I'm making a video game demo alone, learning as I go.

[RSKennan]

Hey everyone, I've been posting about this elsewhere, but I thought that you guys might be interested too. I think I'm on the right track.

A few weeks back I was playing Vendetta Online, and wasn't having much fun. I liked the flight mechanics and the physics, but the overall experience was very bland, and there wasn't much going on in the universe. Later I found out that the game had been made and was maintained by four guys. It's a full MMO, and while the content is weak, it's still an impressive feat.

I decided that if four guys can make an MMO that supports itself, I can make a single player, one mission demo. I've had a concept in mind for a while, but I had thought I'd either have to get hired by someone or hire people to make it if I became wealthy. But now, I decided that I'd try to do it myself.

The catch is that the closest I've come to video game design is pen and paper design (Morningstar, The Complete Guide to Fey, and some articles). I had none of the technical skills I'd need.

Still, I like a challenge. Coding a game engine with minimal programming skills is out of the question, so I've decided on an off-the-rack solution in the Unity Game Engine. It's a good Game Engine that seems very user friendly. It can create binaries for Windows, Mac OS X, XBox 360, Wii, iPhone... etc. I've read a review by a non-coding game designer who makes a living with it. If I do need to code, I can use Javascript, which I know a bit of. I can learn more.

That leaves asset creation to me- 3d models, animations, sound effects, and music. And of course, game design.

I've been learning 3d first by creating models to use in the game. I'm using Blender. I've always downloaded it with a fresh install of anything, intending to learn it one day, and now I'm doing it.

It's coming pretty easily, and I'm really grateful for spending three years drawing pictures in my downtime as a security guard. My 2d work isn't spectacular, but 3d makes some of the things I have trouble with easier.

This post is very long already, so I'll post game info and a few pictures in the next post.

 

[RSKennan]

First, I'll say that the game I'm working on isn't as ambitious as I'm about to post below. I'm doing a demo that will serve as a proof of concept for the ideas below. One "level" that combines orbital combat with a short land mission.

The game is called "Mystic Space" so far. It's Space Fantasy, with an emphasis on the Fantasy. You fly around in spaceships powered by magic, fight with other ships, and do land based missions on fantasy worlds or other settings that let you get out of your ship and do a quest.

Space itself works much like space does in our universe or a scifi universe- low or micro-gravity, radiation, asteroids, vacuum... the whole 9. The difference is that people solve the problems of spaceflight with magic instead of science. That part is similar to Spelljammer, but there are no space boats or ether. Space is space, except that magic exists.

Each planet will represent a different flavor of fantasy. For example, in the demo, I've got a Steampunk Pseudo-Victorian culture fighting an ancient world, Golden age culture (My Morningstar campaign setting as I've been re-imagining it)

There's more about the setting on my blog (in my sig), so I'll just post a couple of pictures with commentary.

This is the steampunk ship. I haven't modeled its pilot yet. It's a P.E.C.E (Pugilistic Ether Conveyance Engine) class ship. It's tough and lumbering. the culture it's from doesn't think of its mad science as magic, but the ship will have things like a shrink ray, a teleport beacon it can drop and return to, etc. It's definitely magic.

This is the Astral Talon. a construct powered by the spirit of an eagle, it uses the purple crystals for thrust, and the red ones for its Eldritch bolt attack. The sphere in the large talon is the cockpit. It's a fast and maneuverable ship that will have the ability to go insubstantial and invisible for short periods of time (phase astral), and a powerful attack where the animating eagle spirit leaves the ship to attack the enemy.

Here's the pilot of the Astral Talon, in progress. Her name's Deandra.

One last picture for now.

This space whale (Tanin) and its calf are part of what the ships are fighting over. The Pseudo-victorian culture hunts them for their parts, and the golden age culture reveres them as spiritual beings. It's not so black and white, though.

Anyway there are more pictures and more information on my blog, and I'll definitely reply back to this thread. If you want to see more pictures, let me know.

 

[dvvega]

Your goal is ambitious but not impossible. As a game design teacher I can state immediately that the design needs to be 100% nailed down before you try to produce anything. Because if it isn't ... you will wander around the development.

Aside from that you have chosen an excellent engine to build it upon. Unity in a word rocks. For the more programming orientated C4 by Terathon works.

Good Luck

D

 

[RSKennan]

Thank you. You're right that I haven't finalized the design 100% yet, but I will. In the asset phase, I'm leaving myself open to new ideas to make the demo richer (I've started with a pretty basic idea), but before I download Unity I'll write up a formal document and stick to it.

I have much more complete design documents for some of my other ideas, but I've always worked without a net for as long as I could so it's an adjustment to move to a medium where it doesn't work that way.

It's kind of a compromise between writing style of getting ideas down (to get material to work with), then writing the outline based on what I have and need, then finally putting the project together and the requirements of video game design as I understand them. If I were working with a team, I'd definitely have the document done before getting everyone involved. That's no time to change something on a whim.

Again, thanks a lot for your reply.

 

[RSKennan]

I have the Golden Age pilot mostly finished. I still have to do her weapons and a few accessories (a ring, etc), but I'm moving on to the next character. Here are some pictures:

As you can see, I changed her face a bit. I also changed the texture on the sandal straps a bit after these renders. It's supposed to be dragonskin. As always, more and larger pictures on the blog.

I'm working on the other character, but I won't spam this thread with every detail unless someone asks to see. The next pictures I'll post will probably be two scenes with each character in front of their ship. That will take a while.

Edit: Please note that these are the high poly versions of the models-not actual game assets. I plan to use them in cut scene animations.