Gam(e)Astra

“Never too old, never too bad, never too late, never too sick to start from scratch once again.”~ Bikram Choudhury

When i introduce myself i say "I am a software developer and work on game development too".The reaction will be "Is it? I am also a developer.How and where should i start game development?".

Let me answer this in a broader way.



Transition/change is an on-going and repetitive process.There are two ways to handle this 

1. Come out of your comfort zone and try new.


2. Leverage the knowledge which you gained in your existing field.

Let me quote an example here - I am a Dotnet developer and i am planning to develop a game.There are two ways

1. Learn a new language like HTML5/javascript/Lua and use tools namely construct2 or Love.


2. Use my C#/VB knowledge in tools like Unity3D for scripting.

The above example is purely on the Game programming (scripting) front.But for the real gaming magic to happen,you should come out of your comfort zone a bit.



So by now if you are reading this line.you should have made up your mind to develop a game.So let us see what you need

Disclaimer : There is no handbook or rule book for game development/design.The points below are purely what i follow as a gamedev.

Game Idea: All you need is an idea to start the gaming journey.

• It can be an original idea which would have hit your brain like an asteroid falling from sky.


• A polished oldie. A game which would have done pretty well in the past and you will be relaunching the polished version of it by making changes here and there (keep the terms & conditions in the mind).


• A spoof of a super hit game (E.g.,Console or war games).


• A failed game which had a better idea but poor execution.

Sketching : Sketch your idea on a paper or use any tool like MS Paint.

• Save the copies for showcasing or for your reference.


• Come up with a final draft.

Indie or team : Decide whether you want to be an independent developer or a team player.

[code language="csharp"]
IF (INDIE)

{

Obj game=new Obj();

game.Developer=You;

game.Designer=You;

}

else

{

Obj game=new Obj();

Team team=new Team();

game.Developers=team.Developers;

game.Designers=team.Designers;

}
[/code]

Prototyping :

• Based on your technical expertise and knowledge,decide a game engine to develop your game.


• Prototype your game with free game assets . If you are an indie dev, either use free assets or hire a designer for some time.

Even if you have a team,its always good to start prototyping using free assets.

These are just few points to get you started.There's always a scope to improve your prototype.Even angry birds evolved as a complete game from being started as a prototype.

We decided to prototype the game using Unity, and went forward into production... Link

CodeProject