The superhero movie trailers just keep coming! Though it’s a little early for a reboot on this one, the trailer is showing tons of promise. Agree? Disagree? Comment below!

The full trailer for Avengers was shown during the Superbowl today. Click the embed below to check it out!

We’re now going to talk about the part of game development that programmers have been anxiously waiting for, and others have been dreading… the engine. Certain people have a natural knack for programming and won’t be as nervous about making decisions here, but I’m aware that for some, the idea of mucking around knee deep in code and syntax isn’t your thing; I’m therefore sorry to tell you, that although there are options available to reduce the amount of coding necessary, you’ll need to at least get your feet dirty in order to build a game of your own design.

This section is part of a larger compilation of articles on independent game development. More topics will be included over the next few weeks. Please see the primary article for ongoing updates and the table of contents.

The Upfront Decision

I’ll be delving into the multiple layers of a game engine later in this section, but the first thing you need to decide is whether you’re making your own engine or using someone else’s. This may not be as easy a decision as you think, as many would-be programmers often find themselves lost in creating an engine as opposed to a game. Hopefully you’ve fleshed out your initial design in a enough detail to avoid such a trap, but there are those who can’t help but to implement “just one more thing” for the sake of simply having proven to themselves that they could do it.

Ask yourself, do I want to reinvent the same wheel that so many have reinvented before me? Do I want to reprogram the same chunks of code that are, in some cases, freely available to use? On the opposite side of the coin, ask yourself if you want to deal with someone else’s bugs and function library? Are you willing to package up an entire house when all you want is a refrigerator?

Only you can decide what will work for you, but feel free to read the rest of this article before making any final decisions.

Prebuilt Engine Alternatives

If you already know that you don’t want to code everything from scratch, you’re probably looking for a list of recommended game engines to load up and begin developing with. There aren’t as many “complete” engines out there as you might think; many are only smaller parts of everything else needed to pull together. That being said, there are a few that include all the necessary layers, though some will cost you a pretty penny to obtain full functionality from.

Below is a short list of the more popular engines currently available:

• Unity
• Perhaps the most popular engine for “non-programmers”
• Scripting done in C#, Javascript, or Boo languages
• Comes with a complete development environment for asset importing and scripting
• Available for several platforms
• Free version available for Windows and Mac targets (lacks fancier graphic functions)
• $1500 for the full version
• $400 more for Android or iOS options (each)
• Unreal Development Kit
• Amazing capabilities used by AAA studios available now to indie developers
• Scripting done in Java and C++
• Available only for Windows and iOS targets
• $99 for licensing
• Additional cost of 25% of all royalties after $50,000
• Microsoft’s XNA Game Studio
• Scripting and programming done primarily in C#
• Built on top of the very complete collection of DirectX libraries
• All done in code via Visual Studio
• Only available on Microsoft platforms (Windows, Xbox, Windows Phone)
• Free licensing (if using Visual Studio Express)
• jPCT
• Scripting and programming all done in Java
• No development environment, all done in code
• Available for Windows, Mac, Linux, or Android
• Free licensing
• Privately maintained with good code organization
• Construct
• 2D only
• Almost no programming skills required (uses event system)
• Makes games in HTML5 for browsers
• $79 for a standard license

It’s Not The Language, Silly!

Wars have been fought online over the subject I’m about to bring up. You ask this on a forum and it inevitably starts a “flame” filled thread with opinions and conjecture over which is “best” (big emphasis on those quotation marks). Even if you choose a prebuilt gaming engine, you’ll need to learn a programming language in order to script events and customize mechanics.  So which language “should” you choose?

The answer is simply: whichever one will work best for what you need. If you decide on a prebuilt game engine your choices will be whittled down for you. Otherwise, your best bet is to stick with what you already know.

This is because the language doesn’t matter. Making a solid game has nothing to do with the language you decide to program in. What actually matters are the libraries available for you to build off of. Most languages have a way of integrating libraries written in other languages, though you’ll probably have to put in some extra effort to import them.

One of the absolute best collections of libraries I’ve found available to Java programmers is the Light Weight Java Game Library. They are regularly updated, well supported, and utilize numerous industry standard C libraries such as OpenGL (for graphics) and OpenAL (for sound). The popular games Minecraft and Runescape were both written this way, which can come as quite a shock to those who consider Java a “slow alternative” or the “ugly stepchild” of the development world.

