Developers Corner

The more I see people here saying "Oh yeah, I need team members, and we're doing this really
awesome game. It's about some secret stuff that I can't tell you, and I don't know what
language were using, what toolsets we require to lower our production time, and when/how i'm
going to compensate you, but join my team" the more I wonder how we can help these people.

I, for one, hated when people told me I couldn't do something. I, yes, am guilty of telling
people on these boards that they should stop, and that they don't have what it takes. I admit,
I was lazy, and didn't want to help.

SO, rather than being a meanie any longer, I put this little guide together.

As a pre-note, this guide is not a starting point, but more of a continuation of
Anageth's Post for beginning game
makers. Please read his sticky first, and learn all you can. This guide you're currently
reading is for people who now have a basic understanding of where they are, how things work,
and want to put them into action.

Because there are so many packages and engines, I can not possibly cover every one to do
everything you need it to do, but I will try my best to point you in the direction that you
need. If you are looking for something that I might not have on here, you can feel free to
message me at theanimedude@mmorpg.com and I will try to point you in the right diection, but I
can't promise anything.

As stated above, this guide is for people who have the knowledge of how to do things, but want
to know how/where to apply it. I am going to subdivide this a lot, to make things a little
easier for the reader. I will be covering everything from full packages to individual packages,
and I am not just focusing on the MMORPG genre.

There are two different ways I am going to look at this, while a few years ago I wouldn't have,
things have become very different now, and there is a lot of cross-genre gaming, so I think it
would be appropriate to explain these.

There are two large ways to make a game for an independent developer in today's market, and
those are: Game Modifications/Engines and From Scratch, I am going to try to explain what they
are, and the pros and cons of each, so bear with me.

The main thing to do when looking for a package for you is to think: “What do I want to do, and has something similar been done before?”. I don't mean this in a bad way, in fact, quite the opposite. I mean to say that if someone has done something similar (and I mean generally similar; ie an MMORPG. If someone has made an MMORPG before, there might be a Networking Engine out there, that happens to pertain to the same style you use. Therefore, you can purchase or download the engine (based on the license it uses) and modify and implement it into your game code, voila.

Important Note – Before you ever choose a package to add to your code, or a full package to use 'Do Your Research', and plan ahead. You want to make sure that the package you are implementing leaves enough space for you to do what you want with it. You don't want to be locked into something that doesn't let you implement a key feature you want for your game.

If all else fails, read up on how to do what you need, and start from scratch. But before you do this, exhaust every resource you can. Ask around, look yourself, check developer forums like GameDev. Never give up, until you are forced to. You may spend a week looking to find what you need, and it would have taken you 3 months to write what you needed, and debug it all. Don't reinvent the wheel, just modify it.

If you're planning not to write from complete scratch, but use an engine like Unreal or Source (as outlined below) there are also templated code modifications that people have made for common tasks inside the engines. Again, check community sites, game developer sites, everything. Don't waste time doing things that don't need to be done. You may find something more efficient than you would have made, and save yourself time.

I am hoping that since you are supposed to know what you're doing, and you're just searching
for more help on the topic, that you already know what I'm about to tell you... but for those
of you who don't, here's a little checklist.

If we jump on over to Anageth's
Post he has a nice list of compilers, 3d modelling software, 2d software, and the like.
Browse around there, and find which fits you best. Different software can have a radically
different feel to it, and take some getting used to, so if you need to try out new software
most offer a 'Personal Learning Edition' where you can try the software as a 'self-educational
license' to get a feel for the program and see if it's right for you. If you like a piece of
software, purchase it. If it's open source, do the right thing and donate.

Note: This is important -- Some packages come with the software you need. The company has
either created it in-house and is selling it with the package you are buying, or might have a
separate piece of software you can buy that is proprietary to their package. I would recommend
picking up/using these over 3rd party software, because they usually make certain steps a lot
easier on you, as they are programmed to do specific tasks based on the package you are using.

For instance: Valve has a map editor by the name of Hammer and Unreal has a map editor by the
name of UnrealED. They are both proprietary software that ONLY exports to their package, and
therefore has many advanced features to help you along the way. While you can create maps by
other means, I would recommend, unless you have found a 3rd party that has more support for the
package (which is highly unlikely in most cases) picking up and learning these packages.

