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 Game Design & Programming 101, cout << "Updated 11th February" << endl;

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frags
post Aug 11 2008, 12:32 PM

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QUOTE(nevic @ Aug 6 2008, 12:54 AM)
Anyone interested in learning maya to zbrush,and import to unreal engine 3 i am gald share my knowlage here and i would also hope to meet people that share along.

I am a fulltime freelance working for a game company in Hong Kong . We are basicly an outsourcing company doing various project from japan and america company.Game developement piepline from modeling to importing to engine are my specialize.

Anyone interested of understanding game pipeline can post here ^.^
*
WHy dont you start with stating what is a game pipeline? Basics please...it will be helpful to those that might be interested in it. Not many people here are experts on this topic since its not a field that attracts much investors or interest here. Singapore maybe...but not Malaysia...yeah please explain wth is that you are talking about..

frags
post Aug 11 2008, 10:25 PM

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QUOTE(nevic @ Aug 11 2008, 02:43 PM)
Game pipeline is basicly a foundation on ,how u use between software,when is the time which software is more faster to produce something that basicly takes more time then other software.

For example,a basic game pipeline for a next generation game (character) is low ress construction in maya or max,export it to zbrush for high poly construction , normal map baking (normal map can make something low polygon looks detail and with proper apply of texture maps can achive the likes of high poly finishing),then moving to the texture part in photoshop,apply animation,and export it out to game engine for usage.

This is not the only working way,but it is fast,due to the time we save using zbrush to construct high poly model.Before zbrush is a more mainstream program,we used maya or max to construct high poly model,it's is not wrong,but it depends on what are you trying to build,organic model,human,monsters,are faster to produce using zbrush,while hard surface for my own preferences i sometimes still like to use the old fashioned way that is build the high ress in maya and bake the high poly normal maps.

I hope this help^^if there are any question,i'll do my best to share with you guys.
*
Interesting...So you are saying the term game pipeline refers to some sort of post processing of a low poly count model? You work on low poly count model in Zbrush instead of doing it all in Maya. Sorry i dont work on graphics so I'm a bit clueless about 3D modelling or creating graphics assets etc.

BTW...I have a noob question...How is transparency handled? Say if i want to build a model that is slightly transparent...So it is related to whether the rendering(game) engine can do it or is this handle in modelling stage..my guess is the engine itself must be built to support this because it must know how to render the lighting and proper ray tracing through the transparent object. doh.gif I'm answering my own question...LOL

Currently I'n on a project and I'm trying to learn the Ogre3D engine and I'm completely clueless how to implement transparent objects.
frags
post Oct 25 2008, 04:32 PM

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QUOTE(FarCry3r @ Oct 24 2008, 07:38 PM)
Is there any part time game programming courses available? I'm always interested, but don't have the adequate time for both work and studying... sweat.gif
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There are definetely game development centered Software Engineering courses offered by some local colleges. These are full blown degree programmes we are talking about 3/4+ years. Part time probably will take even longer.

As far as i know there is no short term courses that teach game development. If you really want to learn you could try modding some games and get into some game programming(designing your own small games - much later). There are a lot of resources online. Best is to pick one game and stick to doing something with that.

There are also things you may want to focus more on (with very different skillsets)...maybe you like:

-level design or
-scripting missions or
-scripting AI
-developing new units/texture

Scripting anything is probably the easiest thing to do...since you can choose to do a small modification of perhaps changing one particular rule set of a game(as long as its not hard coded).

IMHO level design and developing new models are more difficult. While it is easy to design new levels as level editors are relatively easy to use....the skill of developing a good level is....really really difficult.

Developing new models even tougher since you will need to know how to use some 3D modelling tool etc. A lot less approachable if you dont have some background in 3D modelling.

I would suggest HL2(as long as you have any half life 2 engine game you can download the Hammer editor)...tons of resources on using them...

If that is a bit too cryptic, you can try Far Cry 2....I heard its got a really powerful easy to use level editor. At least it can get you started on level design. Oh and good levels/maps are extremely important and can make or break a game...you can find yourself enjoying the game better with better maps. tongue.gif
frags
post Nov 7 2008, 12:48 PM

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Anyone interested in making a text based MUD can use my base code. I was working on this with Python. I have no time right now and am moving on. Feel free to modify and use it for whatever you want. A very simplistic battle engine.