There is also an excellent collection available to C# programmers in the form of Microsoft’s XNA Game Studio which utilizes the popular DirectX libraries for game development on Windows and Xbox. Popular games written using XNA include Terraria and Magicka.

For those who feel that C or C++ is the best way to go, you can use the aforementioned DirectX libraries, or some popular cross-platform ones such as SDL or SFML that have proven quite capable and sturdy. There are also some very good graphic engines available such as OGRE, but keep in mind that graphics alone can’t make a game.

If you’re developing for an Android or iOS device, then your only choices will be determined by Google or Apple respectively. Both platforms have fairly extensive libraries and compilers already in place, as well as limitations on what they’ll allow outside of their purview.  If you go with Android, your choices are currently Java or C++, and if you go with iOS you’re stuck with Objective-C (with some C++).

Now, let’s talk about all the parts that make up a complete game engine…

Continued on next page

Ideas will come and go, as will potential indie developers. It’s completely normal for someone to focus on their greatest strength, and for many that’s either programming or graphic art. I’ve seen great programmers and amazing artists build some really bad games, and I’ve seen some mediocre skilled people make some fantastically addictive romps through digital wonderlands. The difference between the ones who do well and the ones who don’t always seems to come down to a single, though somewhat large step… the initial game design.

This section is part of a larger compilation of articles on independent game development. More topics will be included over the next few weeks. Please see the primary article for ongoing updates and the table of contents.

The realm of possible games to develop is a vast and busy universe, and without at least a simple design to guide you, you may very well get lost in it. I myself have spent countless hours (days, months even) droning on, adding unnecessary components to a game engine because I thought I might just need it for some new idea that popped in my head while I was programming.

Imagine if you will, a construction worker who starts building a skyscraper without any plans or blueprints. He could very possibly forget to put any bathrooms in until the last floor, causing all of its future occupants to crowd the elevators and stand in long lines just to take a potty break. Imagine the chaos and complaints that would come in! If he’s working with a team, some might decide to make one floor bigger than another, or go off on their own ideas all together.  This is why architects are paid, and why big game development companies have dedicated teams of designers.

Plan a solid foundation!

Lets continue with the skyscraper analogy… How many floors (levels) are you planning to make? Where will the bathrooms (saved games) go? What will the lighting be like? How about the ambiance of each floor? Plumbing? Telephone or communications systems (networking)?

There’s a lot to consider when making an entire game. So lets break it up into chunks and go into detail with each:

Story

Do you plan on having one? A story isn’t necessary in the strictest definition to a make a solid game, but a sense of purpose is positively required. Whether you give the player that purpose via following a tale of adventure or by dangling rewards as carrots in front of them, this is all considered story.

Terraria is a good example of how to make a great game without a deep storyline. There’s virtually no dialogue or cut scenes, yet there is a solid sense of progression as you dig deeper and defeat bosses at different levels. The player travels through a steady increase of difficulty and is rewarded with new visuals, along with minerals and supplies that help you craft better gear to help you defeat greater enemies. By the end, you have a definite sense of accomplishment and investment in the game, leaving the player feeling warm and fuzzy, and with a desire for more.

Then you have your strictly story games like Half-Life where the player follows along in order to reach the end of a mystery or journey with various rewards thrown in along the way. These games are generally left to the triple-A companies to develop, as the sheer amount of resources needed for cut scenes and the swath of static content can be daunting and extremely costly.

Most independent developers choose the former or something between the two. Don’t be discouraged if you really want to make a game based entirely on story progression though. I have seen some amazing indie games accomplish this in a more “artistic” way than the traditional videos and massive graphic infusions. One such example would be Revenge of the Titans by Cas and Chaz over at Puppygames.  By using simplistic cut scenes with written dialogue (and some really cute artistic flair), the game tells a fun story as it goes.

Whatever you choose, flesh it out in detail. Write down the different experiences you want the player to have, along with big climactic moments and character backgrounds. This will come in handy later.

Choosing a Platform

This would be your skyscraper’s foundation. Although it might seem insignificant to have to decide between concrete or wooden stilts, your decision of what platform to build for will have a significant impact on your game’s play style.

