Be my fan on FacebookWhere to start when making a new game
- April 30, 2009 by Emanuele Feronato
- Filed under Game design | 16 Comments
When you are about to start a new game, obviously the first thing you decide is the concept.
No matter whether you change it during the making of the game or not, I think we all start from the idea “hey, let’s make a game people will play this way”.
Then, when you have an idea of the kind of game you are going to make, you can start coding… or drawing… or looking for a music… or… how do you start a game?
I always started my games from the code… some boxes representing the objects and sprites, and then I tried to improve the graphics… but I always ended with games with poor graphics.
For my latest game, to be released within a week, I decided to start from the graphics.
So I looked for some cartoonish landscapes like this one:
http://www.flickr.com/photos/ballookey/317256732/
And I started drawing something similar in Flash.
This is the result:
Actually the clouds are moving and the sun rays rotate, creating an interesting effect (I guess).
All in all, this will be my first game with appealing graphics, thanks to this new way to start making games.
Where do you use to start making your games?
(7 votes, average: 4.14 out of 5)
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I start to with some ugly boxes and circles. Once i have a basic prototype i send it to one of the 2 designers i have and they start to make the graphics. Then i’m adding the art to the game and adjusting gameplay/graphics to the game needs. It’s just an iterative process.
That’s the way i work ;)
As you said, I usually start with bad graphics and start improving on them throughout development. We’ll see how well that works for my latest project, because I’m aiming for a very simple art in the first place.
What is your new game going to be about? Looking at the smooth curves, perhaps some sort of physics centric game?
yo cuando creo un juego empiezo como lo empiezo como arrancaste este ultimo …….. aunque mi fuerte es la programación si primero veo una bonita interfaz grafica me motivo psicologicamente y lo hago lo mejor posible para despues cuando hago la programación ya hay motivación ……….
Hasta la proxima …………..
I usually get graphics from a client first.
I usually star out with rough shapes too. I am a designer so the graphics are usually not a big issue, it’s the code that’s harder for me. Once i have the functionality i then apply the finishing touches to it.
Like this game of mine. I loved “same game” and one night started messing around in flash (flash 5) trying to make it. I tried off and on for a couple months and gave up on it. Years later I decided to take another stab at it and with some programming nudges from a friend i figured it out.
Then a contest came up so i “skined” it, added some additional features and called it good. It is not the most visual piece i have done, but i only had a couple nights to finish it and add the features it was missing.
Here is where i had it to in my coding phase (tho to be honest i had prettied it up some.):
And here it is after i skinned it:
I typically start with the code as well. This seems like a great way to shake things up. I think I’ll try it for my next game.
Hi feronato,
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so double check your site and remove that threat.
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however this is the greate article i am looking around web for few days. as i am going to start my first ever real game in flash.
regards…..
Feronato, I got the same message from my antivirus (AVAST), browser = Google Chrome.
malicios site – ilovehash.cn/rastasp/t.php
I love to start in the way you suggested. I’ll go to deviantart and look at vector art there.
Another way is to take a concept like ‘bounce’, ‘grow’ or ‘evolve’ and play around with it and see what you can come up with.
Nothing malicious being reported here at college (FF2)
Also: I usually start with lovely empty-fill shapes with bright lines, or block colours for graphics and get the gameplay sorted first.
Gameplay > Shine.
Start with basic shapes and get the gameplay down then clean it up.
I usually start by creating a fun and challenging concept. Writing a basic list of whats fun about this particular game. After that i usually code a dynamic structure to the game to ensure theres room to tweak the mechanics. The graphics in the game will be determined later on when im done with everything. This way i can target any group of people by the graphical style. However i find it good to have a picture to follow with the feeling of the game. The mood can then help you come up with more features for the game.
Hi Emanuele,
i just want to share with you
this ActionScript 2.0 to 3.0 Migration Guide:
http://www.actionscriptcheatsheet.com/downloads/as3cs_migration.pdf
source: actionscriptcheatsheet.com
Regards!
I’ve not done much for games other than with C++ for a Pong project (with an interactive command line!) and a current Kingdom Hearts game, but I like to start with a basic outline of a framework in my code. Then, I get an idea of my graphics, whether they be from scratch or sprites, and work from there. I start finding and adding the graphics as I go, so I can make adjustments and get a better gameplay idea as I go.
@Quest
You said you needed simple artwork? I could do that for you. Email me at vionworld [@] live.com
I can send you some of my old work, and you can see if you like it.
i usually start with a new flash file make one level or stage, with crappy graphics like little circles and then make whole new flash file and copy and paste all my codes that are done and then work on graphics and not have to worry about any coding.