Help - New Developer Team Needs Advice

Discussion in 'Public Game Developers Forum' started by dosch033, Dec 29, 2010.

  1. dosch033

    dosch033 Well-Known Member

    Feb 27, 2009
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    #1 dosch033, Dec 29, 2010
    Last edited: Dec 29, 2010
    Hey,

    I've been a fan of all your games for a long time. Now, some friends and I want to create our own game. So our team is composed of an artist, a sound designer and me. I've experience in art and I'm full of great ideas. I know how to create soundtracks and more, but it is up to me to program the game. I have experience in programming, Delphi, HTML, PHP. All these things are not unknown for me. However, I've never learned how to program iPhone games. I read some tutorials on the web, and I already have the developer kit on my MacBook Pro, but I need advice. How did you learn to program ? I know, it takes a lot of time, but I think I'm motivated enough to start a little project. Don't worry, I won't make games that are going to outsell yours :p But I would really be happy if you could advice me some websites or books I could buy and read. I don't want to do it as a fulltime job, this is only our first project as a team.

    Thank you very much for your help,

    Christian Dos Reis
     
  2. 99c_gamer

    99c_gamer Well-Known Member

    Mar 23, 2009
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    If you really want to do programming. Read one of those Learn C in 21 days books or something like it.

    But there are other ways to make iphone games if you're not a programmer. Someone else will probably chime in with suggestion.
     
  3. Krehol Games

    Krehol Games Well-Known Member

    the process

    We will go a little more in depth , starting with a casual game. I use our Momo Alien Starcatcher game as an example.

    Two week took to get the storyline, concept art,demos, and basic concept of the game ironed out.
    Three weeks to program the basic full engine of the game meaning set the highscore up, setting the collisions,setting up the controls,changing animations, and getting the effect of the power-ups done.
    Now thats 5 weeks and we have the overall game structure done. Now to add some polish to it.
    Two weeks fine tuning the difficulty , then making another charactor Tumbles in his own stage , with his own unique power-ups and enemies.
    Now we are pushing 7 weeks and still not done. The last week we play tested it and had other players test the game. Made some last minutes changes and boom finished product.
    So exactly 2 months to finish a casual game. Mind you there are some elements that make the game deeper than casual , but casual none the less. Now at the same time we had another project we also working on that is taking longer than that. The difference is our next release isnt casual. Its side-scrolling 2D action game that is toucher and more for the middle and hardcore gamer to enjoy. That is taking much longer but soon will be finished. The only factor I didnt cover is the problems along the way that make the process long. Sound files that werent compatible, fixing code, adding code to smoothen the game out,little bugs that showed on the device that wouldnt show on the Mac that we fixed , etc.
    Now for all that effort we have gotten on new and noteworthy, a review on ppcgeeks, and some good comments. Sales arent what we liked but doesnt matter we are satisfied. Our next game is much deeper and more in depth. We love the Action 2D era and are about to bring that enjoyment in a very fun way!! Good luck in your development process and I hope you do well.
     
  4. dosch033

    dosch033 Well-Known Member

    Feb 27, 2009
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    Thank you very much for your replies :) And yes, our team will have to focus on a casual game, like doodle jump for example. I have already some people trying to find some ideas.

    @Krehol Games : However, have you had, before you started creating your game, experience in programming ?

    @99c_gamer : Thanks, I'll try to find some books. Do you recommend any special book ? How did you learn programming ?

    Thanks :)
     
  5. 99c_gamer

    99c_gamer Well-Known Member

    Mar 23, 2009
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    The reason you'd need to learn C is not for the syntax but there's some concepts that you probably haven't dealt with like arrays and pointers.

    This looks like a good place to start.
    http://pw1.netcom.com/~tjensen/ptr/pointers.htm

    After that you need to learn Objective-C since that's what iphone games are programmed in.

    I think it might be a lot to learn. It's much faster using one of the game making tools like Krehol used.
     
  6. Centurion Games

    May 18, 2010
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    My advice would be given grab a book on C, some of it should be similar to PHP. After you have a decent grasp of C, either get a good library that handles most of the low level junk for you, like Cocos2D (or the C++ port) or another, or spend a lot more time learning low level stuff, like Open GL, and Open AL among others.

    You will also need to learn a little bit of Objective C, but if you have learned C that won't be to difficult, especially if you are just focused on games and use an existing library. Really you need very little Objective C to make an iPhone game, and if you plan on ever porting to any other platforms, the less Objective C you use, the better.
     
