Getting Starting in Video Game Development

[kitler53]

@Legend

I could (and have) look online but you're making games so i figured i'd at least ask you for your perspective.

my kid (age 10) is highly interested in video games.   i don't fault that but i can't let him do that all day every day.  today i said "how about you make a video game instead" and he got really excited about that idea.   so do you have any perspectives or suggestion on the next step.   he's not particularly computer savy in any way so assume he needs to start from the very, very bottom here.   just downloading unreal engine isn't going to be a good place to start.   i'm seeing tons of expensive products claiming all i have to do is
1. buy their subscription
2. steal the underpants
3. ??
4. Success!

maybe they work.  i don't know if i buy it though.


anyways, let me know what you think. 

[Legend]

Maybe you could try out Roblox with him. It's full of microtransactions and all that bad stuff, but it's a ugc game like LBP/Dreams. I don't know how easy it is, I just know that it's really really popular with kids. Dreams itself might be easier to get started with.

Scratch might be a good option if you want to avoid game dev within games. Scratch - For Parents

RPG Maker, Renpy, Game Maker, Pico 8, and Stencyl are all game engines I've heard about that are limited to 2D and designed for beginners. Might be a bit too hard for a 10 year old but they're certainly easier than Unreal.


I don't know much about those make a game subscriptions. I've seen them mentioned from time to time but never heard of anyone actually using them.

[kitler53]

Yeah, scratch is what i put him in front of this afternoon (i did find that on my own).  We watched a couple of the tutorials and to me they felt lacking.   It kind of gave you the gist but it wasn't a ton of direction for a beginner.  The tools seem pretty good though.  In just a few minutes i made a pac-man like game.  

I saw roblox and minecraft listed as ideas.  My kid bounced off of minecraft pretty quick.  Not sure about roblox,.. i'd have to check it out for myself first.  Having made a game in LBP once i think that is too much for my kid right now.  

I'll check out gamemaker ect,.. thats a good idea. 

[kitler53]

I checked out gamemaker.   again,.. too much for my son right now.   something i'll keep in mind if he wants to "do more" some day.    he was having a good time with scratch this weekend and I think it's about the right level for his skills at this time.  

not sure if there is a way to share his work with you guys but maybe i'll do that (if possible) once he is done.


having spent a bit of time getting familiar with the tools myself so that I could help answer his questions,...  dang.  is video game development really like 95% making art.  the "game" itself came together soo fast but the art/animation clearly are going to take months to make it look good.   no wonder games are soo expensive to develop.

[the-pi-guy]

having spent a bit of time getting familiar with the tools myself so that I could help answer his questions,...  dang.  is video game development really like 95% making art.  the "game" itself came together soo fast but the art/animation clearly are going to take months to make it look good.   no wonder games are soo expensive to develop.

A lot of that depends on what you're doing though.

A game that is very procedurally generated could very well go the other way and be 95% programming and 5% art.

[Legend]

Yeah very little programming is needed if the game engine already supports everything you want. Some indie devs don't even know how to program and just buy missing code from asset stores.

The big problem, and the reason why most games still involve a lot of programming, is that off the shelf solutions often suck if you try to do anything unique. Even basic things like splitscreen can be incredibly challenging if the game engine only partially supports it.

A lot of that depends on what you're doing though.

A game that is very procedurally generated could very well go the other way and be 95% programming and 5% art.

Pretty fun when a game is ~100% programming so the programming itself becomes the art.

[the-pi-guy]

Pretty fun when a game is ~100% programming so the programming itself becomes the art.

My last game jam project definitely wasn't a work of art.  

[Legend]

My last game jam project definitely wasn't a work of art.  

Maybe it's time for you to make a new game  


Also @kitler53 I was around 10 when I got into 3D modeling. My parents bought me some random software at the store and then when I was 12 I discovered blender. Maybe he'll be ready for the more advanced programs before you know it.

[kitler53]

let's see if this works...

<iframe src="https://scratch.mit.edu/projects/975491182/embed" allowtransparency="true" width="485" height="402" frameborder="0" scrolling="no" allowfullscreen></iframe>

[kitler53]

or try this:

https://scratch.mit.edu/projects/975491182

[Legend]

Nice. I got over a thousand, bet ya can't beat that.

[kitler53]

Nice. I got over a thousand, bet ya can't beat that.

it not like it's hard or even has a time limit.   getting to 1000 is more about persistence than anything.  

...unless you're my wife.   she got to -250..


anyways.   he was very proud of himself.   was great to see because in general he quits things if they take effort.   probably best I nurture this so that someday he actually gets a job. 

[Legend]

Create your own LEGO® Islands with Fortnite Creative and UEFN

Could be cool. Legos for the digital age.

[kitler53]

I like it less for my son.  Scratch makes him think more.   I am teaching him how to code and think logically.