Developers Corner

From what I've seen of this section of the MMORPG.com forum, there have been many people who claim that they can develop a fully working game, or even worse an MMORPG with little to no experience.

I thought I'd write this to give people an idea what they need to do before considering making a game.

Let's say you are the eleven year old statistic who believes he can create the next third generation MMORPG. If by posts like this, then you are going to need to learn before thinking of starting a team.

First of all, what role can you play? No, not in game! But in a team. What assets do you possess which you can offer in your future team?

PROGRAMMER:

If you are the programmer type, attempt to learn a simple (Object Orientated Programming) language. There is a huge variety to choose from, and not a single one can be deemed 'the best'. Each language is good at something, and hence why they are still used nowadays.

C#:

C# is brilliant for any Windows forms applications. I started making programs in this language, and it's very simple to get a grasp of. After buying a couple of books (I'll get on to that later), I quickly understood the core foundations of programming in general, then what C# has to offer. Remember though that to run C# code, you will need the .NET Framework installed on EVERY computer you run your program on. You can get it here.

C++:

People tend to see C++ as the almighty language, and everybody should use to it. The fact is, it IS a brilliant language, but it's far from easy to start off from scratch with. All programming follows the same architecture when running a program or a game, but it's difficult to understand how C++ approaches this. I am attempting to learn it now, from my knowledge of C# and it has greatly helped me.

C:

I have no experience in C, but this much I know. Unlike C# and C++, C isn't OOP (Object Orientated Programming). This means that when developing your game demo / program, you cannot 're-use' classes. Like in Macromedia Flash, where you can make an instance of a symbol, here you use the base symbol. Hope that's not too confusing.

VB:

VB or Visual Basic is very simple to grasp. When I started using the TrueVision 3D engine (which has an ad on this website), I realised that most tutorials (and most users) were in VB, so I started learning it. Though the synthax is written in a different way to in other languages (namely the ones above), it is powerful and there are many tutorial sites to learn it.

Java:

Again no experience with Java, but it's perfectly capable of achieving 2D and 3D games. What is funny though is how similar the syntax (the way you write the code) is to C#. If you were to compare Java and C# code, it is almost identical.

With the most commonly used languages out of the way, you can then start to experiment with what these languages have to offer. What I think is best to do is NOT to work on huge projects just yet, just mess around with what the libraries have to offer. Try:

- Firing events, make a button that shows a messagebox.
- Show the date and time on the windows form.
- Using streams to load/write data.
- Loading references (DLLs for example) in your IDE (Independant Development Environment).

Now you will require an IDE to get your code going. There's a lot of them, but here are my favourites:

• Visual Studio series. You cannot beat it really, apart from it's hefty size (over 2gb), it pretty much can to everything you would want. Now this is both a good thing and a bad thing, as your just learning, why would you want all that VS has to offer? Visual Studio can compile any Windows friendly language (VB, C++, C#, C etc).

Link: http://msdn.microsoft.com/vstudio/

• Next is Sharp Develop. The name of it pretty much gives it away, it's for C# development. I started using this way before Visual Studio, and it's come a LONG way. Right now it has everything you need for any C# game demos / applications. It is also OPEN SOURCED!

Link: http://www.icsharpcode.net/OpenSource/SD/

• This is the IDE that I am using now. Visual Studio Express Edition is completely free, and is essentially a "dumbed down" Visual Studio. It does have handy features and tools that Sharp Develop doesn't have to offer.

Link: http://msdn.microsoft.com/vstudio/express/

• There's DevC++. I've personally never used it, so I can't say anything about it, but there's many people who use it.

Link: http://www.bloodshed.net/devcpp.html

• A useful tool is the Programmer's notepad. You can use it for perl source, C++ source, XML, java and a lot of other things.
• [Thanks Sparhawk77]

Link: http://www.pnotepad.org/

What programming isn't:

Programming Books:

I can highly recommend the following books:

- C# Programmer's Handbook by Gregory S. MacBeth (ISBN: 1-59059-270-0 Publisher: Apress)
Link: http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/1590592700/sr=8-1/qid=1147776315/ref=pd_bbs_1/102-3921368-3144931?%5Fencoding=UTF8

- Beginning C++ Game Programming (Game Development Series) (Paperback)  by Michael Dawson

Link: http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/1592002056/sr=8-9/qid=1150058942/ref=pd_bbs_9/002-5707307-0472007?%5Fencoding=UTF8

[Thanks Sparhawk77]

- The Waite Group's Object-Oriented Programming in C++ (Paperback) by Robert Lafore

Link: http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/157169160X/002-5707307-0472007?v=glance&n=283155

[Thanks Sparhawk77]

- Professional C++ by Nicholas A. Solter and Scott J.Kleper. Don't be fooled by the name, if you have working knowledge of a language, and wish to move on to C++, it's good. (ISBN: 0-7645-7484-1 Publisher: Wrox)
Link: http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/0764574841/qid=1147776523/sr=2-1/ref=pd_bbs_b_2_1/102-3921368-3144931?s=books&v=glance&n=283155

