CoreysMonster

So you want to learn to make games, eh?

Or maybe you already make games. Either way, this thread is for you. Talking to quite a couple of people on this site, people have expressed an interest in the art form that is video games (it's legally an artform in the US now, look it up). I searched and came up with a couple of threads that sorta scratched the surface, but figured a thread that was more about learning and giving resources might be a better idea. This thread is for everybody who has interest, participates or is experienced in this craft. As I'm sure most people are aware of, to make a video game requires a multitude of talents: You need programmers, artists, sound designers, writers, composers, and most importantly, game designers.

What are game designers, you might ask?

Game designers are the people who are in charge of the mechanics of the game. They are the ones who create the gameplay, balance the difficulty levels and the mechanics of a game.

Not to say that the other fields aren't just as important, of course.

So if you're interested in making games, let's get this thread started with a couple of resource links:

Art
For anyone who wants to get into the artistic side of games, you should be flexible, but also have your own personal style. You don't have to paint like Rembrandt to become an artist working on a game, but you need to be versatile in 2D and/or 3D art. Since a lot of art is done digitally these days, here are a couple of links to places that can help you out:

http://www.cgsociety.org/

One of, it not THE, leading websites in all things digital art. Be it 2D paintings or 3D models, CGSociety is a fountain of information, critique and learning experience.

http://www.blender.org/

THE open source 3D program. Blender is a powerful tool that is completely free to use, if you have doubts of its capabilities just search for "blender" and "Sintel" on Youtube.

http://www.gimp.org/

Another open source art program, this time for 2D. Not quite as powerful as Photoshop, but it's free and is definitely a lot better than MSPaint.

http://www.imageafter.com/

Free images and textures, both for personal AND commercial use!

http://opengameart.org/

Not artistically talented, but still need artwork? Try this website for resources of all kind (but be sure to check the license type of all of the uploaded material and make sure you stick to royalty-free files!)

http://www.cgtextures.com/

Free textures for up to 15 MB a day. Great site for quick, low-res solutions for missing textures on your projects, or for creating a collection of textures for reference.

http://usa.autodesk.com/

3DS Max and Maya are the industry standards of everything 3D. They are also butt-lickingly expensive, but if you're a student, you can check with the website and see if you can download their programs for free. If you can, but also want to work with them in the future, there are special offers to upgrade the student license to a professional one.


Programming

http://unity3d.com/

Unity is a fully-fledged 3D game engine that can be used for pretty much anything you can think of. Although its main focus is web-based games and the graphics engine isn't quite up to modern standards in the free version, it's definitely a powerful tool that can support Javascript and C#.

http://udk.com/download
http://udn.epicgames.com/Three/VideoTutorials.html

It's the Unreal Development Kit, which is free to download. It's even free to make money with the games you make with it, up to a certain limit. After that the license prices are still very humane compared to certain other companies.

http://flashpunk.net/

Want to make Flash games? Look no further than Flashpunk, a Flash game engine that gives you everything you need and has a website full of step-by-step tutorials that can guide you to learning every step of making a game with Flash and Actionscript. Also includes links to freeware to give you everything you need.

http://www.yoyogames.com/make

Game Maker is a very popular tool to making games in a fast, easy way. Both with using the interface and coding it yourself using GML.

http://www.rpgmakerweb.com/

This is 2012 and you don't know what RPG Maker is? FOR SHAME!

http://dead-code.org/home/index.php/lang-pref/en/

Wintermute is an engine specifically for creating point and click adventure games. If you're a fan of the old Myst or Day of the Tentacle games, this might be something for you.

http://www.cplusplus.com/doc/tutorial/

Tutorials for learning C++, arguably THE most powerful programming language around.

http://fixbyproximity.com/2d-game-development-course/

In-depth 2D game development course.

http://nehe.gamedev.net/

OpenGL tutorials!

From guitarhero_764:
Just wanted to say I think pygame needs to be added to the first post(maybe it's already there and I just missed it?). I've been using it for the past weeks alongside learning Python(which is the language it supports). It's really easy to learn and I would strongly recommend it for beginner Game Designers. Python is also a very valuable language skill to have as well and is incredibly powerful.

Some very good Python tutorials:

http://www.diveintopython.net/getti...thon/index.html - Moves fast, but teaches you a ton.

http://learnpythonthehardway.org/book/ - Really holds your hand at first but then at the end you're pretty capable with the language. Some of the stuff he says about reading your code backwards is bullshit that you can ignore if you want(I did). All in all though it's highly recommendable.