» Click to show Spoiler - click again to hide... «

frags
post Jul 14 2009, 07:28 PM

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QUOTE(ZeratoS @ Jul 12 2009, 01:51 AM)
Awesome! Never knew the Malaysian game developer community was quite as active. : < Main interest lies in concept & gameplay here. Sadly not many I know are quite as devoted to developing. I really do need an outlet on which to pitch my ideas to, and maybe even develop it sad.gif

I've only dabbled with eAthena source codes, which run in C.
*
Try working on regular games first than MMORPG engines. There are way too many considerations in MMORPG gameplay that it is better to work on something basic and simple first than to get to used to bad games design(Which then become bad habits). Work with the basics.
frags
post Dec 18 2009, 07:45 PM

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Interesting times for indie or starting/beginner game devs. A couple of game dev platforms have been released for free.

Unreal Development Kit - yes Unreal engine 3 dev kit is now available for free(but for non commercial purposes. If interested in commercial applications you could apply for a different license latter on)

http://www.udk.com/

Unity - A web based engine that was quite impressive with the amount of detail it is able to render in 3D on a web browser. The Unity SDK also allows users to compile for Windows too apart from unity's own web based app.

http://unity3d.com/unity/

Dark Basic - A little old, but absolutely no limitations in terms of license.

http://darkbasicpro.thegamecreators.com/

Direct download - http://files.thegamecreators.com/darkbasic...oOnlineFree.zip

Game maker 7.0 - Not quite free, but there is a free version that you can tinker with. The full version isn't very expensive.

http://www.yoyogames.com/make


You can download any of these tools to start playing with game creation. Plenty of tutorials for all of them.


frags
post Mar 12 2010, 04:40 PM

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Nothing really new here but just an outline of Blizzard's design philosophy:
http://www.gamasutra.com/php-bin/news_index.php?story=27640

QUOTE
In a lecture Thursday at GDC, Blizzard EVP of game design Rob Pardo shared Blizzard's core design concepts, offering examples of places where the World of Warcraft developer succeeded and failed in creating compelling multiplayer experiences.

Pardo offered a plethora advice to the designers present, stressing that these lessons may not necessarily gel with other studios and suggesting that everybody go through this same exercise to set down their individual design team's rules.

Below are a few of Blizzard's rules that we found particularly helpful. Some may seem obvious, but often it is the obvious advice that we tend to forget about first.

Gameplay First

Blizzard's core design philosophy is to design around the core fun gameplay concepts, rather than working around other aspects such as tech. By way of example, significant changes had to be made in the world's lore between Warcraft III and World of Warcraft in order to make a more fun and balanced game, despite pushback from some who felt the lore was sacred.

Pardo was quick to point out that he doesn't mean design comes first, as it is easy to fall into a trap where designers come up with things they like that don't work so well for the players.

Easy to Learn, Difficult to Master

More specifically, Pardo says the objective he pushes at Blizzard is more akin to "Easy to learn and almost impossible to master." Because almost all Blizzard games are primarily multiplayer, the company must focus a significant amount of depth to the multiplayer.

"When we shipped WoW, people say we dumbed everything down," said Pardo. "Actually, WoW is a really hardcore game, it just happens to be more accessible than a lot of other games."

Pardo says that the Blizzard design pipeline is to design the games depth first, because it's the hardest part of design. He suggested that rather than worrying about the multiplayer component of a game last, Blizzard tweaks that component first and feeds what they learn into the single-player campaign.

Make Everything Overpowered

"We want to take everything to 11," said Pardo. "Every unit and class has to feel like this unit and class can not be stopped. That's the feeling we want to give."

The ultimate goal of balancing classes, said Pardo, is to make players feel like every new class they play with is better than the last one. This applies not only to gameplay, but to characters and lore as well.

"All of our main characters are fifty feet tall," said Pardo. "And if it happened in the past, it happened ten thousand years ago."

Play Don't Tell

This is of course a gameplay-tweaked version of the "show don't tell" writer's mantra. Blizzard makes a point to make sure story is told through gameplay, rather than just being told through text.

"Use things like text and voiceovers to enhance the story, but not tell it," said Pardo.