- Programming Role Playing Games with DirectX by Jim Adams (ISBN: 1-931841-09-8 Publisher: Premier Press)
Link: http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/1931841098/102-3921368-3144931?v=glance&n=283155

- The Zen of Direct3D Game Programming by Peter Walsh (ISBN: 0-7615-3429-6 Publisher: Premier Press)
Link: http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/0761534296/qid=1147776687/sr=1-1/ref=sr_1_1/102-3921368-3144931?s=books&v=glance&n=283155

- The Game Makers Apprentice. Link: http://www.amazon.com/Game-Makers-Apprentice-Development-Beginners/dp/1590596153/sr=8-1/qid=1164740380/ref=pd_bbs_sr_1/103-5125318-4215033?ie=UTF8&s=books)

[Thanks Dracis]

If anybody else has any books to add, please post them.

If you have any questions you don't want to ask here, visit the MSDN Forums.

This concludes the programmer section.

The Artist:

Now unlike the programmer position, where in a small indie team, the programmer basically handles all "programming"aspects, the artistic side is different. If programming is definately not for you, you need to ask yourself what  you can offer the art department of your future team.

Modelling:

There are loads and loads of modelling and animation packages out there, so I will only cover the biggest (and free) ones. Again, feel free to add to it should I miss any. First, the 'costly' ones.

• 3D Studio Max aka "The Beast". Now, price tag aside, this package is one of the best in the business. It offers incredible tools and plugins, and is updated on a yearly basis. The only reason turn down for this option is the learning curve. Due to the thousands of tools, the UI is rather cluttered and finding your way around it the very first time is daunting. But fear not, there is an alternative, should you want it.
  Cost: ~£2000 / ~$3700.

Link: www.autodesk.com/3dsmax

• Maya - Fantastic package, with a huge variety of plugins to mess around with. It featured the 'Hair' utilities in it's base package months and months before 3ds Max decided to add it. It's very fun to use, and quite quick to grasp. The only real downside to using it is that it's generally used for Film. Now before people jump on this, there are studios which use it for games, but 3ds Max is generally assumed as the 'Games' package, and Maya as the 'Film' package.

Link: http://usa.autodesk.com/adsk/servlet/index?id=6871843&siteID=123112

• Cinema4D - Absolutely no experience in this. I do have a friend who has been using it for over three years now, and when I showed him 3D studio max, he laughed. Apparently the C4D interface is far easier to navigate through, and the learning curve is far shallower.
  Cost: £424.68 - £499.00 // 798.807 USD - 938.600 USD

Link: http://www.maxonshop.com/cgi-bin/uk/gp?pg=products/cinema4d.main

- SoftImage:

Cost for Foundation version:  £299.00 - ~564 USD
Link: http://www.softimage.com/

- Lightwave:

Cost: 495.00USD to 895.00USD - £262 to £474
Link: http://shop.newtek.com/index.asp?PageAction=VIEWCATS&Category=7

- Houdini

Cost: 1,299 to 17,000 USD - £689 to £9,020.
Link: http://www.sidefx.com/index.php

Now that the expensive ones are out of the way, here are the free ones!

-GMAX

• GMAX, is a lot like 3ds max, but is essentially a 'dumbed down' version. Even though it lacks most of the tools used in 3D studio max, it has still been used to develop such games as Flight Sim 2002, Command and Conquer Renegade and Dungeon Siege.

Cost: FREE!
Link: http://www.turbosquid.com/gmax

Please note: GMAX isn't run by Discreet (Autodesk) anymore.

- Blender

Cost: FREE!
Link: http://www.blender.org/cms/Home.2.0.html

- Milkshape

• Milkshape has been running for a long time now. I used to used when I used the Jamagic game suite, and I loved it. It's very very basic, but you can achieve the results, and that's what matters, right?

Cost: FREE!
Link: http://www.swissquake.ch/chumbalum-soft/

- Nendo

Cost: Free, but it's essentially a Personal Learning Edition. You can't export/save until you buy it.

Link: http://www.izware.com/nendo/index.htm

- Anim8or

Cost: FREE!

Link: http://www.anim8or.com/

- Wings 3D

Cost: Free, and open sourced. Though watch out, if you're not used to using open source software, try using something else.

Link: http://www.wings3d.com

Note: You can't make any animations in Wings3D.

Drawing / Concept Art:

If you have the skills required to cut it out as a drawing/concept artist, there's a wide variety of digital tools you
can use.

Even though I can honestly admit that I cannot draw to save my own life, I am very fond of Painter. I downloaded the trial a couple of months ago, and was literally blown away. Unlike other packages, like Photoshop, the brushes and pallette feel very real, and the effects you can get are stunning. It's definately a try, the trial is on their site.

Painter:

Cost: 199.00USD (was $429!) - £105.
Link: http://apps.corel.com/painterix/home/index.html
Windows trial: http://www.corel.com/servlet/Satellite?pagename=Corel3/Trials/Login&pid=1047023646661&cid=1047023647572

If your like me, and enjoy messing around painting stuff, but the sheer detail in Painter worries you, try Photoshop. I doubt there's one person on this forum who hasn't tried or heard of Photoshop, but I'll cover it anyway.

