Another Game Idea

[kelik]

Okay before i tell you what type of game i'm planning, ill get in my protective box. I want to live to see a reply.
By now you probably already know what type of game it is...Yes an MMORPG. Or for now an MORPG.

I don't know if there is already a game like this, and yes i googled it. I love first person games, but my favourite games are online fantasy, with really nice environments(Oblivion environments). A game with all these together would be awesome. My idea is a 1st person/3rd person, MORPG where instead of letting the game randomly decide whether you hit the enemy or not, you have to aim yourself, time attacks yourself and basically control the combat almost entirely yourself. BUT, also have the option to let the computer decide for you randomly, like every other MMO out there. Of course with a chance you will miss. I feel that games with levels bring a sense of achievement, but I would prefer a game where the level gives just a general idea on the skill of the player, the real way of knowing would be to look at attributes to see what they specialize in, what there level is in the attributes and skills. There will obviously be downsides to this and the idea will be rethought probably 1000 times but so far that is what I have decided on. The environments will hopefully look as good as oblivion without so many details, and a slightly smaller map. Also the lighting would be a set light(sun) that doesn't change in any way to enable faster frame rates and easier to handle shadows. The out of town areas would not be the same one every other player is in, each player and their party get their own copy of the map. And now for the questions.

1. I know there are a lot of guides on this already, and each will have its pros and cons, but which programming language should i go with, I have thought about c++ but I have heard that Delphi is good for games too(haven't actually researched Delphi).

2. With the 3D modelling, as a starting point to handle approximately no more than 40 people in a single town(a system like districts in Guild Wars) how many faces would the models have to be approximately to for a character? And same question for a basic environment. And triangles or polygons?

3. For a safe way of keeping the models/textures/code away from people who would like to mess with the game, and change it to make it easier for themselves. Would a .dat file with all info in it be a good idea.

-sarcasm-Original idea I know, but any criticism or ideas would be helpful.

[starstutter]

just as a warning, someone sooner or later will thorw a grenade into your protective box.

Let me say this, I will not recommend any resources to make an MMORPG. Why? Because it's not going to happen. And I have a feeling you already know that. Even an MORPG is extremley inprobable if you haven't known C++, graphics API's, and networking systems for several years.

So here's what I will recommend, tools for an RPG... with no M's or O's at the beginning. Know that a 3D RPG is still far-fetched for a beginner, but it's infinitley more possible.

1. C++ is the industry standard. It is easier to use something like pygame, a scripting language, or C#, but ultimaltey for max portability and long term benefit, go with C++. Not to mention that C++ has pretty much maxed out CPU speed coupled with portability, stability and relativle ease of use (which is why it's the industry standard).

2. totally depends on your graphics technology and level of quality you're aiming for. I would *highly* suggest normal mapping though to make polycounts as low as possible, and therefore conserving a lot of the CPU for possible networking as a future project. Also, it's just better practice to use as few verticies as you can get away with. Preformance win almost every time. Typically though, a character model is usually around 6000 - 8000 triangles.

3. Can't help you there. But what I can tell you is to set up an "anti-cheat" that will sense the data inside the files and compare them to online copies to see if the info has been changed by the user. Don't even really worry too much about making the files ultra secure, people will get into them.

[kelik]

Thanks, and your right it probably will be one of the 100,000 games a year that fail but I will try anyhow. Hopefully when I get somewhere with it I'll be able to ask a load more questions =P.

[dannthr]

I think one of the biggest problems I see with beginners, pitfalls from which I have climbed personally, is that they have a game idea but not a philosophy.

A lot of games are made piecemeal with disparate elements meshed together and really this spells folly for people trying to put together a large game design without any experience.

I mean, there are game designers out there with enough experience to "wing-it" and throw things together as they see fit, but there's a real problem with the fact that so few game designers, especially beginners, can really explain what's so great about their design.

"Wouldn't it be cool if...?"

Most of the beginning game designers seem to seed their design with that question. That's not a bad place to start out when you're sketching ideas out, but what you need to develop is a philosophy/aesthetic.

Don't sweat about implementation yet, seriously. You can write a symphony that no orchestra will play, but at least you'll have created your symphony and no one can tell you that you aren't writing music--they just haven't heard it.

If your primary goal is to implement a game and not simply design one, then of course, you need to consider that implementation is hard.

If your primary goal is to design a game, then implementation isn't an issue until you have a team, a budget, and a lot of free time.

So what's this design philosophy bs?

It's the why, the how, and the what. That's not to say that you simply create a philosophy by answering those questions, but that your philosophy answers those questions.

Your philosophy will shape the design from the top down and bottom up.

"The environments will hopefully look pretty?"

What?

That is not design. Design is not shooting darts in the dark and hoping they hit X and not O.

This is a real problem with a lot of start-ups, even "professional" startups with thousands in budget. You need to have a design document--a map for constructing the game--and this document is wrought from HOURS AND HOURS of aesthetic/philosophical consideration. It means you have to sit down and consider the game in macro and micro and really think about how every element fits into the whole and how it is in-line with your ultimate design philosophy.

This will help you create a coherent gaming experience.

As a developer, this kind of thing really frustrates me. There is a LOT of bad design out there--even well funded bad design--and it leads to chunky, disparate, and confusing game-play (and a headache for outsourced devs like me).

What that means is that just because you program a little doesn't mean that the design should rest entirely in your skull.

You need to flesh out a design document.

You need to flesh out a coherent design document by developing a compelling design philosophy first.

Why should I even play your game, assuming it ever gets made?

Take your "wouldn't it be cool if" ideas and start abstracting them and take those abstracts and apply it to every aspect of the design. When you do this, write it down in a well constructed document.

It's a plan and you need one.

[Mephs]

Making something piecemeal as a first resort isn't a terrible way to go about it. But don't build a full game off doing everything step by step too. Piecemeal a workable demo to kind of dump your thoughts into code, if you're completely new to designing games, like myself, then go back, look at all the elements you've implemented, and then structure a better way to use all of it in an actual game, not just a demo :)

That's how I'm doing it anyway.

[Domzimmer]

I like your idea for a game. Catches my attention and I think the whole concept about "controlling your own fight" would be awesome :)

Even though there is no chance it will be made. Good luck !

[searing123]

Write your idea down first of all. This way you know your game better so you can communicate it better, and you can point out and solve some potential problems in your idea. Then before making an MMO, make your idea in one-player. If it doesn't work in one player, chances are your MMO will be a disaster.


That's my two cents.