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Forgive me for asking...

A topic by wosnad created 71 days ago Views: 493 Replies: 5

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Hi guys,

I'm sorry as it's probably a tired question. I'm completely new to game development - the only programming experience I have is a couple years of VB.net from highschool... 15 years ago? I don't remember much apart from the fundamentals. I've been really inspired by the projects on itch.io, I seriously love what people have been making and it really has made me love the medium of video games again.

Anyway my question is, for a complete noob, where do you think I should start?

My goal is to make short, simple 2d games. I'm not very ambitious with my visions, I love small-scale games with (seemingly) simple mechanics.

After getting to grips and studying the basics, I would like to make a breakout/arkanoid type game which I don't think is too ambitious (but then again, I have NO idea). I've done a bit of research and have landed on 3 options - Godot, Pico-8 and GameMakerStudio. I only have the time and focus to learn one. My heart is saying Pico-8 but I would like a bit of reassurance before jumping in as it will be hard for me to jump out. Will I learn transferrable skills by using Pico-8? I suppose I'd learn the basics of game design at a minimum, but would I be able to quickly adapt to another language/environment should I need to? I would appreciate any advice! Much love.

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Evolutionary Games71 days ago

I'm not familiar with Pico-8 at all so can't give you specific advice. But it seems popular enough based on the number of games here.

Everything you learn about making games is transferable but not necessarily the programming languages. You learn how to think about games from a player's perspective, how to do graphics, music, sounds and those skills don't depend on the programming language.

My advice would be to start with a game development engine that has good tutorials and work through the tutorials first. The tutorials should teach you a lot of the basics. Once you work through the tutorials you'll also get a feel for the software and whether you're going to enjoy using it. If you don't - move on. If you do - carry on making your own games.

Your choice of software doesn't matter if you're looking to maker small games with simple mechanics. It matters more if you're thinking of large multi-player games across several devices - because then you need to ensure the software supports all of that.

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wosnad71 days ago (1 edit)

Hey, thanks a lot for the reply and insight.

I understand what you are saying, that fundamentals of game design are the most important thing I need to learn first and foremost. I've been playing the stuff I like on itch with a more analytic eye trying to figure out how they function as a game and why I enjoy them. And I've been designing the little Arkanoid game I want to make on paper with this regard too.

I did a bit more reading and watched some tutorials for the Pico 8 since last night, and it does seem programming language heavy but I think that'll be good for me. I think when people say it's good for newbies, I think they mean it might be good for newbies *who already have experience with coding* but I think it'll be a good learning tool to both understand what writing code looks like and how to make a game at the same time. I also found this game which has an accompanying free tutorial series on how to make it so I think that's a good start. Although I can't lie, seeing that this game alone has a 98 part video series is really putting it all into perspective for me lol

It is tempting to jump into GameMaker since they like to emphasise that you don't need to write code to make games but I know from experience that it's always better to learn how to do things the more technical way. I would like to be able to write code and have more control and understanding over what I'm doing. I suppose when I hit limitations with Pico-8 I can then move that onto another platform.

I appreciate your reply! The only skills I have that could be useful for game making right now are music and sound design, and writing I guess. My sister is a talented artist and when I told her I wanted to make a video game she was on board to do the art so that's nice too lol.

I guess an hour a day is what I can give to game-making right now.

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Banana Mole69 days ago

I agree with Evolutionary, that you should check the popularity of your engine. It is only a question of time, that you will have to look something up and then its helpful, when it has already a big community with many questions already answered. I have the feeling, that Pico-8 is a bit hard for to find answers.

Most engines will have a coding option. So your assumpttion, that GameMaker is ui only, is not correct. You can add your own code to it. It is a bit tricky, what to recommend, as the ui will do the better job, when you are new to it, but if you want to get the last performance out of it, the code option is better, but then you have to be knowledgable enough, how to do so. So maybe configure the basics with the ui, like drawing the tileset, and do the logic of a tile via code.

If you plan to move to another platform, i would recommend to do it from the start. As migrating a grown project can be troublesome and you have to figure out again, how thinks work. If you do a fresh start, then moving is no issue.

Also a hour a day sounds not to much. I dont want to discourage you, but you should then focus on using templates instead of doing all by yourself. Im not sure, how deep you want to dive, but i would not recommend to do everything at the start by yourself. Use the ui where its simple, if it gets more complex, check for templates for free and only after that code your way to it. But of course, if the developing journey is what you like to do, feel free to ignore this advice. Only if you want quick results, then this advice is helpful. You will soon enough learn, that game programming needs lots of time :P

I think arkanoid is a good beginner project, so go for it.

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BeepBlopBoop62 days ago

ok, so if you are just getting started, here are some web based softwares, Scratch.mit.edu (this one is mainly used by like 8 year olds but you can download the app for block based coding for small 2d projects), Codewisp.net (codewisp isnt online like scratch, so no commuity help, but is way better than scratch, it also is blockbased and 2d, but what makes codewisp better is you can also code in java scipt, aswell as translating your code back and fourth from block, to JS.)

If you are looking for a real development sofware, I am mainly use Godot, Godot is great for beginners. Godot uses Nodes and the code is very simple to grasp. Godot is perfect for 2d and whenever you start to get better, even 3d games! For now I dont recomend Unity and defenitaly NOT Unreal Engine, you can work you way up to those though. Unity actualy has sort of block based coding but still you prolly dont wanna use those. Me myself has never used Pico-8 but it doesnt look to hard. I have used gamemaker it is a great choice but I couldnt tell you much about it.

you should start with what you think is best for you to start! I honestly cant wait to see what you could come up with! Asking for opinions isnt a bad way to start, becuase everyone can share their point of veiw on things

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b202361 days ago

If you remember little to no coding, I would honestly just try making console-level stuff first to get the basics down. If you remember at least some coding basics, I'd start with GameMaker. Make a few small projects in it, learn what you're doing, and then try moving to Unity or Godot when you start feeling limited by its capabilities.

A breakout game is definitely doable as a beginner project - it's actually a pretty good choice to learn with.

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