It was originally developed for image manipulation, and is best known for it's use of filters, but it can achieve very realistic digital textures when pushed. A friend of mine used Photoshop in most of his portfolio, which can be found here (http://www.nelsonpimenta.com/), which should tell you the incredible canvases it can make. If your trying to make textures for your game, there are loads of tutorials here (http://www.tutorialized.com/tutorials/Photoshop/Textures-and-Patterns/1) which I'm sure will come in handy.

Cost: From 649USD - £344.
Link: http://www.adobe.com/products/photoshop/
Trial: http://www.adobe.com/go/tryphotoshop_win

This concludes the end of the Artist section. I hope this thread is going to be of some use to someone here.

Edit: Added Maya to list (21/05/06).

Edit: Added books and notepad tool, thanks Sparhawk77. (11/06/06)

Edit: Added Nendo, Anim8or and Wings3D to the list. Thanks Fenderic (11/07/06)

- Anageth

The stay away list

Ok another update to this thread. Just like anybody else here who is interested in developing games (animedude etc) have noticed, this section of the forum has had many recruitment threads which have turned - well ugly. Therefore I've added a stay away list for those actually looking for a successful team.

Team One:

Team Name: Endora Online
Run by: Funeedude / NeoJenova / Orlandoshea
Date Recruitment Started: 6/17/06
Thread link: [link]

Why?

• Very little attempt at showing he has some form of professionalism. Recruitment posts have been poor and team requirements very vague. Also doesn't attempt to read posts properly, get's offended easily.

Team Two:

Team Name: n/a
Run by: cavolboy89
Date Recruitment Started: 5/24/06
Thread link: [link]

Why?

• Lies throughout the recruitment post, again very unsure of what talent they require.

Team Three:

Team Name: n/a
Run by: jerryharvey5
Date Recruitment Started: 5/11/06
Thread link: [link]

Why?

• Doesn't have any knowledge of what it takes to make a game, yet alone an MMOG. No mention of what help is needed.

Team Four:

Team Name: Fast Blades
Run by: Kalore
Date Recruitment Started: 5/12/06
Thread link: [link]
Website link: [link]

Why?

• Only information about the game would be the "Introduction" to the story on their website. Other than that, it's clear that the project has been abandoned as the last updated news was in May.

XNA and C# - The new relationship:

As some of you know, XNA beta was recently unleashed, and so I thought I would update this thread with info on it. First off, a shotgun FAQ:

Q) What is XNA?

A) Microsoft XNA is a set of tools, complete with a managed runtime environment, provided by Microsoft which facilitates computer game design, development and management. [source]

Q) So what did that just mean?

A) Essentially XNA is a development SDK (software development kit) which enables less capable developers to create video games in much less time. This is done by ignoring or simplifying some of the regular processes done in such SDKs as DirectX.

Q) What languages can I use?

A) You can currently only use C#. For more information on C#, go here.

Q) Is it true I can develop games for PC and Xbox 360?

A) Yes, you can.

Q) What do I need installed on my computer?

A) You will need a development environment (IDE) which will enable you to write, debug and test your game. This comes in the form of Visual C# Express Edition, which is free to download here. Next, you will need the latest DirectX runtimes, which can be downloaded here. Finally, you can now go to the Microsoft XNA Game Studio Express, which can be found here.

So now that you have all the above done, you can start to experiment with some of the features which XNA offers. I highly advise you go to “Help” > “How do I” in Visual C# Express Edition, and find the entries for XNA. You will find “Getting Started” examples, and a walkthrough to your first XNA game.

Here is a screenshot of the entry:

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From what I've seen of this section of the MMORPG.com forum, there have been many people who claim that they can develop a fully working game, or even worse an MMORPG with little to no experience.

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Just about the first thing I do when I run into people who want to make their own MMORPG is to drag them over to Tom Sloper's site at http://www.sloperama.com/advice.html.

I know people who have read it an immediately said that they did not want to work in the game industry anymore. Likewise, I have also met people who read it and gained even more passion about getting started, but now had the know-how to form a serious plan of action.

But everyone that reads it comes out of it with a much larger grasp of that void they are considering be it "designing my own game/MMORPG" or "getting into the game industry."

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Originally posted by Arcas

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From what I've seen of this section of the MMORPG.com forum, there have been many people who claim that they can develop a fully working game, or even worse an MMORPG with little to no experience.

---

Just about the first thing I do when I run into people who want to make their own MMORPG is to drag them over to Tom Sloper's site at http://www.sloperama.com/advice.html.

I know people who have read it an immediately said that they did not want to work in the game industry anymore. Likewise, I have also met people who read it and gained even more passion about getting started, but now had the know-how to form a serious plan of action.

But everyone that reads it comes out of it with a much larger grasp of that void they are considering be it "designing my own game/MMORPG" or "getting into the game industry."

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