I had a thought that it might be of interest to share my experience of getting to grips with Blitz and my attempt to create my first game. I want to explain how I have gone from ‘Ooh what a cool toy’ to working on an actual game that might be worth playing. I’d be keen to hear other people’s experiences. I suspect there may be quite a few people who start out with Blitz and get discouraged as the dream game never materialises. So let’s encourage each other to finish fun games!
First the guilty admission – I bought Blitz3D 18 months ago and I haven’t made a game yet! I have messed about with it on and off since I bought it and played with all the samples. Had a few not very interesting ideas for games (mostly simple 2D or 3D shooters) and experimented with how such games might be implemented. I have some previous experience of programming in BASIC so I have been able to figure out most things (with frequent help from searching these forums and the code archives).
Something that has helped has been a change in my game playing habits over the last year or two. I didn’t play any games from ’86 when the Sinclair Spectrum went into the attic until ’97 when I bought a PS1 and I didn’t own a PC until 2001. So by the time I got into games again they were very complex with lashings of eye candy. Played lots of games since – everything from a ten minute look at the latest demo to way too many hours of WoW. Eventually I began to get a little bored with slick, big budget products and started trawling freeware and shareware sites for games with a bit more character. You pro developers will be pleased to hear that I have actually even bought two or three shareware games:-) Right now my favourite games are very simple ones graphically – Angband (an ancient freeware Roguelike still being maintained) and Kingdom of Loathing (a free-to-play, browser-based, spoof MMORPG). Even installed Dosbox to have a look at some of the 90’s games I missed (such as Goldbox games from SSI). And my conclusions from all this fun:
1: Games without cutting-edge graphics - even 2D games – really can be fun and immersive.
2: Such games are where one should look for inspiration – one person with a copy of Blitz is not going to be competing with big budget games.
3: One person with a copy of Blitz and a few nice ideas could produce a fun and immersive game within a reasonable timescale.
Not earth-shattering you might say but I do think that being unrealistically ambitious is a common problem when starting out in game development. I’m not saying create another space invaders, pacman, etc. - I do think it has to be a fun game you really would want to play in order for you to maintain sufficient enthusiasm to finish it (this is true for me at least). It isn’t going to be possible to model a 3D world that will match commercial games in terms of realism (even more so if you’re new at all this). So focus effort where it will make a difference (gameplay, distinctive artwork, etc.) rather than face continuous disappointment in trying to match the latest eye candy.
At the end of all this I have come up with a fairly detailed plan for my first game – a simple, single-player, turn-based RPG in 2D with a little 3D used for FX. I know there are people in these forums who think an RPG is too ambitious for a first game but it really is a very simple game I am planning and I know which bits are core and which bits are ‘nice to have’ maybe in a future version. I think my plans contain enough new ideas to make the game fun. I have the broad outline clear in my head and I’ve done sufficient work to figure out that what I want can indeed be done in Blitz. I had a bit of a wobble when I considered learning Java and going that route; realistically though I reckon I may be able to complete this game in six months in Blitz whereas in Java it would be closer to two years (I work full time). And as I’m lazy and impatient ….
The final piece of the jigsaw was buying Sprite Candy last week. Now I believe I have the tools I need to make my game. No more considering other possible technologies/engines – time to get on with it and get as much out of B3D and SC as I can. I want a finished game (at least an 80% complete beta) by the end of the year. My ambition is simply to produce a finished game that I enjoy playing (other people too, hopefully) and that is nice to look at/use.
I feel like I am finally making real progress and that is a pleasant feeling. And this is largely due to nailing the project down to a reasonable scale and making concrete decisions about which tools to use. And that’s the secret of enjoying this game development hobby as far as I’m concerned – that and believing the game will be fun and maybe even a tiny bit innovative.
So look out for me announcing a game sometime towards the end of the year. Feel free to tease me if it doesn’t appear :-)
It will be freeware btw – if I consider it worth releasing at all. I am, as I said, a hobbyist. Yes it would be nice to make money out of games but that is a thought for the distant future if and when I have a few completed games under my belt.
Apologies for this somewhat self-indulgent post but I genuinely thought this might be of interest and I would like to hear other people’s views on the trials and tribulations of being a Blitz noob.
Thanks as ever to the folks who post so much useful stuff in the forums and archives. I definitely consider this to be one of the friendlier and more helpful corners of the web.
|