As stated before, there are many different packages for many different applications, and
because of this, I am going to have an extremely hard time explaining and differentiation
between these for you, so bear with me. As well, I can not name every package, I am just naming
the most used packages I have seen, for various applications, and at the end I will post some
links to sites where you may be able to find more specific applications.

Game Modifications/Engines

Now, Game Modifications (normally known as mods, which is what I will call them from here on
out) used to be very genre-specific. Two of the biggest games that had been modified in the
past decade were Unreal Tournament and the Half-Life series. While many don't know this, games
like Counter-Strike, Day of Defeat, Team Fortress, and many other's alike started out as small
independent mods much like the ones average people set out to make. Mods like these paved the
way for the innovation in the modding community, and have caused it to grow immensely. Unreal
Tournament had similar success in such things as Star Wars mods, World War II mods, and
anything else you could think of. The problem with this was though, they were all very genre
specific.

My point on mods being, those were back then. The innovation and wide spread love of mods has
caused the makers of these engines to make them more dynamic and open to modification. Hence,
sites like Mod Database were born, to keep track of what people
were doing in this field.

Examples:

Engine Name: Unreal 2 Engine
Link: http://www.unrealtechnology.com/html/technology/ue2.shtml
Engine Language: C++, Unreal Script
General Overview: If you view the site, it shows a few examples of big names that use the Unreal 2 Engine, including Unreal Tournament 2004, Americas Army, Splinter Cell, XIII, Unreal 2, and Lineage II. As you can see by the array of games there, the engine is very flexible for change. It can stretch from A realistic 3rd person spy shooter, to a realistic MMORPG, to a cell shaded first
person shooter, to anything you want it to.

Engine Name: Unreal 2 Engine
Link: http://www.unrealtechnology.com/html/technology/ue30.shtml
Engine Language: C++, Unreal Script
General Overview: The Unreal 3 Engine is the pinnacle of graphical feats in a currently developed(ish) engine. The game has high quality, a full featured package, and is toting games such as the new MMOFPS Huxley, new Unreal Games, and a lot of next-gen games you see coming out.

Engine Name: Unreal 2 Engine
Link: http://www.valvesoftware.com/sourcelicense/enginefeatures.htm
Engine Language: C++, Source Script
General Overview: Not to Bias this pick, the Source Engine is my personal favorite. The engine was used originally to create Valve's Half-Life 2, and has one of the largest modification communities
behind it. There are literally thousands of mods in development on this Engine, almost all
community made. The engine is easy to get into, hard to master. With many modes of
modifications, this is one of the most easy to learn current-gen engines I have found. There are many different genre'd games being developed for it, including a few MMORPGs, some really amazing RPGs, co-op FPS, and I saw a few RTS games as well.

I'm too lazy to list more at the moment, post if you have any favorites and I will add them...

Pros of Modifications/Engines
- Whole Package Deal -- Sound Engine, Graphics Engine, Networking Engine, AI Engine
- Bundled Software (map editors, animators, etc)
- well documented for easy learning/modifying
- large audience -- large game behind the modification, so a larger viewing audience (Steam,
the Source Engine 'parent software' that everything is launched from is a great place to launch
your mod, and even make profit off quality products)

Cons of Modifications/Engines
- Licensing Fees -- As many of these engines are both community and commercial, if you wish to
profit off your work you are required to pay licensing fees to the company. Free community
modifications are not required to pay the fees, and can still accept donations for their work,
but if you are serious about making money, the licensing fees can sometimes burn a hole in your
pocket.
- Closed-Ended production -- A lot of the Engines have a lot of things set in stone, so you
can't modify them to extremes. While they will let you re-program a LOT of the engine, certain
parts (and this is something you'll have to research for your specific project) will be locked
out to you, and cannot be changed (however I find that most things are so small that they
aren't huge deals)
- large developer presence -- While having a large presence is nice while developing because
you have a lot of people to ask for help, you have many people looking for roles in a project,
etc, they can also be your enemies. The more modifications there are for a game, the harder it
will be for a player to pick your game out of the bunch. However, this can be avoided by
creating a quality game that stands out from the rest (but you want to do that anyways, right?)

Individual Packages

For 'Individial Packages' I am going to try to split it up into sections: Graphical Engines, Sound Engines, Networking Engines, AI Engines, etc. As always, links to your favorites are always appreciated and will be added as promptly as I can.

