Starting Game Dev

[mrhaboobi]

hey Guys,

Just outof interest wondering what resources people have used to get into doing game dev, generally resources on accepted game patters, sprite movement, bounds checking, character animations, basic character movement physics etc..

Im playing with XNA and PSX, but its the fundamentals behind game dev that im a bit blury on.  ive been reading lots of docs, but wondering if anyoneknows a great series of tutorials on the subject.. starting with something like a platformer or 2d spaceshooter..  once i have the basic i can move forward, no problems with the language, just the fundamentals..

[Arkhan]

there really is no great "how to" on game dev.  There are some books that are meant to explain it, but often leave you in the dark, hold your hand, or confine you to one train of thought.

Some of the older 80s "how to make game" books for say the Commodore 64 are pretty solid as far as building blocks go.  you can indulge yourself here:

http://www.bombjack.org/commodore/books.htm

another book I read once at work (Library) for fun, was "2D game programming for teens" or something.
 
It was surprisingly easy to read through, and is pretty solid.


Other then that, your best bet is to list what you want to have happen and work towards doing it.  Everything in a game is made of pieces.  Do them piece by piece and put it all together.   experiment!

There is a reason why early games aren't always the best.  They weren't sure what was "good" yet.

pay close attention to galaga or a more elaborate shoot em up.  Watch for different attack and movement patterns... try to recreate them!

[San Juan Wolf]

I have always wondered about this sort of thing . I tried doing something on game maker but all I did was make a bunch of swastika platforms with a gigantic Swarzenegger doing a nazi salute as a "boss" and being killed by jumping on it's head .

But sadly I have never found out how to make sprites or anything , while I do have lots of ideas , I find no real way to execute them .

[Arkhan]

I have always wondered about this sort of thing . I tried doing something on game maker but all I did was make a bunch of swastika platforms with a gigantic Swarzenegger doing a nazi salute as a "boss" and being killed by jumping on it's head .

But sadly I have never found out how to make sprites or anything , while I do have lots of ideas , I find no real way to execute them .

sprites are just artwork done in a paint program.

Every platform has specs on how the sprite should be made, and how to load it into the system.

The best way to get an idea of patterns for enemies, etc, is to play games that don't suck, and take notes as you play!

[Gogan]

Arkhan, any links or reading material about creating sprites the right way and uploading them correctly?

[Arkhan]

Arkhan, any links or reading material about creating sprites the right way and uploading them correctly?

for which system?  Its different for all of them depending on the hardware >_<

Different palette limitations, sizes, file format expectancies, etc.

Usually each one is explained in the system in question's video chip's manual/document.

For PCE you basically pick a size (based off the possible ones ranging from 16x16 to 32 wide 64 tall)

then you make a sprite image that is 16 colors (using 9 bit values for the colors), and thats it.  Color 0 is transparent.  Save it as a 4 plane PCX file.   You will want to use a program that handles PCX files nicely.  I suggest NeoPaint.  It has nice palette editing features and is pretty simple as a program.

[Gogan]

I'd be programming for PCE, and PCE only. I use photoshop on a regular basis. Will that suffice?

[Keranu]

Photoshop will handle PCX no problem.

I use Tile Studio to draw all my sprites in, it's a great freeware app that's very quick and simple to use. Great for being able to draw new frames right next to each other and instantly preview the animation.

[Gogan]

Is it available for mac? I have.a pc but do my graphic work on mac.

But I guess most the programming would be done on a pc, eh?

[Arkhan]

yeah programming will be done on a PC.

Photoshop will work for PCX's, just make sure you manage the palette properly

[Gogan]

How would you suggest managing the color palette in PS to cater to sprite development?

Was lookin at all the different color setups and don't want to use the wrong one right off the bat!

[Gogan]

Is there a pce palette I can import available somewhere?

[Arkhan]

Is there a pce palette I can import available somewhere?

Just use RGB values that are in steps of 36.

32 also works.

so if youre in photoshop you just make colors whose RGB values are:

0, 36, 72, 108, 144, 180, 216, 252

Example:

R: 252
G: 180
B: 72

No need to import anything

just remember that for sprites you only have 16 colors to work with, so you will want to make sure in Photoshop that you make an indexed mode image, set it to 16 colors max, and then set yourself up your palette.

and save as a PCX!

Always remember too that color 0 will not actually show up on the PCE.  It's transparent, so use a dumb color that you'd never use on the actual sprite.  I usually use death magenta (252, 0, 252)

[Gogan]

Makes all the sense in the world. Does this "by 36" principle apply to most everything else?

[San Juan Wolf]

I wonder....do you need some kind of palette to create the sprite images though ?

I have a few ideas but never managed to have them materialise . Like a platformer involving snowmen .