making video games by smashriot

Making GamesJesse Ozog @SmashRiotSMASHRIOT LLC

Dr. Spacezoo

How To Start Making Games• Think of a small game idea

• REALLY SMALL

• NO SMALLER

• Ok, that’s small enough. Now make that game idea.

• Coming up with a game idea is easy, finishing is hard

• Finished game idea needs: art, sound, music, math, programming, player, enemies, scoring, game over, restart, menu, UI, etc.

• Each game you finish will make you better at making games

• So make and finish a LOT of SMALL games!

Game Idea• Choose a game idea that you think will be fun

• And also needs to be the game idea you think you can make

• That means making an MMO RPG is out, think way smaller

• What’s the one aspect that makes this game idea fun?

• Make a small prototype about the game idea. Is it fun?

• Not good? Throw it out and try another idea. Repeat

• Did you think up with another GREAT IDEA while making the first idea?

• Great, write it down for the next game. Stay focused!

Art• Game art is whatever you create

• Game art can be in any style

• Game art should be consistent to itself

• Examples of styles of Game Art

Sound and Music• Sound:

• Put sound effects in early!

• Use free tools:• Sound Effects: BFXR

• Editing: Audacity

• Music:

• Use any music tool

• Phone/tablet apps

• Free Sound/Music Sites

Math• Math is REALLY important to making games

• Linear Algebra• Vectors• Matrices• Transformations

• Trigonometry• Triangles• Angles (Degrees/Radians)• Sine, Cosine, Tangents

• Geometry • Euclidean: lines, circles, Pythagorean theorem (a2 + b2 = c2)• Analytic: coordinates, lines, planes, circles, intersections, normals, tangents• Computational: study of computer algorithms for geometry

• Physics• How objects move and behave

Programming• What is a programming language?

• You can make a game in nearly any programming language

• GPU

• OpenGL

• Shaders

• Vertex

• Fragment

Free Game Tools• No Code 2D Game Engines:

• Game Maker: http://www.yoyogames.com/studio• Construct 2: https://www.scirra.com/construct2

• Coding Game Engines/Frameworks:• Cocos2D: http://cocos2d.org/• SDL: http://www.libsdl.org/• Unity: http://unity3d.com/• Unreal: http://www.unrealengine.com/

• Text Game Engine:• Twine: http://twinery.org/

More Free Game Tools• Art:

• Gimp: http://www.gimp.org/• Piskel: http://www.piskelapp.com/• MagicaVoxel: http://voxel.codeplex.com/

• Game Art:• Open Game Art: http://opengameart.org/• Kenney Game Assets: http://kenney.nl/assets

• Sound:• BFXR: http://www.bfxr.net/• Audacity: http://audacityteam.org/• Freesound: http://www.freesound.org/

• Music:• Milky Tracker: http://www.milkytracker.org/• Figure: https://www.propellerheads.se/figure

Game Resources• Getting Started:

• https://www.reddit.com/r/gamedev/wiki/getting_started

• Game Engines:

• https://www.reddit.com/r/gamedev/wiki/engine_faq