I've just really gotten interested in game creation and I'm wondering if anyone knows of a good program for a beginner.
It depends, are you on PC or a Mac? If you're on PC, GameBuilder is a good place to start. From there move on to UDK once you get enough programming experience. If you're on a Mac, there's pretty much only one option: Xcode. Search up some tutorials on Cocos2d or CoronaSDK. I'm sorry I can't give more advice, I don't actually know what platform you're on. If you specify what platform you are working with, I could give some more information!
Well, for starters, you need to decide what types of games you'd like to build. I'm guessing you want to build games purely for the PC? GameMaker (not GameBuilder, my mistake) is an awesome platform for beginner-level game dev. Here are some tutorials I found online:Log In Make a few good games there, and once you sort of get an idea of how games are generally made, move on to the Unreal Development Kit (UDK):Log In UDK is probably the best software for full-feature games. Has a great community, and a PLETHORA of tutorials online. A nice alternative is Unity3d. It's a simple game engine, but also has plenty of features and tutorials.Log In Hope I helped! Just remember, getting into game development takes a lot of patience and time, you gotta really stick to it! Good luck!
I can second Gamemaker and UDK. Never done anything with Unity, but I've heard good things on that front as well. I haven't really used it, but there's this as well, which may be of some use for you:Log In
Unity is a great tool for creating free games. It requires basic knowledge of JavaScript but that has to be the easiest or one, of all the languages to learn. It can look incredibly professional once you've mastered the art of 3D modelling and texturing. It's also fun to learn
I work with a Game Studio, and can definitely recommend using Unity - it's fairly simple to get the hang of, though you will need some basic programming knowledge. I highly suggest jumping right into learning either Java or C# and using Unity to create games. If you pick C#, once you become confident enough you can move onto using XNA or a similar framework to have more control over what you're doing. Also, a bit of information from me - if you feel like you want to make games for fun and think it isn't much work and it's all fun and games, rethink what you know. Once you get set with a project, there's a large majority where you may feel bored, or overwhelmed - to the point of feeling like you should just give up. Don't. Perservere. See your ideas through to the end. There is nothing that compares to the feeling of finishing a game and being able to show it to people and say "Look, this is what I made. This is mine." Start off with small projects and games. Don't jump straight into making a full-fledge RPG or whatnot. Write your ideas down and if it seems like it's going to be a large game, keep those notes somewhere so you can go back to them in the future, when you have more experience under your belt. Also, keep an eye on gaming forums, websites, etc. Make sure you know what's happening in the industry, what's doing well, etc. It's always helpful and motivating to see what other people are doing at the same time you are. Feel free to message me or ask specific questions, I'll be happy to provide some answers.
I appreciate all the information, but I guess I should say this. I'm not looking to be the next bossa nova or the lead of the next obscure hit. This game like my novel is something that I am doing for me. It is more then a hobby and less then an obsession. I don't expect to smile my way through this, and I don't need a lecture about being a flaky kid. That said, thankyou I have something more to work with now outside of the concept art, the storyboard, whether to make one long installment or lots of smaller ones, whether to begin with a sort of prelude... getting the soundwork done and figuring out how to get the voicework handled. Also buying the storage for everything and deciding whether or not to make it fit the novel or standalone or be kind of AU.
You would probably need to learn code, I reckon. No need to be an engineer. It can be time-consuming though...however, if it is what you want - just do what it is that you want to do. More than that, no-one can tell you.
I encourage you to try RPG maker 2001 first. You'll get the hang of how to make 16-bit games. You should also learn Java for the SDK.
I suggest that you learn one or two programming languages and master them first because they are the backbone of every game. Maybe modelling too? if you are planning on making games with amazing visuals.
RPGMaker is great for beginners if you want to make games kinda like the oldschool gameboy games. There are tons of guides out there to teach you how to do it, too.
You will also need a modeling program. I would suggest first going with a 2D game, so game models done in GIMP, Photoshop, or even Paint will do fine. Once you feel ready for 3D, though, I would suggest a free program like Blender, or any of the other 25 I found in the site below.Log In
I'd Recommend RPG Maker 2000 since it's a very complete game builder that's also free. It's very easy to create a 2D Role Playing Game with RPG Maker 2000. You could easily create towns, dungeons, story lines and many more without any knowledge in codes. Another great software is Adventure Maker. However I like RPG Maker more.
