Please help this newbie with my first game.

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SerratedEdge
Posts: 3
Joined: Thu Oct 02, 2014 10:43 pm

Please help this newbie with my first game.

Post by SerratedEdge »

Here is a list of elements I would like to be about to put in my game. I also need the game to be set up to run by a game master (GM) as if you were going to play a table top game such as DnD. I am a complete newbie and need to learn how to build this game from the ground up.


1. Login Screen: This gives access to the game selection screen.

2. Game Selection Screen: The game selector screen gives access to the selected game, access to that player’s characters for that game, character creator for that game, and Game master mode. GM mode gives that person the ability to create games and run them.

3. Character Creator/Editor/Data base: Gives the player character the ability to create, edit, and store their characters.

4. Monster Creator/Editor /Data base: Gives the GM the ability to create, edit, and store monsters.

5. NPC Creator/Editor /Data base: Gives the GM the ability to create, edit, and store NPC’s.

6. Item Creator/Editor /Data base: Gives the GM the ability to create, edit, and store Items.

7. Armor Creator/Editor /Data base: Gives the GM the ability to create, edit, and store Armor and Armor sets.

8. Weapon Creator/Editor /Data base: Gives the GM the ability to create, edit, and store Weapons.

9. Spell Creator/Editor/ Database: Gives the GM the ability to create, edit, and store Spells.

10. Special Ability or Talents Creator/Editor/ Database: Gives the GM the ability to create, edit, and store special abilities or talents.

11. Map Creator/Editor /Data base: Gives the GM the ability to create, edit, and store maps, adding details about certain locations, placing monsters, npc’s, items and enter actable objects.

Map need to have controllable Fog of war, be able to show location of NPC’s, Player Characters, Monsters, Items, enter actable objects. If a player character has the able to see in the dark or a light score it should cut through the fog of war if normal darkness is the cause of the F.O.W. Player characters should have individual map tracking showing discovered locations in detail that is known to them and undiscovered locations as blank or black area. It should also have the feature to hide things, people, and creatures. If a player is hidden only the player and GM should know where they are. If an item or object is hidden only the GM should know where it is, until a player character/NPC/Monster finds it. Then is will be unhidden that player character/NPC/Monster, if shown to the group than everyone can see it. Enter actable objects work the same way, if it’s a trap it should show if it is armed or disabled if it has been discover. If it’s an on/off enter actable object it need to show if it’s active or inactive and the effect that is caused when active.

For forture though the map to the town and cities could have clickable location so that players could restock ammo, items, and get training with the G.M. having to go over every individual. Also it could have a bulletin board where jobs/mission could be posted. That way side missions and individual missions could be tracked and we would know exactly where we left off also what we where after. I believe the missions log should be a pop up screen for the group, and the town bulletin board should give out new mission only.

12. Encounter Creator/Editor/Data base: Lets the GM design encounters to be used later in the game.

13. Story line Creator/Editor/Data base: Let’s the GM set up a Story line for the game and alternate branch offs aka side missions.

14. Combat Screen: When combat is going on the GM needs to be able to track combat for everyone while controlling his monsters/ creatures /npc’s, as well as seeing what the play characters are doing. The player characters need to be able to engage the monsters/creatures/npc’s/ other Player characters in combat. They also need to have access to their armor, weapons, spells, and special abilities or talents. The combat screen needs to be able to keep track of who’s turn it is, health of everyone involved, healing, damage, dead/knocked out /active - monsters/creatures/npc’s/Player characters, spell effect , spell and item counter/usage.

15. Turn by Turn Control: The GM needs to be able to control the turn by turn, so that everyone gets to act on their turn in conjunction with their initiatives.

16. Text Chat Windows: Game Master/ Group / Whisper (GM needs to see all chatting)(I would like for all text boxes to have grammar and spelling check) The group chat box window where everyone in the game can communicate with each other by sending and receiving text. Group chatting will be one color and whispers will be in other so the player and GM can tell the difference between the two. Whispers are text messages that other sent from one person to another that only those two can see, group chatting everyone can see. The GM text box will display the details of the encounter and story line, or the GM can do that over voice chat.

17. Group Voice chatting (maybe even video chat) Cuz we all know how much we love to BS, plus it will speeding up the game.

These are just the ideas for game elements, so any and all help is welcomed.
Sim
Posts: 412
Joined: Sat Dec 26, 2009 5:37 pm

Re: Please help this newbie with my first game.

