Program and Chill? We don't have to put a label on it.

[AC Vis]

Hello there! I first started out with Love2D, maybe a year ago. After getting through every beginner tutorial I could find I felt myself quickly at the level where I could program something simple like Asteroids or a basic game with pre-made maps. Eventually I felt like there was a lack of resources and I hit a wall. So, I switched to Unity because I heard there was a huge community and there must be more resources. However, I was quickly turned off by C# and Unity's workflow in general. Still, I checked the Love forums everyday and kept it in the back of my mind. Then I decided to try GameMaker after getting it in a Humble Bundle. Why not? Heartbeasts tutorials looked pretty extensive. I liked Game Maker more than I thought and learned very quickly. I was able to concoct a basic procedural dungeon generator and RPG prototypes. But soon enough I felt myself tripping over the Game Maker Language and general bugs.

So now, I'm back. I want to make this work. I've been coding and researching every day on my lunch break, after work and often all weekend for months now, as much as possible; but I've come to the conclusion that maybe I can do it alone, but it might be better if I didn't.

I'm looking for someone to talk to, to ask questions, to share knowledge. We don't have to collaborate on anything, we don't necessarily have to do anything.

I'm really focusing on how to structure my code better and implementing entity component systems, maybe with a mix of OOP. I'm struggling to fully wrap my head around tinyECS, as most examples include other libraries in them. As much as a self learner I am, I feel like I just might need someone to talk to about it one on one.

I'm working on a little roguelike (who isn't) and a couple other games. I'm looking to enter some game jams in the future also. But I have two main goals. One, to progressively learn to code better. Two, to finish a game, any game, by the end of 2016. I wouldn't mind making a lot of smaller games either, but my goal is to just first finish making one whole game.

I have a friend who does great art, including pixel art. I have numerous friends who make incredible music. And also lots of friends who are screenwriters. I'm not looking to form a company, they just let me know they'd like to contribute if I eventually do go about finish something. I'd like to give them that opportunity.

I'm just looking to see if there's anyone out there who'd like to share a beer, or coffee, or a freaking glass of milk over Skype or something to talk about how to code better in Love2D. If you're the kind of person who loves to share knowledge, or maybe you'd like to learn alongside someone else, send me a message or post on here. No strings attached.

TL;DR Helpful/cool/lonely? Skype?

[rmcode]

Two, to finish a game, any game, by the end of 2016. I wouldn't mind making a lot of smaller games either, but my goal is to just first finish making one whole game.

Basically I suggest you read through this article: https://www.reddit.com/r/gamedev/wiki/getting_started

I think most of the game devs would agree with it. I certainly do...

I wrote a few games ( some I never released to the public ) over the past 2 or 3 years. My last two game-related projects are an endless runner and a bomberman clone. Are they the best games ever? Certainly not ... Did I enjoy making them? Yes - BUT only about the first 90% of it, the rest is hard and / or boring work like fixing bugs, creating decent menus, making sure credits are given correctly and so on. If I had to guess, this is the part where most people quit - especially if they are doing it "for fun". But if you battle through those last 10% you can call yourself a gamedev. Even if the game is shitty, you at least created a game that is 100% done. That's more than a lot of aspiring devs will manage to do

Therefore it is important to have a clear scope for your first game. By that I mean you should have a list of stuff you will have to implement to call the game done. Don't fool yourself with "I'm making a roguelike - it needs combat, some enemies and a player" ... you'll just get to a point where you don't know how to continue (been there, done that). Try to figure out what you really want to have in there. How does the combat work? Will there be an inventory? Is there permadeath? If not, how will the player continue the game after dying?

That's why I think it's a good idea to start with writing clones. Somebody already has defined the scope for you AND you can find tons of examples and tutorials for most of the classic games.

But that's just my own experience. I can only say I learned a lot between writing my first pong clone to creating my latest projects. Don't worry about stuff like ECS too much (I'd even suggest ignoring libraries in the beginning) - you'll pick stuff up along the way.

... and most importantly: Have fun

[baconhawka7x]

Feel free to add me on skype, love chatting with fellow game developers! My username is munkeebacon.

[AC Vis]

Two, to finish a game, any game, by the end of 2016. I wouldn't mind making a lot of smaller games either, but my goal is to just first finish making one whole game.

Basically I suggest you read through this article: https://www.reddit.com/r/gamedev/wiki/getting_started

I think most of the game devs would agree with it. I certainly do...

I wrote a few games ( some I never released to the public ) over the past 2 or 3 years. My last two game-related projects are an endless runner and a bomberman clone. Are they the best games ever? Certainly not ... Did I enjoy making them? Yes - BUT only about the first 90% of it, the rest is hard and / or boring work like fixing bugs, creating decent menus, making sure credits are given correctly and so on. If I had to guess, this is the part where most people quit - especially if they are doing it "for fun". But if you battle through those last 10% you can call yourself a gamedev. Even if the game is shitty, you at least created a game that is 100% done. That's more than a lot of aspiring devs will manage to do

Therefore it is important to have a clear scope for your first game. By that I mean you should have a list of stuff you will have to implement to call the game done. Don't fool yourself with "I'm making a roguelike - it needs combat, some enemies and a player" ... you'll just get to a point where you don't know how to continue (been there, done that). Try to figure out what you really want to have in there. How does the combat work? Will there be an inventory? Is there permadeath? If not, how will the player continue the game after dying?

That's why I think it's a good idea to start with writing clones. Somebody already has defined the scope for you AND you can find tons of examples and tutorials for most of the classic games.

But that's just my own experience. I can only say I learned a lot between writing my first pong clone to creating my latest projects. Don't worry about stuff like ECS too much (I'd even suggest ignoring libraries in the beginning) - you'll pick stuff up along the way.

... and most importantly: Have fun

Yeah, I've certainly read that advice and many others like that. I definitely agree to some extent, though, I'm not looking for advice on the "clone" stage. I'll go ahead and make a couple clones this month just to get that out of the way. I'm looking for guidance and resources on the stages after that. I'm not unrealistic about the amount of effort and about that last 10%, it's just that I've been through all of those tutorials already. I do want to become more proficient with libraries and I do want to start adapting my coding style to include ECS, because the idea of it makes more sense to me. Even if I'm just applying these things to clones and simple projects. Thank you for your honest advice.

Feel free to add me on skype, love chatting with fellow game developers! My username is munkeebacon.

Done!

[bobbyjones]

You could also join IRC it's a nice place to talk about programming.

[sanjiv]

I'm up for chilling and programming. Count me in.