Make It A Bonus

As designers, say Pardo, there is a natural tendency to worry about punishing the player rather than rewarding them, but a clever designer can play with a player's psychology and turn it into a bonus.

Pardo related an example of World of Warcraft's rest system: when the game launched, players were punished for playing too long by having their experience gain percentage drop from 100 to 50 percent after a couple hours of play.

"Beta players universally hated this idea and were screaming bloody murder," said Pardo.

The fix? Turning this into a bonus scenario instead. Players now start at 200 percent experience and drop down to 100 percent. It's the exact same mechanic, but now it's a bonus instead of a punishment.



Added on March 12, 2010, 4:49 pmGDC: Indie Keynote - Championing Immediacy And Depth

http://www.gamasutra.com/php-bin/news_index.php?story=27596

This post has been edited by frags: Mar 12 2010, 04:49 PM
frags
post Mar 14 2010, 01:09 PM

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GDC: Sid Meier's Lessons On Gamer Psychology
http://www.gamasutra.com/view/news/27654/G..._Psychology.php
http://gdc.gamespot.com/video/6253529/ (video)


GDC: Will Wright Peels Back Layers Of Entertainment, Games
http://www.gamasutra.com/view/news/27662/G...nment_Games.php
frags
post Apr 1 2010, 05:30 PM

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QUOTE(ChrisTan92 @ Mar 25 2010, 10:40 PM)
Hi guys ... I'm new towards this forum and i'm just wondering if i could ask some question here.

Since i started secondary school, games change my life ALOT, i like games so much that i would be willing to risk my future and try to enter the game industry and i'm planning to take graphic design.

Anyone had any idea on how to continue after i'm done with my degree??

I had a few ideas but i just wrote it down on a paper about the storyline , gameplay and the characters but i had no idea on how to create and program my own game using software...

Any tips anyone??
*
Get a job. Don't look for a games related job. Just a job to earn a salary. Make games, lots of em. Get experience making games for a hobby. Keep applying for game industry related jobs don't give up and update your resume as you complete your games(and include links where prospective employers can take a look at it).
frags
post Apr 30 2010, 05:01 PM

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Anyone interested in learning game design with a buddy(me) using Unity3D 2.6 please PM me. I feel it would be better to learn it with someone else. Absolute beginners are also welcomed but must have strong drive to learn the tool.

This post has been edited by frags: Apr 30 2010, 05:01 PM
frags
post May 21 2010, 02:00 PM

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QUOTE(kypronite @ May 18 2010, 02:51 PM)
you learning unity engine to program on iphone is it?
*
I focus on PC development, but the group is open to anyone.
frags
post Jun 1 2010, 05:53 PM

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QUOTE(H@H@ @ Jun 1 2010, 04:53 PM)
http://unity3d.com/

Its technically free for use for the PC, but if you want more features (Like for iPhone) or want to sell it commercially, it isn't. The biggest selling point is that all their games can run from within a web browser with just a plugin (Or none at all if you're using Chrome)

Its incredibly robust and allows you to make full 3D games easily with most of the stuff that other SDKs provide.
*
Actually the free indie package(now just called Unity) is available for commercial releases. The caveat is that for registered companies that made US100,000 in the last fiscal year, they need to purchase Unity Pro. Which means you can use it for a first commercial release for free(and if you make 100,000 you need to upgrade).

I think it's a great option for start ups.

PS : UDK(thats the Unreal 3 tech) however doesn't allow users to commercially release their game using the free version. You will need to pay a royalty based scheme where you pay USD99 up front and once you get sales past USD5,000 Epic takes a 25% royalty on all sales from then onwards.


Added on June 1, 2010, 5:54 pmI created this work group for discussions on general game design and Unity.

http://games.groups.yahoo.com/group/gamedesignmalaysia/

Join up if anyone is interested.

This post has been edited by frags: Jun 1 2010, 05:59 PM
frags
post Jul 1 2010, 01:47 PM

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QUOTE(plankton @ Jul 1 2010, 11:40 AM)
great info.

frags, applied for the group, will most probably be on the sideline for now until I get a bit familiar with Unity3d.
*
Good. Not a problem.