Not all games translate well to all platforms. Some games need a keyboard and mouse, while others need an accelerometer or touch screen to be enjoyed without frustration. I’m personally a big advocate of cross-platform development, but the reality is you’ll need to pick something and stick with it, at least initially, if you ever want to finish.

The more popular platforms are:

• Personal Computers (keyboard and mouse)
• Consoles (gamepad or motion controller)
• Tablets and Smartphones (touch screen and accelerometer)

Long term developers know other platforms and input methods I haven’t mentioned, but this list will give you some good starting points. Keep in mind, certain systems (like Apple’s iOS or Xbox) will require money in order to publish your game when it’s completed. The platform with the lowest price-to-entry is far and away the personal computer, so you may want to consider starting there if this is your first foray into game development and don’t have some big bucks tucked away under your mattress.

Now that you know the kind of input and controls your players will be stuck with, you can continue on.

Mechanics

Every game has mechanics that make it fun to play. Generally this is something that requires skill on the player’s part. Most people are conditioned to having obstacles in their lives that need to be faced, and oddly enough that’s what we look for in games as well. In the age old classic Space Invaders, the primary mechanic is to shoot down enemy aliens for points.

Good Old Classic

If that were the only mechanic though, Space Invaders wouldn’t have been all that fun to play beyond the first few minutes. The game is actually filled with additional mechanics that make it increasingly fun as it progresses:

• You begin with a few shields to keep you safe from an occasional alien laser attack.
• The aliens approach can be slowed by thinning out their numbers on the edges, because they only get closer once the entire group has reached the side of the screen.
• As you reach higher levels, the aliens move faster, can fire back, and are worth more points.
• You can earn extra lives by reaching a set score.
• After so many levels, the shields start to go away.
• Aliens movement is not hampered by shields.
• It only takes one hit from an alien or their laser to kill the player.
• Flying Saucers will randomly cross the top of the screen for a chance at more points.
• Two players can compete by alternating turns after someone dies.

Do you see how these additional mechanics can add up to a more compelling experience? By writing these down as part of the initial design, you’ll have a good list of things that need to be implemented during the programming and graphic art phases of the project.

Of course, it’s not always easy to tell if you have enough (or too many) mechanics in place. Generally you want to start with the games primary mechanic, like shooting aliens.From there, slowly add to it, such as: the player can only move horizontally. You can play it in through in your imagination and realize that it still wouldn’t be a terribly fun game yet, so you add something else: the aliens slowly approach the bottom of the screen to squash the player. You then keep adding one mechanic at a time until you feel like there’s enough to make a varied and fun game out of it.

There will undoubtedly be revisits to your design throughout the entire process, so don’t worry if later down the road you decide that more or fewer mechanics are needed. Your blueprints will be edited and reviewed throughout the entire process.

Continued on next page…

The world is full of ideas, and no matter how hard you may try to avoid it, one of them occasionally plants itself inside your brain and starts to grow. Your cerebrum can only hold so much and eventually the idea has to find its way out and take flight. For some that means writing a book or building some furniture, but there is a subset of the human species that is technologically minded, and for them the only outlet is the digital landscape.

Are you one of those of whom I speak? Do you dream in pixels? Are you a code junky? Perhaps a graphic designer looking for a new frontier? Or merely a geek with a dream? That was me, by the way, the latter, with a bit of code junky thrown in for good measure. There are, however, numerous avenues from which people come to the same conclusion that they want to make a video game. Over the last several years I’ve seen the same bits and pieces of advice posted over and over again on game developer forums. Some are helpful, some are not. Flame wars break out over what platforms to develop for, only to be later extinguished by an unexpected new technology.

In this series of articles I will be pulling together as much of the good information as I can into a useful whole. I obviously can’t take credit for all the ideas, and so I’ll be providing links to the incredible communities and resources that I have also learned from. Are you ready to get started with your game?

It all starts with an idea…

You’ve got one, an idea that is. I’ve heard a lot of them from people; some are good, some are not, some are derivative, and some are derivative in a good way. Whatever it is, if you follow a good, laid out process you’ll soon discover if it’s workable into a computer game or not.