  7. Krehol Games

    Krehol Games Well-Known Member

    engines

    I use a program called game editor . In a way its good because once you learn it , you can make games much more rapidly. The bad part is it has no online capabilities like game center , and it has alot of bugs. If you learn C you can do well. I would suggest unity or other game engines. That lets you focus on game making and less coding. I am self-taught programmer for 2 years and it hasnt been easy. Goodluck with your project!! 99cent gamer and anyone else who says Objective C is easy to learn are just coding wizards Lol.
     
  8. dosch033

    dosch033 Well-Known Member

    Feb 27, 2009
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    Hey thank you :) So our first project is going to be for sure a 2D game. We decided to begin with an endless-running game, to learn the basics.

    I see that Objective C is important, so that is on my list. I'll take my time to learn it. I also decided to work with cocos2d, I know some developers who made awesome games with it and I found a book, that was published some weeks ago, explaining how to work with cocos2d. However, I still need some knowledge in Objective C. The basics.

    I tried Game Salad, but it is complex and quiet confusing :) Thank you all for your support and your advices :)

    And yes, for now I'm focusing just on an iPhone game :)
     
  9. crazygambit

    crazygambit Well-Known Member

    Nov 15, 2010
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    If you find GameSalad "complex" then I'm afraid Objective C is gonna make you weep.

    Since you say you have some coding experience I would maybe recommend Corona SDK. It's what I used for my game and I didn't have the advantage of having previous coding experience. It uses Lua, which I found quite nice for my first language. It only took me 6 weeks since I got it till I had a game on the store, by myself and working a full time job. And most of that time was spent on the art. Learning enough code to do what I needed only took like 2 weekends. Though now I'm much better at it and can do stuff cleaner and more efficiently.

    Maybe it's worth looking into. It should be well suited for an endless runner 2D game.
     
  10. Bane Games

    Bane Games Well-Known Member

    Nov 7, 2010
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    Brisbane, Australia
    I recommend looking at Unity for creating your first game. Unity is a game development tool that lets you rapidly create games for iOS and other platforms (web, PC, Mac, 360, PS3, etc).

    We used Unity for our last game with great success. It will reduce the burden of writing as much code and there are heaps of great examples to get you started.

    Learning Objective-C as your first major language would take you quite some time and there is a good chance you will become frustrated with the speed of progress. Learning a higher level language like C# (which Unity uses) would give you faster results. There are plenty of great C# tutorials around the web (such as this one).
     
  11. Krehol Games

    Krehol Games Well-Known Member

    Learning

    One important fact is dont expect to learn quick. Learning a programming language is a slow process unless your gifted and pick it up quick. GameSalad is a easy to use tool , if it seemed complex thats because maybe you where rushing. Take your time and you will do well.
     
  12. dosch033

    dosch033 Well-Known Member

    Feb 27, 2009
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    Hey Thanks for all your replies :D I checked some of your suggestions and I finally made a list. I'll first try Corona. I downloaded the free version and have been experimenting with some codes. I have to say that I am positively amazed with its simplicity. I like to see my code become alive and see some results.

    And that's maybe the reason why I found GameSalad "Complex". I like to see what I do, in a code. I'm used to PHP and HTML. And Corona gives me the same feeling as working on a website. And with Corona we can concentrate on making some great graphics. It is really awesome what you can do with Luna. I think, I'll try to make a game, just to see the end result, on Corona SDK. However, I'll keep Objective-C on my list. It is something that needs a lot of time and hard work. Right now, I stay with Corona, avoid GameSalad, which I heard is quiet low on performance, and later try Objective-C.

    I downloaded some of your first games and I'm quiet impressed. Thanks for your advices :D
     
  13. Krehol Games

    Krehol Games Well-Known Member

    progress reports

    Ok goodluck and keep us posted on your progress. When our next game is launched we will do a detailed report on the process and how long it took. That way it will help you gain some insight on making a game thats more serious than casual. Have a happy new year!!
     
  14. AssyriaGameStudio

    AssyriaGameStudio Well-Known Member

    Dec 1, 2009
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    Businesswise I'd reccomend Unity - Fairly cheap, quick to produce the content and itterate, and can deploy upon Android/ iOS/ PC/ Mac/ Web to quickly monetize in a nice spread of platforms....
     
  15. dosch033

    dosch033 Well-Known Member

    Feb 27, 2009
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    Thank You and a Happy New Year to yu too :) I'll keep a thread updated with my progress. Right now we're working on the artwork and polishing the story. I'm playing with Corona and learning some useful codes. :p

    Thanks, I'll put Unity on my list too. I think, if later we decide to do this seriously we may choose unity. Thanks :)
     

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