are already working developers with my "HEY LOOK AT ME!" B.S. then I really would be a moron.

    But I honestly don't know if this is the right place to be looking. But so there aren't anymore questions about what my intentions are, let me put them as plainly as possible:

    I am somebody with a professional history in post-production. My talents including writing, musical composition, light artwork, and morale boosting. I would like to offer my services to other NON-PROFESSIONALS who are just getting started. Because if I can help make a really fun video game come into fruition and can help somebody realize something they are passionate about... neat!

    And yes, if I wanted to make a game all on my own, I could go back to school and learn coding. But you know what? I'm kinda tired. So instead I figure... why not just take the things you KNOW how to do already, things that are USUALLY needed at some point in the development of a game, and see if you can help out.

    This isn't a resume. This isn't a plea for a job. This is somebody looking to help for merely the experience.
     
  10. simpleinteractive

    simpleinteractive Well-Known Member

    Nov 6, 2013
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    London
    I'd recommend trying my new game engine, Longford. It's very simple and easy to use based on Lua programming language which is one of the easiest to learn.

    http://sourceforge.net/projects/longford/

    Download it, try the examples, try fiddling with the examples and see what happens. Even if you don't intend to program you need to know what programmers are up against! If you are still interested, get in touch...
     
  11. RaindropGames

    RaindropGames Active Member

    My post may have come off a bit harsh, I thought you were trying to be the "idea guy". But when I re-read your posts it appears you are interested in joining up with other developers, not necessarily being the "idea guy". Sorry if I came down too hard on you.

    My previous post applies if you want to lead an indie team. Leading requires getting a lot more done than everyone else to build/keep momentum.

    For other indie teams, I can tell you from personal experience that having an excellent sound engineer makes a huge difference. Our game in the app store consistently gets compliments on our sound and music and having good sound makes the game feel much more professional. Since I don't know the OP, I can't say if they are awesome or not but I would give them a try to see what happens. The only reason I'm not is because I still have an awesome sound engineer on my team.
     
  12. RaindropGames

    RaindropGames Active Member

  13. bunksteve

    bunksteve Member

    Feb 10, 2014
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    Raindrop: No worries. I was in the same boat, worrying that my first post didn't come across the way I had hoped. But I swear, if anybody had said, "Ah, screw this guy." I would have been like "Fair enough" because... yeah.. screw me... or something. Who the heck do I think I am? :)

    And I agree 100% with what you said about sound and music design. Working in post production (And especially animation) you learn very quickly that no ONE thing makes a movie or TV show. It's a combination of lots of factors all working really well together. And a big component of that is the sound design and music. I've seen movies that just flat out didn't work until they added a score and sound effects which... isn't great, but goes to show how important it can be (And how effective it can be with the right stuff).

    Thanks for the link to the board! I will definitely check it out.

    To the guy who made Lua: I will definitely check it out. I haven't given up on Programming 100%. I still occasionally pull up Codea and pick through code, trying to implant the basics of "this does this". So I will definitely give Lua a try. Thank you very much!

    In general, thanks to everyone in the thread. Basically I think my best course of action at the moment is to hunker down with as many programming books and see if there's any more room left in my brain, then lone-wolf it until I have something more to show for it. Thanks for the advice, everybody.
     
  14. Destined

    Destined Well-Known Member

    Aug 11, 2013
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    If you want to be in control and implement your ideas, then yes that would be the best course.

    My advice download unity and follow a few tutorials to make a game in unity. I teach 9-14 year olds to make games in unity, so it is very accessible.
     
  15. Hobbsicle

    Hobbsicle Well-Known Member

    Feb 28, 2011
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    I second that. I knew almost zero about coding in early January. Now, in February, I've written a few scripts in Unity using C# and feel decently confident with the overall structure. For me, the way to learn was to go through some minimal amount of basic tutorials, then just start trying to make something, learning only how to do what was required for that step. More motivating that way, personally, than trying to learn a large amount of things prior to making something yourself.
     
  16. bunksteve

    bunksteve Member

    Feb 10, 2014
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    Will do! Thanks for the advice, guys. I'm quite excited about all of this. I've already begun writing an outline for a game. Nothing uber-committed. But just kind of mapping out what the story would be and what the levels would entail.

    Thanks again for pointing me in the right direction.
     

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