Of course, then there’s the other crowd, the ones who don’t have an idea. They’re wanting to use the technology to make a quick buck, or a million or two. They dream of a newer, bigger house or fancy toys. Stories abound about the developers who are now multimillionaires from some “simple” game they made and sold it on an app store. There’s of course Angry Birds, the most popular game in the world on every platform imaginable, and to a lesser (though still in the tens of millions) extent, games like Minecraft that are teasingly simple looking on the surface but far more daunting a challenge to make than you think. I’m happy for those folks, really, but you need to understand that most of us don’t get that. For every success story, there’s hundreds of others who’ve failed. Like most work, there are dreary and repetitive days ahead, but if you can enjoy what you’re doing without only the goal of money to keep you motivated, there’s some rewarding times for you as well.

There is money to be made in this field of work, though on average it takes several years of consistent game building and skill refining to achieve. There’s some members of online communities that we really start to cheer for when they finally have a breakout hit and make some nice money. All of them seem to share the same startup experience though… a frugal life up until that point. Some have to keep their day jobs, and others find part time work on the side to help fund their project. Just keep that in mind if you’re planning to go full-time indie developer.

Parts of a game

If you’re still reading this, good for you! You’ve shown that you really are interested in learning how to make a game. Now that the less interested have been weeded out, let’s get to the good stuff.

A single game is made through several distinct processes. I’ll be adding a link to each of these sections below as I complete the articles:

• The Idea (what you’re reading)
• Design
• Engine
• Graphics
• Sound
• Testing
• Packaging
• Marketing

Check back regularly to forward to the new sections!

What if I need an idea?

Admittedly, we all run dry on ideas at times. Sometimes they’re buried too deep in our psyche to find, or we’re going through something in life that makes it hard to think. The world we live in can also make it difficult to hear our own thoughts with all of the chaos, busy schedules, and crazy to-do lists we each have. Here are some important actions to take in order to create and catch those moments we need to generate something new:

Relax. I know that can be hard for some people. You don’t need to be relaxed all of the time, but you do need to find time to do it. When our brains are full of other thoughts, we can’t hear our own. Some people try meditation with the full on cross legged yoga thing, while others are better with sitting on the couch and turning off the television. The trick is find some quiet place without distraction. Maybe you like sitting under shady trees. Whatever it is, find time to do it and let your mind chill out once in a while.

Journal. When those ideas start coming (and they will come), you had better have something to trap them with. The proverbial net in this case would be a notebook or journal to write it down in. I started with a pad of paper, moved on to a spiral bound notebook, and now use an iPad with Noteability installed (my favorite note taking software). Make sure that whatever you’re writing stuff down in is portable, and something that you can organize for reviewing over and over again. Keep it with you, as you never know when an idea might clobber you over the head.

Experience. I took a class at a writers conference from Tracy Hickman once. I don’t know if it was his thought or if he was quoting someone else, but he jokingly said that nobody has anything really worth writing until they’re 40. There’s some truth to that. We are an accumulation of our experiences, and our own thoughts and ideas stem from that root system. So read a bunch of books, watch a bunch of movies, get out and try some archery, paintball, or laser tag. Heck, I sometimes wonder if Notch (the guy who wrote Minecraft) just liked to dig holes in his backyard!

Observe. Humility is the art of being teachable. Sometime it’s better to keep your mouth shut and watch others succeed or fail, and to learn from it. Play a bunch of other computer games. Play the good ones, but especially play the bad ones. Then ask yourself, why is this good or bad? Pick it apart into as many small pieces as possible. What grabbed your attention? What didn’t? Whatever you learn, write it down in your journal.

To end this section, I’ll provide you with a list of some good game developer communities you may wish to join and start listening too. I highly suggest you begin by perusing some old topics and keeping quiet until you get a handle on things. Almost everyone is very welcoming of newcomers, but even the best of people can get annoyed by answering the same question over and over again. Good luck! Here’s that list:

Indiegamer Developer Forum. This is a treasure trove of information for newbies and veterans alike. My only complaint is that so many of the developers who make it big end up leaving the group and rarely coming back.

Gamedev is known for their huge collection of articles and topics on game development. The community forum is full of answers too.

TIGSource is a news outlet for indie developers and indie game releases.