1 reply to this topic

[CD87]

(I guess nobody remembers me anyway so I will just skip the intro )

 

Hi Robby,

 

It's been a really long time since I last spoke to you. I've been trying to return to the game a few times, but the damn Java can't be run on my computer. Fortunately, I just remembered that this forum exists, so I came here instead.

 

I'm both happy and sad to hear about the future of 8bitMMO. For the very least, the game will have a good ending for itself.

 

Anyway, since you're still very active to us, I'd like to ask a few questions regarding game developing. I think your experience could be helpful to me:

1. I'm planning to become a game developer as a personal hobby (Not going full IT here). Do you recommend learning how to codes (To either make the game from scratch or use Unity) or using one of the pre-existed game-maker engines (Construct 2, Gamemaker, Stencyl, etc)? As a side note, 2D offline games are my preference. And if I should learn codes, then which one is the most suitable?
2. How did you publish your game once it was done? It looks hard to attract barely any attention when your game is published, so how did you manage that?
3. Would you recommend doing free-to-play games or paid games for (a few of) my first games?

Thanks for reading, and I'll be sure to support your new game if it's out! (And if it's as good as 8bitMMO )

[RobbyZ]

Welcome back!

 

1)  If you just want to do it as a hobby, you don't necessarily need to learn how to code -- although it's a very useful skill to have.  For a 2D offline game, I hear Game Maker works very well, although have not used it myself.  I've also heard good things about Construct, but haven't heard much about Stencyl yet.  The best thing to do when evaluating any game engine, or deciding to write your own, is think of:

• Does that game engine have the features you will need?
• Is it easy to work in?
• Is it extensible if you want to do more with it in future?
• Can it deploy to the platforms you want?
• Does the cost (either financial or time) fit your budget?

Something like Unity is good too, but you will almost certainly end up needing to learn C# at some point to use it effectively.  Although C# is a great language, so can be worth the time investment.

 

Ultimately, you'll probably be fine with any of those.

 

2)  I did a talk about this here.  The single biggest helpful thing was getting promoted by Kongregate and Steam.  These days it's very different since Steam is much more crowded, so you don't really get traffic just by being on Steam anymore.  TBH I don't really have a good solution for that yet.

 

3)  Initially it is good to make small free games and release them to get feedback.  You can see what players like and dislike, where they get stuck, etc.