Graphics Engines/Packages

Package Name: Ogre 3D
Link: http://www.ogre3d.org/
Package Language: C++
General Overview: Ogre 3D is one of the best independent graphics engines I have seen around. It has many features, and is open source, which is a big plus for small development groups. The graphics engine is constantly updated, bugs are reported and promptly fixed by developers and community members alike, and the support is just amazing. A great pick for beginners and experts alike.
Notes: Strong C++ Programming and Project Analyses skills needed.
Study Resources:
Pro Ogre 3D Programming

Sound Engines/Packages
Coming Soon... post your favorites!!!

Networking Engines/Packages
Coming Soon... post your favorites!!!

AI Engines/Packages
Coming Soon... post your favorites!!!

Now, it's all up to you. Research, and figure out what development style will fit you best. Confirm and acquire all the tools you will need to get the ball rolling, and set out to find your team.

One thing I stress is as follows: Do not gather up a team under the pretense that you will “Manage and direct, and they do all the work.” I see this all too often, and it's not really how it goes. Pick a part, and help out. Your dreams can only come true if you work for them, not hire someone else to work them for you.

Once you get far enough into the design cycle that you are sure things will continue smoothly, try to find someone to get your name out there. Too many good games I have seen go under the radar because they don't have enough marketing behind them. Get your name known, and from there, if you did a prime job, word will spread, and your dreams will come true.

Just make sure to stick to it.

Good luck, and if you have any comments/suggestions (besides me finding more, I am doing that) post here or mmorpg mail me. Also, if you have and products to add, post me a link, i'll research them and post them up. No sense keeping information from your fellow devs.

Saved For More Posting Space

Saved For More Posting Space

copyrighting, and trademarking is a huge part of this to. You may thinkthat by making something that its copyrighted automaticly, well there different levels you can propose this on. See copyrighting is a way to protect yourself internationaly from media stealing, people who want to take your stuff and use it as there own is a big thing. Unless you have all of your stuff copyrighted, your not going to be able to sue anyone unless you can show prove that you have copyrightes or can prove in a timeline that the idea came up in your mind before anyone elses. If you cant and the personwho stole your content is using it under a copyrighted name, then your boned, your content and project down the drain even the name of your game can be stolen.

 In game developement companies will copyright and trademark there name, sor instance EAgames is a copyrighted name and trademarked name, Now under that law enforcing protection you gain the ability to copyright content and media made under that name, thats what you create protectionfor when you copyright and trademark a company name.

Now compyrighting and trademarking can and can not be tough it depends on what levels of protection you want, there are different places to protect yourself that can charge you in different ways, but the least ive seen is 10 dollars usd for copyrighting.

So have fun and remeber before you give away the name if its really good and you love that name and if you plan to go commercial or gold, id think about copyrighting and trademarking.

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Originally posted by Grimsom
copyrighting, and trademarking is a huge part of this to. You may thinkthat by making something that its copyrighted automaticly, well there different levels you can propose this on. See copyrighting is a way to protect yourself internationaly from media stealing, people who want to take your stuff and use it as there own is a big thing. Unless you have all of your stuff copyrighted, your not going to be able to sue anyone unless you can show prove that you have copyrightes or can prove in a timeline that the idea came up in your mind before anyone elses. If you cant and the personwho stole your content is using it under a copyrighted name, then your boned, your content and project down the drain even the name of your game can be stolen.

In game developement companies will copyright and trademark there name, sor instance EAgames is a copyrighted name and trademarked name, Now under that law enforcing protection you gain the ability to copyright content and media made under that name, thats what you create protectionfor when you copyright and trademark a company name.

Now compyrighting and trademarking can and can not be tough it depends on what levels of protection you want, there are different places to protect yourself that can charge you in different ways, but the least ive seen is 10 dollars usd for copyrighting.

So have fun and remeber before you give away the name if its really good and you love that name and if you plan to go commercial or gold, id think about copyrighting and trademarking.

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Valid point. I'll add a little section about 'Protecting Your ASSets' ;)

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Originally posted by Anageth
Awesome thread theanimedude. GJ.

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Thanks. I love getting feedback. Also, I tried to be as lazy as I could and point them to your thread where I could ;)

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For the rest of you, please make a contribution to this thread in the way of information. I am hoping to have people expand upon this, as the old "Free Games List" sticky was intended to be, before it got abandoned.

So post! If you have a favorite, post it up here! I'm working on adding things like Realm Crafter and a few other MMO makers (with warnings about making your own content, you lazy buggers) this week.

Thanks everyone, make your contribution (you will be credited) and help the community!