Added on July 1, 2010, 3:15 pmExample of a simple game logic. You can use this if you want. I haven't uploaded the game because I think it's not great at all. Still has some bugs. But anyway this is a pretty good basic code to learn Unity3D with. No player movement but some pretty important code stuff in it(such as Raycast). Ask here if you do not understand any bit.:
» Click to show Spoiler - click again to hide... «



Added on July 2, 2010, 6:04 pmWant to learn how video game AI/ player characters see the world?

QUOTE
I'd like to take some time out here to write about Raycasting. Might be helpful to those new to game development. If you ever wondered how your game characters will see or look at things in your game environment/level, or how users can select elements in your game world(like in an RTS, selecting units etc), Raycast is the main method of doing this.

Basically Raycast is a method of drawing a virtual line from one point to another point of the game world. Whatever intersects this line is registered as a hit. Think of the different applications for this. Mouse selection, AI 'seeing' the player character or the level objects, even simulating a weapon firing(such as a sniper rifle) and hitting enemies. This is a very basic game development concept.

In unity, thankfully you already have a raycast function available to you to do all these things. There are a lot of things you can do with raycasts but I'll stick to the basic. Here is the basic workflow of the logic behind using raycast:

QUOTE
DEFINE variable hitObject TYPE RaycastHit
IF left mouse button down THEN
  IF Raycast is true THEN
      Do whatever you want with hitObject.collider.GameObject
  END IF
END IF


RaycastHit is a necessary variable that gets what the raycast hits(well like it says really). Using RaycastHit, you can access the gameobject and manipulate its details(it has to have a collider btw)

Details on Raycast:
http://unity3d.com/support/documentation/S...cs.Raycast.html

Here is an example bit that is attached to a First Person Controller:

CODE
var hit : RaycastHit;

if (Physics.Raycast (transform.position, transform.forward, hit, 5)){

  if (hit.collider.gameObject.tag == "outpostDoor" && doorIsOpen == false && BatteryCollect.charge >= 4){
     currentDoor = hit.collider.gameObject;
     Door(doorOpenSound, true, "dooropen", currentDoor);
GameObject.Find("BatteryGUI").GetComponent(GUITexture).enabled = false;
}

  else if (hit.collider.gameObject.tag == "outpostDoor" && doorIsOpen == false && BatteryCollect.charge < 4){
GameObject.Find ("BatteryGUI").GetComponent(GUITexture).enabled = true;
TextHints.message = "The door seems to need more power..";
TextHints.textOn = true;
}
}



Okay it might be a little hard to read that but you get the idea. The transform.Position that you are passing into Physics.Raycast is the position of the player character, and transform.forward is the direction the raycast will be projected, hit is the RaycastHit variable, and 5 is the length of the raycast(you can make your AI see further etc using this).

This particular example also checks some other conditions that is relevant to that example game. Using hit.collider.gameObject.tag == "blablabla" you can check if the raycast hit a particular object. Just make sure you give that object a proper tag name.

Here is another example that creates a Raycast from the main camera towards the mouse pointer direction:

CODE
var hitt : RaycastHit;

if( Physics.Raycast(mainCamera.ScreenPointToRay(Input.mousePosition),  hitt, 500 ) ) {

  if (hitt.rigidbody) {
Debug.Log(hitt.rigidbody.gameObject);

hitt.rigidbody.gameObject.transform.position.x + 1;
hitObject = hitt.rigidbody.gameObject;
       hitObject.renderer.material.color.r = 0.1 * Time.deltaTime;
}




You can use this line:
mainCamera.ScreenPointToRay(Input.mousePosition)

http://unity3d.com/support/documentation/S...PointToRay.html

To make raycasts that function as mouse selections/mouse overs etc. camera.ScreenPointToRay basically sends position(based on the camera position) and direction(towards the mouse cursor location) to physics.raycast. Handy if you are making a strategy game or a game that requires users to select stuff. You don't need to use this for users selecting GUI stuff as for that you can use function onMouseDown

http://unity3d.com/support/documentation/S...nMouseDown.html

Anyway below, I have included an excerpt from Will Goldstones, Unity Game Development Essentials Book on the topic of using Raycast for a shooter(and why use them):

QUOTE
The frame miss
In the example of a gun in a 3D shooter game, ray casting is used to predict the impact of a gunshot when a gun is fired. Because of the speed of an actual bullet,simulating the flight path of a bullet heading toward a target is very difficult to visually represent in a way that would satisfy and make sense to the player. This is down to the frame-based nature of the way in which games are rendered.