And pygame specific:

- Terrific youtube series.[/QUOTE]


Sound

Since this is a music website anyways, I'm going to assume that most people here are familiar with the basics of music. We all know Audacity, and we all know it's crap. Cheap alternatives can be Reaper, Fruity Loops or Cubase, but I'm sure you all know this so I won't go into that here.
One thing I will go into are these kickass old-school Nintendo VSTs

http://www.tweakbench.com/peach - different NES lead synths
http://www.tweakbench.com/toad - different NES percussions and SFX
http://www.tweakbench.com/triforce - just crazy 8-bit sounds


Game Design

Ah yes, game design. I have to admit that I myself am still at the beginning of understanding what this term even means. I don't have a whole lot of resources on this topic, either, but I WILL direct you to this incredibly awesome webseries called "Extra Credits", which can tell you more about game design than I ever could.

http://www.penny-arcade.com/patv/show/extra-credits


So that's about it with the resource list. If anybody else has any other cool and/or free things they'd like to add, let me know and I'll put them in here.

So let's talk about making games!

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CoreysMonster

reserved for possible more resource links.

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behind_you

Blender is one of the most pain in the ass programs to use IMO.

I use 3dsMax (Because I got it for free).

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PeTA

CoreysMonster

I've heard that Blender have made completely overhauled their UI, but since I also have a free student's license for Max and Maya, I use that.

Actually, I should probably add that to the OP.

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SkepsisMetal

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Eastwinn

I dabble. However, I am mostly a design and programming guy. Art is not my strong point.

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THE TRUTH IS OUT THERE

Deadlock Riff

Tried GBA dev ages ago. Haven't touched developing since.

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People in the pit take my post way too seriously.

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7-String Legion

If you have a question PM me and I will always get back to you.

rocknroll93

yeah blender is sooo hard to use, im currently teaching myself how to use it.. once i get a new computer though 3ds max will be one of the first things installed.

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Horsedick.MPEG

I used RPG maker before. I'm lame and only use the default stuff on it. I have a game on there that's been in the works for a few years and I've never gotten around to finishing it

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Voted as #7 Uger




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UGMC

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CrossBack7

Maybe some tutorials to programming? Even if it's just Python or the such, something to get people introduced would be helpful, I think.

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No.

ESPLTDV401DX

I have always had a bit of an interest in this sorta stuff. I will check some of those programs out for sure. It may get me doing more than just thinking about it . Though to be honest, I would rather do voiceover work in games.

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E-Married to necrosis1193

CoreysMonster

To be honest, I've been programming for so long and learned in such an unorthodox way I have no idea where a good place to start would be for beginners. Sure, people can just learn their for-loops and if-clauses and variables, but I don't know of any tutorials that are really in-depth, but also hands-on, if you know what I mean.

If anybody could help me out with that, it'd be very much appreciated!

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Holy Katana

I'm a shitty artist, and despite my numerous efforts in trying to learn how to code, I JUST CAN'T, but I still want to make games.

Yeah, guess that makes me a designer. A designer who'll have to get a bunch of people to help.

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Ostinattos

my 2 cents

So you want to be a developer pt 1


So you want to be a developer pt 2

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Are You a PROG-HEAD? I am.

Steam/XBL Gamertag: Ostinattos


Note: Every time someone posts <3 all I see is testicles with a party hat.

tarlkea

I do some C++, a good base point is this site:
http://www.cplusplus.com/doc/tutorial/

Allegro is a good library for C/C++, this is an amazing tutorial on game development for it:
http://fixbyproximity.com/2d-game-development-course/

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Ibanez Prestige RG1570 MRB

CoreysMonster

Extra Credits, I suggest watching the entire series from front to end. Doesn't take more than a couple of hours, and it's PACKED with brilliant information from people who work directly in the industry.

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reidhasguitar

Now all I need to do is start a guitar thread here: http://www.rpgrevolution.com/ and I'm done.

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The Elder Scrolls told of their return...

Gibson_SG_uzr55

I used RPG Maker before, didn't have enough time to make one though

^Remove that link before a mod sees it

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behind_you

The Nehe tutorials are fantastic for those who want to learn openGL.

For those who want to learn programming from complete scratch, try to get yourself a copy of 'C for Dummies'. Yeah, yeah, the dummies books are overrated. But it's the best I've ever seen at least.

I think I have some of my old 3d models somewhere on my laptop. Will post pics when I can.

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PeTA