Post by Sim »

I think your a little over your head for "your first" game.

I am not even going into detail about where to start without even knowing how much programming experience you have.

It seems like your game is some sort of "real time battle arena game, or a turn based arena game". Either way, you didn't even state if you wanted your game for iOS, android, websites, PC, Linux, ect.. You also never stated 2d-3d.

Regardless, #'s 3-16 itself would take several months of full time programming to build a system just to manage all the content of your game. That's if you have solid knowledge of game design, user group permissions, ect,. Depending if your doing it web based, or pc software (your need to know some sort of network programming).

That's several months just for the content management system, then your spend even more time on the actual engine, gameplay, effects of each item, spells, fog effects, traps, map object effects, ect Furthermore, GUI programming is a bastard, designing -n- coding the effects, chat windows, placements of certain icons, lobby's, how -n- where to display shop items..


Finally, art resources, good luck finding a free artist to do some good art for your game. If your lucky your find some half decent free/placeholder art to use in the meantime.




Your best bet would be to use some software like Game Maker XP?
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MikuzA
Posts: 395
Joined: Thu Aug 08, 2013 8:57 am

Re: Please help this newbie with my first game.

Post by MikuzA »

Well at least you have put some thought into the game. :-) Or at least some kind of vision what you want!

But you could start off my doing stuff from top down of your list, perhaps work on your idea. When you get caught in an issue you can't seem to get around with, you can always post your code/questions to IR-forums. A lot of people are happy to help you with your task.

So start with small bits, and polish while you go. Re-invent your ideas during development and you are well on way.

As Sim said, you might need to figure out which platform to go on, and then spend some time investigating the coding language to work on.
There are alot of tutorials also available on the forums, most of them by halls but there are others also. You might want to check those to get an understanding on how to begin/go forward.

Hope this helps :)
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SerratedEdge
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Re: Please help this newbie with my first game.

Post by SerratedEdge »

I was thinking about doing it web based with 2d maps, most of the game I believe will be text base, showing 2d picture of creatures you face, and have text/voice chating.One GM, with up to 8 player doing playing by turn of initiatives.
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MikuzA
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Re: Please help this newbie with my first game.

Post by MikuzA »

Ok,

By going through your list, start with...

First just testing around on the core, on what you what.. Testing your turn-based structuring, how you want things to react when turns go etc. I bet you have some idea on the 'core of the game'.

Then when you have some code ready there, you could create the a registration/account creation, so you can start implementing permissions from account basis.
While doing that you can add the login-screen, for you to allow simultaniously do stuff with a user that has admin rights and a user that has player rights.

So that you tackle the worst bug, where a player abuses himself administrator rights ;)

Then when that's fine, go back to core and make a default charachter and simulate the most important part of your game, I guess that's the battle? How do they interact with each other, but now you have accounts coming in along and you can insert/update stuff to database according to what happens during the game. Location data etc.

When that's done, you can start creating characters. Now you know what you need for a 'character' in datavice for it to cope with your core.
During that you could also add some monsters, and create an admin console for just to be able to Insert/Update/Delete Mobs from the game.

Add the NPC:s to the game by just doing some simple insert sentences, to see how it should be done and then you might just add a interface for it also (step 5).

After that, everything else is more or less added with the same path.. dev dev, test test test, dev dev, test test, dev a gui, test test, complete.

Hope this helps :-)
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PHP, HTML, JavaScript, Bash/KornShell, Python, C#, PL/SQL
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Callan S.
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Joined: Sun Jan 24, 2010 5:43 am

Re: Please help this newbie with my first game.

Post by Callan S. »

I'd recommend making something much smaller first. Perhaps an idle game (games where you get points/money over time and can use the points to buy upgrades to get more points/money)
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SerratedEdge
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Joined: Thu Oct 02, 2014 10:43 pm

Re: Please help this newbie with my first game.

Post by SerratedEdge »

I am looking for guidance on where I need to start in creating this. I don't know very much about coding, so break it down Noob Style for me. I have no idea what tools to use, or even the proper names of the game type I am trying to create. There are some many different ways on creating all of this, are there any good videos on how to do what I have described in my first post.
Chromeozone
Posts: 294
Joined: Sat Apr 09, 2011 1:21 pm

Re: Please help this newbie with my first game.

Post by Chromeozone »

Suggestions -

Forget about your first post - It wont happen with the understanding that you have - which is very low

Look through halls video tutorials on how to make a browser based mmorpg.
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