If you consider that when a real gun is fired, it takes a tiny amount of time to reach its target—and as far as an observer is concerned it could be said to happen instantly—we can assume that even when rendering over 25 frames of our game per second, the bullet would need to have reached its target within only a few frames.

In the example above, a bullet is fired from a gun. In order to make the bullet realistic, it will have to move at a speed of 500 feet per second. If the frame rate is 25 frames per second, then the bullet moves at 20 feet per frame. The problem with this is a person is about 2 feet in diameter, which means that the bullet will very
likely miss the enemies shown at 5 and 25 feet away that would be hit. This is where prediction comes into play.

Predictive collision detection
Instead of checking for a collision with an actual bullet object, we find out whether a fired bullet will hit its target. By casting a ray forward from the gun object (thus using its forward direction) on the same frame that the player presses the fire button,we can immediately check which objects intersect the ray.

We can do this because rays are drawn immediately. Think of them like a laser pointer—when you switch on the laser, we do not see the light moving forward because it travels at the speed of light—to us it simply appears.

Rays work in the same way, so that whenever the player in a ray-based shooting game presses fire, they draw a ray in the direction that they are aiming. With this ray,they can retrieve information on the collider that is hit. Moreover, by identifying the collider, the game object itself can be addressed and scripted to behave accordingly.

Even detailed information, such as the point of impact, can be returned and used to affect the resultant reaction, for example, causing the enemy to recoil in a particular direction.

In our shooting game example, we would likely invoke scripting to kill or physically repel the enemy whose collider the ray hits, and as a result of the immediacy of rays, we can do this on the frame after the ray collides with, or intersects the enemy collider. This gives the effect of a real gunshot because the reaction is registered immediately.

It is also worth noting that shooting games often use the otherwise invisible rays to render brief visible lines to help with aim and give the player visual feedback, but do not confuse these lines with ray casts because the rays are simply used as a path for line rendering.


Noticed in Company of Heroes how your tanks shells auto lock on the enemy once fired. Well not sure how many people here play CoH but now you know why. If you have any uncertainties, please ask away. Hope this helps someone.


Join the mailing list for more such info.

This post has been edited by frags: Jul 2 2010, 06:04 PM
frags
post Jul 5 2010, 03:43 PM

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QUOTE(kypronite @ Jul 5 2010, 03:34 PM)
hey frags ,dont want sound so picky but just want to comment ...

the yahoo group 'mailing list' style thread really an eye sore and the navigation also very confusing.

hopefully no offence ya sweat.gif
*
Well there is no navigation. It just displays the latest posts on the main page. I've been using it in another group and it's not too bad. For the basic purpose of communication and sharing. Sure it's a little dated now. Maybe not the best medium for lengthy articles as the rich text editor is very basic. It does look very flat. But I think there is no point to create something more than that(for now), like a dedicated forum etc.

BTW you might be surprised how many developers actually use mailing lists tongue.gif . There is one very famous top secret one that top designers are part off. I heard Will Wright and Sid Meier of part of it. Very secretive and everything said there is private to that group and we'll never know what they talk about. It's not the reason I choose this method but just telling you this if you might not know this.


Added on July 5, 2010, 3:45 pm
QUOTE(kypronite @ Jul 5 2010, 03:34 PM)
hey frags ,dont want sound so picky but just want to comment ...

the yahoo group 'mailing list' style thread really an eye sore and the navigation also very confusing.

hopefully no offence ya sweat.gif

also about last week meeting,did you guys got meet each other at klcc?
I want to come but i got no game development experience whatsoever,so  blush.gif
*
No I didn't go since I actually read their post late and I already had plans on Saturday. I don't check my yahoo email fyi. I just have it for the mailing list.


Added on July 20, 2010, 5:42 pmSomething I found at gamasutra about Game Development in Singapore:
http://www.gamasutra.com/view/news/28815/Q...stry_Growth.php


Added on August 1, 2010, 5:42 pmThis is an awesome game design talk:

http://www.gdcvault.com/play/1012259/Train-(or-How-I-Dumped

This post has been edited by frags: Aug 1 2010, 05:42 PM

 

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