IDE or Engine

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Made a thread in the Code section but let just say sh*t hit the fan so I'll ask more simply this time around.

What should I use to make prototype for game idea, an IDE, an Engine, mix of the two, something else I don't know and why should I use it or not use it over another. Because I have idea for a variety of genre it would be fun if I didn't need to use one for first and third person game and one for strategy and management game.

 

If you want more info on me/what I need, here the other thread, if you want to comment on things that I said there do it on this thread, I'd like for this one to stay on track so people that google find something more useful that a simple list on wikipedia

https://teksyndicate.com/forum/code/want-be-game-designer/155882

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What should I use to make prototype for game idea, an IDE, an Engine, mix of the two, something else

Wut?!

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First step to game development: maybe something like vym mind mapper would help...

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Put really basicly I want to make full game, should I use

-An IDE

-An Engine

-A mix of the two

-Just mod some games

-...

5

Could be very helpful if I get someone to help me, it would be easier to jump in a project.

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It doesn't make sense. You should seriously look up what those things mean.

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dude instead of ridiculing him/her, explain yourself. tell us why. nicely. (admittedly I'm interested in what you mean)

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I've used Netbeans to make some games so what you're saying doesn't make sense to me either.

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An IDE is a program that includes a text editor for typing in your code, and a file manager for organising projects. It takes all your code, puts it into a compiler, and spits out your program.

An engine on a basic level is code for various things, graphics, physics, sound etc, already there for you written by someone else. It can be in compiled format and linked to a separate program that does more advanced editing for you, eg. Unreal SDK. Or it can be given as open source code files that you include into your own project in your IDE.

I would recommend for someone who wants to make a game quickly and do minimal programming, use something like the Unreal SDK. There are many programs similar such as the CryEngine SDK, or even Yoyogames GameMaker. If you wish to do some basic programming based on someone else's work, use an ide with an existing open source engine such as irrlicht and include it in your project in an IDE. If you want to do everything yourself, an IDE is all you need, and a lot of patience.

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Well in the sense of the acronym an Engine is a type of IDE, but I'm assuming you mean coding your own game engine in an IDE like Visual Studio as apposed to using a pre-built engine like CryEngine.

If you're wanting to build indie games and want to have multi-genre capabilities Unity is probably your best bet. I've used UDK, CryEngine, Unity, and some others. All of which are capable of different genres than what they were first implemented for. I can make a 3rd person RPG in UDK if I want, but I will be doing a lot of scripting and adding functionality. ( which is something you are going to be doing anyway assuming you're actually making a game.)

Unity is more open as far as being modular and creating different genres, but they are all just as capable. I seriously doubt that you have the time, patience, money, or skill devoted to developing your own engine from scratch unless it's going to be something simple like a 2D side scroller or minimal 3D effects. 3D engine programming is complex stuff and there is no need to re-invent the wheel unless ABSOLUTELY NECESSARY.

I would highly recommend you pick up Unity or UDK and grab a C# book or some UnrealScript tutorials and dive in. There is plenty of documentation and training available all over the place for both engines. You might want to take some modeling and animation classes unless you are going to outsource our buy pre-rigged and animated models online.

Also if your interest is in being an actual designer you've got your work cut out for you. I would suggest starting with learning C++ and/or C#, learn about game design and actual game mechanics and systems, and definitely dig into art. I can provide some recommendations on all of these.

C++: Allex Allain Jumping into C++, Bjarne Stroustrup Programming principles and Practice using C++

C#: If you have access to windows 8 Programming Windows 6th Edition by Charles Petzold is a great reference book. 3dbuzz.com is a good place for C# starter material.

Game design/mechanics: Fundementals of Game Design & Game Mechanics: Advanced Game Design both by Ernest Adams.

Digital Art/Modeling/Animation: Digitaltutors.com $45 a month, buy you a Wacom tablet, and drop some cash on a subscription for Autodesk at like $99 and buy Photoshop or get a comparable editing program and dive in.

**THIS IS NOT JUST GOOGLE SURFING*** It took me 3 years to be able to compile this list down into some essential subjects after weeding through mountains of useless garbage. There is more stuff out there, but this should be more than enough to keep you busy.

Hope this helps. :)

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So the best would be to go with an IDE that already has code in it for what an engine would offer.

Not to much code to do but still have the option to do some.

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Yes, this definitively was the kind of comment I wanted to have, thank you very much.

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No problem at all, if you have any more questions feel free to message me.

Also, you could look into XNA for coding in C# and building games in an IDE like Visual Studio. Microsoft is doing away with XNA and support for it, but it's still a viable platform for windows games. A decent book on the subject is XNA 3.0 Unleashed. XNA was updated to 4.0 and some things have changed if it's the only one you can get. There are books out there for it as well, just look through Amazon. Also, gameinstitute.com offers a great deal on material for game design and it's $99 for everything but instructor assistance.

The only warning I really want to leave you with though is don't fall into the "Game Programming" books. It is not the place for a beginner to start even if that is who they are geared towards. These books often contain coding errors that you will waste time trying to sort through and teach poor coding habits and optimization. They are great once you get your bearings and understand code, but they are NOT where you want to learn your habits and coding practices from. Work through the "boring" books and learn how to do things right, then blast through a Game Programming book. They will help you learn about the ways Game Programming is approached differently than typical application programming. Games take Object Oriented Programming to an entire different level and are approached differently than your standard calculator app. So you will eventually need to read through a "GP" book to get an idea of the concept of Game Design OOP.

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So I'll try to start something tonight in Unity, what would be the best kind of genres to start with third person, strategy, space sim, ...?

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FPS or third person shooter is probably the easiest. Strategy and simulation games have A LOT of systems and mechanics built behind the curtain. RPG games have a lot of content and mechanics. With an fps you'll mostly be worrying about triggers, enemy AI, and level design.

When you are starting to learn I wouldn't aim so much for completing a game, but aim for learning the ins and outs of the engine. Slowly building on what you have learned and throwing it together into a final project.